The Wolf and the Fox facts for kids

"The Wolf and the Fox" is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. The story involves a greedy, gluttonous wolf living with a fox. The wolf makes the fox do all his work and threatens to eat him if he doesn't otherwise comply. The fox, in turn, devises a scheme to rid himself of the wolf.

Synopsis

A Wolf and a Fox are living together where the Fox (being the weaker of the two) is forced to do all the hard work for the Wolf. One day, the Wolf makes the Fox get him something to eat and the Fox says he knows where there are a couple of lambs. The Fox steals a lamb for the Wolf. But not content with just one, the Wolf goes back for the other where he is caught by the farmer's men and severely beaten.

The next day, the Wolf again makes the Fox get him some food. The Fox says he knows of a farm where a woman is baking pancakes and steals some for the Wolf. Wanting more, the Wolf goes to the farm on his own, but causes a commotion which gets the woman's attention and is again severely beaten.

Some time later, the Wolf again makes the Fox get food. The Fox says he knows of a farmer's cellar where meat is being stored and leads the Wolf to the cellar. The wolf gobbles up the meat while the Fox also takes some but keeps checking to make sure he can still get out the way he came in. The Fox's constant scurrying gets the attention of the farmer who goes to investigate. The Fox is able to escape, but the Wolf has eaten so much that he can't get out and is eventually caught and killed by the farmer.

The Fox makes it back to the forest where he is pleased that he is free of the Wolf's services.