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Mother came from market. She took the old mincing machine and put it on the kitchen table in order to mince the meat. Tural and Aytan who were playing long ago in the room came to the kitchen. Mother asked:
– What is the matter? Why do you come to the kitchen?
– We are looking at you, – Tural said.
– We are looking at you, – Aytan repeated her brother’s words as a parrot.
Tural was older than Aytan. He was five years old. Ay-tan was three.
– It will be good if you go and play with your toys. You have nothing to do here.
The children stepped aside, but did not leave the kitchen. The mincing machine was wrong. Mother often opened and cleaned it, controlling the mincing meat. Sometimes she made effort and stopped for a while as the blade of the mincing machine was wrong. The next time when mother stopped, Tural said kindly:
– Mom, let me help you.
– Mom, let me help you. – Aytan again repeated her brother’s words.
– How do you want to help me? – Mother said. – It will be good if you don’t go round me.
The children were offended.
– Mom, we are not going round you.
– Don’t you see I am busy with this machine?!
– Tell dad to buy a new mincing machine for you. The electric one. Tural said.
– As my aunt’s electric machine!.. – Aytan added.
– I have said. But your dad says that he has no money.
– Mom, I will grow very soon and buy it for you. – Tural said with the manner of a young man.
Mother smiled.
– Oh, my son, I will be very old when you grow up.
– As my granny?.. – Aytan asked.
– Yes, as your granny!
Aytan did not know what to say. So, she turned to her brother in order to learn his opinion.
Tural was embarrassed. He was thinking something. Suddenly he rose his head and said:
– Then I don’t want to grow up very soon, mom!
– Why, my son?
– I don’t want you to get old. – He said it so seriously as if he was going to cry.
– I will be old granny, my son! What ‘s wrong with that?..
– We have already had granny, mom. – Aytan said outpacing her brother this time.
– She is right, mom! – Tural affirmed his sister’s words.
Mother almost burst into tears and hugged her children.
WHAT WAS THE MAGPIE LOOKING FOR?
The cattle, sheep and lambs were grazing in the field. Father was lying on his felt cloak on the grass. He had been watching his son İlgar out of the corner of his eye.
Ilgar was collecting flowers and running after the butterflies in the field. Suddenly he stopped as soon as he saw the magpie on the back of the black cow.The motley magpie was jumping up and down and pecking something on the cow’s back. Then it flew away and disappeared in the sky. Not long after the magpie appeared again. This time the bird perched on the other cow’s back and began to look for something. It flew away again. But Ilgar did not know what the magpie carried in its beak.
The third time when the magpie appeared in the field Il-gar threw the bunch of the flower to the bird and whistled. He wanted to frighten the bird. But the magpie was busy in pecking. The bird paid no attention to him.
Ilgar got angry. He run after the magpie. The bird took no heed to him as if he was playing with it. When Ilgar approached the magpie it flew and sat on the back of other cows and sheep.
Ilgar’s father was watching them and smiling secretly. At last he saw that his son would frighten the cattle, so he called him:
– Ilgar!…
– What’s the matter, dad?! – Ilgar stopped and looked at his father screwing his eyes.
– Don’t torment the magpie, sonny!
– But it is pecking and hurting the cows.
– It does not hurt the cattle. The magpie is looking for another thing on cows’ bodies.
– What is it looking for? – Ilgar asked coming nearer to his father slowly.
– The magpie is looking for wool and hair on their bodies.
İlgar was surprised:
– Wool and hair? Why would the bird do that?
– The birds need it. They know that animals shed hair in spring. So, they carry their wool and hair to their nests for making them warmer. They also like warm and comfortable place for sleeping.
Everything was clear to Ilgar now.
THE BEETLE AND APPLE SAPWOOD
The beetles and other insects were flying, running and fussing around in order to collect food for the winter. Even the activation of dung beetles, known among people as the “weather information bureau”, was the best guarantee that the weather would be pleasant in the near future. The small soft balls made of manure were heavier and bigger than the beetles themselves. It was very difficult for beetles to pull those heavy balls out of the endless pits, lift them upward slopes, roll them from dung- hills, throw them over various stones and clods, all kinds of brushwood and at last take them to the holes. But all these difficulties did not cause them to loss courage. The most dangerous thing for them was their meeting with beetles, in other words, unexpected attacks of the pirates. The robbed ones returned and repeated the same thing again. The manure balls were very important for beetles. The baby beetles, born in the fetus, which were put by mother beetles inside the manure balls, could be fed from the first days of their lives.
Suddenly one of the branches of the apple-tree shook and a big apple fell down with a thud. The apple hurt its f lank. İt started to moan. The apple rolled and stopped near the beetles. The white thin apple sapwood went out of the apple. It turned head and saw the beetles around.
– Hey! Who are you? What are you doing there? – The white thin apple sapwood asked them with a low tender voice.
Mother beetles knew apple sapwood very well. That was why they paid no attention to it. But the baby beetle which was interested in everything, asked the apple sapwood with astonishment:
– Can I come and see you, baby? – The baby beetle quickly flew to it without waiting for reply.
– Wow! You have wings! – The apple sapwood said with astonishment.
– Of course! – The baby beetle boasted.
– Ugh! How badly you smell! – The apple sapwood rumpled its face.
– You will also smell badly if you live inside the manure briquette!.. – The baby beetle justified itself.
– There are so many beautiful trees in the garden. Why do you rummage in the manure briquette with such horrible smell?..
– My mother says that manure briquette is our fate. We cannot live another life.
– You are a crazy one! Your mother deceives you! – The apple sapwood laughed.
– It means that I can also live inside this apple as you?..
– Of course! – The apple sapwood said. – It depends just on your will.
At that moment, the gardener stopped as soon as he saw the big red apple on the grass. The baby beetle ran away immediately. The apple sapwood hid inside the hole on the red apple. The gardener picked the apple, cleaned it and went away.
The baby beetle came to its mother in a bad mood.
– Stop idleness! – Mother beetle cried.
– Mom,how long are we going to rummage in the manure briquette?.. – The baby beetle murmured.
– What can we do, my darling?! – Mother was surprised.
– Look around! There are so many beautiful fragrant plants and trees in the garden. Are we worse than the rest ones?
Mother beetle understood that the apple sapwоod had already filled its head with nonsense.
– Don’t pay attention to everything, my dear. You know nothing about this world yet. I had also much dream when I was young… – Mother said.
But the baby beetle did not remember mother’s words at all…
THE RABBIT STUBBORNNESS
The lion commissioned the rabbit to rule over the forest when he went somewhere. The rabbit was embittered on the wolf.
As soon as the rabbit seized power, she convened meeting and gathered animals together on the pretext of a serious event. Suddenly she looked at the wolf sourly and asked:
– Where is your cap?..
The wolf was surprised. He looked at the rabbit and asked:
– What cap, sister rabbit? What do you mean?..
The rabbit:
– I shall show you now what cap I ask!..
The rabbit suddenly jumped over the wolf. She started to kick and beat the wolf heartily.
The next morning the rabbit called all animals again. She again called the wolf and asked:
– Tell me, where is your cap?..
The wolf again had a blank look at the rabbit. He did not know what to say. The rabbit began to shout loudly:
– I ask you where is your cap!..
The wolf remembered the yesterday’s blows and began to toady upon the rabbit:
– Oh! What do you say, dear sister rabbit? I have never had a cap on my head!..
The rabbit shivered with rage and again began to kick and beat the wolf in front of everyone.
It was repeated for some days. At last the lion returned the forest. The wolf complained to the lion about the rabbits
– Your majesty! You know that I have never had a cap at all. What is the matter? What does the rabbit want from me?..
The lion was surprised hearing the wolf’s complaint. He called the rabbit and asked her:
– What is the matter, sister rabbit?
The rabbit admitted the truth when they were alone together:
Your majesty! I was embittered by the wolf very much. I did not know how to take vengeance on him. And I found a pretext for it.
The lion approved the rabbit’s idea. He howled with laughter:
– Remember it, the next time you will ask him another thing.
– What?.. – The rabbit asked.
– Ask him to bring a bowl of water for you… If he brings hot water, you will say that you wanted the cold one. If he brings cold water then you will say you wanted the hot one.
The next time when the lion was apsent the rabbit did the same thing what the lion advised her. She called the wolf and sent him for water in front of the animals.
She drank the water and got angry:
– What is this? I asked you to bring hot water for me.
