One winter, when it was very cold, a wolf wandered through the mountains, looking for prey. And a hungry fox was running nearby - she also hadn’t eaten anything for several days.
The fox saw the wolf, came up to him to say hello and asked:
- How are you, buddy?
- It couldn’t be worse! After all, the cattle are kept at home all day long: they are afraid of snowfall and frost, and are not driven out into the steppe. “So I have nothing to profit from,” says the wolf.
And the fox to him:
- What’s more, my affairs are very bad! There’s a gut in my belly that’s trying to swallow a gut... Let’s unite like brothers... Maybe God will help!..
The wolf agreed and they set off together. They walked and walked, and suddenly the fox saw a leopard walking nearby. The fox says to the wolf:
- What do you think, should we make friends with the leopard? I think it will be useful to us in such a fierce winter. You have become old, you need someone to get you food.
- Can you really talk to a leopard? - says the wolf.
- Well, that’s none of your concern!
In short, little by little the fox approached the leopard and greeted him. The leopard let out a menacing roar and asked:
- Hey, crooked face, what do you want?
“This old friend of mine and I have been living next to you all our lives,” says the fox. - By right of good neighborliness, we ask you to take care of us in this harsh winter. Otherwise, we will both die of hunger,” said the fox.
Bars replied:
“If you and your comrade stop being cunning and deceitful, do not harm me and begin to behave according to your conscience, then I agree.” But if you try to talk, you will not escape reprisals. Get what you deserve.
The fox and the wolf promised to obey the leopard unquestioningly in everything. They agreed and all went together. They walked a little and saw an old tree. The fox and the wolf could barely move their legs from hunger, so they asked permission to rest there for a while.
“Okay,” the leopard agreed, “you sit here, and I’ll go hunting and get something to eat.”
The leopard was hiding around the bend in the path. It so happened that an old man rode past on a donkey, and a foal trotted behind them. When they caught up with the ambush, the leopard jumped on the donkey, grabbed it and dragged it into the bushes. The leopard killed the donkey and brought it to his comrades. He gave it to the wolf so that he would skin the donkey and fairly divide the meat among everyone.
The wolf immediately tore the skin off the donkey, put the intestines and some bones on it, wrapped it up and said:
- This is a fox.
Then he put aside the softest and fattest pieces for himself, added some more ferocity, and brought the rest to the leopard and said:
“I’m old, I don’t have teeth, so these soft and fatty pieces with bitterness are for me.” The fox is young, let him eat the tender skin and intestines. And Mr. Leopard, who has worked the most, will deign to receive everything else.
The fox was very dissatisfied with such a clever division, but noticed that the leopard was even more dissatisfied. She winked at him and began to cry and say:
- I didn’t get anything, I’m completely hungry... The wolf unfairly divided it!
The leopard was just waiting for such a complaint and barked at the wolf:
- There was no such agreement! After all, we decided to act honestly, fairly, not to cheat, not to be cunning!
The wolf agreed and vowed never to do that again.
By evening they reached a source with clean, clear water. The fox says to the wolf and leopard:
- Let's, brothers, spend the night near this beautiful spring, and have dinner here.
Leopard agreed, said goodbye to his comrades and went to get food for dinner. He approached the gorge and saw: a herd of sheep was grazing, and the shepherd was sleeping, covered with a felt bedding. With one leap, the leopard found himself near the herd, grabbed the fattest lamb, returned to his comrades, gave the prey to the wolf and ordered it to be divided. And the wolf again divided everything exactly as the first time. The leopard and the fox did not like this, but the fox did not say anything, only pushed the leopard so that he would threaten the wolf again. The wolf again vowed not to cheat and to act fairly.
The next morning they went further and found themselves near a pond. The wolf was old and tired quickly, so he said:
“It would be nice for us to stop here and have lunch.” The leopard and the fox agreed, the leopard went off to hunt and returned with a big fat sheep, giving it to the wolf to divide. The wolf skinned the sheep and divided everything in the same way as before. The leopard got angry, grabbed the wolf by the scruff of the neck and threw him into the water so that he plunged headlong into the mud, only his tail sticking out. The wolf choked and died. The fox saw what the matter was and was frightened, so that her fur stood on end. And the leopard says to her:
- Share the meat and tail of this sheep. The cautious fox added a leg of lamb to the fat tail and pulp that the wolf had set aside for himself, and she
began to work on the skin and guts. The leopard looked and asked:
- Why did you give all the best pieces to me, and took the worst for yourself?
And the fox responded:
- Yes, looking closely at the wolf’s tail, even this piece looks like a fat tail to me!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru