“It is this,” went on Mrs. Fox, “we have five children and we wish to divide them between us but we cannot decide how to do so; I say that I will take three and leave him two; while he wants to take three and leave me two. We came out to look for some man to settle the dispute but have not met one: and now providentially you have appeared before us like a god; no doubt you will be able to make the division for us.” The tiger reflected that if he managed things well, he would be able to eat not only the two foxes but their young ones as well, so he graciously agreed to make the division.
The foxes then invited him to come back with them to the hole in which they lived, and when they reached it, Mr. Fox bolted into it saying that he was going to bring out the children. As however he did not come out again, Mrs. Fox said that it was clear that he could not manage the children by himself, and she would go and help; and thereupon proceeded to back into the hole, keeping her face turned towards the tiger.
Seeing her disappearing the tiger thought to seize her, but as she kept her eyes on him he could only say “Hullo, what is the matter? Why are you going in backwards?” “Oh, uncle,” replied Mrs. Fox, “how could I turn my back on so great a personage as you?” and with that she disappeared. Presently the tiger heard the two foxes calling out from inside “Goodbye, uncle, you can go away now; we have arranged how to divide the children ourselves.” Then he saw how he had been fooled and flew into a terrible rage and tried to squeeze his way into the hole; but it was much too small and at last he had to go away baffled: and so the foxes were saved by Mrs. Fox’s wit.
CXVII. The Jackal and the Crocodiles.
Once upon a time there was a Raja who had an only son. As the boy grew up his father sent him to a school to learn to read and write. One day on his way back from school, the boy sat down by the road side to rest, and placed his school books on the ground by his side. Suddenly a jackal came along and snatched up the bundle of books and ran away with it; and though the boy ran after it, he failed to catch the jackal and had to go and tell his father how he had lost his school books. The Raja told him not to mind, as it was a very good omen and meant that he would grow up as clever as a jackal; and so the matter ended as far as the boy was concerned; and his father bought him a new set of books.
But the jackal ran off to the side of a tank and taking a book from the bundle sat down and began to read it aloud. He kept on saying over and over again “Ibor, obor, iakoro sotro” “Ibor obor iakoro sotro.”
Hearing the noise a crocodile who lived in the tank poked his head out of the water and began “Well, nephew, what is that you are repeating?” “I am only reading a book, uncle.”
“What, nephew, do you know how to read and write?”
“Yes, certainly I do,” answered the jackal.