The Fox and the Bear

Once upon a time, there was a Fox who always roamed alone. She grew tired of her solitude and decided to find a sworn brother.

The Fox set off down the road and met a Bear coming her way.

"Let's become sworn brothers," the Fox said to him.
"Alright," replied the Bear. "But what will you bring to the household? I hunt a sheep every day."

"I'll bring a chicken," said the Fox. The Bear liked this idea, and so they became sworn brothers. The Bear would drag in a sheep, and the Fox would separate the fat, render it, and pour it into a clay pot.

"What are you doing, Fox?" the Bear asked her. "What do you need the fat for?"

"My sworn brother," the Fox replied, "our stomachs aren't always full. What if a day comes when we can't catch a sheep or a chicken? What will we do then? If we don't prepare for a rainy day, we'll have nothing to eat."

"Fine," said the Bear, "but don't eat it without me."

One day, the Fox and the Bear couldn't find any food and sat hungry.

"I'll trick the Bear and eat my fill alone," thought the Fox.

And so she did. Afterward, she climbed onto the flat roof and began running back and forth. It was a stormy day, so she pretended to tamp down the earth so the rainwater wouldn't leak through. Every now and then, she stopped and shouted:

"I'm too busy, I can't come down!"
The Bear heard this and asked, "What's going on? Why are you shouting?"

"They're calling me to a christening, but I don't have time," the Fox replied.

"Go on, then," said the Bear. The Fox left, but of course, there was no christening, and she knew it.

She returned home and said to the Bear, "What a christening it was! They baked one flatbread and rolled it up and down, almost to the priest's doorstep. There was a wine cup, but it was empty—no wine in it at all."

The next day, the Fox said to the Bear, "I passed by a wedding, and they invited me, but you should go this time—I've already been to a christening."

The Bear trudged off, but there was no wedding to be found.

He approached a shepherd and said, "Give me something to eat. There's supposed to be a wedding here."

"Get out of here, you stinking beast!" the shepherd grabbed a stick. "What wedding?!" And he struck the Bear on the neck.

The Bear ran for his life, barely escaping with his hide intact. Meanwhile, the Fox emptied one of the pots, filled it with ash, and put it back in its place. When the Bear returned, he said,

"I'm starving. Get the pot of fat, let's eat. Why are you saving it for some other day?"

"You blow too hard," said the Fox. "Blow the ash away first—I sprinkled it on top of the fat—and then we'll eat."

The Bear blew with all his might, and the ash flew into his eyes. While he rubbed them with his paws, the Fox slipped out the door and vanished, thinking, "The Bear might eat me otherwise."

She ran off, dug a small burrow nearby, and sat by it, all covered in dirt. Just then, the Bear came by and asked her,

"Have you seen anyone pass through here?"

"Yes, a Fox ran by. They say she quarreled with a Bear and ran away."

Having sent the Bear off, the Fox returned home, ate the contents of the second pot, filled it with bear droppings, and sprinkled ash on top again. Just as she was about to leave, the Bear showed up. What could the Fox do now? She couldn't escape! So she decided to try another trick:

"Here, uncle, is the pot of fat. Eat—you must be hungry."

"But you blow the ash away this time," said the Bear, "or I'll lose my eyes again."

"I don't have the strength," replied the Fox. "You blow it away instead."

"No way," said the Bear. "It's your turn to blow!"

The Fox blew a little but didn't clear the ash and said to the Bear,

"My mouth isn't strong enough to blow that hard. All my strength is in my tail. But you can't blow with your tail."

"I can't blow at all," said the Bear, "or I'll lose my eyes if the ash gets in them again."

"Then open your eyes wide and blow like that."

The Bear strained, opened his eyes as wide as he could, and blew. The ash flew into his eyes worse than before, burning them. He rubbed and rubbed with his paws, but what could he do?

The Fox then said to him, "Wait, I'll go fetch a healer."

She left and returned with a shepherd carrying a rifle, pointing out the Bear to him.

The shepherd killed the Bear, took his hide and meat, and promised the Fox a chicken every three days. He gave her one, then another, but soon stopped altogether. The Fox begged the shepherd,

"Don't deprive me of my chickens, or God will punish you," but the shepherd acted as if he didn't hear her.

The shepherd had milk-fed lambs in his sheepfold. The Fox started sneaking into the sheepfold every day and carrying off a lamb.

Every day, the shepherd noticed a lamb was missing and couldn't figure out where they were going. Finally, he closed one entrance to the sheepfold and set a trap near the other, open one.

One night, the Fox crept up to the sheepfold, slipped through the open entrance, and—snap!—got caught in the trap.

The next day, the shepherd entered the sheepfold and saw the Fox trapped. He grabbed her by the tail, pulled her out, and was about to skin her when she said to him,

"Wait, man, listen to me. Isn't there a judge here who can settle this between us?"

Two shepherds were brought in, and the Fox made her plea:

"Hear me, righteous judges! The Lord did not grant me a home or land from birth. So I wander the world all my life! Sometimes I catch a mouse, sometimes a chicken—that's how I survive. I can't show my face during the day; everyone covets my fur, so I run around at night, who knows where. The other night, I wandered into the sheepfold by accident. I had no business there. But the shepherd dragged me out and tried to kill me. Now let's see how you judge us. My life and death are in your hands."

The judges acquitted the Fox. She lifted her tail and ran off into the field.

To this day, the Fox lives on and sends her blessings to the shepherds.

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The Fox and the Bear

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