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Week 15 Story "The Fox and the Horse"


There once was an old horse who had done all of the work it could have for its master. He had grown too old to make use for himself so his master took him aside and said, "I have no use for you any longer, you are worn out. I will no longer care for you. I am casting you away and the only way you would be able to return is if you come back stronger than a lion"

The horse then went out and started moping through the woods. The old horse knew that he could never be as strong as a lion so he made his way looking for what little food and shelter he could find. As the horse was walking along a fox saw him. He saw that the horse was sad so he thought it best to try and fix what was wrong. The fox went up to the horse and asked why he was so sad. The horse replied, "My master has cast me away and told me that I am no good. I am old and weak and he has no use for me any longer. He said the only way I could return was if I proved to be stronger than a lion."

This gave the fox a nefarious idea. The fox told the horse to play dead and wait for his return. He then went and found the lion and told him about a huge meal that awaits him in the forest. The lion was very enticed so he followed the fox to the horse. Right before the lion started to eat the fox warned him of scavengers that may come and try to steal his meal. So the fox asked if the lion would lie down so that he may tie the horse to its tail so he could drag it back to his den. The lion agreed and laid down. At that moment the fox used the horse's tail to tie the lion's feet and the lion's tail to tie the horse's feet.

At that moment both animals were startled at their inability to move so they started attacking each other the horse used its hooves to beat the lion and the lion used its teeth to bite the horse. They wrestled for a while until they couldn't any longer. They both died in the fight.

The fox then looked over the prize he had earned himself and relished in the fact that he would have food for the next year.

Bibliography: This story is part of the Brothers Grimm (LibriVox) unit. Story source: Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm, an audiobook recording available at LibriVox based on a Project Gutenberg publication.

Authors Note: This is a retelling of the Fox and the Horse story with an added twist at the end. Fox's are often portrayed as mischevious characters so I wanted to show that in my retelling by having the fox get his way.

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