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 if 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 . The fair was at its height next day when Toueno-Boueno arrived with his wolf in ram 's clothing . All the farmers crowded round him , each offering a higher price than the last . Never had they beheld such a beautiful beast , said they , and at last , after much bargaining , he was handed over to three brothers for a good sum of money . It happened that these three brothers owned large flocks of sheep , though none so large and fine as the one they had just bought . ` My flock is the nearest , ' observed the eldest brother ; ` we will leave him in the fold for the night , and to-morrow we will decide which pastures will be best for him . ' And the wolf grinned as he listened , and held up his head a little higher than before . Early next morning the young farmer began to go his rounds , and the sheep-fold was the first place he visited . To his horror , the sheep were all stretched out dead before him , except one , which the wolf had eaten , bones and all . Instantly the truth flashed upon him . It was no ram that lay curled up in the corner pretending to be asleep -LRB- for in reality he could bend back and turn his head as much as he liked -RRB- , but a wolf who was watching him out of the corner of his eye , and might spring upon him at any moment . So the farmer took no notice , and only thought that here was a fine chance of revenging himself on his next brother for a trick which he had played , and merely told him that the ram would not eat the grass in that field , and it might be well to drive him to the pasture by the river , where his own flock was feeding . The second brother eagerly swallowed the bait , and that evening the wolf was driven down to the field where the young man kept the sheep which had been left him by his father . By the next morning they also were all dead , but the second brother likewise held his peace , and allowed the sheep which belonged to the youngest to share the fate of the other two .
Then they met and confessed to each other their disasters , and resolved to take the animal XXXXX fast as possible back to Toueno-Boueno , who should get a sound thrashing .
To as at before in than that though upon with