said the Jackal, "and good riddance. It was always
in my way. Why, I never could sit down in comfort, and now look here!"
He sat down on the place where his tail used to be, and looked proudly
round. "Now, you try!" said he.

They all tried, and found that their tails got underneath them when they
sat, and it hurt their tails rather.

"We never thought of that before," said they; "we must get rid of these
things. Who cut off yours?"

"A kind Farmer's wife," said the first Jackal. Then he told them where
the Farmer's wife lived.

That evening, a knock came at the Farmer's door, as the Farmer and his
wife were sitting at tea.

"Come in!" said the Farmer.

The door opened, and in trooped a number of Jackals. "Please, Mr.
Farmer," said they, "we want you kindly to cut off our tails."

"Willingly," said the Farmer; whipt out his knife, and in a jiffy slish!
slish! slish! off came the Jackals' tails.

"Yow-ow-ow!" went the Jackals, capering about, "we didn't think it would
hurt!" Away they went, and all the woods echoed that night with yowling
and howling.

When they all got home, they found the first Jackal waiting for them. He
laughed in their faces. "Now we're all alike," said he, "all in the same
boat."

"Are we?" said the other Jackals, and set on him and tore him to pieces.

"Now we must have our revenge on the Farmer," said the Jackals when they
had eaten up their friend. So next morning they scampered off to the
Farmer's house.

The Farmer was out, and his wife was gathering fuel.

"Good morning, Mrs. Farmer," said the Jackals; "we have come to eat the
Farmer for cutting our tails off."

"Ah, poor fellow," said the Farmer's wife, "he is dead. When he saw how
it hurt you to have your tails cut off, he just lay down on the bed, and
died of grief."

"That's unlucky," said the Jackals.

"But we are preparing the funeral feast," she went on, "you see I am now
getting fuel for it. Will you give us the pleasure of your company to
dinner?"

"Gladly," said the Jackals; "we should like to see the last of the poor
fellow;" then they ran away.

At dinner-time, they all came back, and found chairs put for them, and
plates round the table, with the woman at one end.

"You can sit like Christians now," said the Farmer's wife, "so I have
set you a chair apiece."

"Thanks," said the Jackals; "that is thoughtful."

"But I know," the Farmer's wife went on, "what quarrelsome creatures you
are over your meat.