From ` West Highland Tales . ' The Story of a Very Bad Boy Once upon a time there lived in a little village in the very middle of France a widow and her only son , a boy about fifteen , whose name was Antoine , though no one ever called him anything but Toueno-Boueno . They were very poor indeed , and their hut shook about their ears on windy nights , till they expected the walls to fall in and crush them , but instead of going to work as a boy of his age ought to do , Toueno-Boueno did nothing but lounge along the street , his eyes fixed on the ground , seeing nothing that went on round him . ` You are very , very stupid , my dear child , ' his mother would sometimes say to him , and then she would add with a laugh , ` Certainly you will never catch a wolf by the tail . ' One day the old woman bade Antoine go into the forest and collect enough dry leaves to make beds for herself and him . Before he had finished it began to rain heavily , so he hid himself in the hollow trunk of a tree , where he was so dry and comfortable that he soon fell fast asleep . By and by he was awakened by a noise which sounded like a dog scratching at the door , and he suddenly felt frightened , why he did not know . Very cautiously he raised his head , and right above him he saw a big hairy animal , coming down tail foremost . ` It is the wolf that they talk so much about , ' he said to himself , and he made himself as small as he could and shrunk into a corner . The wolf came down the inside of the tree , slowly , slowly ; Antoine felt turned to stone , so terrified was he , and hardly dared to breathe . Suddenly an idea entered his mind , which he thought might save him still . He remembered to have heard from his mother that a wolf could neither bend his back nor turn his head , so as to look behind him , and quick as lightning he stretched up his hand , and seizing the wolf 's tail , pulled it towards him . Then he left the tree and dragged the animal to his mother 's house . ` Mother , you have often declared that I was too stupid to catch a wolf by the tail . Now see , ' he cried triumphantly . ` Well , well , wonders will never cease , ' answered the good woman , who took care to keep at a safe distance . ` But as you really have got him , let us see if we ca n't put him to some use . Fetch the skin of the ram which died last week out of the chest , and we will sew the wolf up in it . He will make a splendid ram , and to-morrow we will drive him to the fair and sell him . ' Very likely the wolf , who was cunning and clever , may have understood what she said , but he thought it best to give no sign , and suffered the skin to be sewn upon him . '
I can always get away XXXXX I choose , ' thought he , ` it is better not to be in a hurry ; ' so he remained quite still while the skin was drawn over his head , which made him very hot and uncomfortable , and resisted the temptation to snap off the fingers or noses that were so close to his mouth .
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