Hungarian Folk Tales: Brother Fox
The fox and the wolf were not the best of friends.
The fox had tricked the wolf too many times.
And so the wolf decided it was time to eat the fox.
One day, twelve carts full of fish came trundling down the road.
The fox stole a stack o fish from one of them.
The wolf went to the fox's hole and shouted in:
You know brother fox, I'm going to eat you now, because you have cheated me so many times.
Then he saw the pile of fish.
But give me some of that fish first, brother fox.
All right, I'll give you a couple.
And the fox gave him some.
Where did you catch these, brother fox?
In the river, brother wolf.
Well teach me how to catch some too.
All right, brother wolf, I'll teach you.
So they both went out onto the frozen river and cut a hole in the ice.
Well, brother fox put your tail in here and wait until the fish begin to bite.
You need to wait until it gets good and heavy, and that's exactly what happened.
The fox left the wolf behind.
The wolf tried his tail a couple of times but it was still too light, and he said:
There still aren't enough fish on the end.
So he kept his tail dipped in the water.
But then his tail froze fast and he tried to pull it out... but he couldn't.
When the women went down to the river the next morning,
they saw the wolf, and they beat him with big sticks.
The wolf left about until his tail tore off and he ran away in anger.
Then the wolf met the fox again.
Now I'm going to eat you, brother fox.
Because you cheated me again. And you can see that I've lost my tail.
Why did you keep it in for so long?
Were there so many fish on the end that you couldn't pull it out, you foolish wolf?
Why did you do it?
You know brother wolf, I happen to know about a wedding party in the village.
Let's go together and have some fun!
And the silly wolf believed what the fox told him.
The fox and the wolf went to the wedding party that evening.
The farmer had left the barn door open.
The fox said:
Don't make any noise because the people at the party will hear you and kill you.
They both started to eat.
The fox began to feel very merry and so he said to the wolf:
Brother wolf, I want to sing a jolly song.
The wolf said:
Don't or else we shall be killed. Go to the top of the cellar and sing there.
The fox started to sing so loudly that all the people came out from the party.
They beat the wolf so badly that he barely survived.
The fox had a brilliant idea, and rolled in tar in the hen's trough.
The tar froze on the fox and looked just like bone sticking out of his skin.
Then he went to the road where he knew the wolf would pass.
He lay in his way and started to groan and moan in pain.
The wolf eventually hobbled by.
Now I'm definitely going to eat you up, brother fox!
Brother fox, you had me badly beaten.
Although I told you not to sing. Your problem is less than mine, brother wolf.
You know what brother fox, sit on my back.
And they walked like this for a while until the fox said:
The beaten one carries the unbeaten one. The unbroken one carries the broken one.
Excuse me, what was that you said, brother fox?
I am fighting to stay alive, brother wolf. I don't know who will look after my children when I'm gone.
They carried on walking like this for a while until the fox said again:
The beaten one carries the unbeaten one, he carries the unbroken.
What was that a game, brother fox? I'm fighting to stay alive, brother wolf.
I don't know who will look after my children when I'm gone.
Then the fox started again: The beaten one carries the unbeaten one.
What are you going on about again, brother fox?
I'm fighting to stay alive, brother wolf. I don't know who will look after my children when I'm gone.
Then the fox left into his hole but the wolf caught the fox's foot.
You did not catch my foot, brother fox. It's the tree root.
The wolf let the foot go and then caught the root.
I won't budge from your hole until you come out and then I will eat you.
But the fox could make do with the fish he had.
The wolf got very hungry and left the fox's house.
And he has been roaming the forest ever since.