The Rooster in Russian Fairytales

The rooster is one of the animals that appears in Russian fairytales. Despite the fact that the goat is my favorite fairytale creature, I began to appreciate the rooster once one of my chickens hatched one out. I named him Peep, calling him Peepeek in Russian, and began to wonder when he would start crowing.

Peep started crowing when he was five months old. I made a note of the time: three in the afternoon. At first, the crowing was funny sounding, incomplete, until he practiced and got it right. Now, I hear Peep singing his song early in the morning and throughout the day. I love his crowing, and his harem of eight chickens also enjoy the music, but not always the amorous dancing, chasing and plucking of feathers that comes afterwards.

It is precisely the rooster’s singing that is the subject of a popular Russian nursery rhyme that my Mama read to me when I was a youngster.

Little rooster, little rooster
Comb of gold
Head of butter
Silken beard
Why do you rise so early?
Why do you sing so loudly?
Why don’t you let the children sleep?

"Petushok, petushok
Zolotoy grebeshok
Maslena golovushka
Shelkova borodushka
Shto tea rano vstayosh?
Golosisto poyosh
Detkam spat ne dayosh?"

A Russian rooster, nicknamed Pete in some tales, would rush and get himself into trouble.

Once upon a time, there lived a chicken and a rooster. The rooster was always rushing and the chicken would remind him, “Petie, don’t rush!”

One day, the rooster swallowed a pea pod and choked on it. The rooster lay there, still, looking dead and not breathing.

The scared chicken ran to her mistress, asking, “Mistress, hurry! I need butter to grease the rooster’s throat: he choked on a pea pod.”

The mistress said to the chicken, “Run to the cow, ask for milk, and I’ll churn butter.”

The chicken ran to the cow, begging, “Cow, hurry! Give me milk, my mistress will churn butter, with the butter I’ll grease the rooster’s throat: he choked on a pea pod.”

The cow answered, “Run to your master, I need fresh grass.”

The chicken ran to the master and begged, “Hurry! Give the cow some grass so she will give milk. The mistress will churn butter, with the butter I’ll grease the rooster’s throat: he choked on a pea pod.”

The master answered, “Run to the blacksmith for a sickle.”

The chicken ran with all her might to the blacksmith, begging, “Hurry! Give my master a sickle so he can cut grass. He’ll give the cow grass, the cow will give milk, the mistress will churn butter, and then I’ll grease the rooster’s throat: he swallowed a pea pod.”

The blacksmith gave the master of the house a new sickle, the master gave the cow fresh grass, the cow gave milk, the mistress churned butter and gave the butter to the chicken.

The chicken greased the rooster’s throat and the pea pod slipped down his throat. Pete the rooster jumped up and crowed once again: “Coo-ka-ray-coo.”

The moral of the story: don’t rush and stop to enjoy life. Get along with others. That’s what Peep does. I’d say he’s a pretty smart fellow!