Once upon a time there was a man. This guy had a cat, but he was such a spoiler, it was a disaster! He's bored to death. So the man thought and thought, took the cat, put it in a bag and carried it into the forest. He brought it and threw it in the forest - let it disappear.
The cat walked and walked and came across a hut. He climbed into the attic and lay down for himself. If he wants to eat, he’ll go into the forest, catch birds, mice, eat his fill, and go back to the attic, and he won’t have enough trouble! So the cat went for a walk, and a fox met him. She saw a cat and marveled: “For how many years I’ve been living in the forest, I’ve never seen such an animal!”
The fox bowed to the cat and asked: “Tell me, good fellow, who are you?” How did you come here and what should they call you by name? And the cat threw up his fur and answered: -? My name is Kotofey Ivanovich, I was sent to you by the governor from the Siberian forests. -? Oh, Kotofey Ivanovich! - says the fox. “I didn’t know about you, I didn’t know.” Well, let's go visit me.
The cat went to the fox. She brought him to her hole and began to treat him to various game, and she kept asking: -? Kotofey Ivanovich, are you married or single? -? Single. -? And I, the fox, am a girl. Marry me! The cat agreed, and their feast and fun began.
The next day the fox went to get supplies, but the cat stayed at home. The fox ran and ran and caught a duck. She carries her home, and a wolf meets her: —? Stop, fox! Give me back the duck!—?No, I won’t!—?Well, I’ll take it away myself.—?And I’ll tell Kotofey Ivanovich, he’ll put you to death!—?And who is Kotofey Ivanovich?—?Didn’t you hear? Voivode Kotofey Ivanovich was sent to us from the Siberian forests! I used to be a maiden fox, and now I’m our governor’s wife. —? No, I haven’t heard, Lizaveta Ivanovna. How can I look at him?—?Ugh! Kotofey Ivanovich is so angry with me: anyone he doesn’t like will eat him now! Prepare the ram and bring it to bow to him: put the ram in a visible place, and hide yourself so that the cat doesn’t see you, otherwise, brother, you’ll have a hard time! The wolf ran after the ram, and the fox ran home.
A fox was walking, and she met a bear: “Wait, fox, who are you carrying the duck to?” Give it to me!—?Go, bear, I’ll get you well, otherwise I’ll tell Kotofey Ivanovich, he’ll put you to death!—?And who is Kotofey Ivanovich?—?And who was sent to us from the Siberian forests by the governor. I used to be a fox-maiden, and now I am the wife of our governor - Kotofey Ivanovich. -? Is it possible to watch it, Lizaveta Ivanovna? -? Uh! Kotofey Ivanovich is so angry with me: anyone he doesn’t like will eat him now. Go and prepare the bull and bring it to him to bow to. But look, put the bull in a visible place, and hide yourself so that Kotofey Ivanovich doesn’t see you, otherwise you’ll have a hard time! The bear followed the bull, and the fox went home.
So the wolf brought a ram, skinned it, and stood there thinking. He looks - and the bear climbs with the bull. -? Hello, Mikhailo Ivanovich! -? Hello, brother Levon! What, haven’t you seen the fox and her husband?—?No, Mikhailo Ivanovich, I’m waiting for them myself.—?You go and call them, says the bear to the wolf.—?No, I won’t go, Mikhailo Ivanovich. I'm clumsy, you better go. -? No, I won't go, brother Levon. I’m furry, clubfooted, where can I go! Suddenly, out of nowhere, a hare runs.
The wolf and the bear will shout at him: “Come here with a scythe!” The hare crouched down, his ears folded back. “You, hare, are agile and quick on your feet: run to the fox, tell her that the bear Mikhailo Ivanovich and his brother Levon Ivanovich have long been ready, they are waiting for you; he and his husband, with Kotofey Ivanovich, want to bow to the ram and the bull.”
The hare ran towards the fox at full speed. And the bear and the wolf began to think about where they could hide. The bear said: “I’ll climb a pine tree.” And the wolf said to him: “Where can I go?” After all, I can’t climb a tree. Bury me somewhere. The bear hid the wolf in the bushes, covered it with dry leaves, and he climbed up the pine tree, to the very top of his head, and looked to see if Kotofey Ivanovich was coming with the fox.
Meanwhile, the hare ran to the fox's hole: -? The bear Mikhailo Ivanovich and the wolf Levon Ivanovich sent to say that they have been waiting for you and your husband for a long time, they want to bow to you with a bull and a ram. -? Go, scythe, we'll be there now.
So the cat and the fox went. The bear saw them and said to the wolf: -? What a small governor Kotofey Ivanovich is! The cat immediately rushed at the bull, ruffled the fur, began to tear the meat with his teeth and paws, and he purrs as if he was angry: -? Mau, mau!.. The bear again says to the wolf: -? Small, but voracious! The four of us can’t eat, but it’s not enough for him alone. Perhaps he will get to us too!
The wolf also wanted to look at Kotofey Ivanovich, but he couldn’t see him through the leaves. And the wolf slowly began to rake up the leaves. The cat heard the leaves moving, thought it was a mouse, and how it rushed, and grabbed the wolf’s face with its claws.
The wolf got scared, jumped up and started running away. And the cat got scared and climbed up the tree where the bear was sitting. “Well,” the bear thinks, “he saw me!” There was no time to get down, the bear fell from the tree to the ground, knocked off all the livers, jumped up and ran away.
And the fox shouts after him: “Run, run, don’t let him kill you!” From that time on, all the animals began to be afraid of the cat. And the cat and the fox stocked up on meat for the whole winter and began to live and get along. And now they live.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru