Once upon a time, across the seven seas, across the seven countries, there was a poor man. This poor man had nothing in the world but a grey horse. Every day he went to the dry mill to grind, and lived from day to day.
Well, it went on for a year or two, as it went on, but once the grey got tired of always walking alone, he told his owner:
- My lord, get me a partner, or I'll run out.
- 'Oh, my dear grey,' said the poor man, 'I would fain have it, but where and with what, when I have not a penny to my name.
- 'Well, if not,' said the grey, 'let me go, and I'll find myself a partner.
All right, the poor man agreed, and the grey man set off, and went, and went, and went, and went, and went, and went, until he came to a foxhole in a forest full of them. There he lay down before the hole, closed his eyes as if he were dead.
In the hole lived an old fox and his three sons. The old man says to his youngest son:
- Go, my son, see a little of the world, bring something yourself, see what you can do.
The little fox starts off, but at the hole he turns back and says to his mother:
- Oh, dear, mother, you can't go outside because the snow has blown the hole.
- "What are you talking about, you fool," said the old fox, "it's hot summer.
- Well, if you don't believe me, take a look, Mother.
- "Go," says the fox to his middle son, "see if your brother is right.
The boy in the middle goes, but he's about to turn back.
- You are indeed right, my mother, my brother. There's so much snow in front of our house that we can't go outside.
The old fox sends his eldest son to have a look. But he comes back saying that it is not possible to go outside. Summer here, summer there, it's snowing hard.
- "Well, I'll see for myself," says the old fox.
Well, there was no snow in front of their house, but the grey horse was lying there. Well, what are they to do now? They had to get rid of the carcass, otherwise they couldn't get out.
He calls to his three sons, four of them cling to the horse, pulling and tugging, but they can't pull it away. But the old fox, with great difficulty, got out of the hole and ran to the wolf's mate.
- Hey, my soul, my friend, come here, my friend, there's a dead horse in front of my house, I'll give it to Kend, take it away.
The wolf runs with great joy, for there indeed lay the horse. They try to pull, but they can't.
- "Hey, hey," says the wolf, "how can you get away, fox?
- I know," says the fox. - I tie the kend's tail to the horse's tail so he can pull it away.
- "It will be all right," says the wolf, "but he's a clever fellow, fox.
With that, the fox has tied the horse's tail to the wolf's, and the wolf starts to pull, but can't move it. But he tried so hard that he almost got stuck. But the grey horse didn't need any more, he ran up the hill, through the valley, through the woods, through the meadows, and he never stopped until he reached home.
- Well, master, I've brought a partner!
The poor man went mad, hit the wolf over the head with a club, skinned it, sold it, and bought a mate for the grey. The work was better now.
If the grey one hadn't found a partner, my story would have lasted longer.
