Atondido Stories
The Story of Lidushka and the Imprisoned Doves
There was once a young housewife named Lidushka. One day
while she was washing clothes in the river a great frog, all bloat-
ed and ugly, swam up to her. Lidushka jumped back in fright.
The frog spread itself out on the water, just where Lidushka had
been rinsing her clothes, and sat there working its jaws as if it
wanted to say something.
"Shoo!" Lidushka cried, but the frog stayed where it was and
kept on working its jaws.
"You ugly old bloated thing! What do you want and why do
you sit there gaping at me?"
Lidushka struck at the frog with a piece of linen to drive it off
so that she could go on with her work. The frog dived, came up
at another place, and at once swam back to Lidushka.
Lidushka tried again and again to drive it away. Each time
she struck at it, the frog dived, came up at another place, and
then swam back. At last Lidushka lost all patience.
"Go away, you old fat thing!" she screamed. "I have to finish
my wash! Go away, I tell you, and when your babies come I'll be
their godmother! Do you hear?"
As if it accepted this as a promise, the frog croaked: "All
right! All right! All right!" and swam off.
Some time after this, when Lidushka was again doing her
washing at the river, the same old frog appeared not looking
now so fat and bloated.
"Come! Come, my dear!" it croaked. "You remember your
promise! You said you'd be godmother to my babies. You must
come with me now for we're having the christening today."
Lidushka, of course, had spoken jokingly, but even so a
promise is a promise and must not be broken.
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