Animals in the Pit

Once upon a time, there lived a rooster and a hen. Suddenly, a hailstorm began. The hen got scared and cried out:
— Rooster, rooster! Trouble! The boyars have arrived, they're shooting and killing us! Let's run away from here!

And off they ran. They ran and ran until they met a hare:
— Where are you running to, rooster?
— Oh, don’t ask me, ask the hen!
— Where are you running to, hen?
— The boyars have arrived, they're shooting and killing us!
— Take me with you!

And so the three of them ran together. Soon, they met a fox:
— Where are you running to, little hare?
— Don’t ask me, ask the rooster!
— Where are you running to, rooster?
— Oh, don’t ask me, ask the hen!
— Where are you running to, hen?
— The boyars have arrived, they're shooting and killing us!
— Take me with you!

And now the four of them ran together. Then, they met a wolf:
— Where are you running to, fox?
— Don’t ask me, ask the hare!
— Where are you running to, little hare?
— Don’t ask me, ask the rooster!
— Where are you running to, rooster?
— Oh, don’t ask me, ask the hen!
— Where are you running to, hen?
— The boyars have arrived, they're shooting and killing us!
— Take me with you!

And now the five of them ran together. Next, they met a bear:
— Where are you running to, wolf?
— Don’t ask me, ask the fox!
— Where are you running to, little fox?
— Don’t ask me, ask the hare!
— Where are you running to, little hare?
— Don’t ask me, ask the rooster!
— Where are you running to, rooster?
— Oh, don’t ask me, ask the hen!
— Where are you running to, hen?
— The boyars have arrived, they're shooting and killing us!
— Take me with you!

And now the six of them ran together. They ran and ran until they fell into a deep pit. They sat in the pit for a long time, got hungry, but couldn’t get out.
Then the fox said:
— Let’s ask for names! Whoever has the worst name, we’ll eat them.
And the fox began to sing:
— Bear-Bearson — a good name.
Fox-Foxson — a good name.
Wolf-Wolfson — a good name.
Hare-Hareson — a good name.
Rooster-Roosterson — a good name.
Hen-Henson — a bad name!
And so they ate the hen.

A little time passed, and they got hungry again. The fox sang:
— Bear-Bearson — a good name.
Fox-Foxson — a good name.
Wolf-Wolfson — a good name.
Hare-Hareson — a good name.
Rooster-Roosterson — a bad name!
And so they ate the rooster.

They sat for a while longer and got hungry again. The fox sang:
— Bear-Bearson — a good name.
Fox-Foxson — a good name.
Wolf-Wolfson — a good name.
Hare-Hareson — a bad name!
And so they ate the hare.

Time passed, and they got hungry once more. The fox sang:
— Bear-Bearson — a good name.
Fox-Foxson — a good name.
Wolf-Wolfson — a bad name!
The bear tore the wolf apart, and he and the fox began to eat. The fox ate her share and hid the rest. They sat and sat, and soon got hungry again. The fox quietly began to eat her hidden portion, and the bear asked:
— What are you eating, fox?
— I’m pulling out my guts and eating them.
— How do you pull them out?
— I slit my belly and pull them out.
The bear believed her and slit his own belly.

Now only the fox remained in the pit. A little later, a titmouse flew by. The fox called out:
— Titmouse, help me out of this trouble!
— How can I help you?
— Bring me some branches!
The titmouse brought branches into the pit, and the fox climbed out to freedom.

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Animals in the Pit

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