In the summer mornings they led out their flocks to pasture , and were happy and contented from sunrise to sunset . One summer night , when a round full moon shone down upon the white road , a great wolf came trotting round the corner . ' I positively must get a good meal before I go back to my den , ' he said to himself ; ` it is nearly a week since I have tasted anything but scraps , though perhaps no one would think it to look at my figure ! Of course there are plenty of rabbits and hares in the mountains ; but indeed one needs to be a greyhound to catch them , and I am not so young as I was ! If I could only dine off that fox I saw a fortnight ago , curled up into a delicious hairy ball , I should ask nothing better ; I would have eaten her then , but unluckily her husband was lying beside her , and one knows that foxes , great and small , run like the wind . Really it seems as if there was not a living creature left for me to prey upon but a wolf , and , as the proverb says : `` One wolf does not bite another . '' However , let us see what this village can produce . I am as hungry as a schoolmaster . ' Now , while these thoughts were running through the mind of the wolf , the very fox he had been thinking of was galloping along the other road . ` The whole of this day I have listened to those village hens clucking till I could bear it no longer , ' murmured she as she bounded along , hardly seeming to touch the ground . ` When you are fond of fowls and eggs it is the sweetest of all music . As sure as there is a sun in heaven I will have some of them this night , for I have grown so thin that my very bones rattle , and my poor babies are crying for food . ' And as she spoke she reached a little plot of grass , where the two roads joined , and flung herself under a tree to take a little rest , and to settle her plans . At this moment the wolf came up . At the sight of the fox lying within his grasp his mouth began to water , but his joy was somewhat checked when he noticed how thin she was . The fox 's quick ears heard the sound of his paws , though they were soft as velvet , and turning her head she said politely : ` Is that you , neighbour ? What a strange place to meet in ! I hope you are quite well ? ' ` Quite well as regards my health , ' answered the wolf , whose eye glistened greedily , ` at least , as well as one can be when one is very hungry . But what is the matter with you ?
A fortnight ago you were as plump XXXXX heart could wish ! ' '
At Of as like since through till upon with within