Tala the Bear got into the habit of wandering around the camp at night. He walks quietly, does not give a voice, hides behind the stones - waits: will a stupid fawn break away from the herd, or a puppy will jump out of the camp, or a child.
However, no matter how you hide, footprints remain in the snow. The mothers saw those footprints and said to the children:
- Don’t go downhill late in the moonlight! Tala the bear is close. He’ll grab you, take you to his stupid place, and take you away for lunch.
The moon has risen, and naughty children are still sliding down the slide.
Tala the Bear crawled out from behind the stone, opened his kitty bag, placed it across the road, and lay down further away.
The guys rolled down the hill and flew into the bear's bag! Tala grabbed the bag, threw it on his shoulders, went home, rejoiced: “I’m carrying a load of guys! We’ll eat deliciously!”
He walked and walked, got tired, hung his bag on a spruce branch, lay down under the tree and began to snore.
The kids are hanging in the bag, whispering:
- What are we going to do? Tala will eat us! One, the smallest boy, asks:
- Does anyone have threads and needles?
“Yes, yes, the girls have it!” they answer him.
The boy took out a folding knife, ripped open the bag, released the children, and ordered:
The boy took out a folding knife, ripped open the bag, released the children, and ordered:
- Quickly carry the stones, throw them in your bag! The guys brought stones, threw them into a bag, and the boy climbed into it. Velit:
- Now stitch it up and run home! The children sewed up the bag and ran home. Tala the Bear woke up, stretched, and asked:
Are you all alive there in my pussy?
Everyone, everyone is alive! - the boy answers.
Tal put the kitty on his shoulders and sat down:
- Oh, it's hard! But there will be enough delicious meat for a long time!
I barely dragged Tal the kitty home. He climbed onto the earthen roof and shouted through the smoke hole to his bear owner: “Hey, Talahke, prepare a big birch bark cauldron!” I brought a lot of delicious meat!
Talakhke hung a large birch bark cauldron over the hearth, poured water, and lit a fire.
- Ready! - shouts. - Give me meat! He shook Tal's kitty - stones fell down,
the cauldron was broken, water spilled, and the fire was extinguished. There is a column of smoke.
The she-bear roared, but Tala above did not hear. He shook the kitty again - the boy jumped out of it, sat on the side, holding a knife in his hand, waiting to see what would happen next.
Tala entered the house and growled at the hostess:
- Why is the cauldron broken, why does the fire go out, why is the meat not cooked?
And Talahke roars back to him:
- Why do you throw stones instead of meat? Tala looks: it’s true, the stones are there. Surprised, he says:
“However, there’s one tasty guy sitting over there.” Let's at least cook it.
Then the boy strikes the knife on the stone so that sparks fall, and then he screams:
- Stay still, Tala Bear! My father is a sorcerer, my mother is a sorceress, my grandfather is a sorcerer, my grandmother is a sorceress, and I am the greatest sorcerer of all! I made stones out of the guys!
Wow! — Tala was surprised. “I won’t cook you, the great sorcerer.” Just make meat out of stones again for this! I am hungry, my wife Talakhka is hungry, my son Talakhka is sleeping hungry in his cradle!
“Well,” says the boy, “it’s possible.” Bring a big copper cauldron, drag brushwood, light a fire!
Tala ran for a copper cauldron, Talakhka ran for brushwood. And the boy threw the stones out of the house, kept only one for himself, grabbed a firebrand from the hearth, wrapped it in a rag and put it on top of Talashka in the cradle. He sits and rocks the cradle. Tala came running and brought a cauldron, Talakhka came running and brought brushwood.
- Come on guys, let's cook dinner! The boy answers them:
- Then your son Talashka began to cry. While I was fiddling with him, all the guys ran away. But now Talashka is fast asleep! - And shows the firebrand in the cradle.
Talahke the bear roared, Tala the bear roared:
- Oh, trouble! You ruined our son Talashka, you made a firebrand out of him!
The boy struck the stone with a knife so that sparks fell and shouted:
- My father is a sorcerer, my mother is a sorceress, my grandfather is a sorcerer, my grandmother is a sorceress, I myself am a great sorcerer! I can make Talashka from a firebrand again! Just take me home for this, Tala!
- I’ll take it, I’ll take it, I’ll take it now! The boy put a firebrand under the stove and poked
punched Talashka in the side, he woke up and screamed at the top of his lungs.
Tala rejoices, Talakhka rejoices, they licked all of Talashka. And the boy jumped onto the bear’s shoulders, sat on horseback, and said:
- Carry me home!
Tala carried it. He brought it to the lake where the Sami fished and said:
- Run further yourself. I'm afraid to go further! And the boy scratches with a knife:
- My father is a sorcerer, my mother is a sorceress, my grandfather is a sorcerer, my grandmother is a sorceress, I myself am a great sorcerer! I made this lake! Do you want me to make the same out of you?
- I don’t want, I don’t want! - Tala shook his head and ran so fast that he reached the camp faster than the wind.
Then the Sami grabbed Tala and tied her up:
- Gotcha, cowardly Tala! Why are you stealing our children?
Tala roared in a thin voice:
- Untie me! Let go! I'll tell you what to do to prevent bears from stealing your children.
The Sami have untied Talu and are waiting for what he will say.
— First: children must obey their mothers. Second, they must have a brave heart. Third: when meeting a bear, you must look him straight in the eyes, he said so and ran into the forest without looking back.
Since then, the Sami have not been afraid of bears from an early age. They meet Tala in the forest, they bravely look straight into their eyes, and Tala doesn’t touch them and leaves. Well, whoever doesn’t listen to his mother will be dragged away by the bear. He himself is to blame.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru