There was once a poor man. This poor man had nothing "in the world" but a small cock. All of a sudden, this poor man got so cold that his eyes turned green, and he almost climbed the wall in his agony. "He will not torture himself," he thinks to himself, "but kill the rooster and eat it all.
- "Well, you rooster," he says to her, "quickly put water on the fire so I can cook you!
- "Don't kill me, my sweet master," said the little cock, "I'll find you a penny in the trash, and buy you an egg, and I'll keep you as if you had dined with the king.
The poor man said:
- Very well, I don't mind, but you'd better have eggs, otherwise you'll see a knife!
The little rooster runs away, but not to the rubbish heap, he runs into the forest. There he meets a rabbit.
The rabbit asks:
- Where are you running to, you little rooster?
- Just over here by a well, my rabbit friend. I've heard that whoever gets stuck in that well gets a sweet tooth.
- Take me too, you little rooster!
- "With a good heart," says the rooster, "just gather more companions!
The rabbit runs away, and collects about fifty rabbits. And the little rooster led them straight to the king's court, and announced to the king that his majesty, his majesty Otromfotrom, honoured his majesty, and sent him fifty rabbits as a present.
The king tells him:
- Hey, little rooster, would your master be such a gentleman?
- "I believe you," says the rooster, "my master is such a great gentleman that he has a gold watch in each of his pockets!
The king was delighted with the beautiful gift and gave the rooster a gold piece. Ah, now the little cock fled, and ran like the foul time, and the soul was driven from him. When he came home, his master was stretched on the ground with a terrible hunger. The little rooster at once made a meal of the neighbourhood, and fed the poor man well.
Well, time goes by. Well, the poor man is getting terribly cold again, and he wants to kill the rooster again. But this time the rooster promises to get some food, and the poor man leaves him in peace. Once again he runs into the forest, and this time he meets a wild boar. He asks this one too:
- Where are you running to, you little rooster?
Tell us what a miracle well he knows in one place.
- So take me with you! - asks the boar.
- Away, if you take fifty of your companions with you.
He did as he wished, and led the wild boars to the king's court.
The king was horrified, he could not imagine where this carcass of a creature could have gathered all those wild boars. He gave him another gold piece, and the little rooster saved his master from starvation for the second time. But only the third time he had to go and get his cunning, for his master had not even a week left, and was again worn out with hunger. The third time he brought fifty deer to the king.
- "Why," says the king, "does your master send me so many gifts?
The rooster replies:
- A' verily, my sovereign king, I commit my life and death into thy hands, that he may ask thy daughter.
- Really, you little rooster? I'd give it to him with a good heart, but he has to follow.
The little rooster runs home and tells his owner what happened.
How scared the poor man is!
- Oh, you damned cock, how' you can get me into such terrible trouble! Thou, now the King is taking my head!
- 'Just jere,' says the rooster, 'don't be afraid of anything!
What should the poor man do, he starts. When they reach the forest, the rooster says to him:
- You stop here, my sweet master, and I will go to the king's court, and there I will tell him that they have robbed you of your beautiful golden mare, your horse, your carriage, and the king will send you everything.
He did exactly as he said. He runs to the king with great enthusiasm and tells him that his master has been robbed of everything by the thieves in the forest.
The King says:
- Only they left his precious life to my son-in-law!
So he had the most fat mockery put before him, and put six golden-haired horses in a great glass coach, and they went before the poor man. And the poor man's poor head was lying there by a bush.
They dressed her in her pretty, sweet gown and took her to the king's court. The king was delighted to have such a handsome, clever son-in-law. And they made such a feast, that from Hencida to Boncida flowed all the expensive wine.
Well, the wedding is over, now take your wife home, poor man! His head was boiling, he was saying good-bye, he was wondering where he could take the delicate royal lady, when he did not even own the little house she had lived in. The many carriages without a mare were all drawn up at the door, all the gaudy people wanted to see her palace. Let them see where they would take the princess.
While I was saying goodbye, the little rooster sneaks up beside him and says:
- I see how grief has come upon you, my sweet master, but do not pine away in vain farewells, I will help you. Think nothing of it, I will run ahead and set all things right.
The little rooster runs away and finds a herd of cattle on the side of the road. He calls to the shepherd:
- If any man ask kied, whose herd is this, will kied hear, and say that it is the herd of my Otromfot, and will not repent?
And the people asked him, and the shepherd said that the herd was as big as my Otromfot, up to a calf's tail.
But the king was glad to have found such a rich son-in-law.
Meanwhile, the little rooster had reached the forest. There was a golden palace in this forest, spinning on a cock's heel. In this palace lived twelve thieves. The little rooster ran up, and with terrible enthusiasm he told the thieves to hide somewhere, in the holy name of Jesus, because the king was coming with all his army and would have them all impaled. Ah, the thieves are frightened and hide in a haystack. And the little rooster set fire to the haystack, and all twelve thieves were burnt to ashes. Then he ran out to the palace gate and waited for his guest.
Well, it was a wedding for seventeen countries! Now from Boncida to Hencida the sea flowed with many good juices.
When the wedding was over, the poor man called the little rooster to him and said:
- Well, you little cock, I never dreamed I would be so great a lord in this worldly life. I owe it all to you, so tell me, how shall I repay you?
- "I don't want anything," said the rooster, "I only want you to give me a good burial when I die!
All right, so he promises, of course he promises. The next day the butler comes in to report that the little rooster is dead.
Says the greatness of Otromfotrom:
– Vessétek el, ha megdöglött.
El is vetették, hanem a kicsi kakas csak tettette magát, nem döglött volt meg, s tüstént ment a gazdájához. Azt mondja neki:
– Látszik, hé, hogy ember vagy!
Hej, bezzeg most ígért Otromfotrom nagysága fűt-fát!
Másnap ismét csak azzal a hírrel megy bé az inas, hogy a kicsi kakas megdöglött. Pedig most is csak tettette magát. Otromfotrom béváltotta szavát, s olyan temetést csinált a kicsi kakasnak, hogy ez örömében igazán megdöglött. Otromfotrom pedig még ma is él a feleségével, ha azóta meg nem haltak.
(Elek Benedek: Hungarian tale- and mythology Volume 1)
