Winter was coming to an end, but the snow had not yet melted in the mountains, and in some places even the ice. One shepherd had a skinny and lame goat. He could not climb narrow paths and icy slopes, and his owner left him to graze not far from the sheepfold. In the evening, the shepherd drove the flock from the mountains or from the steppe, and then the goat went with the sheep into the fold and spent the night there.
One day a goat walks around the sheepfold, nibbles the grass, and a dog lies nearby. Suddenly a wolf appeared. He saw a goat, but did not dare to attack: he knew that the village dogs would not give him mercy. The wolf stood there, thought, then calmly approached the goat and called him aside.
- What is it, what do you want? - the goat became worried.
“You shouldn’t graze here,” says the wolf.
- Why is this?
- Yes, I look at you - you are painfully thin! I feel sorry for you. I decided to show you a place where good grass grows. You will quickly gain fat there.
The goat thought: “Maybe the wolf is telling the truth, is it worth listening to him? Maybe I’ll get rid of this weakness, I’ll quickly gain strength and get stronger.” The goat thought this way and said to the wolf:
- How can I gain fat?
- It’s very simple. The soil here is not tasty, you can’t walk around on it. And you go up that mountain over there, I’m just coming from there. The grass there is thick and juicy, and you could get caught there. I'll go on a trip.
The goat thought: “The wolf is getting ready to go on a journey, there are sheep grazing on the other side of the mountain, and a shepherd with them. I’ll wait a little. The wolf will move further away from here, then I will move, graze there, and return in the evening with the herd.”
The wolf sees that the goat is in no hurry, he became worried: has the goat come up with some trick? He said goodbye to the goat and left. And he himself hid by the road along which the goat’s path lay.
When the wolf disappeared, the goat was happy and trudged up the mountain. Suddenly, oh woe, the goat noticed that the wolf was sneaking after him! The goat thought and stopped. He waited for the wolf and said to him:
- I know you want to eat me. And to your health! I'm sick of this life. I just want to ask you to wait a little. Let's climb the mountain and eat me there. After all, if you want to bully me here, near the village, there will be a noise. I’ll scream, the dogs will come running and won’t let you swallow a piece. You will get nothing, and I will die in vain. But I can’t help but scream - after all, I have a soul, not an eggplant.
The wolf thought that the goat might have a point, and agreed. And they began to climb the mountain together. The goat walked in front, and the wolf followed him. The wolf saw that soon they would be on the mountain, and let’s pick on the goat, shouting: “Don’t make noise, don’t make dust!”
The goat realized that the wolf was looking for a reason to quickly attack him, and very politely said:
- Listen, wolf, I, of course, am your prey, your victim. But you yourself understand that it’s safer for you to deal with me upstairs. Why are you in a hurry? I told you, I’m sick of life. If it weren't for this, I could have screamed downstairs - and the dogs would have torn you to pieces.
“And you go slower, don’t get dusty, it’s filling my eyes, it’s possible to go blind,” the wolf grumbled. And the goat to him:
- Eh, wolf, what kind of dust is there on the ice? You're right to find fault.
In short, they moved on and climbed the mountain. The wolf was still afraid that the village dogs would sense trouble, get wind of his trick and run after him. He walks up the mountain, and looks back. The goat knew that a shepherd was tending his flock on the mountain, and was looking for an opportunity to escape. When the wolf looked back again, the goat gathered his last strength, took off at a gallop and reached the herd.
After such a thing, the goat vowed not to listen to anyone anymore, and to take revenge on the wolf, if possible.
The next day the wolf again saw the goat, he was grazing in the old place. And the wolf said to himself: “There are many wolves here, the goat won’t recognize me. I’ll go up to him. Maybe today I’ll be able to deceive him. Now I won’t let him escape.”
The wolf approached the goat, and he immediately recognized him. But I didn’t even show it, saying, I don’t know anything. The wolf says:
- Listen, goat, this is not tasty land, it would be better for you to graze not here, but in another place. The goat answered him:
- I don't believe you. Support your words with evidence, then I will go where you say.
- What kind of proof is this? - asked the wolf.
“Come up to that warm tanur, put your paws on its edges and swear that this earth is really not tasty.” “Then I’ll believe you,” said the goat.
“Well, this is a simple matter,” the wolf answered, walked up to the tanur and began to pronounce an oath, the dog woke up and rushed at him. Then the village dogs arrived and tore the wolf to shreds.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru