wn from the tree, and climbed
up into a bigger one, and the hare ran right away.

[15] What a little! What a little!

But the cat remained in the midst of all the good things and ate away
at the bacon, and the little fox gobbled up the honey, and they ate
and ate till they couldn't eat any more, and then they both went home
licking their paws.

THE STRAW OX

There was once upon a time an old man and an old woman. The old man
worked in the fields as a pitch-burner, while the old woman sat at
home and spun flax. They were so poor that they could save nothing at
all; all their earnings went in bare food, and when that was gone
there was nothing left. At last the old woman had a good idea. "Look
now, husband," cried she, "make me a straw ox, and smear it all over
with tar."--"Why, you foolish woman!" said he, "what's the good of an
ox of that sort?"--"Never mind," said she, "you just make it. I know
what I am about."--What was the poor man to do? He set to work and
made the ox of straw, and smeared it all over with tar.

The night passed away, and at early dawn the old woman took her
distaff, and drove the straw ox out into the steppe to graze, and she
herself sat down behind a hillock, and began spinning her flax, and
cried, "Graze away, little ox, while I spin my flax! Graze away,
little ox, while I spin my flax!" And while she spun, her head drooped
down and she began to doze, and while she was dozing, from behind the
dark wood and from the back of the huge pines a bear came rushing out
upon the ox and said, "Who are you? Speak and tell me!"--And the ox
said, "A three-year-old heifer am I, made of straw and smeared with
tar."--"Oh!" said the bear, "stuffed with straw and trimmed with tar,
are you? Then give me of your straw and tar, that I may patch up my
ragged fur again!"--"Take some," said the ox, and the bear fell upon
him and began to tear away at the tar. He tore and tore, and buried
his teeth in it till he found he couldn't let go again. He tugged and
he tugged, but it was no good, and the ox dragged him gradually off
goodness knows where. Then the old woman awoke, and there was no ox to
be seen. "Alas! old fool that I am!" cried she, "perchance it has gone
home." Then she quickly caught up her distaff and spinning-board,
threw them over her shoulders, and hastened off home, and she saw that
the ox had dragged the bear up to the fence, and in she went to the
old man. "Dad, dad!" she cried, "look, l