The Bean Seed
Once upon a time, there lived a cockerel and a hen. The cockerel was digging and found a bean.— Cluck-cluck-cluck, little hen, eat this bean!
— Cluck-cluck-cluck, cockerel, you eat it yourself!
The cockerel ate the bean and choked. He called the hen:
— Go, little hen, to the river and ask for some water to drink.
The hen ran to the river:
— River, river, give me some water! The cockerel has choked on a bean!
The river said:
— Go to the linden tree and ask for a leaf, then I’ll give you water.
The hen ran to the linden tree:
— Linden tree, linden tree, give me a leaf! I’ll take the leaf to the river, and the river will give me water for the cockerel to drink: the cockerel has choked on a bean!
The linden tree said:
— Go to the girl and ask for a thread.
The hen ran to the girl:
— Girl, girl, give me a thread! I’ll take the thread to the linden tree, the linden tree will give me a leaf, I’ll take the leaf to the river, and the river will give me water for the cockerel to drink: the cockerel has choked on a bean!
The girl replied:
— Go to the comb-makers and ask for a comb, then I’ll give you a thread.
The hen ran to the comb-makers:
— Comb-makers, comb-makers, give me a comb! I’ll take the comb to the girl, the girl will give me a thread, I’ll take the thread to the linden tree, the linden tree will give me a leaf, I’ll take the leaf to the river, and the river will give me water for the cockerel to drink: the cockerel has choked on a bean!
The comb-makers said:
— Go to the bakers and ask them to give us some rolls.
The hen ran to the bakers:
— Bakers, bakers, give me some rolls! I’ll take the rolls to the comb-makers, the comb-makers will give me a comb, I’ll take the comb to the girl, the girl will give me a thread, I’ll take the thread to the linden tree, the linden tree will give me a leaf, I’ll take the leaf to the river, and the river will give me water for the cockerel to drink: the cockerel has choked on a bean!
The bakers said:
— Go to the woodcutters and ask them to give us some firewood.
The hen went to the woodcutters:
— Woodcutters, woodcutters, give me some firewood! I’ll take the firewood to the bakers, the bakers will give me some rolls, I’ll take the rolls to the comb-makers, the comb-makers will give me a comb, I’ll take the comb to the girl, the girl will give me a thread, I’ll take the thread to the linden tree, the linden tree will give me a leaf, I’ll take the leaf to the river, and the river will give me water for the cockerel to drink: the cockerel has choked on a bean!
The woodcutters gave the hen some firewood.
The hen took the firewood to the bakers, the bakers gave her some rolls, she took the rolls to the comb-makers, the comb-makers gave her a comb, she took the comb to the girl, the girl gave her a thread, she took the thread to the linden tree, the linden tree gave her a leaf, she took the leaf to the river, and the river gave her some water.
The cockerel drank the water, and the bean went down.
The cockerel crowed:
— Cock-a-doodle-doo!
More fairy tales
- The Tale of the Glorious, Mighty Hero Yeruslan Lazarevich
- Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf
- The Fox and the Crab
- The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats
- Hares and Frogs
