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 But the young Wrens continued to shriek and scream aloud; and when their parents came back with more food, they said, ‘We won’t touch so much as the leg of a fly, even if we starve, till you tell us whether we are really your lawful children or not. The Bear has been here calling us names.’

Then said the old King, ‘Only be quiet, and this shall be seen to.’

Thereupon he and his wife the Queen flew off to the Bear in his den, and called in to him, ‘Old Bruin, why have you been calling our children names? It will turn out badly for you, and it will lead to a bloody war between us.’

So war was declared, and all the four-footed animals were called together—the ox, the ass, the cow, the stag, the roedeer, and every other creature on the earth.

But the Wren called together every creature which flew in the air, not only birds both large and small, but also the gnats, the hornets, the bees, and the flies.

When the time came for the war to begin, the Wren sent out scouts to discover where the commanding generals of the enemy were to be found. The gnats were the most cunning of all. They swarmed in the wood where the enemy were assembled, and at last they hid themselves under a leaf of the tree where the orders were being given.

The Bear called the Fox up to him and said, ‘You are the slyest of all the animals, Reynard. You shall be our general, and lead us.’

‘Very good,’ said the Fox; ‘but what shall we have for a signal?’ But nobody could think of anything. Then said the Fox, ‘I have a fine, long, bushy tail, which almost looks like a red feather brush. When I hold my tail erect, things are going well, and you must march forward at once; but if it droops, you must all run away as hard as ever you can.’

When the gnats heard this they flew straight home and told the Wrens every detail.

When the day broke, all the four-footed animals came