The Ear of Grain
Once upon a time, there were two little mice, Krut and Vert, and a rooster named Golosistoe Gorlyshko (Melodious Throat). The mice spent all their time singing and dancing, spinning and twirling. But the rooster would rise at the crack of dawn, first waking everyone with his song, and then getting to work.One day, while sweeping the yard, the rooster spotted a wheat ear on the ground.
"Krut, Vert," called the rooster, "look what I found!"
The mice came running and said, "We need to thresh it."
"Who will do the threshing?" asked the rooster.
"Not me!" shouted one.
"Not me!" shouted the other.
"Alright," said the rooster, "I'll thresh it."
And he got to work. Meanwhile, the mice started playing a game of lapta (a traditional Russian bat-and-ball game).
When the rooster finished threshing, he called out, "Hey, Krut, hey, Vert, look how much grain I've threshed!"
The mice came running and squeaked in unison, "Now we need to take the grain to the mill to grind it into flour!"
"Who will carry it?" asked the rooster.
"Not me!" shouted Krut.
"Not me!" shouted Vert.
"Alright," said the rooster, "I'll carry the grain to the mill."
He shouldered the sack and set off. Meanwhile, the mice started playing leapfrog, jumping over each other and having fun.
When the rooster returned from the mill, he called the mice again, "Come here, Krut, come here, Vert! I've brought the flour."
The mice came running, looked at the flour, and couldn't stop praising him, "What a rooster! What a fine fellow! Now we need to knead the dough and bake some pies."
"Who will knead the dough?" asked the rooster. But the mice were up to their old tricks again.
"Not me!" squeaked Krut.
"Not me!" squeaked Vert.
The rooster thought for a moment and said, "Looks like it's up to me."
He kneaded the dough, gathered firewood, and lit the oven. When the oven was hot, he put the pies in to bake. The mice, meanwhile, didn't waste any time—they sang songs and danced. When the pies were done, the rooster took them out, laid them on the table, and the mice were right there. He didn't even need to call them.
"Oh, I'm so hungry!" squeaked Krut.
"Oh, I want to eat!" squeaked Vert.
And they sat down at the table.
But the rooster said to them, "Wait, wait! First, tell me, who found the wheat ear?"
"You did!" the mice shouted loudly.
"And who threshed the wheat?" asked the rooster again.
"You did," both mice said more quietly.
"And who carried the grain to the mill?"
"That was you too," Krut and Vert answered in a whisper.
"And who kneaded the dough? Carried the firewood? Lit the oven? Who baked the pies?"
"All you. All you," the mice squeaked barely audibly.
"And what did you do?"
What could they say in response? They had nothing to say. Krut and Vert started to get up from the table, and the rooster didn't stop them. There was no reason to treat such lazy loafers to pies.
More fairy tales
