The Bear - Stone

Once upon a time, in a small mountain village, there lived an old woodcutter. He had no relatives, so he lived alone with his dog. Together, they would go to the mountains to gather firewood and then take it to the city to sell. With the money they earned, they bought rice and lived off that.

One morning, the woodcutter went into the forest. As he walked, he looked around, listened to the birds, and his dog ran ahead, wagging its tail. Suddenly, the old man noticed that the dog had stopped, perked up its ears, and then dashed into the thicket.

"Hey, hey, wait! Where are you going?" shouted the woodcutter, and he ran after the dog deeper into the forest. There, he saw a bear lying by an old tree, moaning pitifully and unable to move. The old man came closer and saw that the bear was wounded: a sharp arrow was sticking out of its paw.

"Poor thing!" exclaimed the old man. "I must help you."
He pulled the arrow out of the bear's paw, and blood gushed out. The dog ran over and began licking the wound. The woodcutter picked some wormwood, pressed it to the wound, and the bear felt better.

"Well, that's good," said the old man. "Now, bear, lie quietly and don't move. The pain will soon pass."

The next day, the woodcutter returned with his dog to check on the bear. They began to care for it and feed it. Soon, the bear recovered and started helping the old man in everything.

Sometimes, the woodcutter would load firewood onto a cart, the bear would pull it along the path, and the dog would push from behind. That's how they made their way to the city. And in the city, everyone talked about the bear that brought the cart of firewood. As soon as people saw the old man coming down from the mountain, they would rush out into the street to buy his goods. The old man lived well with his animals. They worked together and spent their evenings together. Several years passed like this.

But then a new misfortune struck. The old man had grown very old and was plagued by various ailments. Sometimes, he didn't have the strength to go to the mountains in the morning.

The neighbors decided to call a doctor from the city, but it was too late—the woodcutter passed away. People began to wonder what to do with the old man's animals. Many wanted to take them in, but the dog and the bear had their own plans.

They climbed to the top of the hill, sat by the woodcutter's grave, and howled. No matter how hard people tried to bring them back to the village, nothing worked. Then, they started bringing food to the hill, but the animals wouldn't eat anything.

A lot of time passed. The old man's dog died, and the bear was left all alone.

One day, people came to the woodcutter's grave and noticed that the bear was gone. They searched for it but couldn't find it. Suddenly, they saw a large stone by the road that wound up the hill—it looked exactly like the bear.

They say that the bear-stone began to protect the village and help the peasants. When they would take goods to the city to sell, the journey was not easy—try hauling a cart up the hill! They would always approach the bear-stone, bow to it, and say:

"Hello, Mr. Bear. How is your health today?"
The stone would rumble, as if greeting the people.
"Help us," the peasants would ask. "Lift our cart up the steep path, we beg you." The stone would sway to the right, sway to the left, and lo—the cart would move up the hill on its own.

The peasants would thank the bear-stone, bow deeply, and continue on their way.

They say that stone still lies on the road to this day and only lets good people into the village.

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The Bear - Stone

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