“Well, you might slip down now and take a peep in the kitchen. He’s at home. But, my dear Pekka, I warn you not to let him see you! If he catches sight of you, I won’t be responsible for the consequences!”
The Wolf was deeply impressed with all this. He crept carefully down to the Fox’s kitchen and sniffed cautiously at the crack under the door. The Cat inside, seeing the tip of the Wolf’s nose and thinking it was a Mouse, pounced on it with all his claws. This gave the Wolf a mighty fright and he bolted madly off into the forest.
He was still panting when he met the Bear.
“Osmo,” he said, “have you heard about that awful creature that Mikko has for a servant?”
The Bear had heard nothing, so the Wolf related to him his own terrifying experience.
The Bear’s curiosity was aroused.
“I must have a glimpse of this wonderful servant,” he said, ambling off in the direction of the Fox’s kitchen.
“I’ll wait for you here,” the Wolf called after him, “and I warn you, Osmo, be careful!”
The Bear when he got to the Fox’s kitchen quietly stuck his nose under the crack of the door and squinted inside. He hardly had time for one squint when a terrible creature with a straight tail that looked like a spear came flying through the air, landed on his nose, and drove it full of pins and needles.
“Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!” the Bear whimpered as he hurried back to the Wolf.