Whether it happened or not, there lived an old woman. She milked her goat, put the jug on the ground, and she went to get some wood chips and brushwood to light a fire and boil the milk.
The fox comes, sticks his nose into the jug and starts lapping up the milk. The old woman attacked her, grabbed her with a hoe, and cut off her tail. The tailless fox ran away, climbed onto a stone and began to beg:
- Grandma, grandma, give me your tail! I’ll fix it and run to catch up with my friends. I don’t want them to say: “Where have you been, tailless fox?”
The old woman answered her:
- Go and get me some milk.
The fox goes to the cow:
- Little cow, little cow, give me milk! If I take the milk to the old woman, the old woman will give me her tail. I’ll fix it and run to catch up with my friends. I don’t want them to say: “Where have you been, tailless fox?”
The cow answered her:
- Go and get me some herbs.
The fox goes to the field:
“Polyushko, little pole, give me some grass: if I take the grass to the cow, the cow will give me milk; if I take the milk to the old woman, the old woman will give me her tail.” I’ll fix it and run to catch up with my friends. I don’t want them to say: “Where have you been, tailless fox?”
Field in response to her:
- Go and get me some water.
The fox goes to the spring:
- Spring, spring, give me water! If I take water to a field, the field will give me grass, if I take grass to a cow, the cow will give milk, if I take milk to an old woman, the old woman will give me her tail. I’ll fix it and run to catch up with my friends. I don’t want them to say: “Where have you been, tailless fox?”
Spring answered her:
- Go and bring me a jug.
The fox goes to the girl:
- Girl, girl, give me your jug! I will take the jug to the spring - the spring will give me water, I will take the water to the field - the field will give me herbs, I will take the grass to the cow - the cow will give me milk, I will take the milk to the old woman - the old woman will give me her tail. I’ll fix it and run to catch up with my friends. I don’t want them to say: “Where have you been, tailless fox?”
The girl answered her:
- Go and bring me some beads.
The fox goes to the peddler:
- Peddler, peddler, give me the beads! I’ll take the beads to a girl - the girl will give me a jug, I’ll take the jug to the spring - the spring will give me water, I’ll take the water to the field - the field will give me grass, I’ll take the grass to the cow - the cow will give me milk, I’ll take the milk to the old woman - the old woman will give me her tail. I’ll fix it and run to catch up with my friends. I don’t want them to say: “Where have you been, tailless fox?”
The peddler answered her:
- Go and bring me an egg.
The fox goes to the chicken:
- Chicken, chicken, give me an egg! I’ll take the egg to the peddler - the peddler will give me beads, I’ll take the beads to the girl - the girl will give me a jug, I’ll take the jug to the spring - the spring will give me water, I’ll take the water to the field - the field will give me herbs, I’ll take the grass to the cow - the cow will give me milk, I’ll take the milk to the old woman - the old woman will give me her tail. I’ll fix it and run to catch up with my friends. I don’t want them to say: “Where have you been, tailless fox?”
The chicken answered her:
- Go and bring me some grains.
The fox goes to the thresher:
- Thresher, thresher, give me some grain! I’ll take the grains to the chicken - the chicken will give me an egg, I’ll take the egg to the peddler - the peddler will give me beads, I’ll take the beads to the girl - the girl will give me a jug, I’ll take the jug to the spring - the spring will give me water, I’ll take the water to the field - the field will give me herbs, I’ll take the grass to the cow - the cow will give me milk, I’ll take the milk to the old woman - the old woman will give me her tail. I’ll fix it and run to catch up with my friends. I don’t want them to say: “Where have you been, tailless fox?”
The thresher took pity on the fox and gave her a handful of grains.
The fox took the grains to the chicken - the chicken gave an egg, took the egg to the peddler - the peddler gave beads, took the beads to the girl - the girl gave a jug, took the jug to the spring - the spring gave water, took the water to the field - the field gave grass, took the grass to the cow - the cow gave milk, took the milk to the old woman - the old woman gave her the tail. The fox fixed his tail and ran, catching up with his friends.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru