Wild and Domestic Animals

 Long ago, there was a very rich miller. The miller was so rich that during his marriage, not only did he invite his friends, he even invited the wild animals in the forest near his house.

On the day of the wedding, the Bear got up early, brushed his hair. It looked smart and handsome and his fur glistened. Then as it would take a long time to travel, it set off early to the miller’s place. 

On the way the Bear met a little boy.

“Where are you going, Bear?” The boy was curious.

“To the miller’s wedding.” The Bear said proudly. “I do not like weddings. But I was invited, so I am just being polite.”

The boy worriedly shook his head. “Do not go Bear.” The boy waved towards the direction of the miller’s house. “If the humans see your skin, they will kill you for it. Do not go there.”

The Bear stopped still for a few seconds. The boy’s words made sense, but the Bear did not want to admit it openly. 

But the Bear slowed down and let the boy walk ahead. 

After that, the boy paid no further heed to the Bear and walked on. After the boy had completely walked to the end of the road and could not be seen, the Bear turned around and walked back home. The Bear had decided not to go to the wedding. 

The boy met the wolf and fox next. 

Both the wolf and the fox were going to the Miller’s wedding and when the boy asked them not to go because according to the boy, the humans may want the lovely fur of both the animals 

The animals listened to the boy. Both the animals did not go to the wedding.

The boy then met a horse. The horse was proud and majestic and trotted through the forest, in great hurry.

“Are you also going to the miller’s wedding?” The boy asked the horse.

The horse did not even have the time to nod. “I am in a hurry. I am so beautiful and majestic looking. I want to meet the people at the wedding and show them how fast I can run.”

The boy smirked and shook his head. “Do not go, horse.”

The horse was shocked.

“If you go there, the humans would bind you with ropes. You will never be able to run through the forest of your own free will. Once they know how fast you are, they will never let you go.”

The horse snorted. “You lie, boy.” The animal told the boy. “The humans will do no such thing. Besides, I am strong enough to break any rope.”

The horse did not listen to the boy’s instruction and went to the miller’s wedding.

Similarly the boy also met the cow. The boy tried to stop the cow from going because the boy was sure that once the humans knew how sweet the milk of the cow was, they would never let the cow go. However, the cow did not listen to the boy and she also came to the miller’s wedding.

The goat, the sheep and the reindeer did not heed to the boy’s warning and went to the miller’s wedding.

The reindeer was in fact sure that it was so strong that no ropes could bind it, or no arrow was swift enough to reach it.

Till this day, the animals which went to the wedding, never came back to the wild.

But the animals which stayed away always remained wild in the forests.

From Andrew Lang’s Fairy Tales

The Hare and the Lions

 There was an ancient castle, at the edge of the forest. The castle had been abandoned a long time back. Now, the castle was more or less broken down, ruined and dilapidated. All that remained was a well in the front and certain standing walls. One of the walls had a small hole as a window, but the wall was still pretty strong.

Now the forest had more or less grown over the castle and in that forest lived a Lion and Lioness. The animals were fierce and ferocious. The Lion and the lioness attacked any animal which they saw and soon, the two animals were feared all over the forest. The other animals trembled merely on hearing the roars of the lions.

Once during the hunt, the Lion came across a hare which was sleeping beside a tree, near the broken down castle.

“Uncle Lion!” The Hare told the Lion, swallowing its fear. “I did not expect you here. Considering this place is so close to … another lion.”

Angrily the Lion roared loudly. “What other lion?”

The Hare pointed a trembling paw at the well. “Inside that, my Lord.”

The foolish lion angrily went to the well and seeing its own reflection, it thought that it was another lion and roared loudly at it. As its roar reflected back, the Lion in a fit of rage and frenzy jumped inside the well. When the Lion tried to come up, the Hare threw stones at the Lion, making sure that the Lion could not come up. Finally, the Lion drowned and died in the well.

After that, the Hare went to the Lioness.

She was impatiently pacing her den, wondering why the Lion was not yet back.

The Hare saw her in the cave and bravely walked up to her. “Aunt Lioness, why are you worried?”

The Lioness did not reply to the Hare, but she snarled angrily.

“Are you worried about the Lion?”

The Lioness stiffened as the Hare continued. “I had an argument with the Lion yesterday and I hurt him very badly during our fight…”

The Lioness roared and pounced on the Hare.

The Hare was swift and ran, dodging the angry Lioness.

Soon, the Hare led the Lioness to the damaged wall of the castle with the single hole in the middle. The Hare was smaller and jumped right into the hole.

The Lioness was angry through and through and did not think as she also tried to jump inside the hole. However, as the Lioness was bigger, she got stuck in the hole. She could not move from there. She roared loudly, but none of the other animals came any closer to help the Lioness.

The Hare also left the Lioness there, where the animal subsequently died as she could not come out of the hole.