The Straw Ox

Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman. They were so poor that they had barely enough money to keep themselves alive. The old man worked as a pitch burner, and the old woman spun flax into thread, but however hard they worked, they never seemed to have any money to spare.

One day, the old lady said to her husband, “Make me a straw ox and then cover it with pitch.”

The old man thought this was a very strange idea which his wife had got into her head. “What do you want a straw ox for?” he asked. “It is of no use to anyone.”

“Just do as I say, and you will see,” replied the old woman mysteriously.

Grumbling and muttering to himself, the old man went off and set to work. When he had finished, he had made a very strange-looking beast, indeed. It was straw inside and covered with pitch outside.

Next morning, the old woman took her strange ox out to the field. Then she sat down behind a hillock to watch what happened. As she sat there, she worked at her spinning, but the sun was hot, and the day was pleasant, and in no time at all, the old woman had dozed off.

Then, out of the dark woods nearby, came a big, brown bear. The bear stopped when he saw the straw ox. He walked all the way around the ox and then said, “Who are you? Speak and tell me.”

“I am a three-year-old ox, and I am made of straw and smeared all over with tar,” replied the ox.

“Aha,” said the bear. “I could just do with some of that straw and tar to patch up my ragged fur, which has been caught and torn on brambles and thorns.”

“Certainly,” said the ox. “Take some straw and tar from me.” The bear reached out a paw to take some tar, but the minute his paw touched the ox, it stuck fast to the tar. The more the bear tugged, the harder it stuck. He put out his other paw to help, but that stuck, too. Then the ox dragged him back to the house.

After a time, the old woman woke up and looked around. There was no sign of the ox anywhere, so she hurried home. There she found her ox, with a bear stuck to it. At once she called out to her husband, “Come quickly, the ox has caught a bear.”

The old man ran out and there he saw the bear. It had pulled itself free from the ox, only to find that its front paws, covered in tar, had stuck to the side of the little wooden cottage. The old man pulled the bear away from the wall, tied it up, and threw it into the cellar.

Next morning, the old woman set off into the field again with her straw ox and her spinning. Again the day was hot, and she dozed. This time, a wolf came running out of the forest, and he, too, stopped to look at the ox.

“Who are you? Tell me,” growled the wolf.

“I am a three-year-old ox,” it replied. “I am stuffed with straw and covered with tar.”

“Covered with tar, are you?” said the wolf. “In that case, give me some of your tar, so that when the dogs chase me, their teeth and claws will not rip my sides.”

“Help yourself,” replied the straw ox, so the wolf reached out his paw to take a large lump of tar, but he, too, stuck fast to the side of the ox and was dragged back to the house.

When the old woman awoke, the ox had gone, so she rushed back to the house and there it was, the wolf stuck firmly to its sides. She called her husband, and the astonished man pulled the wolf free, tied it up, and threw it into the cellar with the bear.

Next day, the ox caught a fox in the same way as before, and the day after that, it caught a hare. They joined the bear and the wolf in the cellar.

That night, the old man went down to the cellar, carrying a large knife. He sat down and began to sharpen the knife.

“Tell me, old man,” said the bear. “Why are you sharpening that knife?”

“I shall kill you and take off your skin, for it will make me a fine fur coat,” replied the old man.

“Oh, please don’t kill me,” implored the bear. “If you let me go, I will bring you a lot of honey. It will taste delicious on your bread, and it will sweeten your drinks.”

The old man let the bear go in return for his promise of the honey. Then he sat down and continued to sharpen his knife.

“What are you sharpening your knife for, old man?” asked the wolf.

“I shall kill you and take off your skin to make me a fine fur cap for winter,” replied the old man.

The wolf trembled with fear. “Do not kill me, old man,” he said. “If you let me go, it will be worth your while, for I will bring you a whole herd of sheep.”

The old man was pleased with this, so he let the wolf go free. Next, it was the turn of the fox. He put out his little snout and said, “Dear, kind, old man, please tell me why you are sharpening your knife so busily.”

“Little foxes have nice skins that make pretty collars and scarves,” said the old man.

“Please don’t take away my skin,” pleaded the fox. “If you let me go, I will bring you, in return, fine, fat hens, and ducks.”

The old man let the fox go, and now only the hare remained, trembling in the corner. “Do not sharpen your knife for me,” said the little hare.

“But little hares have nice, soft skins, which make warm gloves and mittens for winter,” replied the old man.

“I could bring you cabbages and cauliflowers and nice, juicy vegetables for your cooking pot,” said the hare.

The old man let the hare go, too, and then he went upstairs to where his wife was waiting, and they both went to bed.

Next morning, just before dawn, the two old people were awakened by a scratching and snuffling at the door. When they opened it and went outside, there stood the bear. In its paws, it carried a pot of honey, which it gave to the old man and then went scampering off.

The wolf was there, too, driving a flock of sheep into the yard, and the fox had brought the fine, fat ducks and hens, just as he had promised. The old man shut the sheep, hens, and ducks safely in the yard, and then he noticed the little hare. It had brought cabbages and cauliflowers and plenty of other vegetables.

The old man and his wife rejoiced at the wonderful things they had, for now they could live in comfort for the rest of their lives.

Some of the sheep they sold for a good price, so that they had as much money as they needed. Some they kept so that they had meat and wool.

The hens and ducks gave them eggs, and some of the vegetables they planted in the garden, so they were never again short of food or warm clothing, and there was nothing more that they needed.

As for the straw-covered ox, it had done its job, and it stood in the sun until it fell to pieces.

The bear gave them a pot of honey.