Once the Wolf and the Fox were wandering through the forest and came across someone’s house. For a long time they wondered who lived here, and then they noticed a Monkey on a tree and asked:
- Tell me, Monkey, who lives in such a beautiful house?
“The Hare lives,” answers the Monkey. “He just ran to the garden to get some carrots.”
The animals climbed into the Hare's house and let the Monkey in.
“We will go hunting, and you will look after the house,” said the Wolf to the Monkey.
The Hare returned home, just wanted to open the door - suddenly he heard animal voices.
“I’m kind of hungry,” says the Wolf.
“Nothing,” Lisa yelps. - Now the Hare will come, we will eat him.
Any other Hare would have died of fear after hearing such a conversation, but this Hare was brave and smart. He hid his carrot under the threshold, opened the door wide and entered his house.
The Wolf saw the Hare and clicked his teeth out of greed. The Hare bowed to everyone and said:
- It would be nice to eat properly now!
“That would be nice,” says the Wolf, and his eyes are burning. He's about to pounce on the Hare.
“If you want, I’ll feed you all enough today,” the Hare offered.
- What will you feed us? - asks the Wolf, baring his fangs. - Isn't it a carrot?
- What are you, what are you! - the Hare laughed. “I know very well that wolves do not tolerate carrots.” Listen! Today at noon the venerable lama returns to the monastery along a forest path. This lama read prayers from the emperor himself and received from him as a reward one bag of things, another of food. All we have to do is take the bag of food away from him and we’ll have a great meal.
- Stupid Hare! - the Wolf got angry. “Can we take a bag away from a person?!”
“I’ll make the lama throw the bag on the ground himself.” Only then don’t yawn. Immediately grab the loot and drag it here!
The Hare, Wolf, Fox and Monkey went to the forest path, hid in the bushes, waiting for the llama to appear. And the Wolf looks at the path with one eye, and with the other at the Hare. He really wants to try some fresh hare meat.
Suddenly all the animals saw a llama on the path. In each hand he held a huge bag.
The hare jumped out from behind the bushes and began to fuss around the llama.
The Lama began to chase the Hare. And the Hare runs around and is about to get caught. The monk, out of greed, forgot about everything: he really wanted to catch a living Hare. And the Hare climbs right into his hands, but the Lama’s hands are busy: in each there is a heavy bag.
The lama could not stand it, threw the bags on the ground, took off his robe and lightly chased the Hare.
The Hare jumped to the side, and the Lama followed him; The Hare rushed into the clearing, and the Lama followed him. The lama tripped over some stump and stretched out on the grass. And the Hare saw that the animals had already stolen both bags and a robe, and he set off home. The lama jumped to his feet - there was no trace left of the Hare.
The Hare came running home, and the Fox was just untying the first bag. In the bag are huge leather boots, new trousers, rosary beads and a drum.
“Well, this bag is not interesting,” says the Wolf. - Let's see what's in the other bag. And the Hare says:
“A bag of food won’t go anywhere from us.” Now this is what you need to do: you, Wolf, put on your boots and step into the herd of sheep. The sheep will see you in boots and will think that the shepherd has come. And you drive the whole herd into the forest, and then you will have a holiday all year round.
- What should I do? - asks the Monkey.
- And you, Monkey, put on your pants and go to the nearby garden. Everyone will think that you are a person, and you will be able to pick yourself as many apricots, peaches and pears as you want. Then you will have a holiday all year round.
- What is this? - exclaimed the Fox. - Everyone will have a holiday all year round, and I will sit hungry?!
“And you won’t be offended,” said the Hare. - Put on a robe, take a rosary and a drum, go to the neighboring village. When you come to the village, beat the drum! When people come running in response to the noise, you finger your rosary and mutter something under your breath. Everyone will take you for a holy lama and start giving you hens, chicks, ducks. Then you will be able to enjoy it all year round.
- What a smart Hare! - shouted the Wolf. - It’s good that I didn’t have time to eat it!
- Wonderful Hare! - supported the Monkey. - How well he came up with everything!
— This is the first time I’ve met such a cunning Hare! - Lisa agreed with her friends.
And all three did as the Hare said.
And then this happened.
The Wolf pulled on his boots and climbed into the flock of sheep. They smelled the wolf scent of the dog and barked angrily. The Wolf started to run, and the dogs followed him. The Wolf runs and stumbles - his boots get in the way. And the dogs are getting closer and closer - they are about to pounce. The Wolf guessed to take off his boots. That's the only way he was saved. Even though his skin was torn, he still escaped alive.
Meanwhile, the monkey pulled up his pants, made his way into the orchard and climbed a pear tree. Slowly, she picked pear after pear and threw it down.
Suddenly she heard a boy’s voice nearby:
- Monkey in the tree! Monkey in the tree! - one boy shouted.
- Catch her! - shouted another. - Catch it! In horror, the Monkey began to descend from the tree, but her pants kept clinging to the branches, and she could not jump to the ground. When she finally found herself on the ground, the boys were very close. One of them poked her with a stick, another threw a stone at her, and the third was about to throw a rope noose.
The monkey rushed towards the forest. But she couldn’t run fast: her pants caught on trees and bushes, and she kept falling to the ground. The boys, not lagging behind, were hot on her heels.
Beaten, barely alive from fear, the Monkey barely escaped captivity.
And this is what happened to Lisa at that time:
She put on a robe, grabbed her rosary, took a drum and went to the neighboring village. There she stopped in the middle of the street and began beating a drum.
People heard the noise and started running. And Lisa is fingering her rosary and muttering something under her breath.
People saw the Fox and began to shout:
- Stop the thief! Hold the red one!
The Fox ran away, but can you really run far in a robe? The robe gets tangled under your feet and prevents you from running. And then there are rosary beads clinging to every bush. Lisa had to throw off her robe, throw away her rosary and save her skin.
And then, not far from the hare’s house, the Wolf, the Fox and the Monkey met again. They told each other about their misadventures and guessed that the Hare had deliberately invented all this in order to destroy them.
- Necessary. I should have eaten it right away! - the Wolf growled. - Now I’ll deal with him!
With these words, the Wolf rushed to the Hare's house. And the Fox and the Monkey ran after him.
They burst into the house, and the Hare lies on the floor and moans:
- Oh, how happy you are that you didn’t try anything from the llama’s bag! This llama is an evil wizard. Anyone who touches his food will surely experience misfortune. So I ate one peach from his bag and now I’m dying. Farewell!
The Hare said this, closed his eyes and moaned pitifully again.
The animals believed the Hare. They scolded the lama all day, and in the evening they went to bed hungry.
In the morning the animals got up and looked - there was no Hare. And there is no bag of food either.
The animals guessed that the Hare had deceived them again. They rushed after him, scoured and scoured, and suddenly they saw: their Hare was sitting on the top of the mountain and weaving a large basket.
- Well, now you can’t escape from us! - shouted the Wolf. - Now we will deal with you!
The hare looked at the animals and said:
“You must have confused me with some other Hare.” I'm seeing you all for the first time.
“Wasn’t it the lama who was chasing you yesterday?”
- What are you, what are you! I didn’t come down from this mountain for a whole week. I weave a basket all the time. You were probably deceived by the Hare who recently ran into the valley with a sack.
- It's him! It's him! - the animals were happy.
“It will be difficult for you to catch him,” said the Hare. - This deceiver runs very fast. But of course I know how to catch him!
- Help us, please! - the Fox, Wolf and Monkey began to ask.
“Okay, if that’s what you ask, I’ll help you,” the Hare relented. - Your enemy runs into the valley along the path, and you sit in the basket. I will lower you on a rope in a moment, and you will find yourself in the valley before him. Just a warning: it snowed in the valley today and it’s very cold there.
- We are not afraid of frost! - shouted the Wolf. - Take us down!
The Wolf, Fox and Monkey climbed into the basket. The hare covered them with a lid, tied the basket tightly with a rope and pushed it from the top of the mountain.
The basket flies down the mountain, hitting rocks, trees, and ledges. The Wolf howled in pain, the Monkey screamed, the Fox yelped, and the basket kept rushing and rushing.
She reached a snowy valley and stopped. The animals wanted to get out, but that was not the case: the basket was tied with strong ropes. They fought and fought, and finally the Wolf gnawed a hole in the basket and they all got out into freedom.
The animals rushed to look for the deceiver, ran a little - they saw a Hare sitting on the ice and warming itself by the fire.
- But it was he who threw us off the mountain! - Lisa shouted.
- Of course he is! - the Monkey squealed.
- Now he's finished! - the Wolf barked.
The animals ran up to the Hare; he stared at them and said: “Hello, honorable gentlemen.” Never before have I received such distinguished guests in our valley!
- Okay, okay! - shouted the Wolf. “You won’t deceive us again.” Didn't you live with us? Weren't you the one who stole the lama's bag? Wasn't it you who pushed us in a basket from the top of the mountain?
- Oh, that's it! - exclaimed the Hare. - Understand! You were deceived by a Hare who looks like me. I can tell you that recently a Hare galloped here from the mountain and hid behind that rock. This is probably your deceiver!
- Let's run to the rock! - the Monkey shouted.
- Quiet! - the Hare shushed her. - If the deceiver hears your voices, he will immediately run away. Today at dawn he will come to this fire to warm himself. Sit quietly by the fire and don’t move. Once this Hare hears a suspicious rustle, he will disappear from our area forever.
The animals sat down around the fire and began to silently wait for dawn. The hare threw brushwood into the fire, and the fire burned so hot that the ice on which the animals were sitting melted. And although it was very unpleasant for the Wolf, the Monkey and the Fox to sit in the cold water, they did not even dare to move, because they were afraid that their enemy would hear the noise and run away.
Soon the fire began to burn more quietly, the fire became smaller and smaller, so that the Monkey began to tremble from the cold.
Then the Hare said:
“I’ll go look for firewood, and you sit silently and don’t move.”
The Hare said so and left.
An hour passed, two, three, and the Hare still did not return.
Finally, when it was completely dawn, the Fox guessed that the same Hare who had been deceiving them all the time was sitting by the fire.
- Will he really leave us?! - the Wolf howled angrily. - Let's catch up with him and tear him to pieces!
But when the animals wanted to jump up from the ice, it turned out that their tails were firmly frozen to the ice.
- What if the Hare ran after the hunters! - Lisa was alarmed. - Well, it is! I think I hear human voices and dogs barking!
In fear, the animals rushed with such force that all three were left without tails. They rushed along the valley and had almost reached the forest when suddenly they saw their enemy again. The hare was sitting on the well and carefully looking into the water.
- Well, now you're dead! - the Wolf shouted, running up.
- Now you won’t fool us! - said Lisa.
- Why are you scolding? - the Hare was indignant. - Don't you know that I caught your deceiver? I drove him into this well and now I’m guarding him so that he doesn’t run away.
The Wolf looked into the well, saw in the water the reflection of the Hare who was sitting on the well, and shouted joyfully:
- Indeed, he is here! Now it's over!
And the Hare sits on the well and says:
- You alone, Wolf, cannot catch him. He's very cunning. You all need to rush at this Hare. As soon as I say “three!” - immediately rush at the deceiver.
And, raising his paw up. The hare shouted loudly:
- One, two, three!
On the count of “three,” the Wolf, the Fox and the Monkey threw themselves headfirst into a deep well and, of course, drowned in it.
And the Hare, as if nothing had happened, went to his home to finish eating the hidden carrots.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru