The Wolf, the Dog, and the Cat

Once upon a time, there was a man, and he had a dog. While the dog was young, it guarded its master, but when it grew old, the master drove it out of the yard. The dog wandered through the steppe, catching mice and eating whatever it could find.

One night, a wolf met the dog and asked:

"Where are you going, dog?"

"Well, when I was young, my master loved me because I guarded his property, but when I grew old, he drove me out of the yard," the dog replied. The wolf asked:

"Dog, are you hungry?"
"I am," said the dog.
The wolf said:
"Come with me, I'll feed you."

They went together. As they walked through the steppe, the wolf spotted some sheep and sent the dog:

"Go," he said, "and see what's grazing over there."

The dog went, came back, and said:

"Sheep."
"May they drop dead. We'll just fill our teeth with wool and won't get full. Let's move on."

They walked further. The wolf saw some geese.

"Go," he said, "and take a look, dog, what's grazing there?"

The dog went, looked, returned, and said:

"Geese."
"May they drop dead. We'll just fill our teeth with feathers and won't get full. Let's keep going," said the wolf.

They walked on. The wolf saw a horse grazing.

"Go," he said, "dog, and see what's grazing there."

The dog ran over, came back, and said:

"A horse."
"Well, that's ours," said the wolf. They approached the horse. The wolf began digging at the ground, working himself into a rage. Then he said:

"Look, dog, is my tail trembling?"
The dog looked.
"It is," it said.
"Now look," said the wolf, "are my eyes glazed?"
"They are," said the dog.

Then the wolf pounced, grabbed the horse by the mane, tore it apart, and they ate together. The wolf, being young, quickly ate his fill, but the old dog gnawed and gnawed and couldn't eat anything. Other dogs ran up and chased the wolf away.

The dog walked on and found an old cat, just like itself, catching mice in the steppe.

"Hello," it said, "cat! Where are you going?"
"Just wandering around. When I was young, I worked for my master—catching mice—but now I'm old, I can't see the mice, my master doesn't like me anymore, he doesn't feed me, he drove me out of the yard, so here I am wandering."

The dog said:

"Well, come on, brother cat, I'll feed you."

They walked together, and the dog saw some sheep. It sent the cat:

"Run," it said, "brother, and see who's grazing there."

The cat ran, looked, and said:

"Sheep."
"To hell with them! We'll just fill our teeth with wool and won't get full. Let's move on."

They walked further. The dog saw some geese.

"Go," it said, "and see who's grazing there."

The cat ran, looked, and said:

"Geese."
"To hell with them! We'll just fill our teeth with feathers and won't get full."

They walked on. The dog saw a horse.

"Run," the dog said to the cat, "and see who's grazing there."

The cat went, looked, and said:

"A horse."
"Well, that's ours," said the dog, "we'll eat our fill."

The dog began digging at the ground, working itself into a rage, and said:

"Look, cat, is my tail trembling?"
"No," replied the cat.

The dog dug at the ground again to get angry, then asked:

"Well, is it trembling now? Say it's trembling." The cat looked and said:
"It's starting to tremble a little."
"Now we'll take down that damned horse!" said the dog. The dog began digging at the ground again and asked the cat:
"Look, brother, are my eyes glazed?" The cat said:
"No."
"Eh, you're lying! Say they're glazed!" begged the dog. Then the dog got so angry it jumped at the horse! But the horse kicked it in the head with its hoof! The dog fell and its eyes bulged out. The cat ran up and said:

"Oh, brother, how your eyes have glazed over!.."

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The Wolf, the Dog, and the Cat

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