乐播传媒

Tale Summary

There was once a tough and clever cat, who had one ear, who belonged to a farmer. The man wished for a soft kitten instead, and so stuffed the clever cat into a sack and threw it into the forest. He clawed his way out and decided to find a good spot to lord over, thinking that he would like to live as royalty does. He stayed for some time at an abandoned hut, but grew annoyed that he had to hunt, as it was not befitting a lord to work for his food. He met a pretty gray young fox named Lisabet who greeted him politely, thinking he was quite handsome. He introduced himself as the new Lord of the Forest, Cat Ivan, sent from farthest Siberia to rule. He was invited to her home, and there they decided to get married and had a wedding supper. Lisabet went hunting for her new husband the next day and met her friend, a dashing young wolf, and announced that she had been married to royalty, demanding respect. The wolf wished to be acquainted with the new Lord, and agreed to bring a sheep for him when Lisabet suggested it, as well as to keep hidden while he did. The fox strolled peacefully knowing that the wolf would do her hunting for her. She then met another friend, a bear, who also wanted to pay his respects to her new husband, and agreed to leave a calf for him. Both the fox and the bear were terrified of the new lord, as Lisabet had warned them of his terrible temper. They left their kills outside for him, and asked a rabbit to present their gifts to the new Lord while they hid themselves; the fox hid under some leaves and the bear climbed up a tree, out of sight. Cat Ivan devoured the meat ferociously, and the bear was astonished that, hearing a purr for the first time, he thought that the cat complained that still it was 鈥減ooor-r-r-r pr-r-r-rovisions鈥�. The wolf strained to get a good look at Cat Ivan and shook the leaves from his eyes, the sound of which the cat mistook for mice and pounced on the pile. The terrified wolf ran away, and Cat Ivan was so shocked that he sprung up into the nearest tree, where the hiding bear panicked at being found. He jumped from the tree and ran away. Lisabet, being clever, shouted after him to run because the cat was close behind. Ever since, Lisabet and Cat Ivan have lived in luxury, with fresh meat delivered to their door daily.

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