Once upon a time there lived a fox. She knew the way to an orchard rich in fruit. Every night she went to feast on ripe sweet grapes and ate her fill. Having had enough, she carefreely went to bed on the soft grass of the garden, and woke up early in the morning and went to her home.
Soon the owner of the garden noticed that many bunches of grapes were torn off, scattered around the garden and eaten, and the flowers and grass were crushed.
He observed this for several days, but then decided to catch the unscrupulous thief and punish him properly.
The owner of the garden set a trap, secured a sheep's tail in it and left it at the entrance.
Night has fallen. The fox came into the garden and saw a white sheep's tail right at the entrance. The fox guessed that behind the fat tail there was a trap prepared for her. But the sight of the soft, ragged fat tail aroused the fox’s appetite, drool began to flow from her mouth, and her stomach began to growl.
“I’ll eat just a piece, I’ll calm my appetite and that’s it,” the fox decided, but, catching herself, she thought: “If you give in to the feeling, you’ll end up in a snare!” And, abandoning her intention, the fox turned to the grapes. But she no longer wanted to eat grapes; they seemed sour and tasteless to her.
The fox again began to look at the fat tail, swallowed drool and licked its lips. The desire to eat the fat tail almost defeated her and pushed her into a trap. And she, with difficulty, but still left the garden.
She walked home, and the white, white tail of fat stood before her eyes. Sighing deeply, she thought: “How can I sink my teeth, dull from grapes, into the soft fat tail and let them enjoy; How can I lubricate my dry intestines with tender fat so that they become soft and smooth..."
So the fox walked and thought, when suddenly she met a wolf. He blocked the fox's way and said:
“Hey, sly fox, I’ve been dreaming of seeing you for a long time.” It’s good that you came yourself, well, repent of your countless sins before you die!
- Oh, and I also dreamed of meeting you, the famous hero! - the fox said smiling. - But there was no suitable opportunity. I was going to invite you to visit my garden. This is not an ordinary garden, but a wonderful one. On one side, apples and grapes grow in it, on the other, pears and figs are ripe, ripe, with wine juice. All around the garden there is flowing water, all kinds of flowers - in a word, there is an earthly paradise there. In addition, I have prepared a whole fat tail of lard for you, eat with pleasure...
- You're deceiving, sly fox! - said the wolf. - But if you deceive everyone, then you won’t be able to deceive me!
Lisa laughed and said:
- Oh, how incredulous you are! Mistrust always harms, it burns out friendship. Better come with me, eat lard, give yourself pleasure!
The new mention of fat tail shook the wolf, and he went after the fox. The fox walked ahead, the wolf followed. So they came to the garden. Seeing the blooming garden, the wolf was delighted. Even more joyful than the wolf, the fox darted from side to side. Having satisfied the wolf with a walk in the garden and fruit, the fox led him to the tail of fat and said:
- Well, look, did I tell a lie? Here's a fat tail, eat it until you get tired of it!
Unable to restrain himself at the sight of the fat, the wolf greedily pounced on the fat tail. And immediately his front paws were caught in a trap. No matter how hard the wolf struggled, he could not free himself from the trap. Then he turned to the fox and prayed:
- Hey, fox, something is pinning my legs, advise me how to free myself.
- You are a hero! “You’re strong, push yourself and free your legs,” said the fox.
The wolf pulled back with all his strength, but from the intense strain he broke the bones of his legs and fell unconscious.
The fox approached the trap, ate its fill of lard with pleasure and, laughing at the stupid wolf, left the garden.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru