The Bear Fooled by the Fox by Ion Creangă - A Classic Romanian Folktale in English
Discover The Bear Fooled by the Fox, a delightful Romanian folktale now available in English! This classic story by Ion Creangă tells the amusing adventure of a sly fox who tricks a gullible bear in a clever and funny way. Perfect for young readers who love fables and tales of wit and wisdom!
Story translated into English by Daniel Vîrdol.
Story translated into English by Daniel Vîrdol.
Read online "The Bear Fooled by the Fox" a Fairy Tale in English by Ion Creangă
Once upon a time, there was a clever fox, as sly as all foxes are. She had spent the entire night searching for food, but found nothing. When the daylight finally broke, she lay down at the edge of the road beneath a bush, pondering how she could find something to eat.
As she rested with her muzzle resting on her paws, she caught the scent of fish. Lifting her head, she gazed down the road and saw a cart pulled by oxen coming her way.
"Perfect!" thought the fox. "This is the meal I've been waiting for."
Without wasting a moment, she sprang from under the bush and sprawled out in the middle of the road, pretending to be dead.
As the cart drew closer, the farmer who was guiding the oxen noticed her and, thinking she was truly dead, shouted to the oxen:
— "Whoa! Whoa!"
The oxen stopped. The farmer approached, looked closely at the fox, and seeing that she wasn’t even breathing, said:
— "Well! How in the world did this fox die here? She would make a fine fur coat for my wife."
Saying this, he grabbed the fox by the head and dragged her to the cart, struggling to throw her over the fish. Then he shouted to the oxen:
— "Giddy-up! Giddy-up!"
The oxen started moving again, and the farmer, walking beside them, urged them to go faster so he could get home soon and make the fur coat.
But as the cart moved along, the fox began to push the fish out of the cart with her paws. The cart creaked, and fish tumbled to the road.
Once she had thrown a good amount of fish onto the road, the sly fox jumped out of the cart and, with great haste, began to gather the fish. After collecting them into a pile, she took them to her den and started eating—she was starving!
As she rested with her muzzle resting on her paws, she caught the scent of fish. Lifting her head, she gazed down the road and saw a cart pulled by oxen coming her way.
"Perfect!" thought the fox. "This is the meal I've been waiting for."
Without wasting a moment, she sprang from under the bush and sprawled out in the middle of the road, pretending to be dead.
As the cart drew closer, the farmer who was guiding the oxen noticed her and, thinking she was truly dead, shouted to the oxen:
— "Whoa! Whoa!"
The oxen stopped. The farmer approached, looked closely at the fox, and seeing that she wasn’t even breathing, said:
— "Well! How in the world did this fox die here? She would make a fine fur coat for my wife."
Saying this, he grabbed the fox by the head and dragged her to the cart, struggling to throw her over the fish. Then he shouted to the oxen:
— "Giddy-up! Giddy-up!"
The oxen started moving again, and the farmer, walking beside them, urged them to go faster so he could get home soon and make the fur coat.
But as the cart moved along, the fox began to push the fish out of the cart with her paws. The cart creaked, and fish tumbled to the road.
Once she had thrown a good amount of fish onto the road, the sly fox jumped out of the cart and, with great haste, began to gather the fish. After collecting them into a pile, she took them to her den and started eating—she was starving!
Just as she began to feast, along came the bear.
— "Good meal, cousin! Wow! You’ve got quite the fish there! Give me some, I’m famished!"
— "Oh, you can forget it, cousin. I didn’t work this hard just to feed someone else. If you’re so hungry, go dip your tail in the water like I did, and you’ll have all the fish you want."
— "Please teach me, cousin. I don’t know how to catch fish."
The fox grinned, showing her teeth, and said:
— "Oh, cousin! Don’t you know that necessity takes you places you never wanted to go and teaches you things you never thought you'd learn? Listen: if you want to catch fish, go to the swamp by the forest at night. Stick your tail in the water and stay perfectly still until morning. Then, when the time is right, pull your tail up hard and you’ll catch plenty of fish—maybe even double or triple the amount I got!"
Without saying another word, the bear ran off to the swamp at the edge of the forest and plunged his entire tail into the water. That night, a biting cold wind blew, freezing everything in its path. The water in the swamp froze solid, trapping the bear’s tail in a vice-like grip. After a while, in unbearable pain from the cold and the pressure, the bear yanked with all his might. But instead of pulling out fish, he was left without a tail!
The poor bear began to howl in pain and jumped up, enraged at the fox for tricking him. He rushed to find her and punish her for the deception. But the clever fox knew just how to escape the bear's fury. She had already slipped away from her den and hidden inside a tree hollow nearby. When the bear arrived, tailless, the fox called out:
— "Hey, cousin! Did the fish eat your tail, or were you so greedy that you wanted all the fish to yourself?"
Hearing this mocking voice, the bear became even angrier and charged toward the tree. But the hollow was too narrow for him to fit inside. The bear grabbed a branch with a hook and began trying to pull the fox out, intending to give her a good thrashing.
But when he grabbed the fox’s paw, she yelled: "Pull harder, you fool! I don’t care, just pull the tree..."
And when the bear tried to hook the branch to the tree, the fox shouted: "Oh, cousin! Don’t pull, you’ll break my leg!"
The bear, sweating and straining, could not get the fox out of the hollow.
And so, the bear was tricked once more by the sly fox!
— "Good meal, cousin! Wow! You’ve got quite the fish there! Give me some, I’m famished!"
— "Oh, you can forget it, cousin. I didn’t work this hard just to feed someone else. If you’re so hungry, go dip your tail in the water like I did, and you’ll have all the fish you want."
— "Please teach me, cousin. I don’t know how to catch fish."
The fox grinned, showing her teeth, and said:
— "Oh, cousin! Don’t you know that necessity takes you places you never wanted to go and teaches you things you never thought you'd learn? Listen: if you want to catch fish, go to the swamp by the forest at night. Stick your tail in the water and stay perfectly still until morning. Then, when the time is right, pull your tail up hard and you’ll catch plenty of fish—maybe even double or triple the amount I got!"
Without saying another word, the bear ran off to the swamp at the edge of the forest and plunged his entire tail into the water. That night, a biting cold wind blew, freezing everything in its path. The water in the swamp froze solid, trapping the bear’s tail in a vice-like grip. After a while, in unbearable pain from the cold and the pressure, the bear yanked with all his might. But instead of pulling out fish, he was left without a tail!
The poor bear began to howl in pain and jumped up, enraged at the fox for tricking him. He rushed to find her and punish her for the deception. But the clever fox knew just how to escape the bear's fury. She had already slipped away from her den and hidden inside a tree hollow nearby. When the bear arrived, tailless, the fox called out:
— "Hey, cousin! Did the fish eat your tail, or were you so greedy that you wanted all the fish to yourself?"
Hearing this mocking voice, the bear became even angrier and charged toward the tree. But the hollow was too narrow for him to fit inside. The bear grabbed a branch with a hook and began trying to pull the fox out, intending to give her a good thrashing.
But when he grabbed the fox’s paw, she yelled: "Pull harder, you fool! I don’t care, just pull the tree..."
And when the bear tried to hook the branch to the tree, the fox shouted: "Oh, cousin! Don’t pull, you’ll break my leg!"
The bear, sweating and straining, could not get the fox out of the hollow.
And so, the bear was tricked once more by the sly fox!
The End
