Who is the strongest?

The village pond was frozen and all the children were happy because that meant they could skate on the ice. Namyoka and Kurba were neighbours. They were the first to arrive at the pond. They were warmly clothed in thick coats and woollen scarves for it was very cold. This winter was the coldest in many years and the old people were not happy at all. But the children of the village, like Namyoka and Kurba, did not mind the cold. They played and went skiing down the mountain slopes near their village.

But one day Namyoka and Kurba quarrelled. Kurba had boasted that he was the strongest boy in their village. “That isn't true. You know I beat you in the races last year. That makes me the strongest,” cried Namyoka. Kurba became very angry and he began to hit his friend. Their friends tried to part them.

“Namyoka, Kurba, this is silly. You have been friends for so long. Why quarrel over such a silly thing as who is the strongest. We are all strong in our own way,” said their friends.

Namyoka and Kurba took no notice of them. Then Namyoka said, “I'm the strongest. You must all bow to me.” Kurba was so angry that he pushed him and Namyoka fell and hit his head on the ice.

“You can't be the strongest as the strongest is the ice on which you fell. Mr. Ice, isn't that so? Aren't you stronger than my friend?” asked the boy.

“That may well be true but there is one who is stronger than I am,” said Mr. Ice.

“Who's that?” asked Namyoka, rubbing his head.

“It's Mr. Sun, of course. When the weather gets warm I begin to melt because the sun's rays are so warm. So Mr. Sun is the strongest. Bow to the Sun,” said Mr. Ice.

Just then the Sun began to peep through the clouds al­though it was still very cold. “Good morning, Mr. Sun. Please help us to settle our argument. Kurba and I have been fighting because each of us claimed to be the strongest. We asked Mr. Ice and he said you're the strongest,” said Namyoka.

“It's kind of Mr. Ice to say that but I don't think that's quite true. I think the Cloud is stronger than I am. When it casts its shadow, the Earth becomes so cold because my rays cannot shine through the thick cloud.”

The boys went to see the Cloud who was hanging low over a high mountain to the north of their village. After a long and difficult climb, they reached the top of the mountain. “Good day, Mr. Cloud, we've come to see you as the Sun told us that you are the strongest.” The Cloud wandered over the mountain top, making everything beneath it dark and foggy. The boys shivered for suddenly it became much colder. Their coats were covered with ice. Then a cold wind blew and the Cloud had no time to reply as it was blown away. Just as suddenly, it became warmer. The crust of ice melted and made their clothes damp and uncomfortable.

Then the Sun shone and before long, their clothes were dry. “Look, the Rainbow!” cried out Kurba.

"It's beautiful. Perhaps the Rainbow is the strongest. Let's ask it,” said Namyoka.

But before they could open their mouths a strong wind blew. “I am the strongest!” boasted the Wind.

“Can you move the Mountain from its place?" asked Kurba.

The Wind did not reply. Instead it began to blow. It puffed and puffed and still the Mountain stayed in its place. “You'll never move me. I am the strongest,” said the Mountain. Again the Wind blew. It roared up and down the mountain through the valleys but only a few grains of sand flew off its top.

“Oh, Mr. Wind, I don't think you're the strongest after all. It would take you years to move the Mountain,” said Namyoka. The Wind, realizing that it was defeated, blew down the mountain-side, and disappeared.

The boys bowed to the Mountain. “You Sir, are truly the greatest,” they said. But the Mountain only groaned.

“Oh, it isn't true. I only wish it were, but the Tree must surely be the strongest. It grows on my back and its roots dig deep into me although it does protect me from the Wind,” said the mountain.

“Are you indeed the strongest of them all?” asked the boys. The Tree shook in the wind but did not fall down.

“Yes, it's true. I'm the strongest of all! Bow to me.”

“You're wrong. You're telling lies,” said Namyoka. He took an axe that was lying beneath the tree and felled it. “Man is the greatest, the strongest of all,” said the boys.

Then everyone bowed to them. The Mountain groaned as the trees dug their roots deeper. The Wind roared down the Mountain calling out, “Man is the greatest. Bow to Man.” The Sun shone warmly and melted the ice.

And ever since that day, everybody believed Man to be the strongest of all.

The Frog Prince

 A young and very beautiful princess lost her ball in the water, while she was playing by the side of a lake. She began to cry so sadly that the frog who sat beside the lake croaked to her, “What will you give me if I get you your ball back?”

“All the gold you could wish for!” replied the princess. “No, I ask only that I am allowed to stay with you and be your friend,” said the frog. The prin­cess gave her word (what did such a promise cost her if it meant she could have her ball back?), but she had absolutely no intention of keeping her promise. In fact, the moment she had her ball back she ran off so fast that the frog could not keep up with her. Nevertheless, after a while the frog arrived at the palace.

As soon as she saw the frog, the princess was frightened. She ran to ask for help from her father, but the king, who knew what had happened, ordered his daughter to keep her promise. So the princess picked the frog up gently in her hand, but, with a shiver of disgust, she let it drop to the ground again. But that one brief touch was enough to break the spell that bound that frog, and caused it to turn back into the young and hand­some prince he had been before.

The story ends with the happiest of wedding ceremonies.

Terjemahan...

The Cockerel and the Weasel

Once, while the cockerel was giving a long “cock-a-doodle-doo”, a weasel walked up behind him. “You are avery good singer,” the weasel purred, “but I know a cockerel that can sing perfectly while standing on one leg.”

“That's easy!” said the vain cockerel, doing the same.

“Ah, but he also shuts his eyes!”

“I can do that too!”

And while the cock was showing off in this fashion, the weasel carried him off into the woods to eat him. When mealtime arrived,the weasel held the cockerel still with his paws and ....

“Didn't anyone teach you to say grace before eating?” the cockerel interrupted.

“Of course they did!” said the weasel, lifting his paws to put them together. The cockerel didn't hesitate, but flew straight up to a high branch. The weasel was determined not to give up a meal, so he picked up a dry leaf and pretended to read it.

“It's a letter from the king!” he murmured and turned to the cockerel. “I don't understand a single word of it. Why don't you read it to me?”

“Gladly,” replied the cockerel, “but some other time would be better. I can see a group of hunters coming.”

The weasel ran off and the clever cockerel returned to the hen house.

Terjemahan.....

Peter and the wolf

Peter had gone to his grandfather's house on holiday. It was a beautiful farmhouse on the very edge of the forest. He had lots of toys to play with, and the garden and the courtyard were full of friendly animals to keep him company. He was free to go wherever he wished, his grandfather had forbidden him to do one thing only — to go out of the gate which opened onto the forest, because in the forest there lived a wolf.

Needless to say, it was to the forest that Peter most wanted to go. One day his grandfather forgot  to lock the gate, and when the boy realized this, he was quick to slip out. A duck followed him out of the gate, and took advantage of the opportunity to have a swim in the stream beneath the birch tree. A robin redbreast studied the duck and said:

“What sort of bird are you that doesn't even know how to fly?”

“And what sort of bird are you, that doesn't even know how to swim?” replied the duck crossly.

A quarrel broke out, and this attracted the attention of a cat, who was out looking for his lunch. Peter saw the cat creeping up and called out a warning. The robin redbreast flew to the top of the birch tree, and the duck sent the cat scurrying away by pecking it with its beak. All this fuss disturbed the grandfather, however, and he took his grandson and carried him back inside the farmyard.

“What would you have done,” he scolded Peter, “if the wolf had come by?”

“I'm not scared of a wolf” boasted Peter.

And, in fact, the wolf did come on the scene, and while the robin redbreast was able to fly to safety at the top of the birch tree, the poor duck was gulped down in a single mouthful and ended up in the stomach of the wolf. As for the cat, it had had just enough time to jump to safety in another tree, but it was still in danger from the wolf.

Peter watched all this through the farmyard gate and bravely decided to go to the rescue. He ran to fetch a long rope, tied a loop in it and then throw it over the wall, catching the loop firmly onto a branch of the birch tree. Then by swinging across on this rope, he was able to reach the robin redbreast.

“Try and distract the wolf,” Peter told the robin.

The little bird began to fly round and round he fierce wolf, which spun round like a top in an effort to pluck the little bird out of the air. Peter, up in the tree, waited for just the right moment to throw his lasso.

He caught the wolf perfectly by the tail and lifted it up off the ground and hung it from a branch of the birch tree.

Just then four hunters emerged from the wood, with their rifles on their shoulders. As soon as they saw the wolf, they reached for their guns and began to fire like men possessed. But Peter was worried for his little friends, and shouted to the hunters at the top his voice: “Don't shoot! My friend, the little bird, and l have already captured the wolf. 1 wish you'd just come and help me to tie him up and take him to the zoo!”

While Peter and the four hunters were tying the wolf upside down to a long pole, so that they could carry it safely, his grandfather arrived. He could hardly believe that his little grandson, Peter, could have done such a deed, worthy of a brave and experienced hunter. Even he, however, had to accept the evidence that was there for all to see, and it was grandfather himself, full of pride, who led off the little procession in triumph towards the nearby village.

Right behind his grandfather walked Peter, and round the boy's head flew the little robin redbreast, his feathery chest puffed out. The bird seemed truly for the important part he had played in the capture of the wolf. The four hunters followed, carrying the pole to which they had tied the wolf. And last of all, but with her tall stuck proudly into the air, came the cat, who had reappeared the moment that the danger was past, for she too wanted her share in the glory.

The only absentee, unfortunately, was the poor duck who, because of an innocent urge to swim in the stream, had been both the unwilling cause and the victim of the little tragedy.

And yet, if you strained your ears, you might have thought that she was there somewhere after all. Every so often you would have sworn youheard her distinct 'quack-quack', but it was so weak and distant that nobody could decide where the noise came from. Once again, it was Peter who saved the day. He took out his pocket knife and opened up the stomach of the wolf. At once the duck leapt out. for since the wolf had swallowed her in a single mouthful, she was still safe and sound.

Peter quickly sewed up the belly of the wolf so that it too remained alive and well. Any visitor to the Zoological Gardens can recognize the wolf immediately by the long scar on its belly, and by its careful habit of keeping a great distance between itself and all robin redbreasts.