no sign, and suffered the
skin to be sewn upon him.

'I can always get away if I choose,' thought he, 'it is better not to
be in a hurry;' so he remained quite still while the skin was drawn over
his head, which made him very hot and uncomfortable, and resisted the
temptation to snap off the fingers or noses that were so close to his
mouth.

The fair was at its height next day when Toueno-Boueno arrived with his
wolf in ram's clothing. All the farmers crowded round him, each offering
a higher price than the last. Never had they beheld such a beautiful
beast, said they, and at last, after much bargaining, he was handed over
to three brothers for a good sum of money.

It happened that these three brothers owned large flocks of sheep,
though none so large and fine as the one they had just bought.

'My flock is the nearest,' observed the eldest brother; 'we will leave
him in the fold for the night, and to-morrow we will decide which
pastures will be best for him.' And the wolf grinned as he listened, and
held up his head a little higher than before.

Early next morning the young farmer began to go his rounds, and the
sheep-fold was the first place he visited. To his horror, the sheep were
all stretched out dead before him, except one, which the wolf had eaten,
bones and all. Instantly the truth flashed upon him. It was no ram that
lay curled up in the corner pretending to be asleep (for in reality he
could bend back and turn his head as much as he liked), but a wolf who
was watching him out of the corner of his eye, and might spring upon him
at any moment. So the farmer took no notice, and only thought that here
was a fine chance of revenging himself on his next brother for a trick
which he had played, and merely told him that the ram would not eat the
grass in that field, and it might be well to drive him to the pasture by
the river, where his own flock was feeding. The second brother eagerly
swallowed the bait, and that evening the wolf was driven down to the
field where the young man kept the sheep which had been left him by
his father. By the next morning they also were all dead, but the second
brother likewise held his peace, and allowed the sheep which belonged
to the youngest to share the fate of the other two. Then they met and
confessed to each other their disasters, and resolved to take the
animal as fast as possible back to Toueno-Boueno, who should get a sound
thrashing.

Antoine was sitting on a plum tre