The sheep said: “Why is the wolf after my tail?”

The mother said: “Wolf, why are you after the sheep’s tail?”

The wolf said: “Why does the dog bark at me?”

The mother said: “Dog, why do you bark at the wolf ?”

The dog said: “Why does the old woman only feed me bread crumbs?”

The mother said: “Old woman, why do you feed the dog only bread crumbs?”

The old woman said: “Why does the mouse tear my breadcloth and steal my bread?”

The mother said: “Mouse, why do you steal the old woman’s bread?”

The mouse said: “I did steal it and I will steal it, and if I could, I’d eat her stomach too.”

At that, the mother went back to walnut and told it to beware of the rock.

The Pious Fox

Once there was a fox.  He was hungry.  He walked around in an abandoned campsite to find something to eat.  He met an old donkey and this gave him an idea.

“Hi, donkey,” he said, “I am a pious pilgrim on my way to Kerbela, and if you are a pious ass you’ll come with me.”

“All right,” said the donkey, and the fox jumped on his back.

They were walking along for a while, the fox on the donkey and the donkey on its own legs, when they saw a rooster.  “Hi, rooster,” said the fox, “we are pious pilgrims on our way to Kerbela.