A partridge built a nest among the grasses in a mountain meadow and hatched chicks. Such colorful, such beautiful children emerged! But here’s the problem: a snake got into the habit of visiting the nest. Prowls around in the grass, looking at the chicks... The poor partridge has lost its peace.
She went with a complaint to her magpie neighbor - she lived in a grove nearby.
- Forty, forty! What to do? An insatiable snake will eat my chicks! Help me out, you are a seasoned, smart bird.
“I myself am afraid of these damned snakes more than anything in the world,” admitted the magpie. – But let’s try anyway! Let me shout at the top of my lungs: “Vark! Vyark! Maybe the snake will get scared and won’t come back? And if he’s not scared, I’ll fly and consult with the fox.
But the snake didn’t even think of being frightened by the magpie’s “Vark!” vyark! She crept closer and closer to the nest and eagerly looked at the partridge chicks.
The magpie flew towards the fox.
– Is there a snake repellent in your bag of tricks? – she asked.
The fox rummaged through her big bag of tricks for a long time, and finally found it.
- Eat! - she said. - There is a suitable trick. Fly quickly to the raven. Raven can do anything! If he agrees, let him steal Izagura's golden slipper and throw it on the stone under which the snake lives.
And so they did. When Izagura, who was resting on the balcony, took off her golden shoes embroidered with pearls and gems, a raven flew in, grabbed one shoe and took it up into the sky.
The palace guards raised the alarm: “The precious shoe has been stolen! Catch the thief! Only the thief raven was already far away. Who could catch him?!
The raven flew to the stone under which the snake lived and threw the shoe on the ground.
And the guards from the roof of the palace were watching him and quickly ran there. But in the meantime, while the guards were running, the fox (she was hiding nearby) took the shoe and dragged it into her hole.
What happened here! All the stones around were turned over by the guards. But the golden shoe was never found. But under one stone they found a snake curled up in a ball and cut off its head.
They say that people still go to that stone, old people go, children go, looking for a precious treasure. What if Izagura’s golden shoe flashes to the lucky one?
Well, let the shoe lie in the hole! And the partridge calmly raised its chicks. Thanks to the fox with his bag of tricks.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru