It so happened that a little foamy sowed a field with beans... How did you sow it, you ask? Yes, just like everyone else. Then he called his friends...
Why did you convene, you ask? I’ll tell you everything now, listen:
First the foam crawled towards the bull.
“Tell me, brother bull,” he says, “what do people feed you?” Grass and straw? I will feed you enough bean pods, just plow my field.
The bull agreed and plowed the field as soon as he had an hour or two. From the bull he went to the village shepherd (this shepherd lived nearby). He began to ask the shepherd:
- Do me a favor, uncle, bring me some water to the field, water my beans when they come up...
The shepherd also agreed. Then he called all his relatives, all his sisters and brothers, sons and grandsons, nephews and nieces - he had a big family! - and ordered everyone to bring one grain to the field. Work has begun here: the bull plows the field, the foam beans are planted, the shepherd carries water. After three months the beans ripened. And how well they turned out! I began to think wildly about how to harvest the crop as quickly as possible, otherwise if I was a little late, the birds would peck it all off or the worms would eat it all. The foam family crawled across the field day and night, guarding the harvest.
There was a big road nearby. One day a king was riding along this road in a palanquin, followed by soldiers and servants. The king saw a bean field growing green not far away.
-Whose field is this? - asks. “I haven’t seen such a harvest in my fields either.”
And the shepherd (he was driving his flock along the road) answers:
- This field, the great king, sowed foam. He also grew crops.
The king laughed:
- What?! What kind of foam is this? How is it possible to sow a field? Is it his business? It’s not just about letting such an insect into the field, but catching it with a comb and snapping it with your fingernail – and that’s it!
I heard these words and became very angry.
“You’re stupid,” he says, “tsar, stupid!” Do you really know what work is? Have you worked hard in your life? Such a king should not be carried in a palanquin, but thrown into a ditch and trampled under foot - and that’s all!
At this point the king became completely angry:
- What is this? The little foam dares to insult me, the king? Hey, warriors, hey, my faithful servants, trample his entire field now!
The soldiers and servants ran and trampled the field. The king has left. The brothers picked up the foamy bean pods, husked them, threw away the husks, and piled the grains in a heap. And our foam began to get ready for the journey; I decided to teach the king a lesson. I took a few bean seeds with me and crawled along the road. He met a scorpio:
-Where are you crawling, little brother?
“Let’s crawl together, I’ll give you a bean,” replies the foam. He gave the scorpion a foam grain and the two of them crawled away. They crawled a little and saw a snake basking in the sun.
-Where are you crawling, brothers?
“If you want, crawl with us, sister, we’ll give you a bean.” The snake took a bean seed and the three of them crawled on. A tiger meets them.
- Ah, foam! Hello buddy! Where are you going?
“I want to see how our king lives and try to see if his blood tastes good.” Maybe you are with us, uncle tiger?
“Why not,” the tiger answers. – It’s my great pleasure.
By nightfall, all four came to the royal palace and climbed into the inner chambers. The king had been asleep for a long time. Penu left the tiger at the door, and he crawled into the room with the snake and scorpion. The snake hid in the corner where the king had a stick, the scorpion hid in a wall niche - there the king’s comb lay. And the foam crawled into the king’s beard and began to bite him on the chin. The king's beard itched, he woke up, put his hand into a niche - to take a comb, and in the niche there was a scorpion - he grabbed his finger! The king jumped up, rushed to the corner for a stick to kill the scorpion, and there the snake curled up into a ball and hissed ominously. The king shouted in a wild voice - and towards the door, and at the door a tiger was waiting for him. He jumped onto the king's chest and tore him into pieces. No one felt sorry for the stupid and cruel king, all the people only rejoiced.
That's what a little foam can do!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru