A fox was running through the threshing floor. He sees the ears lying around and disappearing. I thought: “These ears of corn will bring me good.” She sat down and began to gather ears of grain: she tied up a whole sheaf, grabbed it under her arm and went.
Night found her on the way. A fox came up to one house and shouted: “Won’t you let me in?” “Let’s let him in!” - they answered. The fox gave her sheaf and said: - Take it to the chicken coop.
They took Lisitsyn’s sheaf and took it to the chicken coop, only laying it down so that the chickens wouldn’t peck it out. At midnight, when everyone was sleeping, the little fox got up, entered the chicken coop, took her sheaf and scattered all the ears of corn near the largest red rooster. The next morning the fox got up and demanded her sheaf back. The owner entered the chicken coop and brought out empty ears of corn to the fox.
The little fox cried: “All I had were these ears of corn, and then your rooster pecked out all the grain.” The owner asked: “What should we do now, little fox, how can we help your grief?” “Either give me the grain, or give me that rooster!”
What should the owner do? He took that rooster and gave it away. The fox took the rooster and went on her way. Whether she walked a lot, or not enough, night found her on the road; A little fox spent the night with a sheep farmer, tied up her rooster and said: “Be careful, don’t kill my rooster, or I’ll take the sheep away.” “Okay,” they told her.
At midnight the little fox got up, took her rooster and hoisted it onto the horns of the fattest sheep. The next morning the fox demands a rooster. “I’m leaving,” he says.
They came in and looked, and the fox rooster was on the horns of the sheep. The little fox cried: “All I had was this rooster.” Every night he woke me up, I was now an orphan!
They gave the fox a sheep and let it go. The little fox was happy, she walked and sang: “I bought a rooster with grain, and a sheep with a rooster.”
I found the fox on the road at night. The fox spent the night with a peasant. She gave him her sheep to keep and said: “Be careful that your bulls don’t gore my sheep, otherwise I’ll take away the bull that touches it.” They took the sheep and tied it away from the bulls. At night the little fox got up, snuck into the barn, took her sheep and hoisted it onto the horns of the largest bull. The next morning she took this bull from its owner and drove it in front of her. The fox runs and rejoices. Night found her again, but no one lets the fox spend the night.
A little fox pestered one widow: “I have a bull, I’m afraid that the wolf might take him away at night, just let me tie him in the stable, and at least I’ll spend the night at the door and watch over my bull.”
At night the fox got up, took a knife, slaughtered her bull, and threw the knife into the pocket of the widow’s daughter, the youngest. The next morning the fox demands his bull: “I have to go!”
Let's go and look - a bull has been killed. The widow was scared. The fox began to cry and said: “Whoever killed my bull, I will take him away.” The widow’s daughters refuse: “We didn’t slaughter your bull!” “Whoever had the knife in the blood, she killed it,” says the fox.
They examined the pockets and found a knife on the younger sister. The fox took her. She sat her down in a wineskin, tied the wineskin on her back, walked and sang:
I bought a rooster with grain, I bought a sheep with a rooster, I bought a bull with a sheep. I took a beauty for a bull!
He walks and sees people plowing in the field. They shouted to the fox: “Rest, little fox, eat with us.” The fox rested. They gave the fox a sieve and said: “Go, we’ll prepare the food, you bring water.” The fox went and poured water into the sieve - just where can it hold the water with the sieve!
While the fox was fiddling with the sieve, the people opened the wineskin, took the girl out, and put a large dog in her place, gave the dog bread so that it would not bark, tied the wineskin and put it in its place. The fox returned and said: “Let me go, I’m leaving.” They released the fox with her waterskin. The fox walks, drags the waterskin with the dog and sings, rejoicing.
The dog ate his bread and began to scratch himself on the dry skin of the waterskin. The fox says: “What do you care about, girl?” If you want, I’ll bring you something to drink, I’ll give you something to drink, if you want to eat, I’ll feed you, but if you want anything else, do it right there, in the wineskin.
The “girl” doesn’t listen to the fox, she scratches and groans. The fox finally dragged the wineskin to her hole. She climbed into the hole, untied the waterskin, a dog jumped out, attacked the fox, tore off all the skin from it, tore it into pieces.
Pestilence there, feast here, screening there, grain here.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru