The Wolf and the Fox

The wolf had the fox with him, and whatever the wolf wanted, the fox had to do, because he was weaker. The fox would have loved to be rid of his master.

One day they were walking through the forest when the wolf said, "Red Fox, get me something to eat, or I will eat you yourself." The fox answered, "I know a farmyard where there are two young lambs.

If you like, we can fetch one." The wolf liked the idea, and they went there. The fox stole a little lamb, brought it to the wolf, and ran off. The wolf devoured the lamb, but he was not satisfied.

He wanted the other one too, so he went back to get it. But he was so clumsy that the mother of the lamb heard him and began to bleat loudly. The farmer came running. They found the wolf and beat him so hard that he limped back to the fox, howling.

"You led me into a trap!" he cried. "I wanted to get the other lamb, and the farmer surprised me and beat me to a pulp." The fox replied, "Why are you such a glutton?"

The next day they went out again. The greedy wolf said, "Red Fox, get me something to eat, or I will eat you yourself." The fox answered, "I know a farmhouse where the wife is baking pancakes tonight. We can get some." They went there.

The fox slipped around the house, sniffed about until he found the dish, pulled down six pancakes, and carried them to the wolf. "Here is something for you to eat," he said and went away.

The wolf swallowed the pancakes in an instant and said, "That makes me want more." He went to the house and tore down the whole dish, breaking it into pieces. The noise was so loud that the woman came out.

When she saw the wolf, she called the people, who hurried over and beat him as long as their sticks held together. With two lame legs and loud howling, he got back to the fox in the forest. "How terribly you tricked me!" he cried.

"The peasants caught me and tanned my hide." The fox replied, "Why are you such a glutton?"

On the third day, when they were out together and the wolf could only limp along painfully, he said again, "Red Fox, get me something to eat, or I will eat you yourself." The fox answered, "I know a man who has been butchering.

The salted meat is in a barrel in the cellar. We can get it." The wolf said, "I will go with you, so you can help me if I cannot get away." "I am willing," said the fox, and he showed him the paths and ways until they reached the cellar.

There was meat in abundance. The wolf attacked it immediately and thought, "There is plenty of time before I need to stop!" The fox also liked the meat, but he looked around everywhere and often ran to the hole they had come in through to see if his body was still thin enough to slip through.

The wolf said, "Dear fox, tell me why you are running back and forth so much and jumping in and out?"

"I must check that no one is coming," replied the crafty fellow. "Don't eat too much!" The wolf said, "I will not leave until the barrel is empty." In the meantime, the farmer heard the noise of the fox's jumping and came into the cellar.

When the fox saw him, he was out of the hole in one bound. The wolf wanted to follow him, but he had become so fat from eating that he could no longer get through. He was stuck. Then the farmer came with a club and struck him dead.

The fox bounded into the forest, glad to be rid of the old glutton.