Ossetian fairy tales in English. Александр Юрьевич Кожиев
then stay in good health”, – said the three-bellied goat. “And I'm leaving.”
She went leisurely along the road. The wolf, already satiated, lay there and listened in order to catch anyone else who would show up. He raised his head and saw a goat walking along the road.
– “There is another goat”, – said the wolf to himself. “Today was a good day with God's help.”
The three-bellied goat came closer, and the wolf asked her:
– “Whose goat are you?”
– “I'm Gazza's goat”, – she replied.
– “And what is that on your head?” – he asked her.
– “And these are the tips for Gazza's pitchforks,” she answered just like the other goats.
– “And what is that dangling between your legs?”
– “And this is for my baby goat with a soft udder full of milk.”
The wolf seized the goat, and he pulled it up and said to himself:
– “I'm lucky today! And this goat tastes good.”
The three goats made the wolf completely bloated. Then he began to roll on the ground, and he felt better.
Meanwhile, the four-bellied goat has had enough and turns to the five-bellied goat:
– “Let's go home, five-bellied goat, our friends are probably resting at home.”
The five-bellied goat replied:
– “My one belly is not yet full, wait for me, and then we'll go home together.”
– “No, I'm going away”, – replied the four-bellied goat.
She went down the road, and the well-fed wolf was sleeping there. When he heard the footsteps, he woke up and raised his head, saw the goat and rejoiced.
– “God has given me a goat again”, – he said to himself. “She came to me by herself!”
– “Whose goat are you?” – asked the wolf.
– “I'm Gazza's goat.”
– “What's that on your head?”
– “Those are Gazza's pitchfork tips.”
– “What's that dangling between your legs?” – he asked her.
– “And that's a soft udder full of milk for my goat.”
The wolf pounced on the goat, grabbed her and ate her. Meanwhile, the five-bellied goat has had enough and turns to the six-bellied one:
– “Let's go home! It's time for us to go back!”
– “Wait for me a little, my belly is not quite full yet”, – asked the six-bellied one.
– “No”, – replied the six-bellied one, “I'm leaving, I won't wait for you.”
She went home along the familiar road. And the well-fed wolf is already waiting to see if anyone else is coming, and thinks:
“If there is no one else, I will leave here.”
The wolf sees a five-bellied goat coming.
– God has given another one”, – said the wolf to himself. “I'll wait for that goat too. I am fed, but how can I refuse eating it? I'd rather have a stomachache than let that goat live!”
– “Whose goat are you?” – asked the wolf, when the five-bellied goat is close to him.
– “I am Gazza's goat.”
– “And what kind of man is Gazza?”
– “Gazza is a modest man, a hard worker”, – replied the goat.
The wolf was afraid that Gazza might come out of the village and kill him. He looked around and asked the goat:
– “What is that on your head?”
– “Those are Gazza's pitchfork tips.”
– “And what is that dangling between your legs?”
– “Those are round stones used to kill wolves.”
– “I'll show you now how to kill wolves!” – said the wolf. He jumped on a five-bellied goat and ate it.
The six-bellied goat felt that it has had enough and speaks to the seven-bellied goat:
– “It's getting dark, it's time for us to go home. If I leave, you'll be alone here.”
– “Wait a bit!” – asked the seven-bellied goat. “Now I'll fill my seventh belly and then we'll go together.”
The six-bellied goat replied:
– “I'll walk slowly, you'll catch up with me on the way.”
She walked slowly along the road, and the seven-bellied goat got carried away and stayed in the pasture.
The six-bellied goat reached the wolf. The wolf saw that goat and thought about it:
– “I'll pull it up, of course, but I've had enough of it. All right”, – he said to himself. “I'll eat a little, and let the rest be for tomorrow.”
It was already getting dark. The wolf killed the goat, ate as much as he could, and put the rest for tomorrow. He stretched out on the road and thought like this:
– “From such satiety it will be difficult for me to go home, I will rest here, and then I will go.”
Meanwhile, a seven-bellied goat appeared on the road.
– “Another goat”, – said the wolf. “And how should I deal with it? Well, I'll hold her up, or she will run away, and tomorrow morning I'll eat her together with the rest of the other goat.”
The seven-bellied goat came to the wolf.
– “Whose goat are you?” he asked.
– “I am Gazza's goat.”
– “And what kind of man is Gazza?”
– “Gazza is a hunter who beats wolves.”
– “And what's that on your head?” – asked the wolf.
– “And these are iron sticks used to kill wolves.”
– “What is that dangling between your legs?” asked the wolf.
– “These are round stones used to kill wolves”, – replied the goat.
– “Ah”, said the wolf to himself. “Things are not going well!”
He decided to run away, left the goat alive, forcibly went to the roadside and, heavy with satiety, stretched there. The seven-bellied goat saw the scraps on the road and said:
– “Ah, that's what the wolf has done! He ate all my friends! Only at dusk, the seven-bellied goat reached home.”
Gazza asked her:
– “Why did you come home so late? Where are your friends?”
The goat answered to him:
– “My friends were torn and eaten by a wolf, I was the only one who escaped.”
– “Tell me, where, on what road did all this happen?”, – asked Gazza.
The goat told him where the wolf was.
Gazza grabbed his gun and hurried on his way.
But the wolf was lying there, unable to get up, just looking up from below, watching. Gazza can't see him yet because the wolf is stretched out on the roadside.
When he reached the place, the goat had mentioned, Gazza looked around. He was sure that the wolf was somewhere near him.
When he saw Gazza approaching him,