The Cat and the Fox — Variant 2

The Fox married Kotonailo Ivanych. Once she ran off to get her husband dinner; she ran and ran and caught a duck. She was carrying it home when a forest boar met her. "Stop, Fox!" he said. "Give me the duck." "No, I won't." "Well, I'll take it myself." "I'll tell Kotonailo Ivanych; he'll put you to death!" "What kind of beast is that?" thought the boar, and went on his way. The Fox ran on; suddenly a bear met her: "Where are you running, Fox, who are you carrying the duck to? Give it to me." "Go along nicely, or I'll tell Kotonailo Ivanych; he'll put you to death!" The bear was frightened and went on his way. The Fox ran on further and a wolf came her way. "Give it up," he said, "the duck!" "How could I not! I'll just tell Kotonailo Ivanych, he'll eat you yourself!" The wolf was terrified and went on his way; and the Fox ran home.

Now the boar, the bear, and the wolf met together and began to think and wonder what kind of beast Kotonailo Ivanych was: they had never seen him before, and he had never been in the forests! They decided: to make a great feast and invite Kotonailo Ivanych to visit them. They got ready. "Well," they said, "who will go fetch Kotonailo?" — and they decided the wolf should go. The wolf got ready and ran to the fox's den. He arrived. And the cat was peeking out of the den, his whiskers drooping, and his eyes gleaming. The wolf trembled with fear, gave the cat a low bow, congratulated him on his young wife, and began to ask him to visit.

The cat sat there purring. "My, how angry he is!" thought the wolf, and did not know how to leave... He went back and told the boar and the bear: "Well, Kotonailo Ivanych is a fearsome one! His eyes are blazing! He only looked at me — and I was shaking..." So they were terrified and began to hide: the bear climbed up a tree, the boar squeezed into the swamp, and the wolf buried himself in a haystack...