The Wolf and the Tailor

Long ago, in the days when Christ and the Twelve Apostles still walked the earth, they were traveling along a long, winding road. As they journeyed, a hungry wolf approached them and said, "Lord, I am hungry."

"Go," Christ replied, "and eat a mare."

So the wolf went in search of a mare. He soon spotted one, grazing in a meadow, and said, "Mare, the Lord has commanded me to eat you."

The mare looked at him calmly and said, "Well, it's not proper to eat me, but I have a passport on me, driven in very hard. Would you like to see it?"

"Show it to me," said the wolf.

"Come near my hind feet," she said.

The wolf approached, and with a mighty kick, she struck him so hard that his front teeth flew out and he was thrown three yards away. The mare galloped off, leaving the wolf dazed.

He limped back to Christ and complained, "Lord, the mare almost killed me!"

"Well then, go and eat a ram," Christ said.

The wolf hurried to a hill where a ram stood. "Ram," he said, "I am going to eat you by the Lord's command."

The ram replied, "Come and eat me then. I'll stand on the hill and jump right into your mouth."

The wolf climbed the hill, opened his mouth wide, and waited. The ram charged down, butting him hard with his horns, sending the wolf tumbling. The ram ran away, and when the wolf got up, there was no sign of him.

Furious, the wolf returned to Christ and said, "Lord, even the ram deceived me! He nearly knocked me to pieces!"

"All right," Christ said, "go and eat a tailor."

So the wolf ran along the road until he met a tailor. "Tailor," he said, "I'm going to eat you by command of the Lord."

"Very well," said the tailor, "but let me say good-bye to my kin first."

"No," said the wolf, "you can't."

"Then I can't help it," said the tailor. "Come and eat me. But at least let me take your measurements, to see if I'll fit easily."

"All right, measure away," said the wolf.

The tailor stepped behind the wolf, grabbed his tail, wrapped it around his hand, and began to whip the wolf with it. The wolf howled and struggled, roaring and shrieking, until he tore his tail free and fled, running as fast as he could.

He soon met seven other wolves. They asked, "Why are you, grey wolf, tailless?"

"Oh, a tailor tore it out," he replied.

"Where is this tailor?" they asked.

"You'll see him there on the road," said the wolf.

"We'll hunt him down," they said, and they chased after the tailor.

The tailor saw them coming, and knowing it was a bad business, he scrambled up a tree as fast as he could. The wolves arrived and said, "We'll wait, brothers, until he comes down. You, tailless one, stay below, and we'll climb on each other's shoulders."

So the tailless wolf lay at the bottom, and the others climbed up. As they got closer and closer, the tailor feared for his life. Finally, he cried out to the topmost wolf, "It's nobody's fault but the tailless wolf's!"

The tailless wolf was startled, jumped out from under the pile, and ran off. All the seven wolves tumbled down and chased after him, catching him and tearing him to bits.

And the tailor, safe at last, climbed down from the tree and went back home.