A greedy wolf has entered the herd. Every day he carried away several sheep. But this was not enough for him, and he visited the chicken coop.
A clever and cunning fox lived nearby. He ate chickens. Because of the wolf eating chickens, the fox often had to go hungry. Once the fox waylaid the wolf and said:
- Father Wolf, all the sheep in the village belong to you, every day you take away two sheep, so this is not enough for you, you also take our share - the chickens.
“Grandfather of foxes,” the wolf answers, “how dare you talk to me in such a tone?” I do what I want. I want to eat you too.
“Father wolf,” says the fox, “you are stronger and can eat me.” But I’m not a fool either. I am a fox and I can nail your tongue to the wall and do whatever I want to you.
“Fox, I would eat you now, but I’m not hungry,” the wolf got angry. “I wonder how you, such a weak beast, can do this to me?”
- Father Wolf, strength is not the main thing. What is more important is intelligence and dexterity. “But you don’t have that,” answered the fox.
“Grandfather of the foxes,” the wolf laughed, “do what you want.”
“I’m busy today,” said the fox. - We'll talk tomorrow.
The wolf and the fox went in different directions. Until the morning the fox did not sleep a wink - he was thinking about how to punish the wolf. Early in the morning he went out to the crossroads, took an awl and a needle, and began to sew charikhs.
A wolf passing by stopped.
- What are you doing, grandfather fox?
“Don’t you see, I’m sewing charyhi,” answered the fox.
- Won't you teach me too? - asked the wolf.
“Why not teach,” agreed the fox. “But you’ll have to suffer a little.”
“I’ll suffer, I’ll be patient, just teach me,” says the wolf.
“Stick out your tongue and put it on this stump,” the fox suggested, “I’ll stick an awl into your tongue.” Just be patient a little. Then you will learn how to sew charykhs.
The wolf, believing the fox, stuck out his tongue and laid it on the stump. The fox forcefully stuck an awl into the wolf's tongue and nailed it to the stump. The wolf began to yell, and the fox quickly reeled in his fishing rods. The wolf fought until the evening and finally freed his tongue, cut into strips. That night the wolf could not sleep from pain. The next morning he went to look for the fox and found him at the mill. The fox sat over the mill wheel and looked down. “Grandfather of the fox,” said the wolf, “yesterday you played this cruel joke on me, but at least I can already sew charikhs?”
“Of course you can,” answered the fox. - What are you doing here? - asks the wolf.
“Yes, I had a piece of raw meat, I wanted to sew myself a charykha, I decided to wet the skin, and the water pulled it under the wheel,” the fox answers.
“Grandfather of the foxes, give me this skin, I’ll try to sew myself some charykhas,” the wolf asks.
And that’s all the fox needs.
“Well, well, Father Wolf, get under the wheel, take out the skin and it will become yours,” he answers. The wolf threw himself under the wheel for raw meat and broke all his bones.
Meanwhile, the fox returned to the forest, cut twigs and sat down by the side of the road to weave a basket. Soon a hobbling wolf appeared on the road. He sees a fox sitting and weaving a basket.
The fox, seeing the wolf, was surprised:
- Father Wolf, why are you limping? Where's the skin?
“I didn’t care about my skin,” the wolf answers. “I got caught on a mill wheel, crushed it half to death, and barely lost my legs.” I can't move. “Then the wolf looked at the fox’s work and said: “Grandfather of the fox, you weave a good basket.”
“If you want, I’ll teach you,” the fox offered.
“Of course I want to,” the wolf was happy.
“Well, then get into the basket,” said the fox, “and watch my work from there, remember.”
The wolf climbed into the basket. The fox wove and weaved and gradually wove the top of the basket. The wolf wants to get out of the basket, but he can’t.
“Grandfather of the foxes, I stayed inside the basket,” says the wolf. - Open it, I'll come out.
“Don’t worry, Father Wolf,” the fox reassures. “I see you’re badly beaten, you can’t walk.” I'll swing the basket, and you sit quietly inside.
The wolf was glad that he would not have to move. The fox rolled the basket and rolled it to the shepherd. - What do you have, fox? - asked the shepherd.
“There’s a wolf in a basket,” the fox answers, “I want to throw him off the cliff.”
“Listen, fox,” says the shepherd, “why do you need to work hard, roll a basket somewhere?” Give the wolf to me, I will deal with it myself. Oh, I'm angry at him. So recently he stole a sheep from the flock.
“Well,” the fox agreed, “feed me, I’ll give you the wolf.”
The shepherd brought the fox half a ram. And the fox gave away his basket. The shepherd played the flute and called all the shepherds. They unraveled the top of the basket and saw a seasoned wolf sitting inside. The shepherds took clubs and beat the wolf to death. The news of this spread throughout the village. And the fox, triumphant, thought: “Well, stupid wolf, what the cunning fox managed to do to you.”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru