Reading A: Aesop's Fables (100 Words)

You will find the texts of the stories below the audio, and the titles are linked to individual blog posts where you can learn more about sources, see notes, etc.
You can also find storytelling ideas here: Teaching Guide, see #1-24.


~ 1. The Lion's Share ~
A lion, a cow, a goat, and a sheep were working together as partners.
They managed to kill a stag, and the lion divided their prize into four equal parts.
"The first part is mine," he said, "because I am the lion. The second part goes to me because I am the strongest. Next, I will take the third part for myself on account of my exceedingly hard work. Finally, if anyone so much as touches the fourth part, they will know my wrath!"
That is the lion's share: he pretends to share, but he takes it all for himself.

~ 2. The Angry Lion ~
There was once an enraged lion, filled with anger and hatred, hoping to find another lion he could fight with and kill.
Then, as he was looking down into a well, there it was: a lion had fallen in there.
It was just his own reflection in the water, of course, but he saw what he wanted to see.
The angry lion, convinced he had found the enemy he was hoping to find, sprang and jumped into the well, and he drowned.
So it is that those who are angry often do more harm to themselves than to anyone else.

~ 3. The Lion and the Rabbit ~
A lion found a sleeping rabbit and was about to gobble him up, but all of a sudden the lion then saw a deer passing by. The lion abandoned the rabbit, and he started to chase the deer.
Awakened by the ruckus, the rabbit ran off.
The lion, meanwhile, chased the deer a long time but didn't catch her, so he returned to the rabbit.
When he discovered the rabbit had also escaped, the lion said, "By Hercules, I got what I deserved: I cast aside food I already had in my paws, preferring to chase an uncertain hope instead."

~ 4. The Lion and the Bulls ~
A lion wanted to attack two bulls, thinking they would make a very fine feast.
The two bulls joined forces, however, and turned their horns towards the lion, so he could not get between them. Combining forces, those bulls were stronger than the lion.
Since the lion couldn't fight both bulls at once, he resorted to subterfuge instead.
"If you betray your partner to me, I promise not to touch you!" he said to each one, separately. "I'll kill the other one; I won't kill you."
Using this trick, the lion managed to kill both bulls easily, one by one.

~ 5. The Lion and the Mouse ~
As a mouse ran over a sleeping lion, the lion awoke and grabbed her.
"Let me go, please!" squeaked the mouse. "I'll repay your kindness, I promise!"
"What could you ever do for me?" scoffed the lion. "I'm letting you go only because it's not worth my time to kill you."
A few days later, the lion was caught in a hunter's snare. He roared in terror, and the little mouse ran to the rescue, gnawing through the ropes and freeing the lion.
"I was wrong about you," said the grateful lion. "You're a good friend to have after all."

~ 6. The Lion's Army ~
There was a fierce war between the beasts and the birds, and the lion had taken command of the army of beasts, with tigers and bears, leopards and wolves, and all sorts of mighty warriors in his ranks.
The donkeys and rabbits wanted to enlist too.
The tigers and bears and other warriors scoffed, but the lion accepted the volunteers gladly. "The donkeys will be my trumpeters," the lion said, "and the rabbits will be my couriers."
The greatest commanders know how to make the best use of all their soldiers, based on the strengths of each and every one.

~ 7. The Lion Cub and Man ~
"Don't fight Man," said the Lion to his Cub, but the Cub didn't listen. The Cub went looking for Man.
He saw a Bull. "Are you Man?"
"No, I bear Man's yoke."
Next he saw a Horse. "Are you Man?"
"No, Man rides me."
Then he saw someone splitting logs with wedges: a Man!
"Fight me, Man!" said the Cub.
"I will! But first, help me split this log."
When the Cub put his paws in the crack, Man knocked out the wedge, trapping the Cub's paws.
The Cub finally pulled loose and went home with bloody paws, lesson learned.

~ 8. The Lion in Love ~
A lion had fallen madly in love with the daughter of a woodcutter.
"Please let me marry your daughter," the lion said to the woodcutter. "I will love and cherish her always."
"My daughter is a tender and delicate girl," the man replied, "and she cannot endure a lion's claws and teeth."
"Do not fear," said the lion. "I will have my teeth and claws removed, and then I will marry your daughter."
The lion did as he promised, but when he returned to the woodcutter to arrange the marriage, the man beat the defenseless lion and drove him away.

~ 9. The Lion and the Man Debating ~
"I'm stronger than you!" roared the lion.
"No, you're not!" shouted the man. "I'm stronger than you, and I'll prove it."
The man took the lion to see a painting of a man killing a lion. "Just look at that!" he declared triumphantly.
"A man painted that painting," the lion scoffed. "If a lion could paint, he would paint a lion killing a man. Come on, and I'll show you some real proof."
The lion then took the man to the circus where a lion really was killing a man.
"This isn't pretend," the lion told him. "This is real."

~ 10. The Lion and the Boar ~
A lion and a boar were fighting fiercely.
"I'll kill you!" roared the lion.
The boar growled back, "Not before I kill you!"
The vultures were delighted to hear these words, and they settled comfortably in a tree, watching the fight and waiting to see who would kill and who would be killed.
"I'd like lion for dinner," said one of the vultures.
"I'd prefer boar," said another.
But the boar and lion finally tired of fighting and left the scene, while the vultures cursed them both. "The lion has betrayed our hopes," they squawked, "and so has the boar."

~ 11. The Old Lion and the Horse ~
An old lion was stalking a horse, but he was no longer strong, so he decided to play a trick instead.
"I'm a doctor," he shouted to the horse, "and I see that you're limping."
The horse, however, was also a trickster. "What good luck!" he said. "I've got a thorn in my hoof. Please remove it if you can."
Then, when the lion bent down to inspect the hoof, the horse kicked him in the head and ran off.
"That horse tricked this old trickster, fair and square," said the stunned lion, "and I've got only myself to blame."

~ 12. The Lion and the Unicorn ~
The lion and the unicorn were fierce enemies.
The lion, pretending weakness, limped up to the unicorn. "Set aside our quarrels and help me, please. I want to go see my wife before I die, but I need your horn to lean on. I will return it to you as soon as I have said my last goodbyes to my wife; I give you my word."
The unicorn felt sorry for the lion and offered him his horn, which left the unicorn defenseless.
The lion took the horn and then used it to attack the unicorn, defeating him at last.

~ 13. The Old Lion's Last Breath ~
The lion was worn out with sickness and old age. Now he was stretched out on the ground, about to draw his last breath.
The boar approached and stabbed the lion with his tusks. "That's for every time you did me wrong!"
Then the bull did the same with his horns. "It's payback time!" he bellowed.
Next came the donkey, who kicked the lion with his hooves. "I never thought I'd see this day!" he brayed.
"When I was strong," groaned the lion, "all the animals respected and feared me, but now even that wretched donkey treats me with contempt."

~ 14. The Lion and the Donkey Go Hunting ~
A lion and a donkey agreed to go hunting in partnership together.
One day they happened upon a pack of wolves. The donkey brayed loudly and raced at the wolves as if he were going to swallow them whole.
"Hee-haw!" he shouted. "Hee-haw!"
The wolves laughed, but when they glimpsed the lion running up behind the donkey, they turned tail and ran away.
"Behold!" said the donkey. "The tremendous sound of my voice has made the wolves run away!"
"I suspect it was the sight of me that did it," replied the lion, "rather than the sound of your voice.

~ 15. Wild Donkey, Tame Donkey ~
There was an onager who watched a tame donkey walking along the road, weighed down by a heavy load, while the whip-wielding donkey-driver walked beside him.
"How happy I am to live wild and free!" thought the wild donkey. "I do what I please, and I go where I want."
Meanwhile, a lion crept up quietly. Fearing the donkey-driver, he avoided the tame donkey and instead attacked the unprotected onager, who did not stand a chance against the lion's sharp teeth and claws.
"How happy I am not to be food for a lion!" the tame donkey thought to himself.

~ 16. The Wild Donkey ~
An onager who had strayed from his herd in search of grass saw a donkey eating a bundle of barley straw.
"That barley straw looks tasty," thought the wild donkey, "and how fat he looks. He must be a lucky donkey indeed!"
Then the wild donkey watched as a man put heavy bundles on the donkey's back. The man shouted at the donkey, and then he threatened the donkey with a whip.
At that, the onager turned and ran. "I was wrong; that donkey is not lucky after all. I would never sell my freedom in exchange for barley straw."

~ 17. The Donkey and the Horse's Barley ~
A donkey once asked a horse to share a little bit of his barley.
"I would do so gladly," replied the horse. "I'm a very noble creature after all! But I simply can't give you any barley at the moment. When we get to the manger this evening, though, I'll give you a full sack of wheat."
"Since you won't give me even a little bit of barley now," said the donkey, "why should I believe you'll give me a lot of wheat later?"
Beware of people who make big promises but don't really want to give you anything at all.

~ 18. The Cruel Horse and the Donkey ~
"Get out of my way, stupid donkey!" shouted a horse, and when the donkey did not get out of the way fast enough, the horse kicked the donkey and wounded him badly.
As he did so, though, the horse brought about his own punishment: he dislocated his leg and, overcome by pain, he had to lie down on the ground, groaning in agony.
The donkey then stood over the horse and said, "Look at you there on the ground! I'm still in pain, it's true, but I feel better already, seeing you lying there, the victim of your own wickedness."

~ 19. The Horse and the Donkey's Load ~
A tanner was driving his donkey and his horse to market, and the donkey staggered under the weight of his load.
"Help me, horse!" said the donkey. "I need you to take just a little bit of the load. Have mercy!"
"Bearing the load is your job!" replied the horse. "I'm no donkey."
Soon afterwards, the donkey collapsed and died.
The tanner skinned the donkey, and then he put the donkey's load on the horse, along with the donkey's skin.
"Woe is me!" groaned the horse. "I refused to help the donkey, and now I'm bearing the whole load myself."

~ 20. Death and the Donkey ~
There was a donkey who led a miserable life, and after years of wretched labor, he finally implored Death to deliver him.
Death did come, but not with the deliverance that the donkey expected.
"My poor donkey," said Death, "I am here to take your life, and I also have bad news for you: after your death, the humans are going to take the skin from your dead body and make that skin into a drum. So, just as they beat you in life, so too they will beat you in death."
That was the fate of the poor donkey.

~ 21. The Donkey in Winter ~
It was Winter, and the donkey longed for Spring, with fresh grass to eat and a bit of warmth.
But when Spring came, bringing fresh grass, there was so much toil and labor that it was worse than Winter.
The donkey longed for Summer, but the labor was even greater then and the weather was even hotter.
He began to long for Fall, but Fall brought harvest loads to carry and provisions to lay in before the snows arrived.
Then it was Winter, and once again the donkey longed for Spring, with some fresh grass and a bit of warmth.

~ 22. The Two Donkeys ~
Two donkeys were going to town, one carrying bags of oats, and the other, bags of money.
The donkey carrying money was adorned with all sorts of foppish frippery, including bells that went jingle-jangle as he walked.
The other donkey was as plain as the load he was carrying.
Bandits fell upon them, and they attacked the donkey with the money, stripping him of his cargo and his fine adornments, thrashing him cruelly, but they paid no attention to the donkey with the oats.
"What a fine thing it is," thought the humble donkey, "not to have anything worth robbing."

~ 23. The Donkey and the Icon ~
There was a great religious procession, and a donkey was carrying a holy icon on the way to the church.
When the people saw the icon, they all fell to their knees in devotion.
"Behold!" the foolish donkey thought to himself. "The people are all falling to their knees and worshiping me… ME!"
As the donkey hee-hawed happily, the donkey-driver cracked his whip and laughed. "You are nothing more than a donkey. You were a donkey before I put the icon on your back, and you're still a donkey now," he said. "They're worshiping the icon; they're not worshiping you!"

~ 24. The Fox and the Leopard ~
The fox and the leopard were arguing about who was the most beautiful.
"Just look at me! And look at my spots!" boasted the leopard. "Anyone can see that I am the most beautiful. I have spots all over everywhere. No other animal has fur with such a lovely pattern as mine."
The fox just laughed at the leopard. "It's true that you have lovely fur, but outward beauty really doesn't matter," she explained. "The patterns of the mind are far more important, and I have been blessed with an intelligence that is far more beautiful than all your spots."

~ 25. The Fox and the Dragon ~
A fox digging in the ground found herself in a dragon's den filled with golden treasure.
"I beg your pardon," she said to the dragon. "I ended up here by accident, and I'll be on my way. Before I go, though, I'd like to know just what you plan to do with all this treasure."
"I have no use for the treasure," said the dragon, "but it is my fate to spend my life here guarding the treasure, night and day."
"Then you're a wretched creature indeed," replied the fox. "You do possess a treasure, but I envy you not."

~ 26. The Farmer and the Dragon ~
A river dried up, stranding the water-dragon who lived there.
"Take me to water!" the dragon shouted. "I'll offer a golden reward!"
A greedy farmer tied the dragon to his donkey and brought the dragon to another river.
When he untied the dragon, though, it roared, "Now I'll eat you!"
"That's not fair!" yelled the farmer.
A fox heard them. "I'll be the judge of that!" she said. "Show me how the dragon was tied up on the donkey."
The farmer tied the dragon up.
"Now take it back where you found it," advised the fox, "and leave it there."

~ 27. The Fox in the Hut ~
A hungry fox crawled through a hole into a peasant's hut; there she found some bread and meat.
The fox devoured the food, but when she went to crawl back out of the hole, her belly was too big, and she got stuck.
As she groaned and sighed, with her head sticking out of the hut, another fox came by and asked what was wrong.
The first fox explained what happened.
"Well," the second fox told her, "you'll just have to stay here until you are as skinny again as you were when you went in."
Time solves many problems.

~ 28. The Fox Meets the Lion ~
There was once a fox who had never seen a lion before.
The first time she happened to run into a lion she was so scared that she almost died of fright.
When the fox ran into a lion the second time, however, she was still scared, but not as scared as the first time.
Finally, the third time that the fox saw a lion, she walked right up to him and started a conversation.
The moral of the story is that some things are frightening at first, but they are not as scary when you become familiar with them.

~ 29. The Lion and the Bear ~
The lion and the bear had caught a fawn.
"It's mine!" roared the lion.
"No, it's mine!" growled the bear.
Then they started fighting, slashing and tearing at one another until they collapsed on the ground, exhausted.
Meanwhile, a fox strolled by and saw the two of them lying there with the fawn between them. She ran up, grabbed the fawn, and carried it off.
The bear and lion both saw what the fox did but they didn't have the strength to stand up.
"Woe is us!" they said. "We did all the work, but the fox got the prize."

~ 30. The Fox Visits the Lion ~
There was once a lion, king of the animals, who had grown old. He lay in his cave, pretending to be sick. Many different animals came to visit their king, and he devoured the animals one after another after another.
The fox also came, but stood cautiously in front of the cave, greeting the king from there. "I salute you, Your Mightiness!" shouted the fox.
"How good to see you, my dear fox!" replied the lion. "Why don't you come closer?"
"Because I see many tracks of animals going in," replied the fox, "but no tracks of animals coming out."

~ 31. The Fox in the Lion-King's Palace ~
The lion was a savage king whose palace was filled with the bones and rotting remains of animals he had killed. The stink was terrible.
When the bear entered the palace, he exclaimed, "What a stink!"
This made the lion angry and he killed the bear.
The monkey, however, flattered the king. "Your Highness, the palace smells even more wonderful than usual!"
The lion made the monkey his prime minister.
Then the fox arrived.
"Do you like the smell of the palace?" the lion asked.
"I have a cold, Sire," replied the fox, "and I've lost my sense of smell."

~ 32. The Fox and the Wolf, Courtiers ~
The lion-king had grown old and sick, never coming out of his cave.
All the animals came to pay their respects, except the fox.
"The fox shows you no respect!" said the wolf.
The fox arrived at that very moment and heard what the wolf said.
She then addressed the king. "While the others bring only condolences, I bring news of a cure for what ails you!"
"What is that?" asked the lion eagerly.
"You need to flay a living wolf and wrap his still warm skin around you."
So the lion killed the wolf, just as the fox recommended.

~ 33. The Fox and the Ape ~
"Any animal without a tail is banished from my kingdom!" proclaimed the lion-king. He waved his own tail dramatically. "All animals must have tails. If not, be gone before nightfall!"
The ape had no tail, so he packed his bags and prepared to leave.
He was surprised to see the fox packing her bags too.
"You have a most impressive tail!" said the ape. "The lion-king's command doesn't apply to you."
"True," said the fox. "But this king is a danger to us all: at any moment he could condemn me for no reason just as he has condemned you."

~ 34. The Fox with a Short Tail ~
A fox had gotten trapped in a snare, and lost his tail as a result.
He then ran into some other foxes. "My brothers, where are you going?" he asked.
"We're on our way to the lion's palace," they replied.
"The lion's palace? I was just there, which is where I learned about the latest fashion: short tails!"
When they heard this, the other foxes immediately cut off their tails too.
Then the fox burst out laughing, glad to have these partners in his misery. "They may not have shared my danger," he said, "but now they share my shame."

~ 35. The Fox and the Old Women ~
A fox was walking along when he saw some old women feasting on a roasted chicken. The food smelled delicious, and the fox was very hungry. "It just isn't fair," thought the fox to himself.
He then addressed the old women. "My good ladies," said the fox, "just imagine what an outcry there would be if I were to do what you are doing right now, eating a chicken like that!"
"There's no comparison!" one of the women shouted back, laughing at the fox. "We're eating our own chicken, while you steal and eat chickens that don't belong to you."

~ 36. The Fox and the Grapes ~
A hungry fox was walking along the road when she saw some grapes growing up high on a trellis.
"Those grapes look delicious," thought the fox. "What a lovely purple color too! That means they're ripe. I just need to jump up there and grab them."
So the fox jumped up as high as she could, but the trellis was out of reach.
She tried again. No luck.
Then she tried one last time. Still no luck.
"I knew the grapes were sour anyway," she said loudly, just in case anybody was listening.
The fox then continued on her way.

~ 37. The Fox and the Moon ~
A fox was wandering about at night. She strolled through the fields, and then she reached the river.
Feeling thirsty, she went to take a drink from the river, and there in the water she saw a reflection of the full moon in the sky.
"Look at that!" the fox exclaimed. "There's a wheel of cheese in the river. How delicious that would be to eat!"
The fox then began to drink the water, hoping that if she could drink the whole river, she'd be able to eat the cheese.
The fox kept drinking and drinking until she finally... exploded.

~ 38. The Fox and the Boar ~
A fox was strolling through the woods and saw a boar rubbing his tusks against a tree, back and forth, back and forth.
As always, the fox was curious. "What are you doing that for?" she asked the boar.
"I'm readying my weapons!" the boar replied. "The sharper my tusks, the more ready I'll be to fight."
The fox looked around. "But I don't see any enemies," she remarked.
"That's the idea exactly! I'm sharpening my tusks now," replied the boar, "because there will be no time to ready my weapons when the enemy arrives and the actual fighting begins."

~ 39. The Fox and the Rooster ~
"Dear rooster," said the fox, "the beauty of your feathers dazzles me, as does the sound of your cock-a-doodle-doo. You are a magnificent creature indeed!"
The rooster beamed with pleasure, and the fox continued, "And you are a prophet of events to come, announcing the sun's arrival each dawn."
As the fox was speaking, he crept closer and closer to the rooster. Finally, he snatched the foolish bird in his teeth.
"You knew when the sun would rise this morning," the fox said, laughing, "but you failed to predict that I was going to have rooster for my supper tonight!"

~ 40. The Fox Seeks an Eye Doctor ~
The fox wanted to eat the rooster, so he lay down in the barnyard, groaning loudly to get the rooster's attention.
"Please, dear rooster," he cried, "remove this thorn that lodged in my eye when I crawled through a hedge."
"Dear fox," replied the rooster, suspecting trouble, "if I remove the thorn from the one eye, I might accidentally poke out your other eye. I'm not much of a doctor after all, but let me go fetch the watchdog. He'll know what to do!"
At the mention of the dog, the fox immediately recovered his strength and took off running.

~ 41. The Fox and the Stork ~
The fox invited the stork to dinner. The main course was soup in a shallow bowl. The fox licked the soup with her tongue, but the stork couldn't eat with her beak. She went away frustrated and hungry.
A few days later, the stork invited the fox to dinner, and she served the food in a glass vase with a narrow neck. The fox could see the food but she couldn't get to it with her tongue, while the stork was able to easily eat the food with her beak.
Thus the stork got her revenge: turn-about is fair play.

~ 42. The Fox and the Mule ~
A fox saw a mule in a meadow.
"What's your name?" the fox asked.
"I forget," replied the mule. "But it's written on my hoof. Read my hoof if you want!"
The fox just laughed and ran into the woods where he met a wolf.
"I found you a delicious-looking mule," said the fox. "Go ask his name!"
The wolf talked to the mule and when the mule said "Read my hoof!" the wolf bent down... and the mule kicked him! Hard!
The fox then laughed at the wolf. "You can't even read, and now you've got a headache too."

~ 43. The Wolf and the Fox in the Well ~
A fox had fallen into a well and shouted for help.
A wolf came by and asked, "What's going on, fox?"
The fox replied, "Go get a rope and pull me out!"
"You poor thing!" said the wolf. "I feel so badly for you down there. It must be very cold. You're probably all wet! How did you manage to fall in?"
"This is no time for chit-chat," shouted the fox. "Go get the rope, pull me out, and then I'll tell you how I fell down here."
The moral: Don't waste words when someone in trouble needs your help.

~ 44. The Fox and the Wolf in the Pit ~
A fox saw a wolf who'd fallen into a pit.
The fox laughed and ran around the edge of the pit, leaping and jumping with joy. "You idiot!' she shouted. "You fell right into the man's trap!"
While the fox was capering around the pit, the ground beneath her feet crumbled and she fell down into the pit also.
When the wolf saw the fox falling down, he exclaimed, "What a comfort to me it is to see that I won't die alone; this wicked fox, who was mocking me just a moment ago, will die here together with me."

~ 45. The Fox Teaches the Wolf to Fish ~
The wolf saw the fox running through the snow.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"I'm taking these fish home to eat!" replied the fox.
"Where did you catch them?" asked the wolf.
"I just put my tail in the river, and then I pulled my tail out, full of fish."
The wolf ran and put his tail in the river, and he waited.
The water was so cold!
The sun went down, the water froze, and the wolf was stuck.
"Help!" he yelled.
The farmer came and beat the wolf, and the wolf died cursing farmer, fox, and fish.

~ 46. The Fox and the Wolf and the Well-Buckets ~
A fox had jumped into a well-bucket which then plunged down into the water. A wolf heard the splash and came running.
"What are you doing down there?" he asked.
"I'm fishing!' replied the fox.
"I want to go fishing too!" shouted the wolf.
"Well, just get in the other well-bucket up there and come on down."
As the wolf went down, the fox went up.
"I've caught plenty, so I'm going home now," the fox said. "Good fishing!"
But there weren't any fish in the well, and when the wolf shouted for help, a farmer came and killed him.

~ 47. The Fox and the Wolf in the Shed ~
"I'm starving!" groaned the wolf. "I've got to eat something!"
"Follow me!" said the fox, and she led him to the farmer's shed.
The fox crawled into the shed through a hole, and the wolf also managed to squeeze through.
The shed was full of meat and fish!
Remembering the narrow hole, the fox ate only a little, but the wolf stuffed himself.
Then the farmer burst into the shed, club in hand.
"Run!" squealed the fox.
She escaped through the narrow hole but the wolf got stuck because of his big belly, and the farmer clubbed him to death.

~ 48. The Wolf Becomes a Monk ~
A wolf had grown old and couldn't hunt, so he decided to put on a monk's habit and go begging from door to door.
Sure enough, the disguise worked, and the wolf was eating pretty well.
He later ran into one of his fellow wolves.
"What are you doing in the robes of a monk?" asked the other wolf indignantly. "That's not how a wolf should live!"
The old wolf replied, "What do you expect me to do? My teeth are gone, and my tired old legs can't run anymore. I have to either get religion or prepare to starve."

~ 49. The Wolf and the Porcupine ~
A wolf came across a porcupine. He was a fierce-looking creature armed with darts, so the wolf kept his distance.
At the same time, the wolf was quite hungry, and the porcupine would make a very fine snack if only he would lay aside his darts.
"Dear porcupine," said the wolf, "don't you know that we animals are living at peace? It is bad manners for you to be going around armed, as if there were war between us."
The porcupine bristled. "I'm no fool," he replied. "When I see a wolf nearby, I am at war, not at peace."

~ 50. The Wolf and the Crane ~
A wolf was choking on a bone that had stuck in his throat.
"Help me!" he groaned. "Somebody! Anybody! Help me!"
But nobody wanted to help the wolf.
Then the wolf saw a crane.
"Use your beak to get this bone out of my throat!" he begged. "I'll give you a reward."
So the crane extracted the bone from the wolf's throat.
"Give me my reward!" said the crane.
"Your reward," snarled the wolf, "is that you were able to escape my jaws alive. Now go away before I decide to eat you after all!"
Don't expect rewards from wolves.