The Sparrow and the Fox

Once upon a time, a sparrow and a fox were the best of friends. Wherever the fox ran, the sparrow flew.

"Brother Sparrow," the fox said one day, "how about we sow some wheat together?"

"I'd like that, Sister Fox," replied the sparrow.

So they sowed the wheat. It grew and ripened. When it was time to harvest, the sparrow and the fox started reaping early in the morning. But as the sun grew hotter, the fox, who was the laziest of all lazybones, decided to trick her friend.

"Brother Sparrow," she said, "you keep reaping, and I'll go over to that hill to hold up the sky—I'm afraid it might fall. If the sky falls, it will ruin our good wheat."

"Go ahead, Sister Fox," said the sparrow, bending back to his work.

The fox climbed the hill. Just then, a cloud drifted out from behind the mountains. The fox sat down, raised her paws, and pretended to hold up the cloud.

The sparrow finished reaping the field, gathered the sheaves, swept the threshing floor, and called out, "Come, Sister Fox, let's thresh the grain."

"You thresh it, Brother Sparrow," the fox replied. "I still have to hold up the sky today. Otherwise, it might fall and destroy our good wheat."

The sparrow hitched the oxen, threshed the wheat, winnowed it, and called the fox again. "Come, Sister Fox, let's divide the wheat."

"I'm coming!" shouted the fox.

She ran over, took a measure, and said, "Here's a measure for you, Sparrow, and two measures for me. After all, my work was harder—I held up the sky. Besides, I'm your elder sister."

The sparrow swallowed his hurt, took his share of grain, and flew back home. A dog saw him and asked, "Why do you look so downcast?"

The sparrow told the dog about his troubles. The dog grew angry and said, "Take me to the fox's granary!"

The sparrow led the dog to the granary. The dog climbed in and buried herself in the grain.

The next day, the fox went to the mill to grind her wheat. She came to her granary, began scooping up the grain, and saw a dog's ear sticking out. Thinking it was something edible, she snapped at it with her teeth. But the dog leaped out, pounced on the fox, and killed her in an instant.

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The Sparrow and the Fox

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