Far, far away beyond the tall, dark mountains lay a magical forest. The trees in it were of different varieties: conifers and deciduous. Among the conifers grew shaggy pines and fragrant firs, and among the deciduous trees — sturdy gums, slender eucalypts, thin wattles, maples with carved leaves and fluffy poplars.
Beside the tall, slender trees grew sprawling bushes of native berries and wild raspberries. In the forest there were many mushrooms: birch boletes, honey mushrooms, white mushrooms and porcini. The forest was large and dense, and various creatures lived in it: dingoes, foxes, wallabies, echidnas, kangaroos, possums and wombats.
They lived together peacefully and harmoniously, helping one another, protecting each other from hunters and naughty children. Only the Fox couldn't quite get used to the peace and harmony. Her character was quarrelsome and difficult, and she found it hard to get along with the other animals.
One day the Fox, once again feeling very bored, decided to have a laugh at the Echidna's expense. She began to tease and provoke him:
Look, look, how small and clumsy he is, what short legs, what tiny eyes, what sharp spines — what a laugh! What can you expect from him?
So the Fox invented an entertainment for herself to offend the Echidna, and said:
Oi, you, Echidna with the prickly spines! Let's have a competition! We'll have a contest to see who can fill a barrel with water faster. I'm certain you won't manage it at all!
The Echidna had no choice — all the animals were watching him. Under pressure from the cheeky Fox, he quickly agreed.
They set a day for the competition. In the clearing where they decided to hold the contest, all the forest dwellers gathered. To watch the exciting competition, even the frogs from the neighbouring billabong hopped over — they couldn't miss such a fun event. From the high mountains an eagle descended to see the rare spectacle.
From tiny burrows emerged nimble bush mice, possums poked out from their tree hollows, even the Wombat himself emerged from his burrow to watch the unusual contest.
Well, now I've got you, Prickly. How can you keep up with me? I'm fast, brave, clever and cunning. My bucket is much bigger than yours, my legs are longer, my paws are nimbler, which means I'll fill the barrel with water faster than you.
Thinks the red trickster.
The Echidna said nothing in reply to his unwanted rival, just kept silent and shook his head slightly. He snuffled a bit, then stepped up to the starting line that the Fox had drawn before the competition began.
And the cunning Fox began racing with the little Echidna to carry water to the barrels. The Echidna doesn't rush, carefully carries his little bucket, attentively stepping with his short legs, bringing all the water, down to the last drop, to the barrel, and returns to the source again.
The Fox hurries and rushes, swinging her bucket about, spilling water along the way, running circles around the barrel. By the time she reaches the barrel, almost nothing remains in the bucket — she pours out just a tiny bit of water from the very bottom and starts fussing about again.
The forest animals worry about the participants and actively support them. Possums wave their tails, wallabies tap their paws, the wombat periodically lets out a grunt, the birds chirp without stopping. Each of them watches the competition closely and thinks their own thoughts.
No matter how hard she tried, no matter how much she hurried, she couldn't manage to win the contest. The calm and unhurried Echidna managed to fill his barrel right to the brim before the Fox.
The Fox is angry and furious at the Echidna, but he says to her sensibly in a quiet voice:
You see, Fox with the red coat, you boasted a lot, mocked and jeered, but you couldn't win the contest. I didn't rush, I did everything properly and methodically, and filled the barrel to the brim before you. You were wrong, Fox, to think you could win through cunning and deception.
Any task should always be done honestly and conscientiously — then you'll do the work properly and on time, and you won't damage your reputation.
