RUSSIAN FABLES

FORTUNE AND THE BEGGAR

A poor beggar, with a ragged old bag, crept along the road one day, begging his bread.

As he went he grumbled to himself because there were so many rich men in the world.

"The rich never think that they have enough," he said to himself. "They always want more than they have. Now if I had a very little money, I should be happy. I should not want too much."

A fairy named Fortune, who brought good gifts to men, heard the poor beggar grumbling to himself and came to him.

"Friend," said Fortune, "I have wanted to help you. Open your bag. I will give you all the gold that it will hold. But if any falls out upon the ground, it will turn to dust. Your bag is old. Don't try to have it too full, for if you do, it will break, and you will lose all."

The beggar was so happy that he began to dance up and down.

He opened his bag and let the gold run into it in a big, yellow stream. Soon the bag was almost full.

"Is that enough?" asked Fortune.

"No," said the beggar, "not yet."

"The bag is old. It is going to break," said Fortune.

"Never fear!" said the beggar.

"But you are now a rich man. Isn't that enough?" asked Fortune.

"A little more," said the beggar.

"Now," said Fortune, "the bag is full, but take care, or you will lose it."

"Just a little more," said the beggar.

Fortune put in just a little more. The bag broke. All the gold fell through upon the ground and turned to dust.

The beggar had nothing left but his old broken bag. He was as poor as he had been before.

THE SPIDER AND THE BEE

A merchant brought some linen to a fair and opened a shop. It was good linen, and many came to buy of him.

A spider saw what was going on, and said to herself:

"I can spin. Why shouldn't I open a shop, too?"

So the spider opened a little shop in the corner of a window, and spun all night, and made a beautiful web. She hung it out where everybody could see it.

"That is fine!" said the spider. "Surely, when the morning comes, all will want to buy it."

At last the morning came.

A man saw the web in the corner and swept it away, spider and all.

"That is a pretty thing to do!" cried the spider. "I should like to ask whose work is the finer, mine or that merchant's?"

A bee happened to fly past.

"Yours is the finer," said the bee. "We all know that. But what is it good for? It will neither warm nor cover any one."

THE STONE AND THE WORM

(A stone lay in a field. A farmer and his son were talking near by.)

Farmer. That was a fine rain we had this morning.

Son. Yes, indeed! A rain like that makes everybody glad.

Farmer. I have been wishing a long time for such a rain as that.

Son. It was better than gold.

(As they walked away, a worm crept out from under the stone. The stone called to the worm.)

Stone. Friend Worm, did you hear what those men were saying?

Worm. Yes, they were saying how good the rain was.

Stone. What has the rain done, I should like to know? It rained two hours and made me all wet.

Worm. That didn't hurt you.

Stone. Yes, it did. But it hurts me more to hear everybody saying how fine the rain was. Why don't they talk about me? I have been here for hundreds of years. I hurt nobody. I wet nobody. I stay quietly where I am put. Yet nobody ever has a kind word for me.

Worm. Stop your talk. This rain has helped the wheat and made it grow. And the wheat will help the farmer. It will give him bread. What have you ever given to anybody?

THE FOX IN THE ICE

Very early one winter morning a fox was drinking at a hole in the ice.

While he was drinking, the end of his tail got into the water, and there it froze fast.

He could have pulled it out and left some of the hairs behind, but he would not do this.

"How can I spoil such a beautiful tail!" said the fox to himself.

"No, I will wait a little. The men are asleep and will not catch me. Perhaps when the sun comes up the ice will melt."

So he waited, and the water froze harder and harder.

At last the sun came up.

The fox could see men coming down to the pond. He pulled and pulled, but now his tail was frozen so fast that he could not pull it out.

Just then a wolf came by.

"Help me, friend," cried the fox, "or I shall be lost."

The wolf helped him, and set him free very quickly. He bit off the tail of the fox.

So the fox lost all of his fine great tail because he would not give up a little hair from it.