as! the horse would
not move. Then the man looked at the red scamp, the grey rascal, and the
brown villain, and said angrily, "Give me my horse back." But the wild
beasts answered, "You killed it yourself, while we were running about
looking for wood by your orders."

Thus they stood quarrelling and disputing, till Reynard considered how
he could best put an end to the dispute and save his own skin. He knew
of a pit in the neighbourhood which the hunter had dug for a wolf-trap,
and covered loosely with thin twigs. "The matter won't be settled by
quarrelsome and angry words," cried he; "but come, let the four of us go
to the wolf-pit; we will all tread on it at once, and whoever falls in
shall be adjudged guilty." The rest agreed, and when they stood on the
twigs, they broke under their weight, and precipitated them into the
pit, and even Reynard was unable to escape. He had trusted too much to
the lightness of his tread, and had trodden on the twigs without
consideration. Now they were all in the trap together, and none of them
could hope to escape. The time seemed long to them, and their hunger
soon became too great to bear.

First of all, the wild beasts attacked the man of the bast shoes and
devoured him, and then Reynard had to resign his life. Last of all the
bear throttled the wolf. Then came the hunter and gave the bear his
quietus. Thus all the four rascals experienced the truth of the proverb,
"As the deed, so the reward."

WHY THE DOG AND CAT AND THE CAT AND MOUSE ARE ENEMIES.

In former days all animals dwelt together in peace; but then it befell
that the dogs killed and devoured hares and other game in the open
fields. The other animals complained, and when God called the dogs to
account, they objected that they had nothing to eat. Their plea was
admitted, and leave was granted them to eat fallen animals. The dogs
requested and received a written license to that effect, which was
intrusted to the sheep-dog, as the largest and most reliable among them.
But in autumn the sheep-dog was very busy, and could neither carry it
about with him nor find a dry place for it, so he intrusted it to the
care of his friend the tom-cat, who had always a safe room, or sat on
the stove. The cat arched his back, and rubbed it against his friend's
foot, as a promise of fidelity, and the document was laid on the stove,
where it was supposed to be safe.

One day the dogs found a pony in the wood which had fallen, so t