The Leader, the Snail, and the Wasps
Once, a wolf was walking through the forest and stepped on a snail.In those days, animals could still speak like humans. So the snail said to him:
– How cruel you are, wolf! Why are you trampling on the weak with your feet? And what are you so proud of? If I wanted to, I could run faster than you. Let’s make a bet that you and your wolf friends will be out of breath trying to catch up with me.
– You think we can’t catch you, you pathetic creature?
– Yes, me, wolf. Come here tomorrow at sunrise with your brothers, and we’ll see who reaches the banks of the Garonne first.
– Fine, we’ll come, you wretch.
The wolf continued on his way. He hadn’t gone twenty steps when he stepped on a wasp nest.
– How cruel you are, wolf! Why are you trampling on the weak with your feet? We, the wasps, may be small, but we’re not afraid of you. Want to make a bet that we’ll drown you and your wolf friends?
– You? Such tiny creatures?
– Yes, us, wolf. Come here tomorrow at sunrise with your brothers, and we’ll see how long it takes us to drown you in the Garonne.
– Fine, we’ll come.
The wolf immediately went to warn his pack. Meanwhile, the snail said to the wasps:
– Friends, alert all your wasp kin. My snail friends will also gather without fail. Hide in the branches of the willows growing along the banks of the Garonne. We’ll drive the wolves to you, and when the time is right, attack them and sting them until they throw themselves into the water.
– Alright, snail, it will be done.
And the wasps flew off to fulfill their promise. The snail, in turn, placed her friends along the entire path to the banks of the Garonne, with a snail every five steps.
The next morning, at sunrise, the wolves and the snail were already at the starting point.
– Are you here, snail?
– Here, wolves. Let’s begin.
The wolves dashed off at a gallop. As they ran, they shouted:
– Where are you, snail?
– Here, wolves, – answered the snails stationed every five steps along the way.
When the wolves reached the banks of the Garonne, the wasps swarmed out of the foliage and, attacking the beasts, began stinging them painfully, buzzing loudly:
– Harder! Harder!
The poor wolves threw themselves into the river and didn’t dare stick anything out of the water except the tips of their snouts.
– Aim for the nose, the nose! – buzzed the wasps, swooping down on the wolves’ noses and diligently working their stingers.
The wolves all drowned, and the snails and wasps, very pleased, returned to the forest.
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