Select the tale Contents Two brothers The happy cobbler The invincible Cock Lazy Hoory The paradise flower The hunter that lied A big pot of gold The master and the labourer The carnival Brother axe The foolish man The king & the peddler Travelers Nazar the brave The fox that lost its tail The dog and the cat The handless girl Black kiddy Unlucky Panoss The liar One drop of honey The sparrow The death of Kikos The talking fish The end of the wicked The Miller- King Zangi Zrangi

THE END OF THE WICKED

Lika Kankanyan 12 years

There was a mountain, With a tree upon it, That had a hollow in it, Which had a nest in it, With three chicks in it, And a Cuckoo upon it. "Cuckoo, cuckoo, my cuckoos, When will you take wing, That you may fly away And be happy...?"

Sang the Mother Cuckoo.
Then all of a sudden came the Fox and said:

"This is my mountain,
And this is my tree,
That has a hollow in it,
Which has a nest in it;
Who is it that has come
And secretly taken over?
Oh, you Cuckoo, foolish Cuckoo.
How many chicks have you up there?"
"I have three chicks, Master Fox."
"I'll show you to have three chicks'
You shameless bird, had you not thought
Of sending one of them to me as a servant?
Drop one of them down at once,
Else I will go and fetch
My sharpened axe here
And cut down this tree!"
"Oh, don't do that,
For the love of God'
Here is one of them,
Take him as a servant,
Only, please, do not
Destroy us that way,
Complete with nest
And the whole family"
Thus pleaded the Mother Cuckoo and dropped down one of her chicks, which the Fox snapped up and went away. "Woe, my little one,
My good cuckoo;
In which mountain,
In which forest,
Under which bush,
Did you perish alone?
Woe, my little one,
My poor cuckoo...

"So lamented and wailed the Mother Cuckoo, when all of a sudden, back came the Fox and said:
"This is my mountain,
And this is my tree,
That has a hollow in it,
Which has a nest in it;
Who is it that has come
And secretly taken over?
Oh. you Cuckoo, foolish Cuckoo,
How many chicks have you up there?"

"I have two chicks, Master Fox."
I'll show you to have two chicks!
Oh, you malicious robber,
What was that you said, two chicks?
Are you trying to fill
This place with cuckoos...
"Drop one of them down at once,
Else I will go and fetch
My sharpened axe here
And cut down this tree!"

"Oh, don't do that,
For the love of God!
Take this one, too,
And, at least, let
The last one stay
With me in peace!"

Thus pleaded the Mother Cuckoo and dropped down her second chick also,
which the Fox snapped up and went away.

Woe, woe, oh, woe!
Why did I come
To this mountain,
To make a nest
And hatch chicks?
The Fox came,
Took away and ate
Two of my chicks,
Cuckoo..! Cuckoo!"

Thus wept the Mother Cuckoo,
Just then, there came the call of the Raven that was passing thence. She heard the Cuckoo crying and said:

"Why are you crying thus,
Distressed and sad, sister Cuckoo?"

"How could I not cry, godmother,
When that heartless Fox came
And brought me such disaster?
He took my chicks and ate them!"
"Oh how could you, silly Cuckoo,
Be deceived thus in vain
By the wicked Fox's untrue words?
How can he say the mountain is his:
Who has given it to that rogue?
It belongs to us all equally;
Who would let him possess
The whole of this mountain?
He spears of a sharp axe
Frightens this and that one falsely,
One today and another yesterday,
Takes away their chicks and eats them!
Who would have given a sharp axe
To that black devil at all?
If he comes again and threatens you,
Do not fear him, drive him away"
Thus spoke the Raven and flew away.

And the Fox arrived again, saying.

"This is my mountain,
And this is my tree..."
He had hardly uttered these words when the Cuckoo thrust her head out of the nest and said:
"You are telling lies, you fraudulent,
Heartless beast, ever greedy and hungry!
Who has given you this mountain:
It belongs equally to us all?
How dare you come and falsely own it!
And I like a fool believed you
And gave you two of my chicks!
Away, you wicked Fox, go and get lost!
Enough with your lies; I know you
And bo longer fear you now:
You have no axe to cut the tree!"
"And who told you that?"
"It was the Raven."
-The Raven, eh? Very well!"

And the Fox bent in his tail and went away, angry with the Raven.
He went and lay down in a field, pretending to be dead.
The Raven was deceived and flew down to dig out his eyes.
Suddenly, the Fox seized her:

"wa-a-ah...! Wa-a-ah...! Master Fox, wa-a-ah..!"
"You wicked-tongued bird,
You went and told the Cuckoo
That I had no sharpened axe...!
No axe, eh? You wait a little!"
"Forgive me,
Oh Master Fox!
I do not deny it,
I have said it;
Tear me to pieces, eat me up raw,
Deal what punishment you wish. But listen to my last words:
In that mountain opposite,
I have such a store of provisions.
The like of which you will not find
Anywhere in all your living days,
Why should all that vast treasure Perish beneath the earth?
Come let us go there, let me give it to you
To eat to your heart's content, and yet more!
If what I have told you is a lie,
You could always find me here!"
"Let us go then," said the Fox. "If it is as you say, well and good; if not, I can eat you up."
And so they went.

The Raven, flying above, had noticed the peasant's dog sleeping in a bush, and led the Fox straight to it
"There," she said, "my store is in that bush." The Fox greedily dived into the bush.
And the dog leapt up seized him by the throat and put him to the ground. The Fox lay dying there and cried out:
"How could I,
A cautious Fox,
Fall into a trap In this way...?
Oh, you fraudulent,
Black raven...!"
"However cautious he may be,
Sooner or later, this fate awaits
Him who is wicked, Master Fox...!"
Replied the Raven and flew away, thus freeing herself and the Cuckoo.