Once upon a time in the forest there lived a Cat and a Cock. The Cat went shooting and the Cock cooked a meal, cleaned up the hut and sang merry songs.
One day the Cat went shooting. The Cock locked the door and began to cook dinner. Meanwhile a fox sneaked up to the hut. She sat under the window and began to sing:
Cock the Gold Crest,
Look out of the window,
I will give you peas to peck.
The Cock looked out of the window. The Fox seized him and rushed back home. The Cock began to shout loudly:
Cat, Cat, my dear brother,
The Fox has stolen me,
She carries me far off,
Behind the high mountains,
Behind the dense forest,
I’m very afraid!
The Cat heard the Cock’s cry, overtook the Fox and took away the Cock. The friends came back home together.
The next day the Cat had to go shooting again. Before leaving the hut he said to his friend Cock:
“Be careful, don’t go out from the hut and don’t look out of the window. I will go far in the forest and it will be difficult to hear you!”
“All right,” replied the Cock.
As soon as the Cat leaved the hut the Fox appeared. She sat under the window and began to sing:
Cock the Gold Crest,
Look out of the window,
I will give you peas to peck,
I will give you corn to peck.
The Cock said:
“I won’t look out of the window! You will eat me!
“No, I won’t eat you. I will give you wheat to peck!” answered the sly Fox.
The Cock believed the Fox again and looked out of the window. The Fox seized him and carried home to her children. The Cock began to call his friend Cat:
Cat, Cat, my dear brother,
The Fox has stolen me,
She carries me far off,
Behind the high mountains,
Behind the dense forest,
I’m very afraid!
Fortunately, the Cat didn’t go far from the hut. He overtook the Fox and managed to snatch the Cock out of the Fox’s clutches.
When the friends were at home the Cat began to scold the Cock:
“I’ve told you that you mustn’t look out of the window! Why haven’t you followed my advice? Tomorrow I will go shooting far in the forest again. Don’t look out of the window otherwise the Fox will eat you!”
“Don’t worry, everything will be all right!” replied the Cock.
As soon as the Cat leaved the hut the Fox came. She sat under the window and began to sing:
Cock the Gold Crest,
Look out of the window,
I will give you peas to peck,
I will give you corn to peck,
I will give you wheat to peck.
And then the Fox added:
“Look how many wonders I have! Look out of the window! I am not your enemy, I am your friend. Don’t believe the Cat!”
The Cock believed the Fox again and looked out of the window. The Fox seized him and carried home to her children. The Cock began to cry loudly and call the Cat, but everything was in vain. The Cat was very far from the hut.
The Fox carried the Cock home and ordered her daughters:
“Stoke the stove and cook the chicken soup of this Cock!”
Having given instructions to her daughters the Fox went to invite guests to dine with her family.
Meanwhile the Cat returned home and found that the Cock disappeared.
“It’s the Fox’s tricks!” he understood.
The Cat devised how to save his friend. He took a violin and went to the Fox’s hut. Then he sat near the gates of the Fox’s hut and began to play the violin.
The Fox’s daughters heard the wonderful tune and one of them said:
“Sisters, do you hear the wonderful tune? Who is playing so skillfully? Let’s go to the yard to hear the music! We have enough time to boil the Cock.”
The Fox’s daughters ran to the yard, sat near the gates and began to listen the music with delight. Meanwhile the Cock ran out of the Fox’s hut and the friends rushed to their hut.
Since that time the Cock didn’t believe the Fox and she stopped hunting after him. The Cat and the Cock lived happily and never quarrel.