Ukrainian Folk Tale
Read by: Kateryna Artemenko, actress at the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater
Once upon a time, there lived a Cat and a Rooster. The Cat would play his fiddle, and the Rooster would sing cheerful songs. When the Cat went out to find food, the Rooster stayed home to guard the house. Each time before leaving, the Cat would say:
“Now listen, don’t let anyone in, and don’t go outside — no matter who calls you.”
“All right, all right,” the Rooster would reply. Then he’d lock the door and sit quietly, waiting for the Cat to return.
But one day a sly Fox came by and decided to trick him. She crept up under the window when the Cat was away and called sweetly:
“Rooster, dear Rooster, look out your window!
I’ve got golden wheat and cool, fresh water!”
But the Rooster clucked back,
“Tok-tok, tok-tok — the Cat told me not!”
The Fox saw her trick hadn’t worked, so she tried another. Late that night, she scattered golden grains of wheat under the Rooster’s window and hid behind a bush.
In the morning, when the Cat went out, the Rooster peeked through the window and saw the wheat.
“I’ll just peck a little,” he thought. “No one will notice — and the Cat will never know.”
But the moment he stepped outside, the Fox pounced, grabbed him, and ran!
The Rooster cried out:
“Brother Cat, Brother Cat!
The Fox is carrying me away —
Beyond the high mountains,
Through the dark forests!
Come save me!”
By the time the Cat heard him, the Fox was long gone. The Cat wept bitterly, then took his fiddle and a painted sack and set off for the Fox’s house.
Now the Fox had four daughters and one little son.
Before leaving to hunt, the old Fox told her children:
“Don’t let anyone in! Watch the Rooster, and boil some water — I’ll cook when I get back.”
The Cat crept up under the window, tuned his fiddle, and began to play and sing:
Oh, the Fox, the Fox has a fine new yard,
Four lovely daughters, and one bright son,
Little Philip, the youngest one!
Come out, dear Fox, and see —
How well I play for thee!
The eldest fox-daughter couldn’t resist.
“You stay here,” she said to her sisters, “I’ll just take a peek at who’s playing so beautifully!”
But as soon as she stepped outside, the Cat grabbed her and stuffed her into his painted sack.
Then he began to play again:
Oh, the Fox, the Fox has a fine new yard,
Four lovely daughters, and one bright son,
Little Philip, the youngest one!
Come out, dear Fox, and see —
How well I play for thee!
The second daughter couldn’t help herself — she came out too, and the Cat caught her as well. One by one, he lured all the fox-children out and tied them up in his sack.
Then he hung the sack on a dry willow tree, crept into the house, found the poor Rooster, untied him, and together they ate all the Fox’s dinner. They tipped over the pot of boiling water and ran back home as fast as they could.
And from that day on, the Rooster always listened to the Cat — and never opened the door again.ули, а самі втекли додому. Та вже потім півник довіку слухав котика.
