Hungarian Folk Tales: The Hen and the Sloe Berry
Once upon a time there lived an old woman.
And the old woman had one hen, and one cockerel.
One day the hen was pecking in the bushes, when she found a single sloe berry.
The hen tried hard to swallow the sloe berry but it stuck in her throat.
The hen rushed to the cockerel and asked him to fetch her some water
because she was sure she would soon choke on the sloe berry.
So the cockerel ran to the well, and said:
Well, give me some water.
I'll take the water to the hen, because she sure she will choke on the sloe berry.
The well said:
I will give you some water if you fetch me a green branch.
So the cockerel ran to the tree and said:
Tree, give me a green branch.
I'll take the branch to the well, the well will give me water,
I'll take the water to the hen, because she sure she will soon chocke on a sloe berry.
The tree said:
I will give you a green branch if you bring me a wreath.
So the cockerel ran to the wreath-maker and said:
Wreath-maker, give me a wreath.
I'll take the wreath to the tree,
the tree will give me a green branch, I'll take the branch to the well,
the well will give me water, I'll take the water to the hen,
because she sure, she will choke on a sloe berry.
The wreath-maker said:
I will give you a wreath if you bring me a pair of shoes.
So the cockerel went to the cobbler and said:
Cobbler, give me a pair of shoes,
I'll take the shoes to the wreath-maker, the wreath-maker will give me a wreath,
I'll take the wreath to the tree, the tree will give me a branch,
I'll take the branch to the well, the well will give me water,
I'll take the water to the hen,
because she sure, she will choke on a sloe berry.
I'll give you a pair of shoes, if you bring me some glue.
So the cockerel ran to the cat and said:
Cat, give me some glue,
then I'll take the glue to the cobbler,
the cobbler will give me a pair of shoes,
I'll take the shoes to the wreath-maker,
the wreath-maker will give me a wreath,
I'll take the wreath to the tree,
the tree will give me a branch,
I'll take the branch to the well,
and the well will give me water,
I'll take the water to the hen, because she sure, she will choke on the sloe berry.
The cat said:
I will give you glue if you bring me some milk.
So the cockerel ran to the cow and said:
Cow, give me some milk, then I'll take the milk to the cat,
the cat will give me some glue,
I'll take the glue to the cobbler,
the cobbler will give me a pair of shoes,
I'll take the shoes to the wreath-maker,
the wreath-maker will give me a wreath,
I'll take the wreath to the tree,
the tree will give me a branch,
I'll take the branch to the well,
and the well will give me water,
and I'll take the water to the hen, because she sure she will choke on a sloe berry.
The cow said: I will give you some milk if you bring me some hay.
So the cockerel ran to the reaper and said:
Reaper, give me some hay,
I'll take the hay to the cow,
the cow will give me the milk,
I'll take the milk to the cat,
the cat will give me some glue,
I'll take the glue to the cobbler,
the cobbler will give me a pair of shoes,
I'll take the shoes to the wreath-maker,
the wreath-maker will give me a wreath,
I'll take the wreath to the tree,
the tree will give me a branch,
I'll take the branch to the well,
the well will give me water,
I'll take the water to the hen because she sure, she will choke on the sloe berry.
The reaper said: I will give you some hay if you bring me some bread.
So the cockerel ran to the farmer's wife and said:
Farmer's wife, give me some bread,
I'll take the bread to the reaper,
the reaper will give me some hay,
I'll take the hay to the cow,
the cow will give me milk,
I'll take the milk to the cat,
the cat will give me glue,
I'll take the glue to the cobbler,
the cobbler will give me shoes,
I'll take the shoes to the wreath maker,
the wreath-maker will give me a wreath,
I'll take the wreath to the tree,
the tree will give me a branch,
I'll take the branch to the well,
and the well will give me water,
I'll take the water to the hen, because she sure, she will choke on a sloe berry.
The farmer's wife said:
I will give you some bread if you bring me some firewood.
So the cockerel ran to the forest, collected some firewood,
and took it to the farmer's wife.
Then the farmer's wife gave him some bread,
and he took the bread to the reaper.
The reaper gave him some hay,
and he took the hay to the cow.
The cow gave him some milk,
and he took the milk to the cat.
The cat gave him some glue,
and he took the glue to the cobbler.
The cobbler gave him a pair of shoes,
and he took the shoes to the wreath-maker.
The wreath-maker gave him a wreath,
and he took the wreath to the tree.
The tree gave him a branch, and he took the branch to the well.
The well gave him some water and he took the water to the hen.
But by then, the hen had surely choked on a sloe berry.