Not by Strength, but by Wit

A man went into the forest to chop firewood. After chopping some wood, he sat down on a tree stump to rest.

A bear came along and said:
"Hey, human, let's wrestle!"

The man looked at the bear: such a massive beast—how could he possibly match it? If the bear squeezed him with its paws, he’d be done for.

"Eh," said the man, "why should I wrestle you? Let’s first see if you’re strong enough. Then we’ll wrestle."

"How will we check?" asked the bear.

The man took his axe, split the stump from the top, drove a wedge into the crack, and said:
"If you can tear this stump apart with your paw, then you’re strong. Then we’ll wrestle."

Well, the bear, without thinking twice, stuck its paw into the crack. Meanwhile, the man whacked the wedge with the back of his axe, and it popped out.

Then the stump clamped down on the bear’s paw like a vice.

The bear roared, danced on three legs, but couldn’t split the stump or free itself.

"So," said the man, "still want to wrestle me?"

"No," howled the bear, "I won’t!"

"That’s what I thought!" said the man. "You don’t always need strength to win—sometimes you need brains."

He drove the wedge back into the crack, and the bear pulled out its paw—then fled into the forest without looking back.

From that day on, the bear has been afraid to meet humans.

More fairy tales

• Where the Pans Came from in Polesie
• The Wise Daughter
• The Speckled Hen
• About Priest Kirila and His Worker Gavrila
• You Can't Be Satisfied with Stolen Goods