Page:Tales from the Fjeld.djvu/157



NE day as Bruin lay by a horse which he had slain, and was hard at work eating it, Reynard was out that day too, and came up spying about and licking his lips, if he might get a taste of the horse-flesh. So he doubled and turned till he got just behind Bruin's back, and then he jumped on the other side of the carcass and snapped a mouthful as he ran by. Bruin was not slow either, for he made a grab at Reynard and caught the tip of his red brush in his paw; and ever since then Reynard's brush is white at the tip, as any one may see.

But that day Bruin was merry, and called out—

"Bide a bit, Reynard; and come hither, and I'll tell you how to catch a horse for yourself."

Yes, Reynard was ready enough to learn, but he did not for all that trust himself to go very close to Bruin.

"Listen," said Bruin, "when you see a horse asleep, sunning himself in the sunshine, you must mind and bind yourself fast by the hair of his tail to your brush, and then you must make your teeth meet in the flesh of his thigh."

As you may fancy, it was not long before Reynard