Once upon a time there lived a heron not far from the pond. Every day she caught fish, which were found there in abundance. And then one day the heron thought: “If I catch a lot of fish at once, then we’ll eat to our fill.”
Soon after this, the heron came across a large lake. “Now I know what to do,” she thought and immediately flew to her pond.
- Hey, heron, where are you from now? - the fish ask her.
“I have very important news for you,” answered the heron.
The fish were eager to hear what the heron had to say. They gathered around and the heron began:
— I flew far to the south. There I saw a very large lake with clear water. But this is not important - there is other news that is much more important.
“Which one?” the fish asked at once.
- Here's what it is. I come back here and see several people talking about something. I hear one say: “Tomorrow we will close the channel. There are a lot of fish in this pond. Don't forget to bring buckets." I was scared, because the pond they were talking about was our pond. And this means that we will all die: if you die, I will die too.
And then the heron pretended to cry. The Pisces were horrified: what could they think of to save themselves from mortal danger? It was necessary to quickly leave this pond and look for a new home.
The fish elders gathered in the middle of the pond and began to hold council.
“What should we do?” asked one fish.
- Couldn’t the heron help us? - asked another.
They immediately swam up to the heron standing on the shore and said:
“Heron, if everything you said is true, then we all must die.” Would you please advise how we can be saved? We thought and thought about how to get rid of this scourge, but we couldn’t come up with anything. Just don’t forget that we fish cannot, like you, fly from one place to another. We kindly ask you to help us.
The fish raised their heads out of the water and looked hopefully at the heron, expecting help from it. The heron instantly realized that she had managed to deceive them. “Stupid fish, how easy it is to deceive you! “she thought and swallowed her saliva. “Well, now I can eat my fill of you.” And she spoke in a soft, gentle voice:
“Ah, my friends, not only you, but also I am in danger, so we have the same fate.” And for those who are connected by fate, it is better to escape from trouble together. Isn't that right, my friends?
All the fish agreed with her.
“In my opinion, this is the best way to salvation,” the heron continued. “Remember, I told you that there is a huge lake far from here.” There, I think you can all live in peace. Besides, there is more space there, and you will be more at ease than here. Well, are you, friends, ready to go there?
“Of course we are,” answered the fish, “but how will we get to this lake?” We can only swim in water, but cannot walk on land. But of course you know better. Please teach us how to get there.
The heron pretended to be deep in thought.
- My friends fish, this is, of course, a very difficult matter, but I know one simple way.
- Which? Tell us!” the fish began to ask her in unison, swimming even closer to the heron.
And the heron, seeing the fat fish in front of her, could barely restrain herself from pouncing on them, but still overpowered herself and said in an insinuating voice:
“Here’s the way, friends: if you’re not afraid, I can take you to this lake, but, of course, not all of you at once, but one by one.” For example, five or four at a time. However, this requires courage - if you are afraid, then it’s better not to!
The delighted fish agreed, and the heron got to work.
But where did she take the fish? Not to the lake that was to become their new home, but to a large tree. There she went down, sat on a branch and ate them with pleasure. The fish bones fell down, and little by little a whole pile of bones formed under the tree. More and more fish fell into the trap. After all, those who were still waiting for their turn in the pond did not know how their comrades had been deceived. So the heron ate all the fish. There was only one crab left. “If people start looking for fish in the pond, I am in danger of certain death,” he thought and asked the heron to carry him to the lake. The heron picked up the crab and flew away. But the crab was alert and kept an eye on the heron. He knew what an evil heart the heron had - her cunning was known to everyone.
Soon they flew to a large tree, under which lay fish bones. The crab saw a pile of white bones and realized that the heron had deceived the fish that lived in the pond. He became very angry and decided to take revenge on the treacherous heron.
And so, when the heron was not expecting this at all, the crab suddenly squeezed her neck with its claw. The heron got scared and began to ask the crab to unclench his claw, but he squeezed her neck more and more and said:
“This is what always happens to those who deceive their friends.”
The heron wanted to scream, but she couldn’t - it was as if her throat was locked. Unable to bear the pain, she fell to the ground and gave up the ghost.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru