One day a rooster and a hen went into the forest to get some delicious hazelnuts. On the way the rooster said:
- If we find a nut, we will split it in half. “Well, of course,” the chicken agreed.
Soon she found a nut and split it into two halves. She gave one to the rooster, and kept the other for herself. The rooster was terribly greedy. He quickly ate his share and, while the chicken turned away, grabbed her half too. But a piece of nut got stuck in his neck. The cockerel shouted to the hen:
- Bring me water quickly, otherwise I will die!
The chicken rushed to the well for water:
- Please, well, give me water for the cockerel, otherwise he will die, because a piece of nut is stuck in his neck.
But the well answered:
“I’ll give you water if you bring me a handkerchief from the seamstress.”
The chicken ran to the seamstress:
- Seamstress, please give me a handkerchief for the well, and he will give me water for the cockerel, otherwise he will die because he choked on a nut.
The seamstress replied:
“I’ll give you a handkerchief if you bring me shoes from the shoemaker.”
The chicken ran to the shoemaker:
- Shoemaker, shoemaker! Give me some shoes for the seamstress, please. She will give me a handkerchief for the well, and he will give me water for the cockerel, otherwise he will die because he choked on a nut.
The shoemaker replied:
“Bring me the bristles from the pig and I’ll give you some shoes for the seamstress.”
The chicken ran to the pig:
- Pig, pig! Give me some bristles for a shoemaker, please. He will give me shoes for the seamstress, she will give me a handkerchief. I will take the handkerchief to the well, and in return he will give me water for the cockerel, because he choked on a nut and may die.
“I’ll give you stubble if you bring me some slop from the cook.”
The chicken ran to the cook:
- Cook, cook! Please give me some slop for the pig. She will give me bristles for the shoemaker. The shoemaker will give me shoes for the seamstress, the seamstress will give me a handkerchief for the well, and he will give me water for the cockerel, otherwise he will die because he choked on a nut.
“I’ll give you some slop if you bring me milk from the cow.”
The chicken ran to the cow:
- Little cow, little cow! Give me some milk please. I'll take it to the cook, he'll pour me some slop for the pig. She will give me bristles for the shoemaker, and he will give me shoes for the seamstress, who will give me a handkerchief, which I will have to take to the well so that he can give me water for the cockerel, who may die because he choked on a nut.
“I’ll give you milk if you bring me herbs from the clearing.”
The chicken ran into the clearing:
- Glade, clearing! Give me some grass for the cow, please. She will give me milk, I will take it to the cook. He will pour me some slop for the pig. The pig will give me bristles for the shoemaker, he will give me shoes for the seamstress, she will give me a handkerchief for the well. And the well will give the cockerel water to drink because he has a nut stuck in his throat.
- I will give you herbs if you bring me dew from the sky.
The hen raised her head and shouted:
- Sky, sky! Please give me some dew for the clearing. She will give me grass for the cow, who will give me milk for the cook, who will pour me slop for the pig. The pig will give me bristles for the shoemaker, and he will give me shoes. I'll take the shoes to the seamstress and she'll give me a handkerchief for the well. And he will allow me to get some water for the poor cockerel, who may die because a nut is stuck in his neck.
The sky felt sorry for the cockerel, and it gave dew to the clearing. Polyana allowed the chicken to pick grass, and she ran to the cow. The cow ate the fragrant grass and gave the chicken milk. For the milk, the cook poured slop for the pig.
The pig gave him bristles, and the shoemaker gave the chicken some shoes for the seamstress in exchange for the bristles. Satisfied with the new thing, the seamstress gave the hen a handkerchief. For a handkerchief, the well gave the hen some water, and she brought it to the cockerel. The cockerel drank the water, the nut slipped through, and the joyful cockerel shouted:
- Crow, crow! I can sing my songs again.
From that day on, the rooster stopped being greedy and shared everything with the hen.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru