Kutkh lived at home. He sewed all the time.
One day Kutkh was sewing his pants at the window. Something began to block the light for him. Kutkh thinks: What is blocking the light for me? Probably my nose. So Kutkh thought and immediately cut off his nose. I cut off my nose and started sewing again. Again something is blocking his light. Ah, probably my cheeks are blocking the light from me, thought Kutkh. - Let me cut off your cheeks. He cut off his cheeks. Something is darkening the light again. So Kutkh cut up his whole face. Kutkh thought: It’s probably already getting dark outside. Kutkh's wounded face hurt so much that he began to groan. Kutkh looked out the window and saw mice rolling around. Ah, that’s who’s blocking the light for me! – Kutkh exclaimed, took his pants and went outside. He came close to the mice and said:
- Are you the one who skates here? Come on, I’ll take you for a ride, grandsons. Roll down here, into my pants.
And got my pants ready. The little mice said:
- No, we won’t fall into your pants, you’ll catch us.
“There’s no need to be afraid, I won’t do anything to you,” says Kutkh, “I want to take you for a ride.”
The mice agreed and rolled into their pants. Kutkh quickly tied his pants and carried the mice into the forest. In the forest he began to look for a good tree. He found a tree and said:
- Tree, tree, tree, bend over. The tree bent. Kutkh hung his pants on the highest branch. And again he said to the tree:
- Tree, tree, tree, straighten up. The tree straightened up. Kutkh went home. The mice, very frightened, began to scream loudly. Suddenly, out of nowhere - a fox. I heard screaming mice, stopped and began to ask them:
-Why are you shouting?
The mice told how they rolled, how Kutkh made them roll into his pants, quickly sewed up his pants and hung them on a tree. The fox asked the mice:
– What did Kutkh say when he hanged you?
“He said,” answered the mice, “so; Tree, tree, tree, bend over! He said that three times.
The fox said the same thing three times. The tree immediately bent, the fox ripped open his pants and pulled out the mice. One mouse, who was at the very bottom, suffocated, but the rest were all alive.
The fox forced the mice to quickly collect rotten stuff. The mice collected rotten stuff, put it in their pants, and put a dead mouse on top. The fox asked the mice:
– What did Kutkh say when he hanged you?
- He said: Tree, tree, tree, straighten up. He said this three times.
The fox did the same, and the tree rose. And then she made the mice follow her. Approaching her house, the fox ordered the mice to tear up the alder trees, put them in a trough and fill them with water. She told the mice to hide in the attic.
On the third day, Kutkh got up very early and went into the forest. Kutkh goes and rejoices that he will eat sour today. He came to the tree and immediately made the tree bend. The tree bent over. Kutkh stuck his hand into the hole and just fell into that mouse, who really turned sour. Well, it will be delicious, thought Kutkh. – At home with Mite we’ll eat sour together.
Kutkh walks and thinks: Well, these are heavy, sour mice. It was easier alive.
He came home and immediately made Mitya make the bed and told her: Wait, let’s lie down, rest, and then have a sour dinner.
And so they did. Lay down. And the fox sees all this, since she walked behind Kutkha all the time. When Kutkh and Mite began to snore, she quickly collected the hawthorn thorns and scattered them on the floor. She ran to her home, smeared herself with alder paint and began to wait for Kutkh. Kutkh rested and woke up Mite:
- It's time, get up, it's time, let's start eating sour, go get it!
Mite stood up and as soon as she stepped on the floor, she immediately began to groan:
- Oh-oh-oh!
- What's wrong with you, fool?
Mite can’t say anything, he just groans. Somehow Mite reached her pants, ripped them open and immediately screamed:
- Kutkh, someone deceived you! There are no mice here, just rotten things.
– What’s wrong with you, Mite? You're groaning in vain, you probably don't see well. I recently tried one mouse - very tasty.
Then Kutkh stood up himself, but as soon as he stepped on the floor, he immediately began to groan:
- Oh-oh-oh!
Somehow he reached his pants and saw for himself what was there. there are rotten things lying around. Kutkh got angry and immediately guessed that this was the work of a fox. Kutkh said: “Mite, give me a poker and a stick, I’ll go kill the fox.”
Mite gave him a poker and a stick, and Kutkh went to the fox's house. Kutkh began to approach the fox’s house and heard loud moans.
- What's wrong with you, little fox? - he began to ask the fox. “You probably know who took my mice from the tree?”
- What are you doing, neighbor, I would have seen it. I myself didn’t get up for a whole month, I kept coughing up blood. Look, the trough is filled with blood. And I still can’t pour it out. We need to pour it over that ridge so no one else spits up blood.
Kuthu felt sorry for the fox and said:
- Let me empty the trough.
- Oh, neighbor, I will never forget you. I'll get better, I'll help you. Just when you carry the trough, don’t look back, otherwise you’ll get sick too. If you get sick, there will be no one to look after me. Now I have all my hope in you.
Kutkh took the trough and went straight to the ridge. The fox walked behind him. We came to the ridge. Kutkh began to pour out of the trough, and the fox pushed him hard from behind. Kutkh flew down along with the trough. The fox came home and immediately released the mice. The mice began to live very well again.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru