Once upon a time there lived a forester named Gelega. He had a skinny, skinny mare. The forester decided to fatten her up and let her go to the edge of the forest, where lush grass grew. Days passed, but the mare not only did not recover, but, on the contrary, became completely emaciated.
“What’s going on with my mare? - Gelega was perplexed. “We should keep an eye on her at night.”
So he did - he climbed a tree and waited.
At midnight a wolf, a boar, a fox and a bear jumped out of the forest. They grabbed the mare and took turns riding her. They drove the poor cattle all night. Only at dawn the animals released the mare and were about to leave, but then Gelega jumped from the tree, caught all four and began to beat them to death. The animals prayed and began to ask for mercy.
“I’ll bring you a herd of the fattest sheep!” - the wolf whined.
- And I’ll dig up your garden! - the boar whined.
“I’ll show you a hollow full of honey!” - the bear promised.
The forester believed them and released everyone except the fox.
“I heard that foxes are ungrateful,” said Gelega and wanted to kill her.
“Let me go too,” the fox begged. “I have almost no meat on me, my skin has peeled off long ago, what’s the use of me!” But in difficult times, I will help you more than anyone.
Gelega thought and thought and let the fox go.
The next day the wolf drove the promised herd, the boar loosened the ground with its tusks. Then the bear came and called the forester into the forest for honey. The forester put the ax in his belt, took a large wineskin and walked away. In the thicket, the bear stopped and said: “And now I’ll kill you!”
- Of course! - Gelega shouted. “We agreed!” But at this time a voice was heard:
- Gelega! Gelega!
- Who is this? - asked the forester.
- It’s me, the Khan’s nuker. Khan is getting married and needs a bearskin. Have you seen a bear?
The bear got scared and whispered:
- For the sake of Allah, say that you didn’t see it.
“I didn’t see it,” answered Gelega.
- What is this standing in front of you?
“Tell me it’s a stump,” asked the bear.
“It’s a stump,” answered Gelega.
- Where have you seen a tree stump have ears?
“Tell me it’s a twig,” prompted the bear.
“It’s a bitch,” Gelega answered.
“Hit with all your might between the branches,” the unknown man said again.
“Don’t hit him too hard, just touch your forehead with the ax,” the bear whispered.
“Okay,” said the forester and with a strong blow he crushed the bear’s skull.
“Well, I returned the favor to you,” the fox said, coming out of the bushes, and Gelega recognized the voice of the unknown person.
Since then, the forester and the fox are such friends that you can’t spill water on them.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru