Rooster The Golden Comb

Once upon a time there lived a cat, a thrush, and a rooster, whose name was 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 for work, the cat and the thrush warn the rooster The Golden Comb,

-We'll be working far away from the house today, while you are home all alone, busy with the chores.  If you hear a fox near by, you have to get very quiet.  She must not know you are home.  Do not, under any circumstances, look outside the window.

The fox finds out that the cat and the thrush left the house every day.  She sneaks up to the cottage, sits by the window, and starts to sing,

-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 some beans.

Temped by sounds and hungry for some beans, the rooster peaks his head outside the window.  

In a flash, the fox grabs the rooster and takes off running toward her burrow.

The rooster cries for help,

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

This fox is in a mighty rush,

She’s taking me too far away,

Past all the streams, and hills, and hay.

The cat and the thrush hear the rooster.  They run as fast as they can to his rescue.  Able to overcome the distance, they catch up with the fox and rip the rooster out of her paws.

A few days go by.  The fire wood was running low.  The cottage is getting cold.  The cat and the thrush need to go work in the forest again.  So, they warn the rooster,

-Listen, Golden Comb, we have to go into the deeper part of the forest to get the wood to heat the cottage.  We'll be further away than ever before.  You have to stay quite.  You must not look outside the window.  If something happens to you, we may not be able to hear you this time.

Soon after the cat and the thrush left, the fox comes by the cottage.  She sits by the window and starts to sing,

-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 some beans.

The rooster sit quietly, silently.  He doesn't move.  He doesn't peep.  He is barely breathing.

Surprised, but determined the fox continues to sing,

-Some children were hopping,

Wheat grains were dropping.

The chickens are pecking,

The roosters are only begging…

The rooster peaks his head outside the window,

-Why, no rooster would be begging!

In a flash, the fox grabs the rooster and takes off running toward her burrow.

The rooster cries,

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

This fox is in a mighty rush,

She’s taking me too far away,

Past all the streams, and hills, and hay.

The cat and the thrush hear the rooster.  The can is sprinting.  The thrush is flying.  They can't let the fox get away.  It takes awhile, but they catch up with the fox.  The cat claws.  The thrush dabs.  The fox won't let go.  Finally, they free the rooster The Golden Comb.  The cat and the thrush chase the fox away.

A week passes by.  The cottage is cold.  The cat and the thrush ready have to go get the fire wood.  As they are leaving, they tell the rooster,

-The fox is still out there.  She might come by, but you must not listen to her!  You must not look outside the window.  This time, we really have to go far.  If you yell for us, we won't hear you.

Soon after the cat and the thrush left, the fox comes by the cottage.  She sits by the window and starts to sing,

-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 some beans.

The rooster sit quietly, silently.  He doesn't move.  He doesn't peep.  He is barely breathing.

The fox continues,

-Some children were hopping,

Wheat grains were dropping.

The chickens are pecking,

The roosters are only begging…

The rooster sit quietly.  He doesn't budge.

The fox doesn't give up.  She continues,

- Some folks were bored,

All these nuts they poured.

The chickens are pecking,

The roosters are left begging…

The rooster peaks his head outside the window,

-Why are the roosters left begging?

In a flash, the fox grabs the rooster and takes off running toward her burrow, past the streams, past the hills, past the hay.  The rooster cries and calls for his friends, but his friends can't hear him - they are too far away this time.

At the end of the day, the cat and the thrush return with lots of wood, happy and tired.  To their dismay, the cottage is empty.  

The friends follow the fox’s footprints.  The cat is sprinting.  The thrush is flying.  After a long search, they come to the burrow, where the fox lives.  The cat starts playing a harp,

- Play, my harp,

Play my golden strings,

I’m here from afar

To meet my lovely queen.

The fox hears the singing and gets curious.  She starts to listen.  She starts to wonder.  “Who could it be, playing the harp so skillfully?"  She can't wait any longer, she comes out of her burrow.

The cat and the thrush jump on top of her.  The fox is trapped, she fights, but cannot get out.  After a battle, she is able to break free, but the cat and the thrush go after her.  She runs, without looking back as fast as her legs can carry her.

-Don't ever come back! - The friends yell.  

The cat and the thrush pick up their friend, the rooster The Golden Comb, and take him home.  

From that day on, they go on to live happily ever after.

THE END