A wolf and a fox lived, worked together, fed from the same table. With great difficulty they accumulated a birch bark tub of hayak - frozen sour cream.
The wolf was patient, thrifty, he did not touch the supplies himself and did not allow the fox.
“For now, we need to eat what we can find, and we’ll save the hayak in case of great need, a hunger strike.”
- Oh, little wolf, how long will we continue to eat garbage? - said the fox. - Let's open the tub and at least try what it is, our hayak.
- I won’t allow it! Be patient!
The fox finds no place for himself: he sits down, stands up, leaves the yurt, and comes back in.
- Old man, I’ll go visit.
- Rrrrr, who is this for?
- Uh, I’ll go to Khara-kaan.
- Bring me something.
“I’ll bring it, I’ll bring it,” said the fox, and only her tail flashed behind the door.
Stealthily, with her ears pressed to the back of her neck out of fear, the rogue went down into the cellar and began to crush the stored hayak by both cheeks. Seeing that the tub was empty to the top hoop, the fox stopped. “It seems I ate too much,” she thought, “if he sees the fanged one, he’ll give me a hard time.”
Remembering the promised gift, the fox scraped off the stuck hayak from its muzzle and paws, rolled it into a lump the size of a chicken egg and took it to the wolf, “N-ny, n-ny!” Are you back?
- Uh! And then who, where will I go?
— How are the neighbors doing?
“They have joy and fun, the eldest daughter-in-law has her first child.
— What did they treat you there?
- The guests on the left half were treated to hayak, on the right - intestines and porridge, on the bunks - soup and mare's meat, and in the corner - all sorts of delicacies.
- Oh, there were so many things! What did you bring me?
- There are many names, there is nothing to eat. That's all I could grab for you. - And she threw a lump of hayak.
The wolf swallowed it in one fell swoop.
The wolf and the fox stayed at home for three days. The fox, who ate hayak on the third day, was kinder; she lit the stove and did some things around the house.
The wolf was curled up and dozing.
“Old man, you should go to Khara-kaan, maybe he’ll treat you to something,” said the fox.
- Uh, I won’t go to Khara-kaan, the dogs will kill me.
- Should I go? - says the fox.
- Go, eat yourself and bring me something.
- Do you think they organize holidays every day?.. Still, I’ll go, maybe this time I’ll get something.
She wagged her tail and ducked out the door, laughing to herself at the stupid wolf.
She climbed into the cellar again and set to work on the hayak, emptying the tub to the bottom hoop. Slightly drunk from satiety, the fox scraped off the hayak that had stuck to its muzzle and paws, rolled it into a ball the size of a five-year-old child’s fist, and carried it into the yurt.
- Why so long? - asked the wolf, barely moving his tongue from hunger.
— I stayed at Khara-kaan’s place, he was celebrating again: the middle daughter-in-law had her first child. Well, I brought you a gift.
The wolf swallowed a lump of hayak and licked his lips.
-Who was born to them?
- Son, they say.
-What name did they give him?
- A hoop, they say.
“They gave it a bad name,” said the wolf and dozed off. Several more hungry days passed.
- Wolf, I can’t suffer like this anymore, let’s eat the stock.
“It’s not time yet, we must endure, the greatest famine is ahead.”
The fox began to spin around, became worried and began to run back and forth. She wants to go to the cellar, but is afraid of the wolf.
- Old man, you should go to our neighbor Khara-kaan.
- Eh! I will show myself, and he will think that I am going to slaughter his herd, and he will set his dogs on me...
- Should I go?
- Go, maybe you’ll bring me something again?
That's just what the cheat was waiting for. She quickly disappeared behind the door, only her tail flashed. She followed the old trail down into the cellar and ate the entire hayak. Then she scraped the remains from the bottom, collected the crumbs from the floor, rolled her calfskin mittens into a ball the size of a stick, put them under her arm and went to the wolf.
-Where have you been for so long? - asked the wolf.
- I got to the holiday again.
- What kind of holiday is this?
— The youngest daughter-in-law has her first child.
- What do you think the child will be named?
- Bottom.
- An unheard of name!.. What did they treat the guests with?
“There were a lot of different treats, I ate to my fill.”
- What did you bring me?
“The food was all liquid and hot, you couldn’t carry it.” That's all I could grab for you.
And she threw him a piece of hayak. The wolf ate and dozed off. Several more days passed.
The wolf feels that the end is coming for him, he is no longer able to starve.
“Let’s go to the cellar,” he said, getting to his feet and staggering from hunger, “I’m completely lost!”
“Let’s go, little wolf,” said the fox, wagging its tail. They came to the cellar.
The wolf saw the empty tub and howled with grief and resentment:
- N-us! Red, this is where you went for the holiday, this is where you were treated!..
“How dare you say that,” the fox squealed, “you ate everything yourself when I was visiting Khara-kaan... That’s why you, cunning one, didn’t want to leave home.”
The fox squealed so loudly, as if the wolf really was the culprit.
“You foxes can never be trusted.” The more flattery you have on your tongue, the more villainy you have on your mind. Every word you say, every tear you cry is a lie...
They argued for a long, long time, and then went their separate ways.
The deceived wolf, with his tail between his legs, went into the thicket, and the deceiving fox, covering his tracks, disappeared into the bushes.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru