Once upon a time there lived a grandfather and grandmother. And they had a granddaughter Mashenka. One day the girlfriends were going to the forest to pick mushrooms and berries. They came to invite Mashenka with them.
Mashenka began to ask for time off: “Grandfather, grandmother, let me go into the forest with my girlfriends, I’ll bring mushrooms and berries!” Grandfather and grandmother answer: “Go, just make sure you don’t lag behind your girlfriends, otherwise you’ll suddenly get lost.”
The girls came to the forest and began to pick mushrooms and berries. Here Mashenka - tree by tree, bush by bush - and went far, far away from her friends. She began to call her friends: - Hey! Aw! Girls, respond. But my friends don’t hear, they don’t respond.
Mashenka walked and walked through the forest - she got completely lost. She wandered into the very wilderness, into the very thicket. And then he looks - there is a hut. Mashenka knocked on the door - no answer. She pushed the door, the door opened.
Mashenka entered the hut, sat down on a bench by the window and thought: “Who lives here? Why is no one visible?..” And in that hut lived a huge bear. Only he wasn’t at home then: he was walking through the forest. The bear returned in the evening, saw Mashenka, and was delighted. I didn’t want to let her go. “Yeah,” he says, “now I won’t let you go!” You will live with me. You will light the stove, you will cook porridge, you will feed me porridge.
Masha pushed, grieved, but nothing could be done. She began to live with the bear in the hut. The bear will go into the forest for the whole day, and Mashenka tells Mashenka not to leave the hut anywhere without him. “And if you leave,” he says, “I’ll catch you anyway and then I’ll eat you!” Mashenka began to think about how she could escape from the bear. There are forests all around, he doesn’t know which way to go, there’s no one to ask...
She thought and thought and came up with an idea. One day a bear comes from the forest, and Mashenka says to him: “Bear, bear, let me go to the village for a day: I’ll bring gifts for grandma and grandpa.” “No,” says the bear, “you’ll get lost in the forest.” Give me some gifts, I'll take them myself! And that’s exactly what Mashenka needs!
She baked pies, took out a big, big box and said to the bear: “Here, look: I’ll put the pies in the box, and you take them to grandpa and grandma.” Yes, remember: don’t open the box on the way, don’t take out the pies. I’ll climb up the oak tree and keep an eye on you! “Okay,” the bear answers, “give me the box!” Mashenka says: “Go out onto the porch and see if it’s raining!” As soon as the bear came out onto the porch, Mashenka immediately climbed into the box and placed a plate of pies on her head. The bear returned and saw that the box was ready. He put him on his back and went to the village. A bear walks between fir trees, a bear wanders between birch trees, goes down into ravines, and up hills. He walked and walked, got tired and said: I’ll sit on a stump and eat a pie! And Mashenka from the box: I see, I see! Don't sit on the tree stump, Don't eat the pie! Bring it to your grandmother, bring it to your grandfather! “Look, she’s so big-eyed,” says the bear, “she sees everything!” He picked up the box and moved on. He walked and walked and walked and walked, stopped, sat down and said: I’ll sit on a tree stump and eat a pie! And Mashenka came out of the box again: I see, I see! Don't sit on the tree stump, Don't eat the pie! Bring it to your grandmother, bring it to your grandfather! The bear was surprised: “That’s how cunning!” He sits high and looks far away! He got up and walked quickly.
I came to the village, found the house where my grandparents lived, and let’s knock on the gate with all our might: “Knock-knock-knock!” Unlock, open! I brought you some gifts from Mashenka. And the dogs smelled the bear and rushed at him. They run and bark from all the yards. The bear got scared, put the box at the gate and started running into the forest. Grandfather and grandmother came out to the gate. They see the box standing there. “What’s in the box?” - says the grandmother. And the grandfather lifted the lid, looked and couldn’t believe his eyes: Mashenka was sitting in the box - alive and healthy. Grandfather and grandmother were delighted. They began to hug Mashenka, kiss her, and call her smart.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru