East O the Sun and West O the Moon | Page 8

with them.
[Illustration: She opened her mouth wide and laughed]
Soon the whole company came under the Princess's window. There she
stood waiting for them. And when she saw they had taken the cook too,
with her ladle and broom, she opened her mouth wide, and laughed so
loud that the King had to hold her upright.
So Taper Tom got the Princess and half the kingdom, and they say he
kept her in high spirits with his tricks and pranks till the end of her
days.

WHY THE BEAR IS STUMPY-TAILED
One day the Bear met the Fox, who came slinking along with a string
of fish he had stolen.
"Where did you get those?" asked the Bear.
"Oh! my Lord Bruin, I've been out fishing and caught them," said the
Fox.
So the Bear had a mind to learn to fish too, and bade the Fox tell him
how he was to set about it.
"Oh! it is an easy craft for you," answered the Fox, "and soon learned.
You've only to go upon the ice, cut a hole, stick your tail down into it,
and hold it there as long as you can. You're not to mind if your tail
smarts a little; that's when the fish bite. The longer you hold it there the
more fish you'll get; and then all at once out with it, with a cross pull
sideways, and with a strong pull too."
Yes, the Bear did as the Fox had said, and held his tail a long, long time
down in the hole, till it was frozen in fast. Then he pulled it out with a
cross pull, and it snapped short off. That's why Bruin goes about with a
stumpy tail to this very day.

REYNARD AND THE COCK
Once on a time there was a cock who stood on the barnyard fence and
crowed and flapped his wings. Then the fox came by.
"Good-day," said Reynard. "I have heard you crowing so nicely, but
can you stand on one leg and crow, and wink your eyes?"

"Oh, yes," said the cock, "I can do that very well." So he stood on one
leg and crowed, but he winked only with one eye, and when he had
done that he made himself big and flapped his wings, as though he had
done a great thing.
"Very pretty, to be sure," said Reynard. "Almost as pretty as when the
parson preaches in church, but can you stand on one leg and wink both
your eyes at once? I hardly think you can."
"Can't I though!" said the cock, and stood on one leg, and winked both
his eyes and crowed. But Reynard caught hold of him, took him by the
throat, and threw him on his back, so that he was off to the wood before
he had crowed his crow out, as fast as Reynard could lay legs to the
ground.
When they had come under an old spruce fir, Reynard threw the cock
on the ground, and set his paw on his breast, and was going to take a
bite: "You are a heathen, Reynard!" said the cock. "Good Christians
say grace before they eat."
But Reynard would be no heathen, no indeed. So he let go his hold, and
was about to fold his paws over his breast, and say grace--but pop! up
flew the cock into a tree.
"You shan't get off for all that," said Reynard to himself. So he went
away, and came again with a few chips which the woodcutters had left.
The cock peeped and peered to see what they could be.
"What is that you have there?" he asked.
"These are letters I have just got," said Reynard, "won't you help me to
read them, for I don't know how to read writing."
"I'd be so happy, but I dare not read them now," said the cock, "for here
comes a hunter--I see him, I see him with his pouch and gun."
When Reynard heard the cock chattering about a hunter, he took to his
heels as fast as he could.

BRUIN AND REYNARD PARTNERS
Once on a time Bruin and Reynard owned a field in common. They had
a little clearing up in the wood, and the first year they sowed rye.
"Now we must share the crop as is fair and right," said Reynard. "If you
like to have the root, I'll take the top."
Yes, Bruin was ready to do that; but when they had threshed out the
crop, Reynard got all the corn, but Bruin got nothing but roots and

rubbish. He did not like that at all; but Reynard said that was how they
had agreed to share it.
"This year I have the gain," said