Whether it was or not is difficult to say. On the edge of the forest near an old tree lived two friends - a grasshopper and an ant. They knew every blade of grass, every leaf, every hole around them. They knew a path that passed by the tree. They often went out onto the path and looked into the distance, at the blue mountains. And they wanted to move further away from the tree, to see where the path led, to find out what was around. They thought about this for a long time and then one day they got up early and hit the road. They walked and walked, and a pond appeared on their way. Not that it’s very big—a sparrow could drain it—but it’s impossible to get around. We need to jump over.
- Jump, ant! - said the grasshopper.
- Jump! - answered the ant.
- No, you jump first! — the grasshopper stood his ground.
The ant jumped and fell into the water, but could not get out. He begged in a thin voice:
- Grasshopper, find a wild boar in the forest, ask him for a bristle and help me get out of the water.
I found a wild boar grasshopper and asked:
- Give me the bristles, please. I will use it to pull my friend the ant out of the water, and we will return home.
“Okay,” the boar grunted, “but bring me an acorn first.”
The grasshopper jumped towards the oak tree.
- Oak, oak, please give me an acorn. I’ll take it to the boar, he’ll give me a bristle, I’ll pull my friend the ant out of the water with it, and we’ll return home.
“I’ll give you an acorn,” the oak tree rustled its leaves, “but tell the wood pigeon not to land on me.”
The grasshopper hurried to the forest pigeon.
- Swift-winged dove, don’t sit on the oak tree: then the oak tree will give me an acorn, I’ll take the acorn to the wild boar, the boar will give me a bristle, I’ll pull my friend the ant out of the water with it, and we’ll return home.
“Let it be your way,” said the wood pigeon, “I won’t sit on the oak tree, but first ask me for a handful of corn from the sapetka (the sapetka is made of twigs and is used for storing corn on the cob).
The grasshopper jumped to the sapette.
- Sapetka, Sapetka, do me a favor, give me a handful of corn: I will take the corn to the wood pigeon, the dove will not sit on the oak, and the oak tree will give me an acorn, I will take the acorn to the wild boar, the boar will give me a bristle, with this bristle I will pull my friend the ant out of the water, and we will return home.
“I’ll give you a handful of corn,” answered the Sapetka, “but you also do me a favor: tell the mice not to climb here for grain.”
The grasshopper jumped towards the mice.
- Little mice, dear ones, don’t climb into the sapetka: the sapetka will give me a handful of corn, I will take the corn to the wood pigeon, the dove will not sit on the oak tree, but the oak tree will give me an acorn, I will give the acorn to the wild boar, the boar will give me a bristle, with this bristle I will pull my friend the ant out of the water, and we will return home.
“Have it your way,” said the mice, “but first tell the cat not to touch us.”
The grasshopper found the cat.
- Cat, cat, please don’t touch the mice: the mice will not climb into the sap, the sap will give me a handful of corn, I will give the corn to the wood pigeon, the dove will not sit on the oak, and the oak will give me an acorn, I will take the acorn to the boar, the boar will give me a bristle, with this bristle I will pull my friend the ant out of the water, and we will return home.
“Okay,” said the cat, “but first ask the cow for milk for me.”
The grasshopper found a cow.
- Good little cow, give me a bowl of milk: I will take it to the cat, and the cat will not touch the mice, the mice will not climb into the sapetka, the sapetka will give me a handful of corn, I will give the corn to the wood pigeon, the pigeon will not sit on the oak tree, the oak tree will give me an acorn, I will take the acorn to the wild boar, the boar will give me a bristle, I will use this bristle I’ll pull my friend the ant out of the water, and we’ll return home.
“There will be milk for you,” the cow mooed, “but first ask the mower for an armful of hay for me.”
The grasshopper galloped into the meadow where the mower was baling hay.
- Mower, dear, give me an armful of hay: I’ll take the hay to the cow, the cow will give me a bowl of milk, I’ll give the milk to the cat, the cat won’t touch the mice, the mice won’t climb into the hay, the hay will give me a handful of corn, I’ll take the corn to the wood pigeon, the dove won’t land on the oak, the oak will give me an acorn, I’ll take the acorn to the wild one to the boar, the boar will give me a bristle, with this bristle I will pull my friend the ant out of the water, and we will return home.
“I don’t mind the hay, take as much as you want,” the mower answered, “but first go to my wife, bring me a warm flatbread.”
The grasshopper hurried to the mower's wife.
- Aunt, give me a flatbread: I’ll take the flatbread to the mower, the mower will give me an armful of hay, I’ll give the hay to the cow, the cow will give me a bowl of milk, I’ll give the milk to the cat, the cat won’t touch the mice, the mice won’t climb into the sapka, the saplet will give me a handful of corn, I’ll give the corn to the wood pigeon, the dove won’t sit on the oak, the oak will give me acorn, I will take the acorn to the wild boar, the boar will give me a bristle, with this bristle I will pull my friend the ant out of the water, and we will return home.
The kind woman raked the ash in the stove, took out the crispest flatbread, sprinkled it with salt and handed it to the grasshopper. The grasshopper took it to the mower. The mower gave him an armful of hay. The grasshopper took the hay to the cow. The cow gave him a bowl of milk. The grasshopper gave the milk to the cat. The cat promised not to touch the mice. The mice promised not to climb into the carpet. Sapetka gave the grasshopper a handful of corn. He took the corn to the pigeon. The dove promised not to land on the oak tree. The oak tree gave the grasshopper an acorn. He took the acorn to the wild boar. The boar gave the grasshopper a bristle.
The grasshopper galloped towards the ant, handed it a bristle and pulled the ant out of the water. Safe and sound, the friends returned home.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru