The king’s son could scarcely stand on his feet for joy. The princess’s father was in the greatest consternation, and said: ‘To him who finds and brings back my daughter will I give the half of my kingdom.’ But none was able to find trace of her. At last an old woman appeared, and said to the king: ‘I will find thy daughter.’ She arose and went forth. At last she came to the prince’s house, and asked: ‘Do ye not want an attendant? I will come for small wages.’ The fox, wolf, bear, and even the beautiful princess herself, said: ‘We do not want thee, we shall not take thee.’ But the prince did not agree with them, and engaged her as servant.
The old woman served them faithfully for a long time, and did not harm them. Then one day, when the prince was asleep, the old woman wanted the princess to go out into the garden with her. She did not wish to go, but the old woman pressed her until she consented. When they came to the fountains, the old woman offered her some water. The princess refused it, but the old woman insisted. She placed a litra (large jar) full of water to her lips, and it suddenly swallowed up the princess. Then the old woman put it to her own mouth, and it swallowed her. The litra rolled away. The fox saw and pursued, but that which he sought was soon lost to sight.
The fox reproached his master, but it was no use saying anything now. He asked again for a fortnight’s leave, made another sledge like the former, and harnessed the bear and wolf to it. He sat up on the seat, and held tambourines in his paws. He struck them, and the wolf and bear pranced and danced along. The eagle flew up high, and looked round. All the people in the land came out to gaze at the sight. The king was angry with his beautiful daughter, and said, ‘Do not go out! Do not even look out.’ The eagle watched for a long time, but could not see her. At last he caught a glimpse of the princess through a little window; he struck against it, broke it, seized the princess, and flew away. He rejoined his companions, and all hastened off.
They brought the princess to their master. The king collected all his army, and sent the old woman with it to the prince’s palace. The fox saw them appearing in the distance like a swarm of flies. He ordered the eagle to carry stones up high in the air. When the army approached, the eagle let the stones fall on the men; the fox, the bear, and the wolf attacked them, and completely exterminated them. There escaped only one single man; they fell upon him too, gnawed one of his feet, and said: ‘Go and tell thy king what has befallen his hosts.’
When the king saw his man, and heard the sad end of his army, he was out of his mind with grief. He assembled all the chief priests in his kingdom, went in front of them, and they all came on bended knees. When they were near, the fox saw them, and told his master. The prince ran out to meet them, raised them all on their feet, and took them into his house. The father and son-in-law became reconciled, and lived happily together. Then the fox said to his master: ‘I am getting old now, and the day of my death will soon be here, promise to bury me in a fowl-house.’ The prince promised. The fox said to himself: ‘Come, I will see if my master means to keep his promise,’ and he stretched himself out as if he were dead. When the prince saw the corpse, he ordered it to be taken away and thrown into the earth.
The fox was enraged, jumped up and cried out: ‘Is this the way thou rememberest my goodness to thee? Well, since thou hast done thus, when I die you will all be cursed, and there will not remain a trace of you.’ Some time after this the fox died. After his death, his word came to pass, and they were all destroyed. The wolf, the bear, and the eagle remained masters of the field.[1]
[1] Cf. Carnoy et Nicolaïdes: Traditions Populaires de l’Asie Mineure, p. 1, ‘Le Roman du Renard.’