The Junior Classics, Volume 1: Fairy and wonder tales
General
The Junior Classics, Volume 1: Fairy and wonder tales
Children's literature
“Ah, indeed,” said the bear, grinning, and his mouth began to water, he
thought a little honey would be so nice. “Shall we change victuals?” he
said.
“No, I won’t do that,” said Reynard. But they made a wager about naming
three kinds of trees. If the fox could say them quicker than the bear
he was to have one bite at the pig; but if the bear could say them
quicker he was to have one suck at the bee’s nest. The bear thought he
would be able to suck all the honey up at one gulp.
“Well said the fox, “that’s all well and good but if I win you must
promise to tear off the bristles where I want to have a bite,” he said.
“Well, I suppose I must, since you are too lazy yourself,” said the
bear.
Then they began to name the trees.
“Spruce, fir, pine,” growled the bear. His voice was very gruff. But
all these were only different names of one kind of tree.
“Ash, aspen, oak,” screeched the fox, so that the forest resounded. He
had thus won the bet, and so he jumped down, took the heart out of the
pig at one bite, and tried to run off. But the bear was angry, because
he had taken the best bit of the whole pig, and seized hold of him by
his tail and held him fast.
“Just wait a bit,” said the bear, who was furious.
“Never mind, grandfather; if you’ll let me go you shall have a taste of
my honey,” said the fox.
When the bear heard this he let go his hold and the fox jumped up on
the stone after the honey.
“Over this nest,” said Reynard, “I’ll put a leaf, and in the leaf there
is a hole, through which you can suck the honey.” He then put the nest
right up under the bear’s nose, pulled away the leaf, jumped on to the
stone, and began grinning and laughing; for there was neither honey nor
honeycomb in the nest. It was a wasp’s nest as big as a man’s head,
full of wasps, and out they swarmed and stung the bear in his eyes and
ears and on his mouth and snout. He had so much to do with scratching
them off him that he had no the to think of Reynard.
Ever since the bear has been afraid of wasps.
Once the fox and the bear made up their minds to have a field in
common. They found a small clearing far away in the forest, where they
sowed rye the first year.
“Now we must share and share alike,” said Reynard; “if you will have
the roots I will have the tops,” he said.
Yes, Bruin was quite willing; but when they had thrashed the crop the
fox got all the corn, while the bear got nothing but the roots and
tares.
Bruin didn’t like this, but the fox said it was only as they had
agreed.
“This year I am the gainer,” said the fox; “another year it will be
your turn; you can then have the tops and I will be satisfied with the
roots.”
Next spring the fox asked the bear if he didn’t think turnips would be
the right thing for that year.
“Yes, that’s better food than corn,” said the bear; and the fox thought
the same.
When the autumn came the fox took the turnips, but the bear only got
the tops.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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