One day an old fox was very hungry for some meat. So he took an empty sack, put it under his arm, and went off into the world.
He walked, he walked, until he came to a farmer's house in the evening.
He knocked on the door, and when asked who it was, he said:
- I'm a poor traveller, and I'd ask for a night's lodging if I were pity.
He was a good-hearted man, both the farmer and his wife. They took pity on the poor traveller, let him in, and offered him dinner. The fox thanked him, modestly curled up on the bench and put his sack under the bench.
Before they go to bed, he says to the farmer:
- Oh, master, is there a thief about the house? There's a nice big cock in this bag, I wouldn't want it to get lost!
- Never grieve; my house is not lost, my fox, nothing has been lost! Sleep easy! - said the farmer, and even smiled that the fox was afraid of his cock.
Of course there was nothing in the bag! But when they woke up, the fox started howling:
- Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, someone has stolen my precious cock!
They said that it had not been stolen, who could have stolen it? Maybe he hid in the room somewhere. They looked everywhere, but they couldn't find it. The farmer was terribly ashamed that something of the fox's had disappeared in his house, but he felt sorry for the poor man, who was so bitterly lamenting. What else could he do but give the fox a nice big rooster, so that he would stop crying so much and go on his way in peace.
And away the fox went with great joy.
He went with the rooster all day, and in the evening he knocked on the door again.
There were good people here too, who made you feel welcome. When they were about to go to bed, the fox looked around the room again, as if looking for thieves, and said to the owner:
- Know this, master, that I have a nice fat goose in my bag. Oh, if someone should steal it!
- Nobody steals it from me. "Just lie down and sleep peacefully," said the farmer.
But the fox was just waiting for them all to fall asleep. Then he took it out of the bag... Well, what was in the bag? It was the rooster, that's all. So he took the rooster out and ate him without a feather left. Hey, but then in the morning he started whining again:
- Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, someone has stolen my lovely goose!
They searched everywhere for it, and when they couldn't find it, the farmer gave him a big fat goose, so he wouldn't cry and complain that he had lost something.
The fox walked on with the fat goose, and was so happy that he jumped out of his skin. On the way he opened the bag ten times to see if the goose was still in it. So he walked and walked until he came to another house in the evening. Here again he knocked and was let in, but before they went to bed he said to the owner:
- I have put my bag under the bench, yet I dare not sleep soundly, for I have a nice fat piglet in it, my master knows!
- 'Sleep well,' the farmer encouraged, 'whatever's in your bag. He'll be all right in my house!
But the farmer didn't mean well, because no sooner had they fallen asleep than the fox devoured the fat goose so fast that not a feather, not a bone, not a piece of it remained. And at dawn the fox began to wail:
- Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, someone has stolen my precious piggy!
In vain they calmed him, in vain they comforted him, in vain they searched everywhere for the pig. There was nothing else left to do, the farmer finally gave the fox a nice fat piglet.
Well, now the fox was in great joy when he reached the highway and opened the bag! He had never seen such a beautiful pig. It's going to be a tasty meal!
He walked and walked all day, and in the evening he knocked on the door of a farmer's house. They let him in, and here he said the same thing before they went to bed:
- My lord, take good care of the thieves at night, lest they steal my nice fat pig in this bag!
The farmer looks over and sees that the sack would not hold a fat pig, but he has heard that only a piglet squeals out of it. But he didn't say anything, he just went to sleep.
But the fox has not fallen asleep! It ate the pig, fur and all, and no sooner had it finished its little nap than it started to wail:
- Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, someone has stolen my lovely pig!
The landlord was quick to see the foolishness, but he pretended to be sorry. So he said to the fox:
- Oh, stop moping and shouting all over the village, I'll give you two instead of one fat pig. Give me the sack to put them in outside.
The farmer went out with his sack of foxes. He had two angry hounds, and they were hungry. He put them in the fox's sack, tied it up tightly, and gave it to the fox to get out of the village.
The fox didn't need to be told twice, he was just now carrying the bag with great glee, and was already licking his lips in anticipation of a good fat feast! He couldn't wait to get out of the village and onto the highway.
He opened the bag to look at the two pigs, and as soon as he opened it, what jumped out? The hounds! Well, the fox was on the run! He didn't need a pig's bacon to save his skin!
But he ran in vain, because the two hounds caught up with him and tore him apart.
If the fox had not been torn apart by the dogs, my story would have lasted longer.
(Ágnes Kovács: Folk tales for kindergarten children)
