Once upon a time, in a little cottage, lived an old man and his old woman. They weren't rich, but they were happy. One day the old woman sighed, "Oh, I wish we had a cow. Then we'd have milk and cream."
The old man smiled. "Don't worry. I'll make something." He went into the yard, gathered a bundle of straw, and took a bit of sticky resin. Then he started to build. He twisted and wove and stuck it all together with the resin. The old woman helped him: she gave it button eyes and twig horns.
And there it was—a bullock! Golden and straw-bright, with resin shining on its sides.
"Take it to the meadow, Grandpa, let it nibble grass," laughed the old woman.
The old man set the bullock by the forest, on a soft green patch. He sat nearby in the shade and soon fell asleep.
Before long, out from the woods came a hare. He saw the bullock and was puzzled. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" The bullock said nothing.
"Hey, answer me!" said the hare crossly, and gave the bullock a push with his paw. But his paw stuck fast! He pulled and pulled, and then his other paw stuck, too. The hare squealed and struggled, but he couldn't get away.
The old man woke up. "Ah, little hare, you'll stay here!" He carried the hare home and put him in a shed.
The old woman was delighted. "What a bullock! Already caught a hare!"
Next day, the old man put the bullock in the meadow again. He sat dozing. Out from the woods came a wolf. He saw the bullock and stopped. "Hey, you! What are you doing in my way?" The bullock stood silent.
The wolf frowned. "Won't talk? I'll teach you!" He pushed the bullock with his paw—and stuck! He pulled with his other paw—that stuck, too. The wolf growled and twisted, but he couldn't get free.
The old man woke up. "Aha, wolf! Leave the bullock alone. Come with me." He carried the wolf home and put him in the shed with the hare.
The old woman clapped her hands. "What a marvel this bullock is!"
On the third day, the old man put the bullock in the meadow again. He sat under an oak tree and shut his eyes. Out from the bushes came a bear—big and furry. He looked at the bullock and grumbled, "Who's this? What are you doing here?"
The bullock said nothing. The bear came closer, poked the bullock with his paw—and stuck! He pulled with his other paw—and that stuck, too. The bear roared and wriggled, but he couldn't escape.
The old man woke up. "Well, little bear, you're caught! Come to the house." He carried the bear to the shed, where the hare and the wolf were already waiting.
The old woman laughed. "Grandpa, we've got a whole zoo!"
The old man thought for a moment. "You know, they're alive, too. We can't keep them locked up."
They went to the shed together. The old man said to the animals, "Listen, friends. If you promise never to bother our bullock again, we'll let you go. Live in the forest, and come visit us—not with trouble, but with kindness."
The animals nodded and promised to behave. The old man set them free, and they all ran happily into the woods.
From then on, the bullock stood in the yard in the sunshine, and no one ever bothered it. And sometimes the hare, the wolf, and the bear would come to visit the old man and old woman—bringing mushrooms and berries. They'd sit together, talk, and drink tea.
And the bullock would look at them with his button eyes, and it almost seemed to smile.