The Bear and the Rooster

An old man had a foolish son. The son asked his father to arrange a marriage for him: “If you don’t get me married, I’ll smash the whole stove!”

An old man had a foolish son. The son asked his father to arrange a marriage for him:

“If you don’t get me married, I’ll smash the whole stove!”

“How can I get you married? We have no money.”

“We have no money, but we have an ox. Sell him to the slaughterhouse.”

The ox heard this and ran away into the forest. The son began pestering his father again:

“Get me married, or I’ll smash the whole stove!”

His father said:

“I’d be glad to get you married, but we have no money.”

“We have no money, but we have a ram. Sell him to the slaughterhouse.”

The ram heard this and ran away into the forest. The son would not leave his father alone. “Get me married!” was all he would say.

“I’ve already told you, we have no money!”

“We have no money, but we have a rooster. Kill him, bake him in a pie, and sell it.”

The rooster heard this and flew away into the forest.

The ox, the ram, and the rooster met and built themselves a little hut in the forest. A bear heard about it, wanted to eat them, and came to the hut. The rooster saw him and began hopping along his perch, flapping his wings and shouting:

“Where, where, where! Bring him here! I’ll trample him underfoot and chop him down with an axe! Here’s the knife, and here’s the harness strap. We’ll slaughter him here and hang him here!”

The bear took fright and fled. He ran and ran, then fell down and died of fright. The foolish son went into the forest, found the bear, took off its hide, and sold it. With that money, a marriage was arranged for him. The ox, the ram, and the rooster came home from the forest.