` That beast is bewitched ! ' he said to himself , and then he threw the fox into the last sledge of all , which had a cargo of fishes . This was exactly what the cunning creature wanted , and he wriggled gently to the front and bit the cord which tied the sledge to the one before it so that it remained standing in the middle of the road . Now there were so many sledges that the Lapp did not notice for a long while that one was missing ; indeed , he would have entered the town without knowing if snow had not suddenly begun to fall . Then he got down to secure more firmly the cloths that kept his goods dry , and going to the end of the long row , discovered that the sledge containing the fish and the fox was missing . He quickly unharnessed one of his reindeer and rode back along the way he had come , to find the sledge standing safe in the middle of the road ; but as the fox had bitten off the cord close to the noose there was no means of moving it away . The fox meanwhile was enjoying himself mightily . As soon as he had loosened the sledge , he had taken his favourite fish from among the piles neatly arranged for sale , and had trotted off to the forest with it in his mouth . By-and-by he met a bear , who stopped and said : ` Where did you find that fish , Mr. Fox ? ' ` Oh , not far off , ' answered he ; ' I just stuck my tail in the stream close by the place where the elves dwell , and the fish hung on to it of itself . ' ` Dear me , ' snarled the bear , who was hungry and not in a good temper , ` if the fish hung on to your tail , I suppose he will hang on to mine . ' ` Yes , certainly , grandfather , ' replied the fox , ` if you have patience to suffer what I suffered . ' ` Of course I can , ' replied the bear , ` what nonsense you talk ! Show me the way . ' So the fox led him to the bank of a stream , which , being in a warm place , had only lightly frozen in places , and was at this moment glittering in the spring sunshine . ` The elves bathe here , ' he said , ` and if you put in your tail the fish will catch hold of it . But it is no use being in a hurry , or you will spoil everything . ' Then he trotted off , but only went out of sight of the bear , who stood still on the bank with his tail deep in the water . Soon the sun set and it grew very cold and the ice formed rapidly , and the bear 's tail was fixed as tight as if a vice had held it ; and when the fox saw that everything had happened just as he had planned it , he called out loudly : ` Be quick , good people , and come with your bows and spears . A bear has been fishing in your brook ! '
And in a moment the whole place was full of little creatures each one with a tiny bow and a spear hardly big enough for a baby ; but both arrows and spears could sting , as the bear knew very well , and in his fright he gave such a tug to his tail that it broke short off , and he rolled away into the forest XXXXX fast as his legs could carry him .
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