Page:The Folk-Lore Journal Volume 6 1888.djvu/268

 260 The fox: "But stay; let me try whether I can be the golden horse." She bounded hither and thither, and transformed herself into a golden horse, only she had a fox's tail. Then she said: "Now lead me; let them give you the golden apple-tree, and I know when I shall come to you."

He led off the fox-horse, delivered it to the lord of the golden apple-tree, and obtained the golden apple-tree. Now the lord of the golden apple-tree was delighted at having acquired so beautiful a horsCj and invited his whole lordship to a feast, to boast to them what a horse he had acquired. The guests began to gaze at the horse and to wonder how beautiful he was. All at once one scrutinised his tail attentively and said: "All is beautiful, and all pleases me; only, I should say that it is a fox's tail." The moment he said that, the fox jumped up and ran away. But the guests were enraged at him for using the expression, "fox's tail," and put him to death. The fox came to the simpleton, and proceeded with the golden damsel, the horse, and the golden apple-tree to the vine.

Now, again, the fox said: "You see now, you have acquired the golden apple-tree. But the golden damsel is not appropriate without the golden horse, or the golden horse without the golden apple-tree. Are you sorry to give the golden apple-tree?" The simpleton: "Yes, fox; but I must to obtain the vine, that my father may not weep. I had rather that my father did not weep than all that I have." The fox said: "Stay; I will try whether I can be the golden apple-tree." She bounded hither and thither, and transformed herself into a golden apple-tree, and told him to take it away and give it for the vine. He took off the golden fox-apple-tree and gave it to the lord of the vine; obtained the vine, and went away.

The lord, for joy, assembled his whole lordship and prepared a grand feast, to display what a golden apple-tree he had acquired. The guests assembled, and began to gaze at the apple-tree. But one scrutinized it attentively and said: "All is beautiful, and cannot be more beautiful; only the fruit is in shape a fox's head, and not like other apples." No sooner had he said this when up jumped the fox and ran away. But they were enraged at him and slew him, because he had said, "fox's head."