The Little Fox and the Wolf |
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Translated by Adilyn George
A vixen lived with her son inside of a big hole, where they had their house.
One time the mom told her son:
“When you walk somewhere do not just go; I’m going to warn you of who you should be careful of. “
“Who should I be careful of?”
“I’m going to tell you: you be careful of this animal named the wolf.”
When the son of the vixen came out, she told him again, like the first time, to be careful the wolf does not see him.
“I told you to be careful when you see him.”
“And what is this wolf?”
“Oh my son! The wolf, where he sees you, you can count yourself eaten!”
“He will eat me? What will he do to me?”
“What will he do to you? He will kill you and we will never see each other again. Do what I tell you, and when you see him, stay away from him.”
“Now I’ve heard what I should do when I see the wolf. I will not forget.”
And he began to jump with excitement.
“Mama – said the little fox – because of this will you let me go for a walk tomorrow?
“Where do you want to go? I told you yesterday that if I do not leave, you are not going anywhere.”
As soon as it was dawn he told his mom:
“Now I’m going for a walk, and if I see the wolf what should I do? I greet him?”
“Of course not, I already told you to leave and run away.”
“Okay mom.”
The Little fox left to walk around, and everywhere he went he looked frightened and was careful. It seemed to him that the wolf was going to be wherever he was going and thinking he heard a noise in the brush he would stop. He looked everywhere, scared, and then he would walk again. As soon as he remembered the wolf, his heart would jump as he was walking. And he would have walked two and a half leagues when he saw it in the middle of the rough ground and the pine oak trees; there was the wolf the same one his mother warned him about. The fox ran away and went to his house. He left with his tail raised and then told his mom:
“Mom guess what I saw?”
“What did you see? Tell me. “
“It is that animal.
“What is its name? Coyote?”
“No”
“Then what was it?”
“I don’t remember”
“Lion.”
“No I don’t know.”
“Could it have been the wolf?”
“Yes it was the wolf.”
“By God’s work, he didn’t do anything to you.
“No he did not see me, but I saw it and ran.”
“I already told you not go anywhere alone; if not you might not come back.”
“Really mom, I’m not going anywhere anymore, and if I go out, I won’t go far anymore I will walk around here.”
The next day he left again, because his mom was not there. He went everywhere, and like the first time, he was shaking all over. It seemed as if he knew he was going to see the wolf again. And really, he was halfway down the road, when he heard noise from the rolling stones. He got more scared and he stopped to see where the stones had fallen. And he saw that it was the same wolf that was watching where a wild boar he was going to hunt went. And the wolf did not see the fox, and the fox did not know what to do; he was petrified, it seemed he was no longer touching the ground, it seemed like his paws were frozen. Little by little he lost his fear, and, slowly, he approached the wolf and said:
“Good wolf, what are you doing?”
Then the wolf turned. The fox liked it and he said to himself: “It would be good to walk together as friends. This wolf is very pretty, and how is it that my mom told me that he kills and devours others? That is not true. I am going to say hello.”
He greeted him:
“How are you doing, good wolf?”
“And how is your day, fox?”
“What are you here for?”
“I am here resting in the shade of this tree.
“I see, now, that my mom did not need to tell me bad things about you.
He asked:
“What did she tell you? She talked about me?”
“That I should not approach you because you are bad and would devour me.”
“I don’t know your mom, and she doesn’t know me, why did your mom talk about me like that? Do not believe her: I am good with young people like you. I’m going to show you I am good; come with me and I’ll show you what we’re going to do; we are going to hunt. The best thing is that you, since you are smarter, catch the mosquitos.”
He said yes. He loaded the shotgun and they went. They were barely a league and a half, when they met a puppy, which when he saw the wolf went into the bushes, and the puppy said into the fox’s ear:
“If you don’t get clever you’re going to be lost.”
“You do not need to worry; we are going to hunt mosquitos, and if I catch one I will bite it because if I don’t he will bite me.”
“It is obvious he fooled you; whether you hunt with him or not, he will bite your neck.
The puppy went and left them.
After a short walk they arrived at a plain and he asked the wolf:
“Don’t you want us to shoot with our shotgun so we can test it?
The wolf said:
“It’s okay; you can shoot whatever you want.”
“Do you not want to put yourself as the target so I can test to see if I have good aim?”
“Shoot whatever you want but don’t shoot at me. Can’t you see that I am brown and you need to shoot something white?”
“Have you see the mosquito that is biting the ox on the haunch?”
“I see it,” said the wolf “even though I didn’t see him before. Aim at it with your shotgun and shoot it.”
The fox loaded the shotgun and fired it. Then the fox shouted saying:
“I shot it in the leg!... Come on, wolf friend!” The fox said, and he ran like a deer.
They ran half a league when they ran into an ox that was walking around.
“Good ox, have you seen a big mosquito around here?”
The ox said:
“How couldn’t I see him!... Not only did I see him, but I heard him shout that he had been shot in the hand and it was broken! I understood what had happened the moment that I heard the zoom of a bullet.”
When he heard this the wolf was scared and frightened, his eyes widened as he looked at the fox and told him:
“Now we will go where we said we would.”
The fox answered:
“And why are we going so far? Let’s stay here. See, a mosquito has stopped on you!... Wait, I will shoot it!...”
He pointed it at him and he ran and stopped some distance away and told the fox, while trembling:
“I told you, I told you! Don’t move, wait, a shot is going to escape from the shotgun!
Then it occurred to the wolf what to tell the fox to get him to leave:
“I just remembered that I left my piece of meat in my house and I forgot to close the door.”
That’s what he said when he saw the fox point at him. The wolf said to him:
“Hold on, I’ll be back.”
And he left running to lock himself in his house and he didn’t come out again or mess with the other animals for fear of being killed.
A vixen lived with her son inside of a big hole, where they had their house.
One time the mom told her son:
“When you walk somewhere do not just go; I’m going to warn you of who you should be careful of. “
“Who should I be careful of?”
“I’m going to tell you: you be careful of this animal named the wolf.”
When the son of the vixen came out, she told him again, like the first time, to be careful the wolf does not see him.
“I told you to be careful when you see him.”
“And what is this wolf?”
“Oh my son! The wolf, where he sees you, you can count yourself eaten!”
“He will eat me? What will he do to me?”
“What will he do to you? He will kill you and we will never see each other again. Do what I tell you, and when you see him, stay away from him.”
“Now I’ve heard what I should do when I see the wolf. I will not forget.”
And he began to jump with excitement.
“Mama – said the little fox – because of this will you let me go for a walk tomorrow?
“Where do you want to go? I told you yesterday that if I do not leave, you are not going anywhere.”
As soon as it was dawn he told his mom:
“Now I’m going for a walk, and if I see the wolf what should I do? I greet him?”
“Of course not, I already told you to leave and run away.”
“Okay mom.”
The Little fox left to walk around, and everywhere he went he looked frightened and was careful. It seemed to him that the wolf was going to be wherever he was going and thinking he heard a noise in the brush he would stop. He looked everywhere, scared, and then he would walk again. As soon as he remembered the wolf, his heart would jump as he was walking. And he would have walked two and a half leagues when he saw it in the middle of the rough ground and the pine oak trees; there was the wolf the same one his mother warned him about. The fox ran away and went to his house. He left with his tail raised and then told his mom:
“Mom guess what I saw?”
“What did you see? Tell me. “
“It is that animal.
“What is its name? Coyote?”
“No”
“Then what was it?”
“I don’t remember”
“Lion.”
“No I don’t know.”
“Could it have been the wolf?”
“Yes it was the wolf.”
“By God’s work, he didn’t do anything to you.
“No he did not see me, but I saw it and ran.”
“I already told you not go anywhere alone; if not you might not come back.”
“Really mom, I’m not going anywhere anymore, and if I go out, I won’t go far anymore I will walk around here.”
The next day he left again, because his mom was not there. He went everywhere, and like the first time, he was shaking all over. It seemed as if he knew he was going to see the wolf again. And really, he was halfway down the road, when he heard noise from the rolling stones. He got more scared and he stopped to see where the stones had fallen. And he saw that it was the same wolf that was watching where a wild boar he was going to hunt went. And the wolf did not see the fox, and the fox did not know what to do; he was petrified, it seemed he was no longer touching the ground, it seemed like his paws were frozen. Little by little he lost his fear, and, slowly, he approached the wolf and said:
“Good wolf, what are you doing?”
Then the wolf turned. The fox liked it and he said to himself: “It would be good to walk together as friends. This wolf is very pretty, and how is it that my mom told me that he kills and devours others? That is not true. I am going to say hello.”
He greeted him:
“How are you doing, good wolf?”
“And how is your day, fox?”
“What are you here for?”
“I am here resting in the shade of this tree.
“I see, now, that my mom did not need to tell me bad things about you.
He asked:
“What did she tell you? She talked about me?”
“That I should not approach you because you are bad and would devour me.”
“I don’t know your mom, and she doesn’t know me, why did your mom talk about me like that? Do not believe her: I am good with young people like you. I’m going to show you I am good; come with me and I’ll show you what we’re going to do; we are going to hunt. The best thing is that you, since you are smarter, catch the mosquitos.”
He said yes. He loaded the shotgun and they went. They were barely a league and a half, when they met a puppy, which when he saw the wolf went into the bushes, and the puppy said into the fox’s ear:
“If you don’t get clever you’re going to be lost.”
“You do not need to worry; we are going to hunt mosquitos, and if I catch one I will bite it because if I don’t he will bite me.”
“It is obvious he fooled you; whether you hunt with him or not, he will bite your neck.
The puppy went and left them.
After a short walk they arrived at a plain and he asked the wolf:
“Don’t you want us to shoot with our shotgun so we can test it?
The wolf said:
“It’s okay; you can shoot whatever you want.”
“Do you not want to put yourself as the target so I can test to see if I have good aim?”
“Shoot whatever you want but don’t shoot at me. Can’t you see that I am brown and you need to shoot something white?”
“Have you see the mosquito that is biting the ox on the haunch?”
“I see it,” said the wolf “even though I didn’t see him before. Aim at it with your shotgun and shoot it.”
The fox loaded the shotgun and fired it. Then the fox shouted saying:
“I shot it in the leg!... Come on, wolf friend!” The fox said, and he ran like a deer.
They ran half a league when they ran into an ox that was walking around.
“Good ox, have you seen a big mosquito around here?”
The ox said:
“How couldn’t I see him!... Not only did I see him, but I heard him shout that he had been shot in the hand and it was broken! I understood what had happened the moment that I heard the zoom of a bullet.”
When he heard this the wolf was scared and frightened, his eyes widened as he looked at the fox and told him:
“Now we will go where we said we would.”
The fox answered:
“And why are we going so far? Let’s stay here. See, a mosquito has stopped on you!... Wait, I will shoot it!...”
He pointed it at him and he ran and stopped some distance away and told the fox, while trembling:
“I told you, I told you! Don’t move, wait, a shot is going to escape from the shotgun!
Then it occurred to the wolf what to tell the fox to get him to leave:
“I just remembered that I left my piece of meat in my house and I forgot to close the door.”
That’s what he said when he saw the fox point at him. The wolf said to him:
“Hold on, I’ll be back.”
And he left running to lock himself in his house and he didn’t come out again or mess with the other animals for fear of being killed.
