The Money Rooster

Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman. The old man had a rooster, and the old woman had a hen. The old woman's hen laid eggs, but the old man's rooster—well, he was just a rooster, no use at all. One day, the old man asked the old woman for an egg, but she didn't want to give him one. The old man got angry that the rooster was of no use, so he beat him and chased him away.

The rooster walked along the road and saw a purse full of money lying there. He picked it up in his beak and carried it away. A nobleman was driving by and saw the rooster:

"Jump down," he said to his coachman, "and take that purse from the rooster."

The coachman chased the rooster, caught him, took the purse, and handed it to the nobleman. Then he got back into the carriage, whipped the horses, and they rode off. But the rooster ran after them, crowing all the way. When the nobleman arrived home and drove into the yard, the rooster was right there, running around the yard and crowing:

"Cock-a-doodle-doo, cock-a-doodle-doo, cock-a-doodle-doo!"

"Catch that rooster and throw him into the well!" the nobleman ordered his servants.

The servants grabbed the rooster and threw him into the well. The rooster drank his fill of water, jumped out of the well, and started crowing again.

"Light a fire in the stove and burn that rooster!" said the nobleman.

The servants lit a fire in the stove and threw the rooster in. The nobleman placed the purse of money on the windowsill. But the rooster released the water he had drunk, extinguishing the fire. Then he jumped out of the stove—hopped onto the windowsill! He pecked at all the money, broke the glass, and ran away. He came to the old man's gate and crowed:

"Cock-a-doodle-doo! Open the gate!"

The old man came out and opened the gate. The rooster went up to the door of the house:

"Open the door!"

The old man opened the door.

"Spread out a cloth!"

The old man spread it out. And the rooster—drrr!—scattered money, all of it gold. The old man rejoiced, for he had become rich.

One day, the old woman asked the old man for a gold coin, but he didn't want to give her one. The old woman got angry, beat the hen, and sent her off to find money too. The hen went to the dung heap, started scratching at the manure, and found a piece of mother-of-pearl.

She came to the old woman's gate:

"Cluck-cluck, cluck-cluck! Open the gate!"

The old woman came out and opened the gate. The hen went up to the door of the house:

"Open the door!"

The old woman opened it.

"Spread out a cloth!"

The old woman spread it out. But the hen only threw out a small piece of mother-of-pearl. The old woman flew into a rage and started beating the hen. She beat and beat her until she killed her.

More fairy tales

• The Wobbly Peasant
• The Goat and the Ram
• About Truth and Falsehood
• How the Shepherd Outsmarted the Princess
• The Tale of Ivasyk