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Kolobok - Little Round Bun

Once there was a poor old couple that lived in a village at the edge of a great forest. One day the wife wished to bake a special treat for her husband and she found that she had just enough flour to make a small bun called a kolobok. When the kolobok was done she placed it on the window-sill to cool. The kolobok lay on the window-sill for some time, and then suddenly it rolled off the sill and into the garden. The kolobok continued to roll through the garden, down the path to the road, and down the road to the forest.

At the edge of the forest the kolobok met a large hungry bear. "Ah, little kolobok, I'll eat you now,” the bear said. "Don't eat me, bear. I'll sing you a song.

I'm kolobok, kolobok! I was scraped from the flour-tin, Swept from the corn-bin, Mixed with sour cream into a bun Fried in butter till I was done, I ran away from grandpa and grandma too, And I'm sure I'll have no trouble, running away from you."

And kolobok rolled off into the forest, so fast that the bear could only stare.

The kolobok rolled down the forest path until it met a big gray wolf. "Ah, little kolobok, I'll eat you now," said the wolf. "Don't eat me, gray wolf. I'll sing you a song.”

The kolobok sang his song and when he was done he rolled away, so fast that the wolf could only stare. The kolobok rolled father into the forest until it met a rabbit. "Ah, little kolobok, I'll eat you now," the rabbit said. "Don't eat me, rabbit. I'll sing you a song.

Again the kolobok sang his song and when he was done he rolled quickly away, so fast that the rabbit could only stare. The kolobok rolled even farther into the forest until it met a fox. "Kolobok, kolobok, where are you going," asked the fox. "I'm just rolling along the forest path." "Little kolobok, sing me your song." And the kolobok began to sing.

"I'm kolobok, kolobok! I was scraped from the flour-tin, Swept from the corn-bin, Mixed with sour cream into a bun Fried in butter till I was done. Then left on the sill till I cooled some. I ran away from grandpa and grandma, bear, gray wolf, and rabbit too And I'm sure I'll have no trouble, running away from you."

"What a fine song,” said the fox. “But I am hard of hearing. Kolobok, be so kind as to sit on my nose and sing your song again, a little louder."

The kolobok hopped onto the fox's nose and started to sing his song, but the fox quickly flipped the kolobok into the air and with one big snap of its jaws, caught the kolobok and gobbled him up.

Random House / Grandfather Frost / Alaska Gallery

Russian American Company

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