«i8 



*' as many as I could eat in a fingle hawl, your fuccefs mud be much 

 " greater." The hungry wolf liftened with avidity, thanked his bene- 

 faflor, and in a few moments placed himfelf in a fifliing pofition, with 

 his tail in the water ; where, notwithftanding the intenfe cold, he re- 

 mained without motion for a confiderable time ; expefting to find by the 

 cncrcafing weight, the promifed indications of his fuccefs. At length, 

 fuppofing that his feeling was deftroyed by the extreme cold, he refolv- 

 ed to fee what he had caught : when to his great furprize, he found 

 the hole entirely frozen over ; and bis tail fo firmly enclofed in the ice 

 that all his efforts to difengage it proved abortive. Every moment the effeft 

 of cold and hunger was decreafing his force, and adding flrength to 

 his fetters and the jefts of the fox dill added to his tortures. In the 

 morning the countrymen arrived : who feeing the bones and fcales of 

 the fifli, which had been fcattered by the fox, and catching the wolf 

 as it were in the faft, difpatchcd him with their hatchets, and after 

 unprofitably drawing and refetting their nets, dragged the carcafe of 

 the wolf to the fliore. The fox with the flefh of the wolf and his 

 flock of fifti, lived luxurloufly for feveral days, but the vigilance of the 

 countrymen now awakened, prevented his catching any more filh. He 

 had, however, other refources ; he had already picked up fome ftrag- 

 gling geefe and outards, and had more than once vifited a rooft. But 

 fearing the noife might alarm, he made a fafer attack upon the ftore- 

 hut, where the provifions for the winter were preferved in a frozen 

 ftate ; and continued to live plentifully till approaching one night with 

 his ufual caution, he obferved a man on the watch. The next day he 

 invited a couCn of his friend the deceafed 'wolf, to partake of the fare 

 he had left, and having excited rather than fatisfied his appetite, told 

 him how he came by his dainties, and as foon as the watch was fet the 

 next night, having offered his fervices as a conduftor, led the wolf 

 to the opening of the hut, and retired. The alarm was quick- 

 ly given, the opening was clofed, and the howls of the wolf 

 foon fatisfied his conduftor that his credulous friend was no more. 

 Conceiving they had difpatchcd the marauder who had fo long tref- 



paffed 



