Sister Fox and Brother Wolf

Once upon a time, there was a little fox who built herself a hut. The cold weather set in, and the fox got chilly. She ran to the village to fetch some fire to warm her hut.

She came to an old woman and said:

"Hello, granny! Happy holidays! Give me some fire, and I’ll serve you in return."

"Alright, little fox. Sit down and warm yourself a bit while I take the pies out of the oven."

The old woman had been baking poppy seed pies. She took them out and placed them on the table to cool.

The fox peeked, snatched a pie, and ran out of the house.

She ate the poppy seeds out of the middle, stuffed it with trash, sealed it back up, and off she ran.

She ran and ran, and then she met some boys driving their cattle to the watering hole.

"Hello, boys!"

"Hello, little fox!"

"Trade me a young bull for a poppy seed pie!"

"Alright!" they said.

"But don’t eat it right away; wait until I’ve left the village."

They made the trade.

The fox ran off with the bull into the forest, while the boys bit into the pie and found only trash.

The fox returned to her hut, chopped down a tree, made a sled, hitched the bull to it, and off she went. Along came a wolf.

"Hello, little fox!"

"Hello, brother wolf!"

"Where did you get the bull and the sled?"

"I made them."

"Then give me a ride, little fox!"

"How can I take you? You’ll break my sled."

"No, I’ll just put one paw on it."

"Well, go ahead."

They rode a little way, and the wolf said:

"Let me put my other paw on, little fox."

"Ah, brother wolf, you’ll break my sled."

"No, I won’t."

"Well, go ahead."

The wolf did so.

They rode on, and suddenly—crack!

"Oh, brother wolf, you’re breaking my sled."

"No, little fox, I just cracked a nut."

"Alright, then. Keep going."

"Let me put my third paw on, little fox," said the wolf.

"Where will you put it? You’ll break my sled, and then how will I carry firewood?"

"No," he said, "I won’t break it."

"Well, go ahead."

The wolf put his third paw on. Suddenly—crack!

"Oh, no!" said the fox. "Go away, brother wolf. You’ve completely broken my sled!"

"No, I just cracked a nut."

"Give me one, then."

"No, that was the last one."

They rode on, and the wolf said:

"Let me sit down completely, little fox."

"Where will you sit, brother wolf? You’ll break the sled."

"I’ll sit lightly."

"Well, be careful!"

As soon as the wolf sat down, the sled fell apart. The fox began to scold the wolf. She scolded and scolded, then said:

"Go, you good-for-nothing, into the forest, chop some firewood, cut down a tree for the sled, and bring it back."

"How can I chop it if I don’t know which tree?"

"Ah, you good-for-nothing! You knew how to break the sled, but you don’t know how to chop firewood!" she scolded and scolded, then said, "When you enter the forest, say: 'Chop yourself, tree, crooked and straight!'"

The wolf went into the forest and said:

"Chop yourself, tree, crooked and crooked! Chop yourself, tree, crooked and crooked!"

He chopped a lot. Crooked and knotty ones, not even fit for a club, let alone sled runners. He brought them to the fox. She looked and began to scold him again:

"You, good-for-nothing, clearly didn’t say it right, as I told you."

"No, little fox, I stood there and kept saying: 'Chop yourself, tree, crooked and crooked!'"

"Ah, you devil’s spawn, you fool! Well, sit here, I’ll go chop it myself."

She went. The wolf sat alone, and he was very hungry. He searched the fox’s hut—there was nothing. He thought and thought and decided: "I’ll eat the bull and run away."

He gnawed a hole in the bull, ate what was inside, and stuffed it with sparrows, then plugged the hole with straw and ran off.

The fox returned, fixed the sled, and sat down:

"Hey, young bull!"

But the bull wouldn’t move. She hit it with a stick. As she struck it, a clump of straw fell out, and the sparrows flew away—whoosh!

"Ah, you good-for-nothing wolf! Just you wait! You’ll remember me!"

And she ran off. She lay down on the road and pretended to be dead. A caravan of traders with fish came by; they saw the fox.

"Let’s take it, brothers, and sell it. We’ll have something to warm ourselves with."

They threw her onto the last cart and rode on. They rode and rode.

The little fox saw that the traders weren’t looking, and she began throwing fish onto the road, one by one. She threw a lot and then quietly jumped off.

The traders rode on, and she gathered the fish, sat down, and ate. The wolf came running.

"Hello, little fox!"

"Hello, brother wolf!"

"What are you doing, little fox?"

"Eating fish."

"Give me some!"

"Go catch some yourself."

"But how can I catch it if I don’t know how?"

"Well, that’s your problem. I won’t give you even a bone!"

"Then at least teach me how to catch it." "Just you wait!" thought the fox. "You ate my bull; I’ll pay you back for that."

"Here’s how: go to the ice hole, dip your tail in the water, move it slowly, and say: 'Catch, fish, big and small, catch, fish, big and small!' That’s how you’ll catch them."

"Thanks for the lesson," said the wolf. He ran to the ice hole, dipped his tail in the water:

"Catch, fish, big and small, catch, fish, big and small!" And the fox from the shore:

"Freeze, freeze, wolf’s tail! And the frost is cracking outside!" The wolf kept swishing his tail and saying:

"Catch, fish, big and small!" And the fox:

"Freeze, freeze, wolf’s tail!" The wolf fished until his tail froze to the ice hole.

Then the fox ran to the village:

"Come, people, and beat the wolf!"

Everyone rushed out with pokers, tongs, and axes—and killed the wolf. That was the end of him. And the little fox still lives in her hut to this day.

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Sister Fox and Brother Wolf

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