Once upon a time, people did not have fire, and only two giants owned it, who vigilantly guarded it. People could not warm themselves in cold weather and could not prepare food. People really needed fire, but there was no person who could get it from the giants.
It went like this for a long time, but finally there was one brave soul named Lam-ang, who figured out how to get fire from the giants. Lam-ang was very friendly with the animals and told them what he had planned. The animals said:
- You are our friend, so we will help you. Lam-ang was very happy and explained to the animals what they needed to do. After that, he chose a clearing not far from his village and asked the frog to stay there. A little further away he placed the horse, even further away the cat, further away the dog, and behind the dog, not far from the giants’ dwelling, he left the tiger. After this, Lam-ang went to visit the giants.
- Hello, giants! - he shouted as he approached the doors of the huge house. - I’m visiting you!
“Come in, come in,” the giants, who were very bored together, rejoiced, “we are glad to see you!”
And they opened the doors wide for Lam-ang.
- How do you people live in your village? - the giants asked him.
“It’s not very good - we don’t have a fire, and we can’t warm ourselves when it’s cold, or cook our own food,” Lam-ang answered. -Will you give us at least one smoldering coal?
“No, we cannot give you fire,” answered the greedy giants, “we cannot even give you a spark.”
Then Lam-ang went to the window, looked out of it and quietly gave a sign to the animals. And immediately the tiger roared, the dog barked, the cat meowed, the horse neighed, and the frog croaked.
- Who is this, what’s that noise? - the giants shouted and ran out to see what had happened.
Everything happened as Lam-ang had planned, and now, left alone, he grabbed a red coal from the hearth and ran out of the house. The giants saw the coal in his hand and rushed in pursuit. They were about to catch up with him, but Lam-ang managed to run to the tiger, threw him a coal and shouted:
- Here, friend, take it away quickly!
The tiger picked up the coal and rushed away with huge leaps. The giants were not far behind. They were about to catch up with the tiger, but he managed to run to the dog, threw a coal to her and shouted:
- Here, friend, take it away quickly!
The dog picked up the coal and ran. The giants were not far behind. They were about to catch up with the dog, but the dog ran to the cat, threw her a coal and shouted:
- Here, friend, take it away quickly!
The cat grabbed the coal and rushed to the horse. The giants were not far behind. It already seemed that they were about to overtake her, but then the cat ran to the horse, threw it a coal and shouted:
- Here, friend, take it away quickly!
The horse picked up the coal and galloped off. The giants were still not far behind. Another moment and they will catch up with her, but the horse has already galloped up to the frog, threw a coal to it and shouted:
- Here, friend, take it away quickly!
The frog picked up the coal and jumped towards the village, but then the giants caught up with it, and one grabbed the frog by the tail - then the frog had a tail. The frog's eyes bulged out of fear and pain, and then, gathering its last strength, it jumped again and plopped down on the ground right in the middle of the village, near the people - only its tail remained in the giant's hand.
This is how people got fire, but since then the frogs have no tail, and their eyes remain bulging.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru