Rooster The Golden Comb

Once upon a time there lived a cat, a thrush, and a rooster The Golden Comb.  They lived in a cottage somewhere in the middle of the forest.  The cat and the thrush chopped wood in the forest, while the rooster The Golden Comb was looking after the cottage.

Every day before leaving the cat and the thrush warned the rooster The Golden Comb,

- We are going to go far away from the house today.  You will be home alone doing chores.  If a fox comes by, you have to be very quiet, so she doesn’t know you are home.  Do not, under any circumstances, look out of the window.

The fox got the wind that the cat and the thrush left the house.  She snuck up to the cottage, sat by the window and sang,

- Rooster, rooster The Golden Comb,

Your buttery head is bored at home,

Look out of the window with your silky chin,

I’ll praise you more and give you beans.

The rooster popped his head right out of the window.  Moving quickly, the fox grabbed the rooster and took off running to her burrow.

The rooster cried,

- Help me, friends, friend cat, friend thrush,

The fox is truly in a rush,

She’s taking me far, far away,

Past all these streams, and hills, and hay.

The cat and the thrush heard the rooster.  They came after the fox.  Having caught up with her, they took the rooster away from her.

A few days later the cat and the thrush needed to go the forest again.  The fire wood was running low.  So, they warned the rooster,

- Well, rooster The Golden Comb, this time we are going even further than the last time.  Whatever you do, do not look out of the window.  If something happens to you, we won’t be able to hear your voice.

A little while after the cat and the thrush left, the fox came by the cottage again.  She sat by the window and sang,

 - Rooster, rooster The Golden Comb,

Your buttery head is bored at home,

Look out of the window with your silky chin,

I’ll praise you more and give you beans.

The rooster sat silently.  He did not move.  He did not peep.

The fox sang some more,

- Some children were hopping,

Wheat grains dropping.

The chickens are pecking,

The roosters are only begging…

The rooster popped his head right out of the window,

- How come the roosters are only begging?

Moving quickly, the fox grabbed the rooster and took off running to her burrow.

The rooster cried,

- Help me, friends, friend cat, friend thrush,

The fox is truly in a rush,

She’s taking me far, far away,

Past all these streams, and hills, and hay.

The cat and the thrush heard the rooster and set off chasing after the fox.  The cat was sprinting, the thrush was flying…  Once they caught up with the fox, the cat clawed, the thrush dabbed until they freed the rooster The Golden Comb.

It wasn’t a week that passed by as the cat and the thrush got ready to go fire wood chopping again.  As they were leaving, they were instructing the rooster,

- Do not listen to the fox!  Do not look out of the window.  We will be so far away from the house that we will not hear you at all.

A little while after the cat and the thrush left, the fox came by the cottage again.  She sat by the window and sang,

 - Rooster, rooster The Golden Comb,

Your buttery head is bored at home,

Look out of the window with your silky chin,

I’ll praise you more and give you beans.

The rooster sat silently.  He did not move.  He did not peep.

The fox sang some more,

- Some children were hopping,

Wheat grains dropping.

The chickens are pecking,

The roosters are only begging…

The rooster still sat silently.

The fox went again,

- Some folks were bored,

Some nuts they poured.

The chickens are pecking,

The roosters are left begging…

The rooster popped his head right out of the window,

- How come the roosters are left begging?

Moving quickly, the fox grabbed the rooster and took off running to her burrow, past the streams, past the hills, past the hay.  All the crying and calling for his friends, didn’t help the rooster this time.  The cat and the thrush were too far away to hear anything.

As they returned home, the cat and the thrush found an empty house.  They were in despair.

The friends followed the fox’s footprints.  The cat was sprinting.  The thrush was flying.  Soon they came to the fox’s burrow.  The cat played harp and sang,

- Play, my harp,

Play my golden strings,

I’m here from afar

To meet my lovely queen.

The fox was listening and got very curious.  She thought to herself, “Who might be playing harp so masterfully?  I must go see!”  With that thought the fox came out of her burrow.

The cat and the thrush got her.  Barely was she able to escape.  She ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

Meanwhile, the cat and the thrush picked up their friend, the rooster The Golden Comb, and took him home.  They lived happily ever after.

THE END