The Wolf and the Fox

Once, a wolf went fishing with his buddy, the fox. "Who will carry the basket?" asked the wolf.

"You will," replied the fox, "your tail is thicker than mine."

She firmly tied the basket to the wolf's tail. The catch was plentiful. The wolf dragged and dragged the heavy basket, but his tail couldn't hold the weight and snapped off.

"I'll eat you," said the wolf to the fox, "for playing such a trick on me!"
"Have mercy on me, my dear friend, my sweet buddy! Let's go to the blacksmith instead. They'll make you a stronger tail so it won't break again."

At the fox's command, the blacksmith placed a piece of iron on the anvil, heated it until it was red-hot, and pressed it against the spot where the wolf's tail had been torn off.

The wolf howled in terrible pain and bolted away.

Some time later, the fox bumped into her buddy on the road. The wolf shouted angrily:

"This time you won't escape me, I'll eat you!"
"Now, now, Stumpy, my dear friend! Surely you won't take revenge on me for a harmless joke? Come with me, I know a place where there are delicious sausages hanging. They must taste much better than my tough, stringy meat."

The wolf helped the fox steal the sausages, and they carried them into the forest.

"Now," said the fox, "we need to hang them at the top of the oak tree. If we leave them here, other animals will gather and demand their share. Wouldn't it be better to create a good storeroom where only we can access the supplies?"

The wolf agreed, and the fox began carrying the sausages to the top of a very tall oak tree. Once she had moved them all, she started devouring them.

The wolf couldn't climb trees and shouted to the fox:

"Throw me my share!"
"Pick up my scraps, Stumpy!"
"You wretched creature! Even if you were as tough as tree bark, I'd still eat you if I caught you!"

The wolf howled, and wolves from all over the forest came running to him.

He told them about the fox's wicked trick and asked for their help to take revenge, promising to share the sausages the fox had taken as a reward. The wolves agreed. They decided to stand on each other's shoulders, leaning their front paws against the tree trunk, and in this way reach the top of the tree. Stumpy would stand at the bottom and support the whole pack.

The wolves climbed onto each other, and the top wolf was almost at the spot where the fox was sitting when she shouted:

"Blacksmith, blacksmith, bring the hot iron, attach Stumpy's tail to his rear!"

Hearing these words, Stumpy, who vividly remembered the hot iron in the blacksmith's shop, got so scared that he immediately dropped to all fours and ran off. All the wolves tumbled down on top of each other and, furious at Stumpy, chased after him and strangled him.

And the cunning fox just chuckled, calmly finishing her sausages.

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The Wolf and the Fox

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