The Cat and the Parrot agreed to invite each other over for lunch every day. Today, say, the Parrot calls the Cat to him, and the next day - vice versa, and so on. First it was Cat's turn. The cat bought half a penny's worth of rice and the same amount of milk and sugar at the market. The parrot, arriving at the appointed time, saw nothing but lean food. Moreover, the Cat took such poor care of his guest that he had to cook for himself.
The next day it was Parrot's turn. He bought thirty pounds of flour at the market, plenty of butter and sugar and everything he needed to bake pies. There were so many of them that they could fill a huge basket, like the ones laundresses carry. In total, five hundred rosy, delicious pies came out. When the Cat arrived, the Parrot placed in front of him a dish on which stood a pile of four hundred and ninety-eight pies. He kept only two pies for himself. The cat instantly devoured everything on the dish and asked for more.
The parrot gave him the remaining two pies. The cat ate them and said:
- I want more.
“There are no more pies,” answered the Parrot. “However, I think that if you are still hungry, you can eat me.” The cat was indeed still hungry. Therefore, without a twinge of conscience, he devoured the entire Parrot, along with bones, feathers and even the beak!
Some Old Lady passing by saw this. Picking up a stone from the ground, she shouted:
- Ugh! Ugh! Go away, you scoundrel, or I'll throw a stone at you!
Hearing this, the Cat said to himself: “I ate a whole basket of pies. I ate my friend Parrot. Will I be ashamed if I eat this old witch? Nothing in the world!”
He rushed at the Old Lady and - slurp, smack - swallowed her. Patting his stomach, he walked down the road. I came across him
A farmhand with a donkey on a leash.
“Hey, Cat, get out of the way,” the man shouted, “otherwise my donkey will kick you with his hoof so hard that you will immediately give up the ghost!”
However, the Cat muttered under his breath:
“I ate five hundred pies, my friend the Parrot and the quarrelsome Old Lady, so will I really be ashamed to eat the Farmhand?” No way!
And - slurp, smack - he devoured both the Farmhand and his donkey.
Having walked a little further, he met a wedding procession: the King and his bride rode in front, then a column of soldiers walked, and at the very end, huge elephants walked importantly in pairs.
The king shouted:
- Hey, Cat, move out of the way, otherwise my elephants will trample you!
However, the cat replied:
“I ate five hundred pies, my friend the Parrot, the grumpy Old Lady, the Farmhand and his donkey, so shouldn’t I eat some pathetic King?” Of course I'll eat it! And - slurp, smack - the Cat swallowed both the King and the bride, and his entire procession, including the elephants.
He went further and came across two huge Crabs.
“Run wherever your eyes look, Kiska,” one of them said threateningly. “Otherwise we’ll pinch you to death!”
- Ha-ha-ha! - the Cat laughed so hard that his sides shook from laughter (and he had already gained considerable weight). “I ate five hundred pies, my friend the Parrot, the grumpy Old Lady, the Farmhand and the Donkey, the King and his entire wedding procession!” And I will run away, tail between my legs, from two Crabs?! Why on earth? I'd rather eat them too! Having said this, he jumped on the Crabs and - slurp, smack - swallowed them in one sitting.
Finding themselves in the belly of the Cat, the Crabs found a bunch of people there: the King, sitting dejectedly, with his head in his hands; his bride, lying in a deep swoon; a company of soldiers trying to form a column of four and completely confused; elephants trumpeting loudly and stamping their feet; a donkey screaming shrilly and a farm laborer beating him with a stick for this; Parrot; An old woman loudly cursing at everyone at once, and in the farthest corner there were five hundred pies. It was very dark in the stomach, except for those moments when the Cat opened his mouth, but the Crabs determined by touch that the inside of his stomach was soft and pliable. Then they used their claws and - click, click, click! – they began to cut a hole in the Cat’s belly. They clicked their pincers until a large hole appeared. Then they got out and hurriedly crawled away. They were followed by the King with the bride in his arms, the elephants, still walking importantly in pairs, the soldiers, who had formed a marching column, the donkey, pushed from behind by the Farmhand, the Old Woman, grumpily telling the Cat everything she thought about him, and the last to fly out was the Parrot, holding a pie in each claw. They all immediately went about their business as if nothing had happened, and the Cat had to sew up his fur coat for the rest of the day!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru