The smart fox

 

          Some day brother dog left his kennel and examined the scent of the environs. He ran to and fro. Nuzzling at the earth he hoped to find something of use. He followed his nose, and a seductive smell leaded him towards a treasure. Amidst the way he found a sausage.

         His cousin, the wolf, had watched him suspiciously, and when he noticed that the dog sped up his steps, curiosity prompted him to find out the reason for. He arrived at the place of interest at the same time as the dog. The greedy eyes of both the gluttons watched the find. None of them risked gripping the prey, knowing, that the slightest attempt would put an end to their fragile friendship. Finally the dog wasn’t able to resist. But when he tried to approach the object of appetite, the wolf gripped his coat and a hard fight flared up.

         By random, the fox passed by. He saw the ruffians and spotted the object of conflict. He reflected upon a possibility to take possession of the sausage without drawing the rage of the both adversaries to himself. To gain his end, he needed a trick. So he proposed to settle the quarrel in a fair way. He offered to divide the sausage in two parts and none of them should have more as the other one. The wolf and the dog accepted this proposal. They thought it would be better to have a part of the titbit and an unhurt coat than a torn coat and possibly nothing.

         Thus the fox divided the sausage. But the two parts were unequal. Both the wolf and the dog tried to grasp the bigger part, and the fight threatened to flare up again. But the fox found a way out: Under the pretext of justice he took a bit of the bigger part. Intentionally he didn’t succeed once again. Now the other end of the sausage was the bigger one. This procedure succeeded several times, and both the cousins tried again and again to seize the bigger part. Finally, the fox swallowed the last bit and licked his snout. The wolf and the dog steeled thoughtfully away. The fox had kept his promise. Indeed, none of them had got more than the other one.