Once the gentleman was getting ready for a long journey. He got into a carriage drawn by a pair of horses, took the coachman Gritska with him and drove off.
They drive and drive - not a tavern, not a hut, not a person on the road. I'm bored, sir. Gritsko sings songs, Gritsko shouts at the horses, but the master is silent. It’s not proper for him, you see, to talk to a simple peasant.
Well, they drove and drove, were silent and silent, and the gentleman became sick of boredom. And just then a hare jumped out of the forest. So the gentleman started the conversation:
- Have you seen a hare, Gritsko? - Hey. - Is the hare good, Gritsko? - Uh-huh. - Well, you say so! Is this really a hare?! There are hares in my forest, hares! Yes, there are so many of them! I brought them from abroad for brood. Can you smell it? - Wow. - So, I brought them from abroad, and they multiplied like poppies in a poppy. I once got ready to go hunting and took ten beaters with me. They started chasing hares at me: one, another, tenth, hundreds, thousands. .. Can you hear it, Gritsko? - Ege. - Well, they are driving, but I just “bang!”, “bang!”. I filled about five dozen of them. Don’t you believe me? - Why don’t I believe you? Happens. They're going again. They are silent again.
“Gritsko, and Gritsko,” says the sir, “I killed one hare so big - well, like a ram.” When they skinned it and began to melt the lard, they drowned half a pound. These are the kind of rabbits I have! - It happens... - Yes, perhaps they drowned a pound.
Gritsko listened and listened, and then shouted to the horses: “But-oh-oh, dears, soon that bridge that breaks under the lies!” The gentleman heard and said: “Look, Gritsko, what kind of hares there are... True, there wasn’t half a pound in it, but they still drowned ten pounds.” The gentleman in the carriage fidgets: “And what, Gritsko, will that bridge soon be what you said?” “Yes, soon, gentleman.” “You know, Gritsko, perhaps there wasn’t even ten pounds of fat on that hare.” So, three or four pounds. - What do I need? Let it be so. . . We drove a little more. - So, Gritsko, will that bridge be there soon? - Yes, soon, sir. We'll just go down to the valley. - Wait, Gritsko, don't rush the horses. They are tired. You know, that little bunny wasn’t fat at all, just a little bit. “Well, God bless him.” . . Here is the valley, sir. - Um, you know, Gritsko, what the hell was that hare! Skin and bones. There wasn't a lick of fat on it. Quite a lousy little bunny. He didn’t even grow enough meat. “It is known,” says Gritsko, “a hare is a hare.” We went down into the valley, and the lord asked: “And where, Gritsko, is that bridge?” And it, sir, melted, like that hare’s fat you were talking about.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru