"You may hunt with me now, Reynard," said a wise old fox to his
young son. "It is time that you were beginning to make your
living."
"That pleases me well," said Reynard. "I should not mind going out
alone."
"You are not ready yet to go by yourself. There are many things
that I must teach you first. Do not go without me."
Reynard said nothing, but the next day, when his father was
asleep, he went out into the field and brought home a nice, fat
partridge.
He wakened his father by a quick bark and said, "See what I have
caught. I do not need to go with you."
"You do not know what you need," replied his father. "No wise fox
hunts in the daytime."
But Reynard did not mind what his father said, and every day he
went out hunting. He killed so many chickens, turkeys and ducks
that everyone tried to catch him.
One night the old fox started out alone, but Reynard crept slowly
after him. The old fox went toward a large farmhouse. He stopped
suddenly in the path and waited; then he ran on quickly.
Reynard followed. He stopped at the same place where the old fox
had stopped.
"What is this?" he said. "A fine white turkey down in the grass!
Well, well, is my father losing his sharp sight and his keen
scent? I shall not let such a prize get away from me!"
He sprang upon the turkey. The trap gave a loud snap, and Reynard
was a prisoner.
"What a fool I am!" he said. "I saw the bait. My father saw the
trap."