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HOW THE BEAR LOST HIS TAIL The Fox was digging a hole in the snow to hide some fish he had stolen from the Farmer. He was unable to eat all the fish at once. Quite by chance the Fuzzy Bear happened to come by. - Where did you get such a lot of fish, Fox old buddy? - I went angling in the lake, Fuzzy old buddy, the sly Fox lied. - You sure were lucky. Would you teach me to angle, too? - Certainly, dear friend. Go to the lake on an evening with lots of twinkling stars in the sky. Sink your tail in the Farmer´s waterhole in the ice and sit there without moving till the morning comes. Then pull your tail from the water and you will see fish hanging from every hair on your tail. - Thank you very much, Fox old buddy! On that very evening the sky was full of stars because of the severe frost, colder than -30° C, I believe. The Bear took the fox´s advice and went to the waterhole in the ice. There he stuck his tail into the water and sat still, without a sound. After a while he felt some pinching in his tail, as the hole in the ice froze over. The Bear became glad. He thought the pinching meant that fish were grabbing his tail hair. During the night the water-hole froze over very deeply. In the morning the Bear tried to pull his tail out, but couldn’t. So the bear could do nothing but stay there. The cunning Fox had started his day early in the morning. He saw the Bear sitting at the water-hole. Right away he ran to the Farmer’s house shouting: - The Bear is messing your waterhole! The Bear is messing your waterhole! The Farmer and his wife both hurried onto the ice, carrying wooden sticks with them. They started beating the Bear with the sticks with all their might. The Bear tried harder and harder to pull himself free. Finally, the tail snapped and remained in the frozen waterhole. The Bear escaped, but since that day the bear has not had a tail. |
Last updated:maaliskuu 26, 1999. |
