A wild duck raised chicks on a high palm tree. The fox came with a spade, which she had molded from clay, stopped under a palm tree and loudly greeted the duck. When she answered the greeting, the fox said:
“Listen, duck, if you don’t throw me one of your chicks, I will knock down a palm tree with a spade and eat you along with the whole brood.”
The duck dropped one chick. The fox grabbed it and ate it.
The next day the fox came again and said the same thing he said the day before. And the duck again dropped one of the chicks. The fox grabbed him again and ate him.
This happened on the third day. But when the fox left, a raven flew to visit the duck. He saw that the duck was crying and asked:
- Why are you crying?
“The fox came with a spade,” answered the duck, “and said that he would knock down the palm tree and eat me and my children if I did not throw one duckling to her.” I threw her a chick. The next day the fox came again, and I again gave her one of the chicks. And today she appeared again. I threw the chick to her for the third time. I'm crying with grief. After all, the fox has already eaten three of my children!
“We birds have wings to fly,” said the raven to the duck. “Tell this to the fox tomorrow when she comes.” If a fox knocks down a palm tree, fly away and sit on another one.
The raven said so and left.
The next morning the fox appeared again and demanded the fourth chick. But the duck answered her as the raven advised. She said:
“If you want to cut down this palm tree, cut it down.” We'll fly to another one.
The fox hit the palm tree with a spade, but the spade was made of clay and immediately shattered. “The raven arranged all this for me, of course,” thought the fox.
And so the fox lay down in the hole on his back and pretended to be dead. A raven flew in and, seeing the fox, said:
“For a long time, dead foxes have had the habit of moving one ear.
And the fox immediately moved his ear.
- You're still alive, fox! - the raven exclaimed and flew away. The fox got up, lay down in another hole and again pretended to be dead. The raven flew up to her and said:
“For a long time, dead foxes have had the habit of moving their tails!”
And the fox immediately wagged its tail.
- You're still alive, fox! - the raven exclaimed and flew away.
The fox got up, walked a little and lay down in the hole again, closing his eyes. A raven flew in and said:
“For a long time, dead foxes have had the habit of opening and closing their eyes.
But the fox remained motionless, did not even blink an eye. She lay there as if dead. The raven thought that the fox had died, flew down and sat on her. The fox immediately grabbed him.
“My father and my mother cursed me like this: “May the fox catch you, may he push you from the top of a high mountain and devour your crushed bones!” - said the raven.
The fox carried the crow to the top of a high mountain and pushed him down, while she herself ran as fast as she could to the foot. But, of course, the crow didn’t find it. The fox looked up and saw that a raven was flying high in the sky, describing circles in the air.
“Would you like to come down?” the fox shouted to the crow.
- You're stupid! - answered the raven. “Didn’t I tell the duck this so that she could tell you?” Didn't she tell you that we birds have wings to fly? Why didn't you eat me right away? Why did she take me to the top of the mountain and push me down - because I could fly away?
“Yes, it’s all my fault!” - thought the fox. And she ran away, hanging her head in shame.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru