"I will take you home," says the old gray wolf.
"O gray wolf," says the little snow girl, "I am afraid of you. I think you would eat me. I would rather go home with some one else."
So the wolf galloped away and left her.
An old red fox heard her, and came running up to the tree on his little pads. He called out cheerfully,—
"What are you crying about, little daughter of the Snow?"
"O red fox," says the little snow girl, "how can I help crying? I have lost my way, and it is quite dark, and all my little friends are gone."
"I will take you home," says the old red fox.
"O red fox," says the little snow girl, "I am not afraid of you. I do not think you will eat me. I will go home with you, if you will take me."
So she scrambled down from the tree, and she held the fox by the hair of his back, and they ran together through the dark forest. Presently they saw the lights in the windows of the huts, and in a few minutes they were at the door of the hut that belonged to the old man and the old woman.
And there were the old man and the old woman, crying and lamenting.