The Wolf and the Fox had so
much in common that they were
like brothers. They both loved to
steal and to hunt, but given the
choice, they would always prefer
to steal. These two strong-pawed
bandits of the animal world lived
together in one den. But the Wolf
was far bigger and more powerful
than the Fox, and he thought
himself to be the better of the pair.
The Fox, though smaller, knew
that he was much smarter than
the Wolf, and he resented the way
that the Wolf always acted like he
was the big boss.
One day, as they sat in the sun
outside their cave, the Fox said to
the Wolf:
My. You are like a brother to me.
So let me give you some kind
advice. Mend your ways. Be a
bandit no more. Do not steal from
the Son of Adam again.” (By the
Son of Adam he meant Man).
The Wolf turned his great head to
his friend, and lifted up one
shaggy ear. The Fox went on:
“I know how you love to creep into
man’s vineyard, dig up his vines,
and eat his grapes. I know how
you like to jump into his fields
and steal his lambs. I also see how
he hates you for this, and how he
is planning your destruction. You
would be wise to fear him for he is
full of cunning. He knows how to
shoot birds down from the sky,
how to lift fish from the water,
how to burn wood, and how to cut
up rocks. Someone that smart is
bound to out-wit one like you
eventually. So do as I advise: Make
peace with the Son of Adam, and
steal from him no more.”
The Wolf listened, and he did not
welcome these words, for he felt
deep down that the Fox was
insulting him. Did he mean to
hint that he was just a bit stupid?
Or at any rate, he realised that the
Fox thought himself to be far
cleverer than him. And so he
lifted up his great paw, and
punched his friend hard in the
face. The poor animal went rolling
over and over and was quite
stunned. When he staggered back
to his feet the Wolf growled at
him:
“It is not for you to advise your
betters.”
It took the Fox a moment or two to
recover himself. When he could
manage a smile he said softly: “Of
course, you are right brother Wolf.
Forgive me. I am full of regret for
my sin against you, whom I love
more than any other creature in
the world.”
And the Wolf looked him up and
down, saw that the Fox was
fittingly afraid of him, and added
in a stern voice:
“Learn from this lesson. Don’t poke
your nose into other people’s
business.”
The Fox bowed his head and said:
“To hear your voice is to obey, my
brother.”
“That’s more like it,” said the
Wolf. “At least those were wise
words said in the right place.”
“Oh yes,” said the Fox, more
humbly than ever. “As the poet
once said, the blow of a teacher is
at first hurtful, but in the end it
is sweeter than honey.”
And from that time on, he was
always careful to show the Wolf
the greatest respect, and to flatter
him whenever possible. But
inwardly he hated the tyrant, and
was looking for the chance to take
his revenge. The months passed,
and the Wolf forgot all about the
incident, but the Fox did not. One
day, he was skulking along the
wall of the vineyard, looking for a
way to sneak in and steal some
grapes, when he found a hole
large enough for a fox – even for a
wolf – to creep through.
At first he was delighted, and then
he thought to himself: “This is too
good to be true. I think The Son of
Adam is plotting something here.”
And he stretched through the hole
and gently tapped the ground on
the other side with his paw. It was
just as he thought. The man had
laid sticks and leaves across a deep
pit. It was a trap to catch a thief.
“Praised be Allah that I have
found this cunning trap!” said the
Fox happily. “And may my enemy
the Wolf fall straight into it!” And
he ran back to the den with a
spring in his step.
“Good news,” he said as the Wolf
was just shaking off his sleep. “I
have found an easy way into the
vineyard. You can sneak in and
fill your belly with man’s juicy
grapes. The ripe fruit is shining on
the vines, ready for you to eat.”
The Wolf had no reason to doubt
the Fox’s words, and he went
trotting off to the vineyard in
search of a delicious and easy
breakfast. He found the hole in the “My one true friend,” said the
wall, just where the Fox had told Wolf, “I see that you are crying for
him to look, and he easily crawled me.”
through it – but on the other side
“No! Not one bit!” laughed the Fox.
he fell through the sticks and
“I am crying because I am
leaves and tumbled straight down
thinking how long you lived
into the trap. The Fox saw his
before this day, and I am sad
friend’s misfortune, and he was
because you didn’t fall into this
jubilant.
deep hole sooner.”
“At last fortune has taken pity on
These cruel words stunned and
me! Greed has pulled the Wolf
hurt the Wolf even more than his
down to his doom!”
fall had done. Quite shocked, he
And with tears in his eyes, he replied:
peered over the edge of the pit and
“In the name of Allah, have mercy
saw the sorrowful Wolf looking up
on your brother. Go and speak to
at him:
my mother. She will know what to
do and will bring help.”
But the Fox was quite unmoved by
the Wolf’s plea. He snarled up his
muzzle to show his yellow teeth
and said:
“You stupid, witless beast, why
should I help you who have been
a tyrant over me?”
“But, but” pleaded the Wolf, “you
have always protested your love for
me. You have sworn to be my
servant. You have promised to look
after me, even in my old age. How
can you turn against me like
this?”
“Oh you deluded, self-deceiving
fool,” jeered the Fox. “That was my
fear talking, not my heart. In truth
I hate you for you are a bully and
a brute.”
Still unable to fully believe these
words, the Wolf, half thinking
that his friend was joking, said: “I
pray, do not speak to me with the
tongue of an enemy. Do not look at
me with the eyes of a foe. For the
wise poet spoke well when he said:
‘Forgiveness is noble, and kindness
is the best of treasures.”
“Oh now you beg and scrape,” said
the Fox. “But that is only because
you are down there in the dark
hole, and I am up here in the
sun.”
“If you rescue me from this pit, I
shall repent my ways!” howled the
Wolf. But the Fox just laughed at
him.
And at last the Wolf realised that
his former friend truly did hate
him, that there was no hope in
him helping him, and all was
lost. He began to weep and howl
more piteously than ever.
Now, even the Fox had a place in
his heart that was not either filled
with hatred or cunning, At last he
was moved by the fate of the Wolf.
He went over to the hole and said:
“My friend. Why are you crying
so? I was only joking when I said
those words. Here, pull on my tail
and heave yourself out.” And so
saying he dangled his red bushy
tail into the hole for the Wolf to
take hold of. But the Wolf, full of
dumb desire for revenge, did not
make use of the tail to save
himself. Instead, he seized it,
pulled the Fox down into the hole
with him, and growled
triumphantly:
“So now you have fallen into the
snare of your own intent, you
traitor, and in it, you shall share
my fate!”
The Fox, full of fear, began to beg
and scrape: “Oh brave and
powerful master, do not strike me
and kill me now, or you will not
benefit from my plan and we shall
both die here. Is it not better that
we should both save ourselves?”
The Wolf, already feeling a little
calmer, began to regret that he had
not saved himself when he had
the chance, and he asked:
“And how exactly do you propose
to save us?”
“Easy,” said the Fox. “Lift me up
on your head, and I can scramble
out of this pit. I will run and fetch
a vine to use as a rope to help you
climb out.”
But the Wolf shook his shaggy
head and said: “Oh Fox, I respect
you for never giving up, but I am
not the fool you take me to be. As
the poet said, “The worst of
enemies is your nearest friend.
Greet him with a smiling face, but
be ready to do battle with him.”
And that is why I do not trust
your words. No. It would be a bad
thing for me to die here alone. You
shall wait here with me, and we
shall die together when the man
comes and finds us trapped here.”
“Wise words,” said the Fox. “But
not for every case. It cannot be
right to always be suspicious. Trust
is the glue of friendship. Without
trust, each one of us is on his own.
Without trust there can be no
working together. The choice is
yours. Trust me or die. What have
you to lose? For if you do not trust
me, your number’s up anyway.”
Now the Wolf, who of course did
hope to live, saw that he had little
to lose by helping the Fox, and he
lifted him up on his head. The
Fox grasped at the edge of the hole
with his claws, got a hold of a
vine, and scrambled up into the
daylight.
“Be sure to keep your word,”
called up the Wolf. “Run and
fetch that rope and pull me out.”
“Ha! Ha!” cried the Fox. “Not a
chance! If I help you out, you will
take your revenge and kill
me.” And he ran off up the hill
towards the village. There he
started to make a great din, so
much so that the man came out
holding a rake in his hand. He
saw the Fox and started to chase
him. The Fox turned and ran,
meaning to lead him to the pit
where he would find the Wolf and
kill him. But as he ran, the Fox
thought: “Is it not sad that we are
all alone in this world, and can
trust no one.”
And when he reached the pit, he
dangled his tail down into the
hole once again and said:
“Wolf, quick, pull yourself out by
my tail. If you drag me down into
the pit once again, we are both
dead, because the man is no more
than a minute away. Be wise. See
that we are joined together by our
common enemy. Either we live or
die together.”
And the Wolf, seeing that he had
but one chance to live, pulled
himself out by the Fox’s tail and
ran for the woods. The Fox ran too,
but in a different direction,
because he did not wish to debate
trust and suspicion with the Wolf
again. There was too much danger
in that discussion.
And as Scheherazade reached the
end of her story, the light of
morning began to creep in through
the window.
“That was truly a wonderful and
instructive story,” said the Sultan.
“How right I was when I said that
we have much to learn from the Sultan, and listen to a Story
stories of the animals.” every night.

“Your instructions were indeed

wise,” said Scheherazade, and if
you shall spare my life today,
tomorrow night I will tell you
another tale even more wonderful.
And the Sultan, who delighted in
her stories, could hardly wait for
the next of 1001 nights.

And that was the story of the Fox

and the Wolf. We don’t quite have
a 1001 stories on Storynory.com
yet, but we do have several
hundred free audio tales, and they
should be enough to keep you
going for quite a while. So be like
 The Submitted by ken
brothers: jerico Sy
Submitted to Ms
Wolf and Arlen Barbara
Fox