Ministry for Culture of Russia
Pilot Animation studio of Aleksandr Tatarskiy
present
We live in Russia.
Our coat of arms is decorated with a two-headed eagle.
On the eagle's chest is Saint George.
He is slaying the evil dragon.
Russia's flag has three colors: white, blue, and red.
Our capital is the city of Moscow - one of the most beautiful and largest cities in the world.
In the middle of Russia, in Siberia, there is a wonderful land called Altai.
The Altai Republic has a mythical creature on its coat of arms - the griffin.
"Altai", translated from ancient languages, means "golden".
There was a time when the Scythians and other ancient peoples lived here.
In one of the burial mounds here, archeologists dug up the mummy of a young girl
which they named the "Altai Princess".
And very recently, scientists discovered an animal here that had long been considered extinct:
the raccoon dog.
The majestic Altai Mountains served as inspiration for the painter Nicholas Roerich.
Here they are on his canvases. Among them is the highest peak in Siberia - Mount Belukha.
Altai is one of the most beautiful and mysterious places on our planet.
And, of course, they tell funny and wise folk tales here.
And each of them is like a precious gem.
Mountain of Gems
The Frog and the Ants based on an Altai folk tale
At the foot of the Altai Mountains,
on a tiny island in the middle of a blue lake,
there lived a frog.
Unlike her neighbors, the frog could not cook;
nor did she want to -
she preferred various cunning ploys.
And on this day, too, she thought up a way to get a free breakfast.
"A heron is coming! A heron is coming!"
cried the frog.
After such a hearty breakfast, it was just the time for a good nap.
But no! The neighboring froglings were croaking up a storm.
"Hey you, small fry, look! The Moon in the sky is covering the Sun!"
One day...
the frog started chasing a grasshopper.
From one hummock to another... and ended up in the forest.
Sh...
The afternoon was well along.
The frog decided to spend the night at the ants' place.
It was nice in the anthill. Dry, and warm.
But...
it wouldn't hurt to have a bite to eat.
"Hey!"
"Where am I?" thought the frog.
"The sun is high, and I haven't had breakfast yet."
"It's time to go home."
"Come round. I'll be glad to see you."
croaked the frog, and hopped back to her island.
The frog did not expect that the ants would be able to reach her tiny island.
Her eyes bugged out in surprise.
"I'll be right back!"
"I'll just check my pantry!"
The frog jumped into the lake, splash! And hid at the bottom.
The ants waited and waited. It was suppertime already.
But there was no sign of the frog.
"You promised to feed us!" "We want to eat!"
"Who promised?"
"Your neighbor!"
"Forget about it! It'll never happen. She has no reserves."
"Go back home, while it's still light out."
The ants tightened their belts, and shuffled off to their anthill.
Ever since, they work with their belts tightened.
And the cheating frog forever stayed bug-eyed.
screenwriters Sergey Aynutdinov, Valentin Telegin
art director Sergey Aynutdinov
production director Igor Gelashvili
general producer Igor Gelashvili
project supervisor Aleksandr Tatarskiy
Subs by elesorokina, 2013 revised by Niffiwan, 2025
The End