Fables for Children, Stories for Children, Natural Science Stories, Popular Education, Decembrists, Moral Tales. Лев Николаевич Толстой

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      "But, Wolf, I was not yet born last summer."

      The Wolf got angry, and said:

      "It is hard to get the best of you. Besides, my stomach is empty, so I will devour you."

      THE LION, THE WOLF, AND THE FOX

      An old, sick Lion was lying in his den. All the animals came to see the king, but the Fox kept away. So the Wolf was glad of the chance, and began to slander the Fox before the Lion.

      "She does not esteem you in the least," he said, "she has not come once to see the king."

      The Fox happened to run by as he was saying these words. She heard what the Wolf had said, and thought:

      "Wait, Wolf, I will get my revenge on you."

      So the Lion began to roar at the Fox, but she said:

      "Do not have me killed, but let me say a word! I did not come to see you because I had no time. And I had no time because I ran over the whole world to ask the doctors for a remedy for you. I have just got it, and so I have come to see you."

      The Lion said:

      "What is the remedy?"

      "It is this: if you flay a live Wolf, and put his warm hide on you – "

      When the Lion stretched out the Wolf, the Fox laughed, and said:

      "That's it, my friend: masters ought to be led to do good, not evil."

      THE LION, THE ASS, AND THE FOX

      The Lion, the Ass, and the Fox went out to hunt. They caught a large number of animals, and the Lion told the Ass to divide them up. The Ass divided them into three equal parts and said: "Now, take them!"

      The Lion grew angry, ate up the Ass, and told the Fox to divide them up anew. The Fox collected them all into one heap, and left a small bit for herself. The Lion looked at it and said:

      "Clever Fox! Who taught you to divide so well?"

      She said:

      "What about that Ass?"

      THE PEASANT AND THE WATER-SPRITE

      A Peasant lost his axe in the river; he sat down on the bank in grief, and began to weep.

      The Water-sprite heard the Peasant and took pity on him. He brought a gold axe out of the river, and said: "Is this your axe?"

      The Peasant said: "No, it is not mine."

      The Water-sprite brought another, a silver axe.

      Again the Peasant said: "It is not my axe."

      Then the Water-sprite brought out the real axe.

      The Peasant said: "Now this is my axe."

      The Water-sprite made the Peasant a present of all three axes, for having told the truth.

      At home the Peasant showed his axes to his friends, and told them what had happened to him.

      One of the peasants made up his mind to do the same: he went to the river, purposely threw his axe into the water, sat down on the bank, and began to weep.

      The Water-sprite brought out a gold axe, and asked: "Is this your axe?"

      The Peasant was glad, and called out: "It is mine, mine!"

      The Water-sprite did not give him the gold axe, and did not bring him back his own either, because he had told an untruth.

      THE RAVEN AND THE FOX

      A Raven got himself a piece of meat, and sat down on a tree. The Fox wanted to get it from him. She went up to him, and said:

      "Oh, Raven, as I look at you, – from your size and beauty, – you ought to be a king! And you would certainly be a king, if you had a good voice."

      The Raven opened his mouth wide, and began to croak with all his might and main. The meat fell down. The Fox caught it and said:

      "Oh, Raven! If you had also sense, you would certainly be a king."

      II. ADAPTATIONS AND IMITATIONS OF HINDOO FABLES

      THE SNAKE'S HEAD AND TAIL

      The Snake's Tail had a quarrel with the Snake's Head about who was to walk in front. The Head said:

      "You cannot walk in front, because you have no eyes and no ears."

      The Tail said:

      "Yes, but I have strength, I move you; if I want to, I can wind myself around a tree, and you cannot get off the spot."

      The Head said:

      "Let us separate!"

      And the Tail tore himself loose from the Head, and crept on; but the moment he got away from the Head, he fell into a hole and was lost.

      FINE THREAD

      A Man ordered some fine thread from a Spinner. The Spinner spun it for him, but the Man said that the thread was not good, and that he wanted the finest thread he could get. The Spinner said:

      "If this is not fine enough, take this!" and she pointed to an empty space.

      He said that he did not see any. The Spinner said:

      "You do not see it, because it is so fine. I do not see it myself."

      The Fool was glad, and ordered some more thread of this kind, and paid her for what he got.

      THE PARTITION OF THE INHERITANCE

      A Father had two Sons. He said to them: "When I die, divide everything into two equal parts."

      When the Father died, the Sons could not divide without quarrelling. They went to a Neighbour to have him settle the matter. The Neighbour asked them how their Father had told them to divide. They said:

      "He ordered us to divide everything into two equal parts."

      The Neighbour said:

      "If so, tear all your garments into two halves, break your dishes into two halves, and cut all your cattle into two halves!"

      The Brothers obeyed their Neighbour, and lost everything.

      THE MONKEY

      A Man went into the woods, cut down a tree, and began to saw it. He raised the end of the tree on a stump, sat astride over it, and began to saw. Then he drove a wedge into the split that he had sawed, and went on sawing; then he took out the wedge and drove it in farther down.

      A Monkey was sitting on a tree and watching him. When the Man lay down to sleep, the Monkey seated herself astride the tree, and wanted to do the same; but when she took out the wedge, the tree sprang back and caught her tail. She began СКАЧАТЬ