Translation:Collection of Slavic Folk Tales/XXII

XXII

LET'S NOT FORCE OUR TALENT

(RUSSIAN TALE)

Once upon a time, in a village, there was a peasant who had a good dog; the dog grew old; it stopped barking and guarding the yard and shed. The peasant no longer wanted to feed it and threw it out. The dog went into the forest and lay under a tree to die. A bear passed by and asked:

"Why, dog, are you lying here?"

"I came to die of hunger. See what human justice is: as long as you're strong, they feed you, and when old age takes your strength, they throw you out."

"Do you want to eat?"

"Do I ever!"

"Come with me, I'll get you dinner."

They set off. On the way, they met a horse.

"Watch me," said the bear.

And he began digging the earth with his paws.

"Dog! Dog!"

"What?"

"See if my eyes are red."

"Red."

The bear dug the earth with more fury.

"Dog! Dog! Is my fur bristling?"

"It's bristling."

"Dog! Dog! Is my tail standing up?"

"It's standing."

The bear grabbed the horse by the belly: the horse fell to the ground. The bear tore it to pieces.

"Come, dog, eat as much as you want. And when you have nothing left, come find me."

The dog lived several days without worry; when he had eaten everything, he was hungry again; he went to the bear.

"Well, brother, ate everything?"

"Ate it all. And now I'm hungry."

"Why not satisfy your hunger? Do you know where the village women go to harvest?"

"I know."

"Well, let's go! I'll slip into your mistress's house, take her child from the cradle; you chase after me and snatch the child from me; then take it back home. You'll see, your mistress will give you bread to eat, like in the old days."

The bear slipped into the house, took the child from its cradle; the child cried, the women chased the bear; but they had to return without catching him. The mother wept, the women despaired. The dog appeared from nowhere, caught up with the bear, took the child, and brought it home. They ran to meet him; the mother was overjoyed: "I'll never abandon this dog."

And she said to her husband:

"My man, we must keep and feed the dog; he's the one who saved our child from the bear. And you said he had no strength!"

The dog grew fat and sleek, so well-fed was he. "Lord," he said, "give health to the bear; I owe it to him that I'm not dead of hunger."

And he became the bear's best friend.

Once, there was a supper at the peasant's house; the bear came to visit the dog:

"Greetings, dog. How's your health?"

"Very well, thank God. My life is a perpetual carnival. What can I offer you? Let's go into the izba (cottage); the masters are having fun, they won't see you enter; slip quickly under the stove."

Fine; they entered the cottage. The dog saw that the masters and guests were merry enough; he played host to his friend. The bear drank one glass, then a second; it put him in high spirits. The guests began to sing; the bear wanted to sing his song too.

"Don't sing," the dog repeated, "it'll bring us trouble."

No matter what he said, the other wouldn't stop and sang louder and louder. They finally heard him; they grabbed a stick and fell on him. He escaped, barely, more dead than alive.

The peasant also had a cat; it stopped catching mice and started making mischief; sometimes it broke a vase, sometimes it spilled the milk. The peasant threw the cat out; the dog saw the poor creature was about to die of hunger and secretly brought it bread and meat. The mistress found out; she began beating the dog and forbade him to bring the cat meat or bread. After three days, the dog went out and saw the cat was near death.

"I haven't eaten," it said, "since you stopped bringing me food."

"Come with me," said the dog.

They set off. The dog approached a herd of horses; he dug the earth with his claws.

"Cat, cat, tell me if my eyes are red."

"No, they're not red."

"Say they're red."

"Fine, red."

"Cat, cat, is my fur bristling?"

"No, it's not bristling."

"Say, fool, it's bristling."

"Fine, it's bristling."

"Cat, cat, is my tail standing up?"

"No, it's not standing."

"Fool! Say it's standing."

"Fine, it's standing."

The dog lunged at a horse; the horse kicked him: there was the dog, dead.

"And now," said the cat, "there he is with red eyes, bristling fur, and tail in the air. Farewell, brother dog, I'm off to die."