Bear:Good morning, wolf man!
Wolf: It's no good for me, but you can bet your life on it!
Bear: But you are sad; are you hungry, that you have such a tickle in your eye? But, Nini, you are bloody, what is the matter with you?
Wolf:Oh, man, I'm screwed. I was very hungry and I caught myself, I went to the village to get some food. As I was about to catch a lamb, the dog started barking and barking. Then the man jumps out and with his shiny tail, which he calls an axe, he whipped me so badly that I could hardly carry my hide any further.
Bear: I hear that man mentioned a lot. If I could only meet him once, I would tear him up like this hawthorn bush.
Wolf: You can enjoy it. Come to me tomorrow morning, I'll show you a man.
Early the next morning the bear went to the wolf. Then they lay in wait behind a bush by the highway.
They wait and wait, and then a child comes along.
Bear: Is this the man?
Wolf: No, it will be.
They wait and wait, and then an old beggar comes along.
Bear: Is this the man?
Wolf: No, it was just that.
They wait and wait, and then a knight comes along.
Bear: Is this the man?
Wolf: This is a man down to his feet.
Now the bear sat in the middle of the road and blocked the knight's path. And the wolf stayed in the bush, watching the whole thing from there.
As soon as the knight sees the bear in the middle of the road, he pulls out his pistol and shoots twice. Both shots hit, because the bear is also shaken. But he didn't pick it up and just sat there. The hussar, not taking the matter in jest, draws his shining sword and slashes my lord bear from here and beyond, so that he runs into the nearby woods, spitting blood. The knight could not pursue him any further, for he was in a hurry, he was carrying a letter with a great seal.
A week later, when the bear is halfway out of the woods, the wolf meets him.
Wolf: Well, buddy, now do you believe that man is the strongest animal?
Bear: Either I want it or I don't, I have to believe it. But never in my life have I seen such a strange animal as this man. The first time he came within thirty paces of me, like a wildcat, he was so close to my eyes that he made my skin crawl. Then, when he came close to me, he slapped me with his shining tongue so hard that I almost died.
(Vilmos Radó: Hungarian Children's and Folk Tales, First Collection - Singer and Wolfner Publishing; Budapest, Andrássy út 10, VI.)
For the electronic version of the work, click on the Nominate me! - So pass it on! 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Creative Commons license terms apply. For more information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.hu
