The Fox Elder and the Tsar's Son

There once lived a king who had a son.
One day, the king said to his son:
"My son, I want to marry you off."
"Very well," replied the son, "but I wish to marry the daughter of the King of the East. Bring her to me, and I will marry her. Otherwise, I will not marry anyone else."
"No," said the king, "the King of the East is poor. Why would you want his daughter? I will find you the daughter of a wealthy king."
But the son refused:
"I don’t want anyone else, no matter how rich. I only want her."
The king grew angry:
"You are my son, and you must obey my will."
"No, no," the son stubbornly insisted and decided to leave home.
He took his horse, a cloak, a rifle, mounted his horse, and rode away.
He arrived at the Chanchkarel cliffs, located on the border of Akhaltsikhe and Akhalkalaki. Eagles nested at the top of the cliffs, and cold springs gushed at their base.
He found a cave there, led his horse inside, and tied it up. Then he went out to hunt.
Every day he went hunting and killed a deer. But he never ate an entire deer by himself. He would eat some and leave the rest.
A hungry fox caught wind of this, crept up, and began to eat.
An eagle also flew in for the meat, and a cat appeared from somewhere. A hare came running too. They became friends, eating and wandering together.
Then the fox said:
"Let’s invite the bear and the wolf. They’re hungry too. There’s plenty of meat for everyone."
They invited the bear and the wolf. They ate the meat, gnawed on the bones, and were all satisfied.
But the clever fox came up with an idea: they needed to choose a leader, or else they would quarrel and tear each other apart.
She gathered all her companions and said:
"We must choose a leader. Whatever the leader assigns to each of us, even a small piece, will be fair. Otherwise, we’ll fight. What do you think?"
"Very good," said all the companions.
The fox herself wanted to be the leader but said to the wolf for appearances:
"You be the leader."
"No," the wolf refused, "I can’t manage it. If I start dividing, I’m afraid I’ll take more for myself, and you’ll get angry and drive me away."
"Fine. Bear, you be the leader," said the fox.
"No, no," everyone shouted, "you should be the leader instead."
"Well then," the fox agreed, "but you must obey me properly!"
"Good, good!" the animals cried.
"Then listen: do you think this meat comes to us by itself? No, it’s the young man living in the cave who provides it. We must repay him."
"What should we do?" they all asked.
"Here’s what: we’ll bring him the daughter of the King of the East as his bride."
"How will we bring her?" the animals asked.
"Like this," said the fox. "You, bear, wolf, and eagle will go to the king’s palace. The bear and the wolf will hitch themselves to a plow and plow the king’s land. The king will be amazed and think, 'Even the animals fear and serve me.' He’ll call his wife and daughter to see how great he is: even the animals work for him. When the king’s daughter comes out onto the balcony, the eagle, hovering above the palace, will swoop down, grab her, and carry her away. That’s how we’ll bring her to our friend."
The leader’s orders must be followed.
The eagle flew and hovered above the palace, while the wolf and the bear hitched themselves to the plow and began plowing. The king came out, followed by the queen and their daughter. As soon as the eagle saw her, it swooped down like a stone, grabbed the girl, and carried her off.
The animals brought the beauty to the cave, left her there, and went away.
When the young man returned from hunting, he saw someone sitting in his cave.
He was surprised and asked:
"Who are you?"
"I am the daughter of the King of the East," said the girl.
"Oh, what joy!" the young man rejoiced. "I left my home for you and have been living here, longing for you. Who brought you here?"
The beauty told him everything. The young man marveled:
"So it was my animal friends who brought you here."
He was overjoyed and gave even more meat to his friends.
The fox gathered the companions again:
"Do you know that they are humans and cannot sleep on bare ground?"
"What should we do?" the animals asked.
"Here’s what," said the fox. "Go to Akhaltsikhe. You, wolf, run through the city, and everyone will chase you, leaving their shops unattended. You, bear, sneak into a shop, pick out a fine piece of brocade, and carry it away."
The wolf cried out:
"Oh, they’ll catch me, the dogs will tear me apart!"
The fox shouted:
"You’re a dog yourself! Have you forgotten how you ran around hungry? Now you’ve grown fat like a pig and don’t want to serve? If they tear you apart, so be it!"
The wolf was frightened.
"Fine, let’s go," he said to the bear.
They went. Entering the city, the wolf began running through the market, and everyone chased him. Meanwhile, the bear sneaked into a rich shop, loaded a huge piece of brocade onto his back, and ran off. Then they spotted the bear too.
Some chased the wolf, others chased the bear, but neither was caught.
The animals returned, brought the brocade, and laid it in the cave.
Now let’s leave them and go to the King of the East.
The king of the East issued a decree:

"Whoever returns my daughter to me, I will give them as much gold as they weigh."

An old witch stood up, took her staff, hobbled to the king, and said:

— I will bring your daughter back.

— Very well, — said the king, — here is the gold: half now, and the other half when you bring her.

The witch said:

— Very well, but give me just one wine barrel.

They gave her the barrel. She tarred it inside and out, then obtained a snake, sat on the barrel, whipped it with the snake, and the barrel rose and flew away.

The barrel flew to the village of Chikhori, at the very foot of the Chanchkharel cliffs.

The witch descended, threw her whip—the snake—into the barrel, took her staff, and walked on, groaning.

The king's son was out hunting. He saw the old woman, took pity on her, and asked:

— Hello, mother, who are you, and where are you from?

— Hello, my son, — said the old woman. — I, my son, was at the Aspindza baths, I am from Khizabavri, but my companions left, and I fell behind. I don’t know where to go or how to get home, for I am old and frail.

The young man took pity on her and said:

— Well then, come with me.

— Where do you live, my son?

— Right there, in the Chanchkharel cliffs.

The witch was delighted and said:

— May you live happily and forever, my son, for taking pity on an old woman like me.

He put the old woman on his horse, but the horse sensed danger and refused to move, lying down instead. The young man beat the horse until it was bloodied. The horse stumbled along, barely moving.

The young man brought the witch home, and his wife was angry:

— Why did you bring this hundred-year-old woman here?

— It’s nothing, wife, — said the husband, — let her stay the night, and then we’ll see.

They let the witch stay. She heated water, gave the beauty a bath, and served her. The beauty was pleased and said to her husband:

— Let her stay with us.

And the husband replied:

— Why were you angry yesterday and didn’t want her, but now you like her?

To make a long story short, the old woman settled in, and the beauty kept her by her side.

One day, the husband went hunting, and all the animals scattered. Only the beauty and the old woman remained. The witch said:

— Let’s go for a little walk.

She led the beauty to the place where she had left her barrel. The beauty saw the barrel and said:

— What is that, mother? What is that barrel?

— I don’t know, my dear, let’s go and see, — said the witch.

They approached and looked inside; something was lying there.

The beauty said:

— What is that inside? Get it out.

But the witch replied:

— Oh, my dear, my back is aching, I can’t reach it. You’d better get it.

The beauty leaned in, stuck her head and arm into the barrel, and the witch pushed her all the way in, climbed onto the barrel, and flew away.

She brought the beauty back to her family.

The beauty told her father everything—where she had been and how she had lived all this time.

Let us leave them for now and return to the king’s son and the fox-elder.

The fox returned from the hunt—the beauty was gone. She asked the cat:

— Where is she?

But the cat replied:

— I don’t know.

The fox pondered—had the old woman taken her back to her father? Enraged, the fox beat the bear, the wolf, and the eagle for failing to keep watch.

Then she ordered:

— Bring the cat to me.

They brought the cat. The fox said:

— Go to that eastern king, sneak into the beauty’s chambers. She will see you, recognize you, and say: “Dear cat, how did you get here, and where, my dear, is your master?” Then you must run back and tell us everything. Be careful, remember well—whether she welcomes you kindly or not.

The cat ran off. He reached the Eastern Kingdom, sneaked into the palace. The beauty saw the cat and recognized him:

— This is our cat! Dear one, how did you get here? Let me get you some meat, — and she went to fetch the meat.

The cat, overjoyed, didn’t wait for the meat and ran back.

He returned and reported everything to the fox. The fox called the eagle and said:

— Now it’s your turn. Fly to the palace, keep watch, and when she comes out onto the balcony, she will recognize you and trust you. Carry her on your back and fly away.

The eagle flew off.

He arrived, soared above the palace, circling.

The beauty noticed him, came out, and the eagle descended lower. She recognized him, tied a bundle for the journey, and stepped out. The eagle flew down, placed her on his back, and soared upward.

He flew to the cliffs, descended, and left the beauty at the cave. The king’s son rejoiced when he saw his beauty again.
And the fox says to her companions:

— This won’t do, brothers. We must keep watch over them. You, wolf, go to Chikhori and keep guard there. You, bear, go to the grove. You, hare, go to the field. And you, eagle, soar in the sky like an airplane and observe—see if the enemies are plotting anything.

Meanwhile, the eastern king gathered his troops and marched to wage war against his son-in-law. He already knew where they were—his daughter had told him. He reached the fields of Chikhori and set up camp. A black tent was erected for the king.

The wolf saw this and ran as fast as he could to the bear:

— The king is coming with his troops to take back the beauty. Run quickly to the fox!

The bear ran to the fox:

— The king is coming with his troops!

They all gathered: the fox, the bear, the wolf, the eagle, the hare, and the cat. By the time they assembled, evening had fallen.

This bear was the king of all bears, the wolf was the king of wolves, and so were the eagle, the hare, and the cat—all of them were kings.

The fox, acting as the elder, said to the bear:

— I demand a hundred thousand bears from you.

To the wolf:

— A hundred thousand wolves from you.

And so to the eagle, the hare, and the cat.

— By midnight, deliver all the troops to me in full force, — the fox commanded.

The wolf went to the Gomaret forests, howled, and summoned his subordinate wolves. The wolves gathered. He called twice as many as the fox had ordered.

The bear did the same, summoning his kin in the Chait forest, and the eagle flew to the Dark Cliffs to call his own. The hare went to the Kishlak meadows and gathered his kind as ordered.

The cat ran to Khizavabri, closer by, and gathered all the cats.

Thus, all the troops were brought to the deserted village of Sakhir by the appointed time.

The fox stood on a stump and gave a speech:

— Strike them all, but do not eat human flesh—only horse meat. And whichever tent you see me near, do not touch that tent.

All the leaders relayed the fox’s orders to their troops. They formed ranks and went into battle.

They caught up with the king’s troops in the fields of Chikhori and defeated them all before dawn. They killed the people and ate the horses. Meanwhile, the fox strolled near the king’s tent.

Once the beasts had dealt with the enemies, they disbanded their troops. The king stepped out of his tent and saw that his army was gone.

The fox said to the king:

— What were you thinking? Who did you march against?

The king replied:

— Just show me my son-in-law, and then you can even kill me.

— Very well, — said the fox.

The fox led the king to a cave. The king entered and said to his son-in-law:

— Come with me, my son. Why suffer here among the rocks?

— I’ll ask the fox-elder, — said the young man.

They spoke with the fox.

— Fine, — said the fox, — go.

They set off: the king, the groom and his bride, followed by the fox, the wolf, the bear, the eagle, the hare, and the cat.

They lived like this: the wolf was given a sheep every day, the bear—a bull, the eagle—a goose, the fox—a roasted turkey, and the cat—a saucer of milk.

They lived like this for two weeks. But the king began to plot against his son-in-law.

The fox caught wind of it. She lay down, pretending to sleep, and then said:

— I had a dream that my grandfather and grandmother came to me, upset that I haven’t visited them in the afterlife. I must go and see them.

— How will you go to the afterlife? — asked the king and his advisor.

— Like this: bring two carts of dry firewood, build a bonfire on the threshing floor, and I’ll climb into it. Then pour kerosene over it and light it. The flames will rise, and I’ll fly up to the sky with the smoke.

And so they did.

They built the bonfire, the fox climbed in, they poured kerosene and lit it. But while they were pouring and lighting, the fox dug herself a trench, crawled into it, covered herself with dirt, and lay there.

The flames burst forth, and smoke rose to the sky. The king and his advisor looked through a spyglass to see if the smoke was carrying the fox away, but they saw nothing in the smoke.

Time passed. The fox emerged from the ashes, shook herself off, and went to the king. She greeted him and said:

— Your grandfather and grandmother are upset that you haven’t visited them even once.

The king said to his advisor:

— Well, if the fox visited hers, why shouldn’t I visit my elders?

They brought two carts of firewood, built a bonfire on the threshing floor, and the king and his advisor climbed under the wood and ordered:

— Pour the kerosene and light it.

And so the king and his advisor burned in the fire.

Then the fox said to the young man:

— Sit on the throne. From now on, you are the king. Rule the kingdom as it should be ruled.

The young man sat on the throne and began to rule the kingdom.

And the fox, the wolf, the bear, the eagle, the hare, and the cat lived with him, wanting for nothing.

Living near the royal power is always good and satisfying.

Grain poured into the mill,
Flour spilled out.
You’ll leave, we’ll stay,
When shall we meet again?

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The Fox Elder and the Tsar's Son

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