There lived a cat with a peasant, but the owner, Veruna, took a strong dislike to the cat, beat him, ruffled him, and didn’t let him eat at all. The cat couldn’t stand it and said:
- If you are so angry, now catch mice yourself.
And he left home.
He walks through the forest, and a ram meets him.
- Hello, bashka, where are you going? - asks the cat.
And the ram answers him:
- Wherever your eyes look. My master offended me so much, he kept reproaching me that I was only a loss to him, but no benefit. So now let him take care of the lambs and lead the sheep.
They went together, the cat and the ram, and a rooster met them. They ask him:
-Where are you going, cockerel?
“Wherever you look,” the rooster answers. “The owner doesn’t feed me, she reproaches me with every crumb, she only gives everything to the hens, but I, he says, don’t even lay eggs, and my singing bothers her.” Well, she has no time to admire my beauty. I left her. Let her now take care of the chickens herself, lead the chickens and protect them from the hawk.
The three of us went further - the cat, the ram and the rooster. But it’s late in the evening, and we need to think about lodging for the night. The cockerel then asks:
- Where will we, brothers, spend the night?
Baran says:
“There’s a hut not far from here, and we’ll spend the night in it.”
The cat and the rooster became afraid, but then they agreed.
The ram and the rooster say:
“Kitty, our brother, it’s probably scary to spend the night in a hut, you’re the smartest and most dexterous among us, go and see who lives in the hut?”
The cat ran to the hut, ran around the whole yard, looked at all the nooks and crannies, visited the stable and the barn, and saw: everything was as it should be, order was everywhere, but no one was there. He ran and called the lamb and the cockerel into the hut. Here they come in. The cat stretched out on the hearth in the warm ashes, the cockerel jumped up onto the pole above the stove. And the lamb lay down in the middle of the upper room.
And in that hut the robbers lived.
At midnight one of them returned home. He walked into the kitchen and was about to light a fire in the hearth, but as soon as the cat scratched him on the face, the robber jumped out of fear. Then he jumped up and into the upper room, and there the ram caught him by the horns and hit the floor, and the rooster crowed from the flock:
- Well, throw him higher, I’ll break his neck!
The robber was completely frightened, picked up his caftan - and quickly, through the window, in the yard he alarmed the ducks and geese, and they began to quack and cackle.
- Yes, yes, yes! - the ducks shout. And behind them come the geese:
- A-ha-ha, hit! A-ha-ha, hit!
A smart cat says to his comrades:
- Let's get out of here, brothers, suddenly our fellow robbers will appear, then we are lost!
The rooster and ram obeyed him. And they did the right thing. As soon as they left, twelve robbers showed up at the hut, searched all the nooks and crannies, ransacked the entire yard, but never found anyone.
And the cat, the ram and the rooster are walking along the road. And the lamb was overcome with melancholy, and he said:
- Shouldn't we, brothers, return to our masters? Let's see what life is like for them without us, maybe they have become kinder?
And they each returned to their home. The cat ran into the barn* and immediately caught the mouse; she was in charge of the flour bin there.
The owner Veruna saw the cat and was delighted:
- Hello, kitten, where have you been? Without you, the damned mice will play pranks, and look no further, they will eat me and my grandfather. You must be hungry. Here's a bowl of milk! Have a drink! Now, as soon as I start milking the cow, I will certainly pour milk for you, but please, don’t run away from us, live.
The cat thought and thought and said:
- Well, I wouldn't mind. It's a good way to live.
And he went to catch mice.
Meanwhile, the owner of the ram came to the sheepfold and looked to see that the lost ram had been found. He was delighted and asked:
-Where have you been wandering for so long? It’s good that I returned home, without you I will have no lambs, no sheep, no wool, no sheepskin coat. Well, now I’ll always start pouring oats for you, just please don’t run away from me, live.
The lamb answers:
- Well, I'm not against it. This is how you can live.
And he remained in the sheepfold.
The owner of the cockerel went to the chicken coop, looked, and he was there, lost. She praised him for returning home and said:
“My dear, without you I wouldn’t have any eggs or chickens, without you I wouldn’t be able to take care of the chickens.” Please, don’t leave anymore, live.
She brought him cereals, sprinkled him with wheat, and promised to feed him like this every day.
The cockerel was delighted and crowed:
- Well, I wouldn't mind. This is how you can live.
And he stayed in the chicken coop.
After all, everyone has their own business. But the payment should be based on business.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru