The Travelers

Once upon a time, a rooster jumped onto the roof of a house and wanted to see the whole world from there. He stretched his neck, turned his head this way and that, but saw nothing—the mountain standing in front of the house blocked his view of the horizon.

"Hey, Doggy-jan, do you happen to know what's over there, beyond the mountain?" the rooster asked the dog lying in the yard.
"I don't know," replied the dog.
"Our whole lives will pass, and we'll never find out. Let's go and see the world!"

The dog agreed. They got ready and set off on their journey. They walked and walked until they reached the forest. By that time, the sun had already set behind the treetops, and twilight had fallen. The rooster and the dog settled down for the night in the forest: the dog under a bush, and the rooster on a branch of a big tree. When dawn broke, the rooster crowed:

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

A fox heard this: "Aha! Someone's crowing here—that's good! What a delightful breakfast I'll have!" she thought and hurried to the tree where the rooster was perched.

"Good morning, Rooster-jan! What are you doing up there so early?" asked the fox.
"We're traveling. We want to see the world," replied the rooster.
"Oh, what a wonderful idea! It's such a smart thought—to travel and see the world!" exclaimed the fox admiringly. "The thing is, I have the same dream. But I don't have a friend to go on the journey with. Can I come with you?"

"Well, I don't mind," said the rooster. "But let me ask my companion what he thinks about it. Wait a minute, I'll find out."
"Where is your companion?"
"Right here—under the bush, by the tree."

"His friend must be another rooster. That's good: I already have breakfast, and now I'll have lunch too!" the fox thought gleefully and dashed into the bushes. Suddenly, seeing the dog there, she got so scared that she ran away as fast as she could.

"Hey, Fox-jan! Don't rush off like that, wait a bit, we're coming too. Some friend you are!" the rooster cheerfully called after her from the tree branch.

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The Travelers

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