Reading Notes: The Man, the Serpent, and the Fox #1
In this story there was a huntsman who found a serpent under a large stone. The serpent asked if he could liberate him, but the huntsman told the serpent he wouldn't free him because he'd just eat him.
The serpent replied that he would eat him. But when the hunter had set the serpent free, the serpent wanted to eat him.
"What are you doing?" said the hunter. "You promised you wouldn't eat me."
But the serpent said hunger doesn't follow promises.
The hunter replied, "if you have no right, will you do it?" The serpent told him no.
So the hunter wanted to be let go, and to ask three times. They went into the woods together and found a greyhound. They explained the situation to the greyhound, who was so bitter about his life that he replied that the serpent should eat the huntsman.
"That's one vote," said the serpent, so they went on to get another from a nearby horse. The horse, who was bitter about his old master, also thought the serpent should eat the huntsman - and that was two votes.
Then, they found a fox and explained the situation for the third time. The fox said he'd be the judge of the situation, and asked to be taken to where it all happened. He put the stone back on the serpent and said, "is this the way you were?"
"Yes," the serpent answered.
"Good, then stay there!" the fox tricked him.
A fox. Link here
Bibliography: The Man, the Serpent, and the Fox in Italian Popular Tales by Thomas Frederick Crane (1885).
Comments
Post a Comment