There were times when Brother Rabbit, Brother Fox, Brother Wolf, and Brother Bear all lived together and did not quarrel. There were times when they all lived like one family. Only one day the Rabbit noticed that he had grown too fat from such a quiet life, and he began to think and wonder what he could do. Day by day he became more and more restless - well, he really couldn’t find a place for himself!
One evening, after dinner, the Rabbit was lying on the grass, scattering his brains this way and that, and suddenly he saw his old friend Turtle.
They greeted each other cordially, sat down on the lawn, started talking, and reminisced about old things. They chatted and chatted, and Rabbit said that it might be nice to have a little fun, like in the old days. And Brother Turtle answered him:
“Brother Rabbit, that’s all I can think about!” It's great that I met you!
- Well, wonderful, brother Turtle! - exclaimed the Rabbit. - Let's call Brother Fox, Brother Wolf and Brother Bear and go fishing in the pond tomorrow evening. There, at the same time, we’ll have our fill of fun. I'll start a conversation, and you know, assent. Will you come?
“If I don’t come, then the Grasshopper carried me away,” Brother Turtle laughed.
“You don’t have to bring the violin with you, I’m not asking you to dance!” - the Rabbit joked in response and with these words he rushed home and immediately went to bed.
And Brother Turtle hurried straight to the pond so as not to be late for the appointed time.
The next morning, the Rabbit let all the neighbors know about the agreement, and they were terribly happy - such a thought had never even occurred to them. Brother Fox immediately announced that he was running after Mother Meadows, Miss Motts and the other girls. (Mother Meadows, Miss Motts and other girls are somewhat mysterious characters in the tales of Brer Rabbit; apparently they serve as a symbol of the ideal African American farm family).
In the evening everyone was gathered. Brother Bear brought a fishing rod with a fishing line and a hook, and Brother Wolf also brought a fishing rod, and Brother Fox came with a net. Brother Turtle, not to be outdone by others, brought worms in a jar. And Mother Meadows and the girls sat at a distance and squealed every time Brother Turtle showed them a jar of worms. Brother Bear said he intended to catch a catfish. Brother Wolf said that he would catch crucian carp. Brother Fox promised to catch some perch for Mother Meadows. Brother Turtle said that he would catch minnows, and Brother Rabbit winked at Brother Turtle and said that he would try to catch a carp.
So they got ready, and the Rabbit was just about to cast the fishing rod, but suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, as if he saw something in the water. Looking at him, the others also hesitated. The rabbit dropped the fishing rod, scratched the back of his head and stared at the water again. Seeing such a thing, the girls became seriously excited, and Mother Meadows shouted:
- Hey, Brother Rabbit, please explain what happened there?
Brer Rabbit didn’t answer, he just scratched the back of his head again, without taking his eyes off the water. Then Miss Motts jumped up, picked up her skirts and began shouting loudly that she was terribly afraid of snakes. But even then the Rabbit did not utter a word, but only scratched the back of his head and looked at the water. Then he took a deep breath and said:
- Ladies and gentlemen! It's probably best to leave here: none of us will catch a single fish here.
As soon as he said this, Brother Turtle crawled to the very shore, looked down and said.
- That's for sure! That's definitely true! And with these words he backed away, sadly shaking his head, as if amazed by what he saw.
“Don’t be alarmed, dear ladies,” continued the Rabbit. - We are nearby and will be able to stand up for you. And what is destined to be will come true. Anything can happen in life. Yes, in essence, nothing special happened. The moon just drowned in the pond. Don't you believe me?! Then go and see with your own eyes.
Then everyone, of course, rushed to the water, looked - and there it was, the moon, swaying at the very bottom! Brother Fox stood and stood and said:
- Yes, yes, yes!
Brother Wolf stood and stood and said:
- What a horror, what a horror, what a horror!
And Brother Bear stood and stood and said:
- Hm, hm, hm!
The ladies also stood and stood, and then Mother Meadows shouted:
- Why is this being done?
And Brother Rabbit looked at the water once more and said:
- Ladies and gentlemen! You can lament here as much as you like, but until we fish the moon out of the pond, we won’t see fish like our ears. Brother Turtle will confirm this to you.
They all began to vying with each other to ask Brother Turtle how they could get the moon out of the pond, but he advised them to rely on Brother Rabbit in everything. And the Rabbit closed his eyes like that, as if pondering what decision to make, and then said:
“Perhaps the best thing would be to run to Uncle Mac, take his net and catch the moon with it.”
- It’s great, Brother Rabbit, that you remembered. about Uncle Mac! - cried Brother Turtle. “He’s close relatives to me.” Surely Uncle Mac will not refuse our request.
Brother Rabbit went to fetch the net, and in the meantime Brother Turtle began to explain to everyone that the one who sees the moon in the water and catches it, together with the moon, will get a pot of gold from the bottom. Wow, how happy Brother Fox, Brother Wolf and Brother Bear were here! They decided that as soon as they had a net, they would all go to catch the moon.
The Rabbit returned with a net and quickly realized what was what. He pretended that he himself wanted to climb into the pond for the moon. He took off his coat and even began to pull off his vest, but then everyone around him made a noise, screamed, began to persuade him not to get his feet wet, and began to convince the Rabbit that they could handle this matter themselves. Brother Fox took hold of one end of the net, Brother Wolf took hold of the other, and Brother Bear followed them to carry the net over snags and sharp stones.
So they cast a net and pulled, but only the moon remained in place. They abandoned it again - again nothing. They threw it into the third - again failure. They decided to go deeper into the water.
Water got into Fox's ear. How he started shaking his head! The wolf also got water in his ear, and this one shook his head as hard as he could. And water got into Bear’s ear, and he also began to shake his head with all his might. So all three of them shook and shook their heads, and they quietly walked further and further into the pond.
The Fox took another step and went headlong under the water. The wolf also took a step - and also plunged into the water up to the top of his head. And after them comes the Bear. What's up here? They floundered so much that they almost splashed out all the water from the pond!
They somehow got out to the shore - the girls burst out laughing: all three of them became dirtier than dirt. And the Rabbit shouts to them:
“It seems to me, gentlemen, that you should quickly go home and change into something dry.” Maybe next time you'll be lucky. I heard that the moon is generally quite good to catch, you just need to put a simpleton like you on the hook - it will be a nice bait! Then you can certainly fish out the moon, I vouch for that!
What could the Fox, the Wolf and the Bear do? Wet, tired and angry, they trudged home, and Brother Rabbit and Brother Turtle, pleased with how they had deceived the simpletons, went to visit Mother Meadows and the girls.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru