The Tale of the Boy, the Puppy, the Kitten, and the Little Frog

Once upon a time, there was a woman who had a schoolboy son. Every morning, when the boy left for school, his mother would give him some money and say:

"Take this, my son, and buy yourself a white bun." One day, as the boy was walking along the road, he saw three mischievous boys beating a little puppy with sticks.

"Hey, you!" the boy shouted. "Why are you beating that puppy?"

"None of your business! Go on your way, or we'll beat you too!"

The puppy whimpered pitifully. The boy shouted at the troublemakers again:

"Listen, give me the puppy! I'll give you money for it, and you can buy a bun with it."

"Alright," said one of the boys, "give us the money."

The boy handed over his money and took the puppy. That day, he went without a bun. When the boy returned home, his mother saw the puppy, frowned, but said nothing.

The next day, the mother again gave her son some money and sent him off to school. As the boy crossed the bridge, he saw the same troublemakers tormenting a kitten: they had tied a stone around its neck and were about to throw it into the river. The kitten meowed as if it were a crying child.

The boy felt sorry for the kitten and shouted at the troublemakers:

"Stop, don't throw it in the water! Sell it to me, I'll give you money for it."

"Give us the money!" yelled the oldest boy and handed him the kitten.

The boy untied the stone, put the kitten in his bag, went to school, and again went hungry until evening. When he returned home, his mother saw the kitten, frowned even more, but again said nothing to her son.

On the third day, the boy gave his money to the troublemakers—this time to buy a little frog: it had secretly jumped out of a deep pond, away from its mother, and they had caught it. In the evening, the boy came home and placed the frog on a mat where the puppy and kitten were lying. This time, his mother got really angry:

"What is this? Why are you bringing all this junk into the house? Who's going to feed them? Don't you know we have nothing to eat ourselves?"

"Don't be angry, mother," said the boy. "Every creature wants to live."

"Throw them out of the house, I don't want to keep them here!"

"Alright, mother, but I'll leave with them."

"Go wherever you want!" the mother shouted in frustration.

The mother slammed the gate behind her son, thinking he would stand outside for a while and then come back apologetically. But the boy really left.

He walked along the road, with the puppy, kitten, and little frog following him. They walked and walked until they reached a big city. They sat down to rest. The boy sighed heavily.

"What's wrong, brother?" asked the little frog. "Why are you sighing?"

"My heart is heavy. We have no bread. What are we going to do?"

"We'll earn some," said the little frog.

"How?"

"I'll teach you. I'll sing—my voice is loud—and the puppy and kitten will dance. We'll entertain the children, and they'll throw us some money. Then we'll buy bread. Let's try it."

They got up and continued on their way. They entered the city and went straight to the schoolyard. The little frog sang, and the puppy and kitten began to dance. They danced so well that the schoolchildren couldn't take their eyes off them. They threw the boy so much money that his hat was full. The boy was delighted. He bought himself a loaf of bread, a whole box of flies for the frog, a piece of meat for the puppy, and a fish for the kitten. They ate their fill, left the city, and spent the night in a haystack. The next morning, they went to another city and did the same thing—sang and danced, earning their bread.

They walked from city to city, from village to village. They passed through many villages and cities. Many days and years went by. The little frog's voice became even louder, the puppy's neck grew thicker, the kitten's tail grew longer, and the boy grew a mustache above his lip. Now he was no longer a boy, but a fine young man.

One day, the little frog said:

"You know what, brother? I'm tired of wandering the world and singing."

"What do you want?" asked the young man.

"I want to return to our deep pond, to my mother. I miss her."

"I miss my mother too," said the young man. "Let's go back home."

The little frog replied:

"When you take me to my mother, she'll be overjoyed and will want to reward you with money. But don't take the money, brother. Ask her for the silver box—she always keeps it under her tongue."

So the travelers set off on their way back. They reached the deep pond. The little frog croaked:

"Mother! I've returned! Come out and greet me!"

The old frog heard him and jumped so high with joy that she leaped over the mill.

"Where have you been, my dear child?" asked the frog.

The little frog told her everything. The old frog began to thank the young man.

"How can I reward you?" she asked.

"I don't need anything. Just give me the box—the one you keep under your tongue."

"Well, well! You know what to ask for," said the frog. "Alright, take it. When you're in need, open the lid—you'll see what happens."

The young man left the little frog with the old frog and went home to his mother. The puppy and kitten ran after him. When they crossed the threshold, the mother clapped her hands:

"My son, how you've grown! Look—you have a mustache now. It's time to get married."

"You're right, mother. I've been thinking about it myself, and I've even found a bride," said the son. "As we were walking back to our village, I saw a girl in a neighboring town. She was standing by a spring, filling a golden jug with water. I want to marry her. Go and propose to her for me."

"How can I propose to her, my son? Do you know who she is? She's the king's daughter, my child!"

"So what if she's the king's daughter? Aren't we people too?"

"We are people, but poor as can be."

"Go and propose to her anyway, and we'll see how things turn out."
The mother got up and went to the royal palace. The old king looked her over from head to toe and stamped his foot.

"Why have you come?" he asked in a stern voice.

The poor woman told him why she had come. And the king shouted:

"I will give my daughter in marriage to whoever builds a palace larger and more beautiful than mine. Tell that to your son. Now get out of here!"

The poor woman returned home and told her son what the old king demanded. The son listened to his mother, remembered the frog's little box, took it out of his pocket, and opened the lid—it was tiny, no bigger than a fingernail. Suddenly, a thin white column of smoke rose from the box. It stretched and spread, and then turned into a giant—an enormous, mountain-sized giant.

"What do you command, master?" the giant asked the young man.

"I command you to build a palace, bigger and more beautiful than the king's."

"It shall be done!" said the giant, and in an instant, he built a palace that reached the heavens.

When the old king saw this palace, he bit his tongue. He had no choice but to give his daughter in marriage to the young man. The newlyweds began to live in the palace.

One day, the young man said to his wife:

"I'm going to see what's happening in the world. You stay home and wait for me until I return."

The young man set off down the road, with the puppy and kitten following him. They walked all day. By evening, they reached a town. The kitten meowed:

"Brother, I'm hungry!"

"I'll feed you now," said the young man. He reached into his pocket to take out the box, but the box was gone! The young man panicked.

"Where is my box?" he cried. "I must have left it at home on the shelf under the bowl. There's nothing to be done, we must go back. We'll take my magic box and set off again."

The travelers turned back.

But here's what happened to the box.

The young wife began cleaning the room and found the box on the shelf under the bowl. Not knowing what it was, she threw it out the window. The box fell onto the street, and a voice came from it:

"Oh!"

At that moment, a ragpicker was passing by. Hearing the groan, he bent down, picked up the box, and opened the lid. Out came the giant.

"What do you command, master?" the giant said to the ragpicker.

"I command you to take this palace and move it, along with me, to the most desolate island in the sea! And bring that young woman with us—the one looking out the window now."

"It shall be done!" said the giant, and he moved the palace to the island.

Late in the evening, the young man, the puppy, and the kitten reached the place where their palace used to stand. But the palace was gone! The young man sat on a stone and wept bitterly.

"Why are you crying, brother?" asked the puppy.

"I'm crying for my palace, for my wife. Oh, if only I had my box now!"

"Don't cry, brother, we'll bring it back to you," said the kitten, and together with the puppy, they ran to the sea.

They reached the shore and peered out. In the distance, they saw a lonely island with the palace on it. The kitten jumped onto the puppy's back, and the puppy swam to the island. They sneaked into the palace. The kitten couldn't resist and climbed up to the attic to chase mice. An old rat approached him and asked:

"Why are you chasing my mice?"

"I want to take revenge on your master."

"What did he do to you?"

"He stole our brother's box. Where is your master now?"

"He's sleeping."

"And the box?"

"He stuffed it up his nose. If you need that box, I'll bring it to you, but you must promise not to catch my mice."

"I promise!" said the kitten.

The rat ran to the kitchen and dipped her tail in red pepper. Then she sneaked into the ragpicker's bedroom. He was fast asleep, oblivious to everything! The rat crept quietly up the blanket to his head and tickled his nose with her tail. The red pepper got into the ragpicker's nose, and it tickled. He strained and sneezed—the box flew out of his nose, and the rat grabbed it with her teeth and brought it to the kitten.

"Here," she said, "take it to your brother so he won't cry."

And the kitten said:

"Thank you very much!"

The kitten waved his paws, jumped into the yard, climbed onto the puppy's back, and they swam across the sea—overjoyed to have found their brother's box. They reached the shore and saw the young man sitting on a stone, crying.

"Don't cry, brother, we've brought your box!" the kitten shouted, handing the box to the young man.

He wiped his eyes and opened the lid. In an instant, the giant appeared.

"What do you command, master?" he asked.

"I command you to bring the palace, my wife, and the thief here."

And in a flash, the palace returned to its place. The young man entered it. The thief was still sleeping soundly. The young man stamped his feet, woke the thief, gave him a slap, and shouted:

"Don't you dare steal someone else's palace again! Or I'll have the giant break all your bones. Get out of here!"

The ragpicker grabbed his hat and ran for his life.

And so they all lived happily ever after: the young man with his wife and mother in the palace, the kitten in the attic, the puppy in the yard. And the little frog, every evening, would crawl out of the deep pool and sing them songs—lulling them to sleep.

More fairy tales

• The Wolf and the Magpie
• He who does not work, does not eat
• The Golden Girl
• The Cunning Rooster
• The Voivode's Children