One hard winter morning, a wolf came striding over the frozen ruts of a forest road. Frost lay on his back like pale dust, and hunger made him restless. Behind him trotted a fox with a red coat, narrow paws, and bright eyes that missed very little. Because the wolf had the stronger legs and the louder voice, the fox went with him as if he were a servant, though he kept his own counsel under his neat whiskers.
By the roadside stood a cart from the village, and on it lay fish, stiff and silver in the cold. The driver had stepped away to mend a strap, so the fox dropped at once into the snow, stretched himself long, and let his tongue hang out as though all breath had gone from him. When the driver came back, he said, "Here is a fine fox. My wife will be glad of this fur." He lifted the fox by the tail and laid him on top of the fish.
The cart creaked forward, and for a little while, the fox did not stir. Then, one by one, he slid the fish over the side into the snow. A pike first, then a perch, then another and another, until a shining trail lay behind the wheels. When the cart turned the bend, the fox sprang down, gathered what he could into a drift, and began to eat.
The wolf came up with his nose full of the smell and said, "Brother …
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