One day a rooster and a hen went into the forest to get nuts. And so the chicken choked on a nutshell and lay there flapping its wings. The rooster ran to fetch water for the chicken. He ran up to the stream and said:
- Stream, stream, give me some water, I’ll take it to my chicken, otherwise she’s lying in the hazel tree and dying.
The stream answered him:
- Okay, I’ll give you water, just give me green leaves in return.
The rooster ran to the green linden tree.
- Linden, linden, give me green leaves, I’ll give them to the stream, he’ll give me water for it, I’ll take it to my chicken, otherwise she’s lying in the hazel tree and dying.
“Okay, I’ll give you green leaves, but in return you give me a rainbow,” answered the linden tree. The rooster ran to the Virgin Mary.
- Oh, Virgin Mary, give me a rainbow, I’ll give it to the linden tree, the linden tree will give me leaves, I’ll give it to the stream, he’ll give me water for it, and I’ll take it to my chicken, otherwise she’s lying in the hazel tree and dying.
“Okay, I’ll give you a rainbow, just give me some shoes in return,” answered the Virgin Mary. The rooster ran to the shoemaker.
- Shoemaker, shoemaker, give me shoes, I will give them to the Virgin Mary, she will give me a rainbow, I will give a rainbow to the linden tree, the linden tree will give me leaves, I will give leaves to the stream, for this he will give me water, and I will take it to my chicken, otherwise she lies in the hazel tree and dies.
“Okay, I’ll give you shoes, but in return you give me brushes...” answered the shoemaker. The rooster ran to the apprentice.
- Apprentice, apprentice, give me brushes, I will give brushes to the shoemaker, the shoemaker will give me shoes, I will give the shoes to the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary will give me a rainbow, I will give the rainbow to the linden tree, the linden tree will give me leaves, I will give the leaves to the stream, for this he will give me water, and I will take it to my chicken, otherwise she lies in the hazel tree and dies.
“Okay, I’ll give you a brush, just give me some bread in exchange,” answered the apprentice. The rooster ran to the baker.
- Baker, baker, give me bread, I will give bread to the apprentice, the apprentice will give me brushes, I will give the brushes to the shoemaker, the shoemaker will give me shoes, I will give the shoes to the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary will give me a rainbow, I will give the rainbow to the linden tree, the linden tree will give me leaves, I will give the leaves to the stream, for this he. will give me water, and I will take it to my chicken, otherwise she lies in the hazel tree and dies.
“Okay, I’ll give you bread, but in return you give me grain,” answered the baker.
The rooster ran to the miller.
- Miller, miller, give me grain, I will give grain to the baker, the baker will give me bread, I will give bread to the apprentice, the apprentice will give me brushes, I will give brushes to the shoemaker, the shoemaker will give me shoes, I will give shoes to the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary will give me a rainbow, I will give the rainbow to the linden tree, the linden tree will give me leaves, I will give leaves to the stream, for this he will give I need some water and I’ll take it to my chicken, otherwise she’s lying in the hazel tree and dying.
“Okay, I’ll give you grain, but in return you give me firewood,” answered the miller.
The rooster ran to the woodcutter.
- Woodcutter, woodcutter, give me wood, I will give firewood to the miller, the miller will give me grain, I will give grain to the baker, the baker will give me bread, I will give bread to the apprentice, the apprentice will give me brushes, I will give brushes to the shoemaker, the shoemaker will give me shoes, I will give shoes to the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary will give me a rainbow, I will give the rainbow to the linden tree, the linden tree will give me leaves for me, I will give the leaves to the stream, and in return he will give me water, and I will take it to my chicken, otherwise she lies in the hazel tree and dies.
“Okay, I’ll give you wood, but in return you give me an ax,” answered the woodcutter.
The rooster ran to the blacksmith.
- Blacksmith, blacksmith, give me an axe, I will give an ax to the woodcutter, the woodcutter will give me firewood, I will give firewood to the miller, the miller will give me grain, I will give grain to the baker, the baker will give me bread, I will give bread to the apprentice, the apprentice will give me brushes, I will give brushes to the shoemaker, the shoemaker will give me shoes, I will give shoes to the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary will give I will give a rainbow, I will give a rainbow to the linden tree, the linden tree will give me leaves, I will give the leaves to the stream, and in return it will give me water, and I will take it to my chicken, otherwise it lies in the hazel tree and dies.
“Okay, I’ll give you an axe, just give me coal in exchange,” the blacksmith answered.
The rooster ran to the coal miner.
- Coal miner, charcoal miner, give me coal, I will give coal to the blacksmith, the blacksmith will give me an axe, I will give the ax to the woodcutter, the woodcutter will give me firewood, I will give firewood to the miller, the miller will give me grain, I will give grain to the baker, the baker will give me bread, I will give bread to the apprentice, the apprentice will give me brushes, I will give brushes to the shoemaker, the shoemaker will give me shoes, shoes I will give to the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary will give me a rainbow, I will give a rainbow to the linden tree, the linden tree will give me leaves, I will give the leaves to the stream, and for this he will give me water, and I will take it to my chicken, otherwise she lies in the hazel tree and dies.
The coal miner felt sorry for the rooster, and he gave him coal. And so the blacksmith received coal, and the woodcutter received an axe, and the miller received firewood, and the baker received grain, and the apprentice received bread, and the shoemaker received brushes, and the Virgin Mary received shoes, and the linden tree received a rainbow, and the stream received green leaves, and the rooster received water. He took it to his hen in the hazel grove, and the hen became alive and well again.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru