In a big hole at the edge of the forest lived Foxy, his wife, Foxy's mother and three small children. These fox cubs were only as big as my fist. They had a beautiful red coat, because foxes are born with a beautiful coat.
When the sun was shining and the yellow rays of the sun shone through the leaves of the forest trees, Foxy would poke his nose out at the entrance to the hole to see if there was a man with a rifle in the woods.
- 'Well, children, the coast is clear,' said Foxy, 'it's time to go and get some fresh air. Get out of your holes, we're going for a walk.
And so it was. Foxy the Fox led his three little children, the three red-coated Foxes, by the hand through the forest. The sun was shining brightly, and on the trunk of a tree a woodpecker was tapping its beak: - kip-kop, kip-kop.
From one of the branches, the big-eared squirrel watched the Foxes' walk with shining eyes and a constantly moving nose.
- "Where to, where to, Foxy," said the curious magpie from the branch.
- "We're going for a walk," said Mr Fox with paternal pride, "I'm taking my sons for a walk.
- 'Hush, hush,' the magpie chimed mockingly, 'well, just be careful that no man gets in your way, or he'll take care of you.
But Foxy was a cautious fellow, always walking the little foxes in a place where no man could get in their way.
They visited the porcupine, paid their respects to the owl, the scientist of the forest, who wears glasses day and night, and chatted with the industrious woodpecker. The fox even introduced his sons to the Elder of the Forest, the big, growling brown bear. She welcomed them very warmly and even offered the little Foxes honey.
But no sooner had our foxes emerged from the den than Father Bear snarled contemptuously after them:
- The whole Fox Nation is a nation of thieves.
The gossipy magpie immediately passed on what Father Bear had said and rang through the forest:
- The whole Fox Nation is a nation of thieves.
- Dad, what's the magpie ringing? - asked one of the Foxes' fathers. Because little foxes don't yet understand what other animals are saying.
- "Hmm, hmm," frowned Father Fox, "says this stupid magpie: why is the fox's tail kayla?
Walking slowly, the Foxes returned to their home in the deep hole in the woods.
- Have you seen everything, boys? - asked his sons, Father Fox.
- "We have seen everything," said the three Foxes, "now we just want to see a man.
- "The time will come for that," said the Fox, "when you're older, we'll go and see how you live.
...Time has passed. The curious Fox Boys began to grow up, their beautiful whiskers grew, their fur grew bushier and bushier. Every day they asked their father:
- Dad, are we big enough? Can we see the man now?
- "Not yet," said Foxy. - 'When your moustaches grow thicker, your teeth sharper and your wits sharper.
But the curiosity of the youngest Foxy's side was only getting more and more curious: - what is man like?
On a long autumn night, when the whole forest was asleep, the woodpecker was asleep, the squirrel was snoring, even the old brown bear was asleep, the curious Foxy couldn't stand it any longer. He cautiously slipped out of his hole and went to see the man.
He was walking, long out of the woods, whistling through the meadows, when he came to a strange country. All sorts of big buildings stood here, surrounded by wooden fences. It was the village where the man lived. Foxy had never seen anything like it, so his mouth was open.
Suddenly, a big as hell animal rushed forward on the road. It had two eyes that glowed far into the distance, four wheels, and it roared loudly: pumpkin-pumpkin. Of course, our Foxy had never seen an automobile before in his life, and so he didn't know that the fast-moving, bright-eyed, four-wheeled unknown animal was anything but an automobile.
He stopped in the middle of the road and shouted:
- Uncle, you the man? Why are your eyes so bright? I've never seen a human before.
But the speeding car ignored the Foxy standing in the middle of the road, simply swept him out of the way, gave a snort and sped on with a great roar.
The curious Foxy tumbled for a week, then rolled straight into the ditch, where icy cold water trickled in the cool autumn. Then he drowned, barely able to climb out.
- "So that was the man," he thought, sadly and with a terrible fright, "He's a rotten animal too. Not a word, not a word, he just brushed half my moustache off, knocked me back and rolled me into the ditch, huh!
With his nose hanging out, he started walking home. At home, he was greeted with laughter and a good laugh from his father. Of course, the next day the magpie knew the whole story, and whenever he saw Foxy, he would only say that in mockery:
How many wheels does a person have? Pot-pot.
