The Tekey bird was hatching its chicks on a mighty spreading willow. And at that time a red fox showed up in these places. She walked up to the willow tree, raised her muzzle up and said:
“The bird Tekey, who laid four eggs, if you don’t want me to crush your snow-drifted clearing in winter with my teeth, gnaw away your fat valley in summer, or knock down your old spreading willow, lower me one egg.”
The Tekey bird, which laid four eggs, was sorry to part with its treasure, but what could one do? She cried and cried and lowered the egg. The fox immediately ate it - only the shell crunched in her teeth - and left.
A day has passed. And on the other the same fox appears again and again says:
“If you don’t want me to crush your snow-drifted clearing in winter with my teeth, gnaw away your fat summer valley, knock down your old spreading willow and eat your three eggs, drop me one egg.”
The Tekzy bird cried even more, having laid four eggs, but if you disobey the fox: what if she actually carries out her threat?! She released another egg. The fox ate it and left.
The next day, the fox again appeared under the spreading willow, again with threats he lured the egg from the Tekei bird and ate it.
The Tekey bird was left with one single egg, sitting in its nest crying and sobbing. An old chipmunk ran past, stopped and asked:
- Bird Tekey, why are you crying and sobbing?
“The fox came and threatened to crush my snowdrift clearing with its teeth, gnaw my fat valley and knock down my old willow tree if I didn’t give it the eggs I was sitting on.” So she ate three of my future chicks, and now I only have one left.
“You fool, you fool!” the old chipmunk scolded the Tekey bird. “How could you believe that a fox would gnaw so much earth and knock down this mighty willow?!” How could you give your chicks to be devoured by a cheat and a deceiver?! If the fox comes again and threatens, tell him: “If you can gnaw my fat valley, gnaw; If you can crush my snowdrift clearing with your teeth, you’ll be fine; if you are strong enough to fell my old spreading willow, try to fell it.”
The chipmunk ran further. And the next day the fox came under the willow again. She came for the last egg, from which the chick had already hatched.
The Tekey bird, which laid four eggs, said to the fox:
“If you can, knock down my old spreading willow, crush my snowdrift clearing with your teeth, gnaw my fat valley, if you can get it, eat my chick.”
The fox squeals with frustration and powerlessness, digs the ground with its paws, and gnaws an old willow tree with its teeth. But what could she do to the clearing?! What could she do to the mighty willow?! Except that she broke off her front teeth on her twisted trunk, and since then her front teeth have remained gap-toothed.
“Well, Tekay the bird, which laid four eggs, someone must have taught you otherwise,” says the fox. “Old chipmunk must have taught you otherwise.” Well, he will pay for this.
With that the fox ran away. She comes to the old chipmunk and says:
- Come on, old man, let's rock in the iron cradle.
“Well, let’s swing,” the chipmunk agrees.
They approach the cradle.
“Grandfather, I’ll go to bed first, and you rock,” says the fox.
“Lie down,” answers the chipmunk. The fox lay down and swayed a little.
- That's enough, grandpa. Now you lie down, I'll rock you.
The old chipmunk lay down in the cradle. And as soon as he lay down, the fox tied him to the iron cradle with iron wire.
- Now, good fellow, try to get up... This is your punishment for advising the Tekey bird, because because of you I was unable to eat its last chick.
The fox said so and went on her way.
The old chipmunk feels that his hour of death is coming, he cannot free himself, cannot get out of the iron cradle. And when he was already completely desperate, the Tekey bird flew in with her chick.
- So, for giving you good advice, the fox tied me up and left. I saved your last chick - try to save me too.
The Tekey bird untwisted the wire with its beak and freed the old chipmunk. So she also repaid kindness with kindness.
And the old chipmunk harbored a grudge against the fox and kept waiting for an opportunity to take revenge on the cunning swindler.
One day he heard that the foxes were going to have a big meeting. The old man went to this meeting, filling his chest full with small wood rot collected from all over the forest. Arriving at the meeting, the old chipmunk spoke at it, and then, as if as a joke, started dancing. When he jumped, wood dust flew out of his bosom like a cloud, and it made everyone laugh. And the chipmunk danced, but also kept a keen eye on the laughing foxes. And I saw one fox covering his mouth with its paw with gap-toothed front teeth. Then the old man grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and began to poke her with a poker in front of everyone. He beat and beat, almost to death.
The fox broke free and ran away. But while the chipmunk was hitting her with a sooty poker, her fur darkened and from this fox later came the gray fox (red fox).
And in this place, where the wire dug into the back of the old chipmunk, new meat grew and became covered with hair of a different color. Since then, chipmunks have become striped.
[Tekei is not the name of any specific bird, but an allegory.
Tekey in Yakut - trickery, deception, flattery.]
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru