The Magic Bell

Long, long ago, there lived a poor boy who had no one in the whole wide world. He went up into the mountains and became a shepherd.

He owned only one treasure—a magical bell. As soon as it rang, the flock obediently followed wherever the boy commanded. In the evenings, he would hide the bell in a tree hollow so that the wolves, attracted by the enchanting sound, wouldn’t attack the sheep.

One day, a thunderstorm broke out. The shepherd boy led the flock into the pen, hung the bell on a branch, and went to sleep. When he woke up, he saw that the tree had grown all the way to the heavens, and there was no way to retrieve the bell.

"Tree, bend down! I need to take the bell. It’s time to lead the sheep to pasture."

"No," replied the tree, "I don’t want to."

The boy went to the axe: "Go, axe, chop down the tree. It won’t give me back my bell."

"I won’t go," said the axe. The boy went to the rust:

"Go, rust, dull the axe. It won’t chop down the tree, and the tree won’t give me my bell."

"I don’t feel like it," said the rust. The shepherd boy got angry and went to the fire:

"Go, fire, burn the rust. It won’t dull the axe, the axe won’t chop the tree, and the tree won’t give me my bell."

"I’m too lazy to go, brother," said the fire. The boy went to the water:

"Run, water, put out the fire. It won’t burn the rust, the rust won’t dull the axe, the axe won’t chop the tree, and the tree won’t give me my bell."

"I won’t," said the water. The boy went to the ox:

"Go, ox, drink the water. It won’t put out the fire, the fire won’t burn the rust, the rust won’t dull the axe, the axe won’t chop the tree, and the tree won’t give me my bell."

"I won’t go," said the ox. "I’ve already had my fill." The boy got upset and went to the wolf:

"Come, wolf, kill the ox. It won’t drink the water, the water won’t put out the fire, the fire won’t burn the rust, the rust won’t dull the axe, the axe won’t chop the tree, and the tree won’t give me my bell."

"No," said the wolf, "I don’t want to mess with the ox." The shepherd boy went to the hunter.

"Go, hunter, shoot the wolf. It won’t kill the ox, the ox won’t drink the water, the water won’t put out the fire, the fire won’t burn the rust, the rust won’t dull the axe, the axe won’t chop the tree, and the tree won’t give me my bell."

"No," said the hunter, "I’m not going hunting today." The boy went to the mouse:

"Mouse, mouse, go gnaw the strap off the hunter’s rifle. The hunter won’t shoot the wolf, the wolf won’t kill the ox, the ox won’t drink the water, the water won’t put out the fire, the fire won’t burn the rust, the rust won’t dull the axe, the axe won’t chop the tree, and the tree won’t give me my bell."

The mouse said, "I won’t go. I’m not hungry."

The boy went and bowed to the cat:

"Go, kitty, eat the mouse. It won’t gnaw the strap off the hunter’s rifle, the hunter won’t shoot the wolf, the wolf won’t kill the ox, the ox won’t drink the water, the water won’t put out the fire, the fire won’t burn the rust, the rust won’t dull the axe, the axe won’t chop the tree, and the tree won’t give me my bell."

The cat said, "No, I won’t go. I’m stuffed with mice." What was the shepherd boy to do? He went to the dog.

"Go, Grivko, bite the cat. It won’t eat the mouse, the mouse won’t gnaw the strap off the hunter’s rifle, the hunter won’t shoot the wolf, the wolf won’t kill the ox, the ox won’t drink the water, the water won’t put out the fire, the fire won’t burn the rust, the rust won’t dull the axe, the axe won’t chop the tree, and the tree won’t give me my magical bell. The sun is already high, and my sheep are thirsty and hungry."

The dog took pity. It saw that the boy was tired and no one wanted to help him. It shook itself, jumped up, and lunged at the cat! The cat got scared, rushed at the mouse, and the mouse squeaked and began gnawing the strap off the hunter’s rifle. The hunter grabbed his rifle and aimed at the wolf. The wolf, unwillingly, chased after the ox. The ox bellowed and began drinking water from the river, so much so that the banks shook. The water overflowed, splashed onto the fire, the fire attacked the rust, the rust spread over the axe, the axe jumped up and began chopping the tree. The tree bent down, the boy grabbed his bell, and ran off to tend his sheep.

From that day on, dogs became accustomed to living on pastures and became the faithful friends of shepherds.

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The Magic Bell

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