The crow saw the lamb and cried:
- I'll eat you!
“No, you can’t eat me,” the lamb answered the crow, “your beak is rotten.” You eat carrion with them, but I am alive. Fly to the river, wash your beak, and then eat me.
A crow flew to the river and wanted to rinse its beak, and the river said:
“I won’t allow you to rinse your filthy hawse in my clean water.” You peck carrion, but the living drink my water. Take a jug from the potter, scoop up some water and rinse your beak.
The crow flew to the potter:
“Give me a jug, potter, I will draw water from the river, rinse my beak and eat the lamb.”
“I don’t have clay,” answered the potter. “Bring me some clay and I’ll make you a jug.”
The crow flew to the hill from which the clay is taken and asked:
- Give me some clay, hill! The potter will make a jug, I will draw water from the river, rinse my beak and eat the lamb.
The hill from which the clay is taken said:
- Ask the gazelle for horns, dig up clay with the horns and take it to the potter. The crow flew towards the gazelle:
- Give me your horns, gazelle! I will dig up some clay, take it to the potter, the potter will make a jug out of the clay, I will draw water from the river, rinse my beak and eat the lamb.
Gazelle said:
- Bring the hound dog and let it chase me. As I run, I'll hit the tree with my horns. My horns will fall off, then take them and dig into the clay.
The crow flew to the hound:
- Hound, chase the gazelle! She will run away and knock her horns off the tree. Then I will dig up clay with my horns, the potter will make a jug from the clay, I will draw water from the river, rinse my beak and eat the lamb.
“Go to the cow, ask for milk for me, I’ll drink the milk, then I’ll chase the gazelle,” said the hound.
The crow flew to the cow:
- Give me some hound milk, cow! She will chase the gazelle, the gazelle will knock its horns off a tree, I will dig up clay with the horns, the potter will make a jug from the clay, I will scoop up water from the river with it, rinse my beak and eat the lamb.
The cow said:
“Bring me some herbs, I’ll eat, then I’ll have milk.”
The crow flew to the lake, around which thick grass grew, and asked:
- Give, lake, some grass to the cow! The cow will give the hound milk, the hound will chase the gazelle, the gazelle will knock its horns against a tree, I will dig up clay with it, the potter will make a jug from the clay, I will scoop up water from the river, rinse my beak and eat the lamb.
Lake said:
— A blacksmith lives on the edge of the city. Ask him to make a sickle - you will cut the herbs and give it to the cow.
A crow flew to the blacksmith:
- Make me a sickle, blacksmith! I will harvest the grass, the cow will eat it and give milk, the hound will drink the milk and chase the gazelle, the gazelle will knock its horns against the tree at a run, I will dig up clay with it, the potter will make a kushina from the clay, I will scoop up water from the river, rinse my beak and eat the lamb.
The blacksmith said:
- Fly to the mountain, ask it for black coal. I will fan the fire in the forge and make you a sickle, thin as the wing of a fly.
The crow flew to the mountain:
- Mountain, give the blacksmith some black coal! The blacksmith will make a sickle, I will cut grass with a sickle, the cow will eat it and give milk, the hound will drink the milk and chase the gazelle, the gazelle will knock its horns against a tree, I will dig up clay with my horns, the potter will make a jug from the clay, I will scoop up water from the river, rinse my beak and eat the lamb.
“Take as much coal as you want,” said the mountain. The crow brought coal to the blacksmith.
The blacksmith took the coal. He made a sickle for the crow, as thin as a fly's wing. The crow hung a sickle on its right wing and wanted to fly. She just flapped her wings and suddenly swayed to the side - a sharp sickle cut off her right wing.
The crow hung the sickle on its other wing. He cut off her sickle and left wing.
The crow with its wings cut off could no longer fly, it could only jump.
The crow jumped and jumped, but could not catch the lamb. The crow never managed to eat the live lamb.
And now he has grown up and become a big ram.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru