The Lapp did not quite like it , but the fox spoke with such an air that his doubts melted away . He nodded , and stretched out his hand ; the fox put the bag into it , and unharnassed the reindeer he had chosen . ` Oh , I forgot ! ' he exclaimed , turning round , as he was about to drive them in the opposite direction , ` you must be sure not to open the bag until you have gone at least five miles , right on the other side of those hills out there . If you do , you will find that all the gold and silver has changed into a parcel of charred bones . ' Then he whipped up his reindeer , and was soon out of sight . For some time the Lapp was satisfied with hearing the bones rattle , and thinking to himself what a good bargain he had made , and of all the things he would buy with the money . But , after a bit , this amusement ceased to content him , and besides , what was the use of planning when you did not know for certain how rich you were ? Perhaps there might be a great deal of silver and only a little gold in the bag ; or a great deal of gold , and only a little silver . Who could tell ? He would not , of course , take the money out to count it , for that might bring him bad luck . But there could be no harm in just one peep ! So he slowly broke the seal , and untied the strings , and , behold , a heap of burnt bones lay before him ! In a minute he knew he had been tricked , and flinging the bag to the ground in a rage , he ran after the fox as fast as his snow-shoes would carry him . Now the fox had guessed exactly what would happen , and was on the look out . Directly he saw the little speck coming towards him , he wished that the man 's snow-shoes might break , and that very instant the Lapp 's shoes snapped in two . The Lapp did now know that this was the fox 's work , but he had to stop and fetch one of his other reindeer , which he mounted , and set off again in pursuit of his enemy . The fox soon heard him coming , and this time he wished that the reindeer might fall and break its leg . And so it did ; and the man felt it was a hopeless chase , and that he was no match for the fox . So the fox drove on in peace till he reached the cave where all his stores were kept , and then he began to wonder whom he could get to help him kill his reindeer , for though he could steal reindeer he was too small to kill them .
` After all , it will be quite easy , ' thought he , and he bade a squirrel , who was watching him XXXXX a tree close by , take a message to all the robber beasts of the forest , and in less than half an hour a great crashing of branches was heard , and bears , wolves , snakes , mice , frogs , and other creatures came pressing up to the cave .
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