The fox saw a burbot on the bank of the river. The burbot lay by the stone and did not move. The fox said:
- Burbot, they say you can’t run? Are you lying down or sleeping?
“No, fox, I can run as well as you,” answered the burbot.
- However, you are bragging. Let's run to the upper reaches of the river, then you will see that I will get ahead of you. Burbot agreed. The fox said:
“When we run, I will stop at every cape and call out to you, and you answer me, so that I know where you are staying.”
“Okay,” said the burbot. “Let’s run!”
We agreed and ran. The fox ran along the shore, and the burbot ran along the river near the riffle. The noise can be heard all around the taiga.
The fox wanted to outsmart the burbot. She knew that this river was very winding, but she did not know that from the mouth to the top almost only burbots lived in it. To get ahead of the burbot, she left the winding shore and ran straight across the cape. I wanted to cheat.
The burbot went not far up the river. He ran to his neighbor and asked him to tell his neighbors upstream about the dispute with the fox. He told all the burbots to tell them to answer the fox’s call: “Burbot, where are you?” - they answered: “I’m here.”
The fox was still running somewhere far away, and the burbots had already agreed among themselves, lay in their places, waiting for her. The fox deceived all the animals - the wolverine, the wolf, and now she thought: “I will deceive the burbot.”
The fox ran out onto the cape and shouted:
- Burbot, where are you?
- Here! - answered the burbot, lying higher up the river.
The fox ran straight through the taiga again. She ran out to the cape.
- Burbot, where are you?
- I'm here!
Again the burbot was ahead. The fox ran even faster. But wherever she goes out onto the river, from whatever cape she calls out: “Burbot, where are you?” - everywhere she hears the voice of the burbot ahead of her.
The fox did not give up. She chose an even shorter path and ran with all her might to the upper reaches of the river. And the river is still noisy. He runs up and thinks: “Now I’ll be in front.”
- Burbot, where are you? - the fox shouted. And the burbot answers her, lying on its side:
- I'm here, fox! How long have you been running?
Since then, the fox has been nicknamed the braggart, and the river - Burbot.
The fox will deceive everyone, he will deceive any animal, but she cannot deceive the burbot.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru