Once upon a time there lived a husband and wife, and they had seven sheep, a scanty foal, a dog and a cat. They hired a shepherd boy to herd the sheep. One day the shepherd boy took a bundle of food and went into the field with his seven sheep. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a wolf.
- Oh, what nice little sheep! Are these yours? - asks the wolf.
“Mine,” answers the shepherd boy. And the wolf says:
“Give me the bundle of food, otherwise I’ll eat your sheep.”
“I won’t give it back,” says the shepherd boy.
Well, the wolf ate one of the sheep.
The next day the shepherd boy again took the bundle of food and went into the field with six sheep. And the wolf was right there again, and everything was the same as on the first day: the wolf asked the shepherd boy for a bundle, but the shepherd boy did not want to give it, so the wolf ate the second sheep.
And every day the same thing happened, until the wolf ate all the sheep. The owner scolded the shepherd boy and ordered him to herd the short foal. One day a shepherd boy went into the field to look after his foal, and again a wolf met him.
“Hey, shepherd boy, give me your bundle, otherwise I’ll eat your foal,” says the wolf.
The shepherd boy did not want to give up the bundle - the wolf took it and ate the short foal.
The shepherd boy returned and told what had happened to him, but his owner drove him away and did not order him to come home until seven sheep and a scanty foal were found.
There was nothing to do, the shepherd boy had to set off on the road, even though he knew that the sheep and the foal were nowhere to be found, the wolf ate them. He walked and walked and got hungry, untied his bundle of food and was just about to eat, out of nowhere - a wolf.
“Hey, little shepherd, give me your bundle, otherwise I’ll eat you,” says the wolf.
The shepherd boy did not give up his bundle - the wolf swallowed it.
The owners waited and waited for the shepherd boy to return home, but he was gone. They sent a worker to look for him. The worker also met a wolf, so the worker asked him if he had seen a shepherd boy, seven sheep, and a short foal. And the wolf answers him:
“You hear the rumbling and gurgling in my belly, that’s where they are, and there’s a place for you there.”
And with these words - bang! - and ate the worker. The owners are tired of waiting for their employee, he is no longer there. They sent a servant girl to look for him. She, too, came across a wolf, and his girlfriend asked if he had seen a shepherd boy, seven sheep, a short foal, and the owner’s worker. And the wolf answered her:
“You hear the rumbling and gurgling in my belly, that’s where they are, there’s a place for you too.”
Hap! - and ate it.
The owner waits and waits, when the girl returns home, but she is still not there, in the end he got tired of waiting, and he went in search of himself. He met a wolf and asked if he had seen a shepherd boy, seven sheep, a short foal, a worker, and a servant girl. And the wolf to him:
“You hear the rumbling and gurgling in my belly, that’s where they are, perhaps there’s a place for you there too.”
And with these words - bang! - and swallowed the owner.
The hostess waited for her husband for a long time, but he still didn’t come and didn’t come. In the end she had no more peace, and she went to look for it herself. She met a wolf, she asked him if he had seen a shepherd boy, seven sheep, a short foal, a worker, a servant girl, and her husband.
“You can’t see it,” the wolf answers her, “you hear, there’s a rumbling and gurgling in my belly, that’s where they are, and there’s still a place for you.”
Hap! - and swallowed the hostess too.
The dog got tired of sitting alone, waiting for his owners, and he left the house to look for them. A wolf comes across her, and she asks him if he has seen a shepherd boy, seven sheep, a short foal, a worker, a servant girl, and even a master and mistress. And the wolf answers:
“Do you hear the rumbling and gurgling in my belly, that’s where they are, and there’s a place for you there too.”
Hap! - and swallowed the dog.
There was no one left in the house except the cat; she also seemed bored alone. She ran to look for all the missing people, met a wolf and asked if he had seen a shepherd boy, seven sheep, a short foal, a worker, a servant girl, a master and mistress, and even a dog.
“Of course, of course,” the wolf answers, “do you hear, there’s a rumbling and gurgling in my belly, that’s where they are, and there’s still a place for you.”
Hap! - and ate the cat too.
However, the wolf became greedy: his stomach became cramped, the dog and the cat quarreled, and they fought so hard that they tore the wolf’s belly with their claws. And out of there came a shepherd boy with his seven sheep, a scanty foal, a worker, a servant girl, a master and mistress, and a dog and a cat - alive and well, safe and sound. They attacked the wolf en masse and killed it, and they themselves, cheerful and satisfied, went home.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru