One day a tiger, a deer and a hare found a sweet toffee, sat down under a tree and began to decide who would get it. They thought and wondered, and finally decided: let the one who is older than everyone get it.
The deer spoke first:
- When I was born, my fur was black, then it became white-white, now my fur has darkened - you see, it has become completely brown. I don’t even know how old I am—I’ve lost count a long time ago. It can only be that it has already exceeded a hundred.
The tiger heard these words, laughed loudly and, pointing to a century-old oak tree, said:
“And in time immemorial, I sat under this tree with Cheonwan. So I'm much older than you.
But the hare said nothing, only large tears rolled from his eyes. The tiger noticed this and asked why he was crying. The hare wiped away his tears and looked sadly at the old oak tree.
“My grandson planted this tree a long time ago. He is no longer alive, but the tree remains. I saw him, remembered my grandson and could not hold back my tears. Judge for yourself how much younger you both are than my long-dead grandson.
And the happy hare stroked his mustache.
“Listen, hare, it turns out that you are the eldest among us,” the tiger said with annoyance and gave the toffee to him. The hare took it and began to suck it. And then he jumped up and galloped away merrily.
The tiger could not reconcile himself with such a shame and rushed after him - he was about to grab the hare. But the hare was not at all afraid, but only laughed and began to shame the tiger:
- Listen to me, tiger. At one time, your great-grandfather was involved in a mortal sin, and heaven ordered me to kill him. But I begged heaven to have mercy on your distant ancestor. I bowed so low that my front legs became so short. I gave my word to heaven that if your great-grandfather did something wrong again, let them kill me in his place. That's why now I have such short front legs and a stump in the back instead of a tail. And you, ungrateful creature, want to eat me!
The tiger was ashamed and let the hare go. But when he thought that now, because of the hare, he would not be considered the eldest among the animals, he was again overcome with rage. Only now did he realize how cleverly the hare had deceived him, and the tiger chased him again.
The hare stopped and said to the tiger:
- I decided to treat you to fried beans! Go to that grove over there, sit there and close your eyes, and I’ll quickly roast some soybeans for you.
The tiger was glad that he could eat the beans, ran into the grove, sat down there, and closed his eyes. The hare saw how submissively the tiger was sitting with his eyes closed, and he almost burst out laughing. And then he set fire to the grove from all sides. “If this beast doesn’t burn in the fire, then every minute he will tear me into pieces,” the hare was annoyed and, in order to finally get rid of the tiger, he resorted to a trick.
The hare quickly galloped to his home, immediately lit the stove, heaped charcoal into it and threw a handful of white pebbles into it.
Meanwhile, the tiger sits with his eyes closed in a burning grove, hears the crackling of trees and thinks that soybeans are being fried, swallows his saliva and licks his lips. And the fire is getting closer and closer, the crackling is getting stronger.
“Listen, hare,” the tiger shouted impatiently, “how many beans are you roasting there?” Probably a few som1.
They crack too loudly. It seems as if there is a war going on between two kingdoms.
But the hare did not answer. Then the tiger opened his eyes and saw: a sea of fire was approaching him from all sides. He strained himself, jumped, jumped out of the fiery well and immediately rushed to the hare. And the hare is just roasting round white stones.
- You deceived me again! Now I’ll eat you!” the tiger roared.
And the hare looked at the tiger as if nothing had happened:
- Oh, my grandson has arrived! I knew you would come. Here I am frying soybeans for you. The deer has just gone to meet you, but we won’t wait for him, we’ll eat everything together. Just wait, I’ll run to the neighbors and ask them for honey and soy flour. Make sure you don't eat without me!
And the hare jumped out the door.
But the greedy and stupid tiger, looking into the stove, decided:
"While the hare is running for honey and soybean flour, the deer will return. Then I will get less." And, without thinking twice, he pounced on the hot stones and began to swallow them. Only then did I realize that these weren’t beans at all. And he trudged away.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru