Masha and the Bear

Once upon a time, there lived a grandfather and grandmother. They had a granddaughter named Masha. One day, Masha's friends decided to go to the forest to pick mushrooms and berries. They came to invite Masha to join them.

Masha asked for permission:
- Grandfather, grandmother, please let me go to the forest with my friends. I’ll bring back mushrooms and berries!
The grandfather and grandmother replied:
- Go, but make sure you don’t fall behind your friends, or you might get lost.

The girls went into the forest and started picking mushrooms and berries. Masha wandered from tree to tree, bush to bush, and soon found herself far, far away from her friends. She started calling out:
- Hey! Hey! Girls, answer me!
But her friends didn’t hear her and didn’t respond.

Masha walked and walked through the forest until she was completely lost. She wandered into the deepest, darkest part of the woods. There, she saw a little hut. She knocked on the door, but no one answered. She pushed the door, and it opened.

Masha entered the hut, sat on a bench by the window, and thought: "Who lives here? Why is no one around?" But in that hut lived a big bear. He wasn’t home at the time—he was out in the forest. In the evening, the bear returned, saw Masha, and was delighted. He didn’t want to let her go.
- Aha, he said, now I won’t let you leave! You’ll live with me. You’ll stoke the stove, cook porridge, and feed me.

Masha grieved and lamented, but there was nothing she could do. She began living with the bear in the hut. The bear would go into the forest all day, and he warned Masha not to leave the hut without him.
- If you leave, he said, I’ll catch you and then I’ll eat you!
Masha began to think about how to escape from the bear. The forest was all around her, and she didn’t know which way to go. There was no one to ask...

She thought and thought, and finally came up with a plan. One day, when the bear returned from the forest, Masha said to him:
- Bear, bear, let me go to the village for a day. I’ll bring some treats to my grandmother and grandfather.
- No, said the bear, you’ll get lost in the forest. Give me the treats, and I’ll take them myself! And that was exactly what Masha wanted!

She baked some pies, got a big, huge box, and said to the bear:
- Look, I’ll put the pies in the box, and you take them to my grandfather and grandmother. But remember: don’t open the box on the way, and don’t take out the pies. I’ll climb up the oak tree and keep an eye on you!
- Alright, replied the bear, give me the box! Masha said:
- Go out on the porch and see if it’s raining! As soon as the bear stepped onto the porch, Masha quickly climbed into the box and placed a plate of pies on her head. The bear returned, saw the box was ready, hoisted it onto his back, and set off for the village. The bear walked between the fir trees, wandered between the birches, descended into ravines, and climbed up hills. He walked and walked, got tired, and said:
I’ll sit on a stump,
And eat a pie!
But Masha from inside the box:
I see, I see!
Don’t sit on the stump,
Don’t eat the pie!
Take it to grandmother,
Take it to grandfather!
- Oh, what sharp eyes you have, said the bear, you see everything! He picked up the box and walked on. He walked and walked, stopped, sat down, and said:
I’ll sit on a stump,
And eat a pie!
But Masha from inside the box again:
I see, I see!
Don’t sit on the stump,
Don’t eat the pie!
Take it to grandmother,
Take it to grandfather!
The bear was amazed:
- What a clever girl! She sits high and sees far! He got up and hurried on.

He arrived in the village, found the house where the grandfather and grandmother lived, and started banging on the gate with all his might:
- Knock-knock-knock! Open up! I’ve brought you treats from Masha.
But the dogs smelled the bear and rushed at him. They ran from all the yards, barking. The bear got scared, put the box by the gate, and ran back into the forest. The grandfather and grandmother came out to the gate. They saw the box.
- What’s in the box? said the grandmother.
The grandfather lifted the lid, looked inside, and couldn’t believe his eyes: there sat Masha—alive and well. The grandfather and grandmother were overjoyed. They hugged and kissed Masha, calling her their clever girl.

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Masha and the Bear

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