Kuzma Skorobogaty

Once upon a time, Kuzma lived all alone in a dark forest. He had nothing to take off or put on, and he never even bothered to make a bed.

One day, he set a trap. In the morning, he went to check it and found a fox caught in it.
"Well, I'll sell the fox, take the money, and then I'll get married," he thought.
The fox said to him:
"Kuzma, let me go, and I'll do you a great favor. I'll make you Kuzma the Wealthy, but first, fry me one fat chicken with some butter."

Kuzma agreed. He fried the chicken. The fox ate her fill, then ran off to the royal meadows and began rolling around there.
"Whoo! I was a guest at the king's palace, drank and ate whatever I wanted, and tomorrow I'm invited again!"

A wolf came running and asked:
"Why are you rolling around and barking, sister?"
"How can I not? I was a guest at the king's palace, drank and ate whatever I wanted, and tomorrow I'm invited again!"

The wolf begged:
"Little fox, can you take me to the king's feast?"
"The king won't bother for just you. Gather forty wolves, and then I'll take you all to the king."

The wolf ran through the forest, gathering wolves. He gathered forty and brought them to the fox, who led them to the king. The fox ran ahead and said:
"King, the good man Kuzma the Wealthy sends his regards with forty wolves."
The king was delighted and ordered all the wolves to be driven into a pen and locked up securely. He thought to himself, "What a wealthy man Kuzma is!"

The fox ran back to Kuzma. She ordered him to fry another fat chicken with butter, ate her fill, and then ran off to the royal meadows again.

She rolled around on the meadows. A bear came by, saw the fox, and said:
"Look at that sly fox, how well-fed she is!"
The fox replied:
"Whoo! I was a guest at the king's palace, drank and ate whatever I wanted, and tomorrow I'm invited again!"
The bear begged:
"Fox, can you take me to the king's feast?"
"The king won't bother for just you. Gather forty black bears, and I'll take you all to the king."

The bear ran into the forest, gathered forty black bears, brought them to the fox, and she led them to the king. She ran ahead and said:
"King, the good man Kuzma the Wealthy sends his regards with forty bears."
The king was overjoyed and ordered the bears to be driven into a pen and locked up securely. He thought, "What a wealthy man Kuzma is!"

The fox ran back to Kuzma again. She ordered him to fry a chicken and a rooster with butter, ate her fill, and then ran off to the royal forests.

A sable and a marten came running by:
"Look at that cunning fox, where did she feast so well?"
"Whoo! I was a guest at the king's palace, drank and ate whatever I wanted, and tomorrow I'm invited again!"

The sable and the marten begged the fox:
"Little fox, take us to the king. We want to see how they feast."
The fox said:
"Gather forty times forty sables and martens, and I'll take you to the king."
The sable and the marten gathered forty times forty sables and martens. The fox led them to the king, ran ahead, and said:
"King, the good man Kuzma the Wealthy sends his regards with forty times forty sables and martens."
The king was amazed at Kuzma's wealth. He ordered these animals to be driven into a pen and locked up securely.
"What a wealthy man Kuzma is!" he thought.

The next day, the fox ran to the king again:
"King, the good man Kuzma the Wealthy sends his regards and asks for a bucket with hoops to measure his silver coins. His own buckets are full of gold."
The king gave the fox the bucket without hesitation. The fox ran back to Kuzma and ordered him to measure sand with the bucket to polish its sides.

When the bucket's sides were polished, the fox stuffed some small coins under the hoops and took it back to the king. She brought it and began to arrange the marriage of the beautiful princess to Kuzma the Wealthy.

The king saw that Kuzma had a lot of money: some coins had fallen under the hoops, and he hadn't even noticed. The king didn't refuse and ordered Kuzma to prepare and come.

Kuzma set off to the king. The fox ran ahead and convinced the workers to saw through the bridge.
As soon as Kuzma rode onto the bridge, it collapsed into the water with him.
The fox began to shout:
"Oh no! Kuzma the Wealthy is lost!"

The king heard and immediately sent people to rescue Kuzma. They caught him, and the fox shouted:
"Oh no! We must give Kuzma some fine clothes!"
The king gave Kuzma his finest festive clothes.

Kuzma arrived at the king's palace. The king had everything ready: no need to brew beer or distill wine.
Kuzma married the princess and lived with the king for a week, then another.
"Well," said the king, "let's go visit you now, dear son-in-law."

Kuzma had no choice but to prepare. They harnessed the horses and set off. The fox ran ahead. She saw shepherds guarding a flock of sheep and asked them:
"Shepherds, shepherds! Whose flock are you guarding?"
"Zmey Gorynych's."
"Tell them it's Kuzma the Wealthy's flock, or else King Fire and Queen Lightning are coming: if you don't say it's Kuzma the Wealthy's flock, they'll burn you all with the sheep!"

The shepherds saw they had no choice and promised to say it was Kuzma the Wealthy's flock, as the fox had taught them.
The fox ran ahead. She saw other shepherds guarding cows.
"Shepherds, shepherds! Whose herd are you guarding?"
"Zmey Gorynych's."
"Tell them it's Kuzma the Wealthy's herd, or else King Fire and Queen Lightning are coming: they'll burn you all with the cows if you mention Zmey Gorynych!"

The shepherds agreed. The fox ran ahead again. She reached Zmey Gorynych's herd of horses and told the shepherds to say it was Kuzma the Wealthy's herd.
"Or else King Fire and Queen Lightning are coming: they'll burn you all with the horses!"
These shepherds also agreed.

The fox ran ahead. She came straight to Zmey Gorynych's white stone palace:
"Hello, Zmey Gorynych!"
"What do you want, little fox?"
"Well, Zmey Gorynych, you need to hide quickly. The fearsome King Fire and Queen Lightning are coming, burning everything in their path. They've already burned your flocks with the shepherds. I didn't waste any time—I ran to tell you, as I almost suffocated from the smoke."
Zmey Gorynych grew worried:
"Oh, little fox, where can I hide?"
"There's an old hollow oak tree in your garden; run and hide in its hollow until King Fire and Queen Lightning pass by."
Zmey Gorynych, terrified, hid in the hollow as the fox had instructed.

Kuzma the Wealthy rode on with the king and his wife, the princess. They reached the flock of sheep. The princess asked:
"Shepherds, whose flock are you guarding?"
"Kuzma the Wealthy's."
The king was delighted:
"Well, dear son-in-law, you have so many sheep!"

They rode on and reached the herd of cows.
"Shepherds, whose herd are you guarding?"
"Kuzma the Wealthy's."
"Well, dear son-in-law, you have so many cows!"

They rode on and saw shepherds guarding horses.
"Whose herd is this?"
"Kuzma the Wealthy's."
"Well, dear son-in-law, you have so many horses!"
They arrived at Zmey Gorynych's palace.

The fox greeted the guests, bowed low, led them into the white stone palace, seated them at oak tables with embroidered tablecloths...
They began to feast, drink, eat, and make merry. They feasted for a day, then another, then a week.
The fox said to Kuzma:
"Well, Kuzma! Stop celebrating—it's time to take care of business. Go with the king to the green garden; there's an old oak tree there, and Zmey Gorynych is hiding inside. Shoot the oak into tiny pieces."
Kuzma went with the king to the green garden. They saw the old hollow oak and began shooting at it. That was the end of Zmey Gorynych.

Kuzma the Wealthy lived happily ever after with his wife, the princess, in the white stone palace, and the fox was treated to a chicken every day.

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Kuzma Skorobogaty

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