Far, far away beyond the high, gloomy mountains lay a magical forest. The trees there were of different varieties: coniferous and deciduous. Among the conifers grew shaggy pines and fragrant firs, and among the deciduous trees—sturdy oaks, slender birches, thin aspens, maples with carved leaves, and fluffy poplars.
Next to the tall, slender trees grew sprawling bushes of viburnum and raspberry. The forest had many mushrooms: birch boletes, honey mushrooms, porcini, and king boletes. The forest was large and dense, and various animals lived in it: wolves, foxes, rabbits, hedgehogs, deer, squirrels, and bears.
They lived together peacefully and harmoniously, helped each other, protected themselves from hunters and disobedient children. Only Sister Fox could never get used to peace and harmony. Her character was quarrelsome and difficult; she had trouble getting along with the other animals.
One day, Fox became very bored once again and decided to make fun of Hedgehog. She began to tease and provoke him:
Look, look, how small and clumsy he is, what short legs, what tiny eyes, what sharp spines—just ridiculous! What can you expect from him?
So Fox came up with entertainment to offend Hedgehog, and said:
Hey, you, Hedgehog with the prickly needles! Let's compete! We'll have a contest: 'Who can fill a barrel with water faster?' I'm sure you won't be able to do anything!
Hedgehog had no choice; all the animals were watching him. Under pressure from the impudent Fox, he quickly agreed.
They set a day for the competition. In the clearing where they decided to hold the contest, all the forest inhabitants gathered. Even the frogs from the neighboring pond hopped over to watch the exciting competition; they couldn't miss such a fun event. An eagle descended from the high mountains to see the rare spectacle.
Nimble forest mice crawled out of their small burrows, squirrels peeked out from their hollows, even Bear himself emerged from his den to watch the unusual contest.
Well, now I've got you, Prickly. How can you keep up with me? I'm fast, brave, smart, 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.
The red trickster thought to herself.
Hedgehog said nothing in response to his unwanted rival, just remained silent and shook his head slightly. He snuffled a bit, then stepped up to the starting line that Fox had drawn before the competition began.
And the cunning Fox began racing with little Hedgehog to carry water to the barrels. Hedgehog didn't hurry; he carefully carried his little bucket, attentively stepping with his short legs, bringing all the water, down to the last drop, to the barrel, and then returning to the source again.
Fox rushed and hurried, swinging her bucket, spilling water along the way, running circles around the barrel. By the time she reached the barrel, almost nothing remained in the bucket; she poured out just a tiny bit of water from the very bottom and started fussing again.
The forest animals worried about the participants and actively supported them. Squirrels waved their tails, rabbits tapped their paws, the bear periodically let out a roar, birds chirped without stopping. Each of them watched the competition attentively and thought their own thoughts.
No matter how hard she tried, no matter how much she hurried, she couldn't win the contest. The calm and unhurried Hedgehog managed to fill his barrel to the very brim before Fox did.
Sister Fox was angry and furious at Hedgehog, but he said to her in a reasonable, 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 sensibly 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 correctly and on time, and you won't ruin your reputation.
