The Tailor and the Wolf
There once was a tailor who worked for a priest. He went to the village to work, and at that time, God had not sent any food to the unfortunate wolf. The wolf climbed up a hill and began to pray to God:- "Lord, give me something to eat, or I will die!"
- "Oh, go ahead," God replied, "whatever you find that belongs to the priest will be your food."
The wolf went on his way and came across a mare.
- "Hello, mare! Whose are you?"
- "Oh, wolf, I belong to the priest!"
- "Then you are my food!"
- "Oh, but look," said the mare, "I’ve been to the city and brought back some papers."
The wolf stopped to examine the papers. Meanwhile, the mare leaped away, and when the wolf looked up, she was already out of sight.
The wolf walked on, thinking: "What a fool I am! I’m neither a gentleman nor literate, so why did I bother looking at those papers?"
As the wolf continued, he met a ram.
- "Hello, ram! Whose are you?"
- "I belong to the priest."
- "Then you are my food!"
- "Oh, wolf, stand below, and I’ll climb up this hill. Open your mouth, and I’ll jump right in."
The ram charged and butted the wolf in the head, nearly killing him. The wolf walked away, thinking: "What a fool I am! Did I think I was some nobleman, expecting an easy meal?"
Next, the wolf came across some pigs.
- "Hello, pigs! Whose are you?"
- "We belong to the priest!"
- "Then you are my food!"
- "Oh, brother wolf! Let us at least sing a song before you eat us."
While the pigs distracted the wolf, some peasants noticed him and chased him away.
The wolf walked on and met the tailor.
- "Hello, tailor! Whose are you?"
- "I belong to the priest."
- "Ah, so you are my food!"
- "Oh, brother wolf! Let me at least wash myself before I die. Let me wipe myself with your tail."
The tailor wrapped the wolf’s tail around his hand and gave the wolf three good whacks with his yardstick, nearly knocking the wolf out.
The tailor quickly realized the danger, ran off, and hid in an oak tree. The wolf began to think about how to catch the tailor. He gathered some young wolves and approached the oak tree.
- "Look, brothers, the tailor is sitting up in that oak tree. Let’s get him down!"
The tailless wolf lay down below, and the others climbed on top of him, trying to reach the tailor.
The tailor called out:
- "At least let me have a sniff of tobacco before I die."
He took a sniff:
- "Achoo!"
The wolf thought the tailor had shouted, "Yardstick!" and in a panic, the wolves scattered, grabbing the tailless wolf and tearing him apart. And so, the poor wolf met his end.