One day, various animals came to visit the fox: there were a wolf, a jackal, a bear, and other inhabitants of forests and steppes. The fox stuffed all kinds of birds in advance and diligently treated the guests. The guests talked about this and that. The conversation turned to a man, and all the animals vied with each other to scold him.
At this time, the king of beasts himself, the lion, came to the fox. Everyone jumped up from their seats and, bowing low, greeted the lion. The fox seated the distinguished guest in a corner of honor.
- Welcome, dear guest! - said the fox, offering the best pieces to the lion.
The guests were respectfully silent.
“Continue your conversation, don’t be shy,” said the lion. “What were you talking about here?”
“Oh, sir, we were talking about a man,” said the fox. “I couldn’t live because of him—I can’t profit from a hen or a chicken.” He constantly chases me, wants to kill me and skin me for his own cap. You can't walk freely in the forest!
“I can say the same thing,” the bear grumbled.
“Man hates me most of all,” the wolf growled. “As soon as I steal the worst lamb or kid from the herd, man makes a fuss and is ready to set dogs from all over the village on me.”
So the animals complained to the lion about the man.
“Is a man really so strong that you are all afraid of him?” - asked the lion. “I have never met him before.” Show it to me.
“If you want, I’ll show it to you,” said the fox.
So the fox went to show the man to the lion. They walked and walked and came to the edge of the forest. Country roads converged at this point. Then the fox stopped and said to the lion:
— A person walks along these roads. Let's stay here - maybe we'll see him.
They stood there for a while. A loaded donkey appeared on the road.
- Hey, fox, this long-eared one is a man?
- No, this is his servant - a donkey. You see, he is carrying bags on his back.
- Call him to me! - ordered the lion.
The donkey approached, bowed to the lion and stood at a respectful distance.
“It’s not for nothing that animals complain about man: this is how he burdened you,” said the lion to the donkey.
- What else is that! - said the donkey. - Sometimes he himself sits on top of the bags on me.
“So why don’t you leave him?” Drop your bags and come with us into the forest - walk there in freedom.
- Well, no! - the donkey cried, backing away. “I’ll have a bad time then.” Then I'll be in trouble.
He said this because he thought: “In the forest I will immediately fall into the teeth of a wolf.”
“No, thank you for the invitation, but I can’t leave my master,” said the donkey and, bowing low to the lion, he went on.
The lion thought that the donkey was afraid of its owner, and was surprised at the man’s strength.
After some time, a galloping horse appeared on the road.
- Hey, fox, isn't this a person?
- No, this is his servant - the horse. See how she hurries towards him.
- Stop her! - said the lion. - I want to talk to her.
The horse approached the king of beasts.
The lion said to the horse:
- All forest animals run away from humans. You are fast, you gallop faster than a wolf. Why don't you run away from the person? How does he hold you back?
“With one hand,” the horse answered. “When I come home, the man will drink and feed me, wash and clean me, put a saddle and bridle on me, jump on my back, pat me on the neck with his hand - and I will run wherever he wants, I will rush faster than the wind, I will overtake any animal.” And if he wants to - I’ll stop at full speed - he’ll just touch me with his hand.
The lion marveled at the man's strength and let go of the horse.
Then a camel came out into the clearing to graze.
“Oh, this is probably the man,” said the lion.
“No, it’s a camel,” said the fox. “He, like the donkey and the horse, serves man.”
“What kind of a man is it then, if he forces such large animals to serve himself!” - exclaimed the lion. - Call the camel to me! The camel approached the king of beasts and stopped in front of him.
“How is it that you, such a giant, agree to serve a man?” How does he force you? - asked the lion.
“Very simple,” answered the camel, yawning. “When forty camels are gathered, loaded with what a person needs, he gives the reins of the first camel into the hands of his little son, and the caravan calmly follows the child.”
Listening to the camel, the lion thought: “If a human cub can lead a caravan of camels, what a hero the man himself is!” But the lion did not tell either the camel or the fox about this. Then a man appeared on the road. The fox was confused and wanted to run. Leo asked her:
-Who is this?
- This is what a person is.
- What you! Is this small bipedal creature a person? - the lion was surprised. - Come on, call him to me!
The fox bowed to the man from a distance and said:
- Oh man! The king of beasts wants to talk to you. The man came closer.
-What is this in your hands? - asked the lion.
- Ax and saw. I am a carpenter, I build houses.
-Where are you going?
“I’m going to build a house for the horse, otherwise he won’t be left in the rain with his foal.”
- Do you know who I am? - the lion roared.
- You are a lion, the king of beasts.
“I don’t want you to build a house for a horse, and my children get wet in the rain.” First you build a house for me!
“Okay,” the man said to the lion, “so be it, first I’ll build a house for you.” They went deep into the forest. The lion is in front, the carpenter is behind him. So they found a high
thick tree. The carpenter used an ax and a saw, felled the tree, sawed it
and built a large chest.
“Come on, go into your house and see if it fits you.”
The lion climbed into the chest. The chest was just his height. Only the tail hung from the chest.
“Pick up your tail,” said the man. “Now I’ll decorate the outside of your house.”
The lion picked up his tail. The carpenter closed the lid of the chest.
- Hey man, what did you do?
- Now I will decorate the outside of your house.
And the carpenter began to nail the lid.
- Hey, master, open my house now! - the lion roared.
- No, I don’t want to see you now. So I’ll take your house to the city, put it in the garden behind bars, then I’ll come to visit you with my children and show you honor, because you are the king of beasts.
The lion realized that the man had defeated him. He roared so loudly that his roar spread far across the surrounding area, and all the animals in the forest realized that man was stronger than the king of beasts himself.
And at the crossroads of country roads, a donkey, a horse and a camel, hearing the roar of a lion, smiled. They had long known the strength of man.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru