""Well, let it be to-morrow, then," said Reynard, for he was impatient for the treasure.
"This being arranged, Reynard thought it time to make off; he stole down stairs and tried to steal some of the treasure by the way, but it was too heavy for him to carry, and he came to the conclusion, that to get the money he must take the lady, too.
"When he returned to the cat"s house, and saw how plain every thing looked, after the jewels in the griffin"s cave, he quite wondered how he had ever thought she was the least good-looking, but he concealed his wicked intention, and made himself particularly agreeable.
""Only guess where I have been!" said he. "To our new neighbor, the griffin--a most charming person. As for that silly magpie, she told a tremendous fib--for he has no daughter at all. He has heard of your beauty, my dear, and, on my telling him we were going to be married, he insisted upon giving a great ball and supper, in honor of the event, and I have accepted the invitation."
""Oh! dear! of course," said the pretty creature, who felt highly delighted. "I shall wear my white satin with the lace flounces, and, no doubt, he will ask me to be his partner, when we dance the Lancers."
""And only think! what a delicate attention," said the fox. "As all his treasure is on the ground floor, he gives the ball in the second story, so he will hang a basket out for the company, and draw them up with his own claw--how condescending!"
"The cat, who had never been much in society, was almost crazy with delight, at the prospect of going to such a grand party, and talked of nothing else. When the evening came, the fox, looking out of the window, saw his old friend Beppo, watching for him as usual. "Ah! that torment!
I had quite forgotten him; what is to be done now? If he once gets hold of me, I shall be a dead fox in five minutes after."
"But, as usual, the fox thought of a cunning trick; he desired the cat to set out first, and to wait for him at the corner. "You just leave the door open," said he, "and I will follow directly."
"When the cat made her appearance, Beppo walked up to her very humbly, and begged her to allow him to say a few words to her; but Reynard had so poisoned her mind against him, that she made her back up into an arch, and I am sorry to say, with an action that looked very much like spitting, went past him without answering. Ah! how angry it made him with Reynard; but his rage was changed to joy, when he saw that the cat had left the door open. "Now, wretch!" thought he, "you cannot escape me." So he walked in quickly, at the door; but what was his surprise, to see Reynard lying down, panting, as if his heart would break, and rolling his eyes, as if he was in the very worst kind of fit.
""Oh! my friend," he said, in a weak, trembling voice, "I am dying; put your paw upon mine, and say you forgive me."
"In spite of his anger, Beppo was so good and generous, that he could not bite a dying enemy.
""You served me a very mean trick. You left me to starve in a hole, and you have made my cousin dislike me; I meant to punish you, but if you are really dying, that alters the affair."
""Oh! oh!" groaned the fox, "I am past help; the cat has gone for doctor Ape, but he"ll never come in time. What a thing it is to have a bad conscience on one"s death-bed. But wait till the cat returns, I will do you justice with her, before I die."
"The good-natured dog was very sorry to see his enemy in such a dismal state, and he did his best to console him.
""Oh! oh!" said the fox, "I am burning with fever," and he hung his tongue out till you could nearly see the roots, and rolled his eyes, till they nearly came out of the top of his head.
""Is there no water here?" said Beppo, looking round.
""Alas, no!--yes, now I think of it, there is some in that hole in the wall; but it is so high I cannot climb in my weak state; and I dare not ask you, whom I have injured so much."
""Don"t mention it," said Beppo; "but the hole"s very small, I could not put my nose through it."
""I know that; but if you climb up on that stone, and thrust your paw into the hole, you can dip it into the water, and so cool my poor parched tongue. O! what a thing it is to have a bad conscience."
"The good dog sprang upon the stone, and, getting on his hind legs, thrust his fore paw into the hole, when, suddenly, Reynard pulled a string that he had concealed under the straw, and Beppo"s paw was fastened up tight, in a running noose.
""You villain," said he, turning round; but the fox leaped up gayly from the straw, and tying the string to a nail in the other end of the room, walked out, crying: "Good-bye, my dear friend, I hope you"ll enjoy yourself." So he left the dog on his hind legs, to take care of the house.
"Reynard found the cat waiting for him. It was nearly dark when they came to the cave, but they could see the basket waiting for them; the fox a.s.sisted the poor little cat into it. "There is only room for one,"
said he; "you must go first." Up rose the basket; the fox heard a piteous mew, and no more.
""So much for the griffin"s soup," said he."
"Oh! what a cruel, wicked fellow!" said Willie, almost crying.
"Reynard waited for some time, when Miss Griffin, waving her claw from the window, said cheerfully: "All"s right, my dear Reynard, my papa has eaten his soup, and is now sound asleep: forty cannons going off at once, would not wake him till he has slept off the boiled cat. Come and help me to pack up; I should be sorry to leave a single diamond behind."
""So should I," said the fox. "Why! the door is shut! open it, beautiful creature, to your adorer."
""Alas! my father has the key, you must come up by the basket; I will let it down for you."
"The fox did not like much to get into a basket, that had taken his lady-love to be boiled, but the most cautious grow rash when money"s to be gained: and avarice can trap even a fox. So he jumped into the basket, and went up in an instant. It rested just before it reached the window, and the fox felt, with a slight shudder, the claw of the hideous creature stroking his back.
""Oh! what a beautiful coat," said she, caressingly.
""You are too kind," said the fox; "you can feel it better when I am once up. Make haste, I beseech you!"
""O! what a beautiful bushy tail. Never did I see any thing like it."
""It is entirely at your service, sweet creature," said the fox, "but pray let me in."
""Really, such a beautiful tail; I don"t wonder you are proud of it."
""Ah! my beloved Miss Griffin, you flatter me, but you pinch my tail a little too hard."
"Scarce had he said this, when down dropped the basket, but not with the fox in it; he was caught by the tail, and hanging half way down, by the help of the very same sort of pulley with which he had cheated the dog.
You may imagine his consternation; he yelped out, at a terrible rate--for it hurts a fox exceedingly to be hanged by his tail, with his head down--when what do you think happened? Why, the door opened, and out stalked the griffin, smoking his pipe, and with him, a fashionable crowd of all the beasts in the neighborhood.
""Hallo, brother!" said Bruin, the bear, laughing fit to kill himself; "whoever saw a fox hanged by the tail before?"
""You"ll have need of a physician," said Doctor Ape.
""Don"t stay there to oblige us," said Gauntgrim, the wolf.
""A pretty match, indeed! Miss Griffin, for such as you," said the goat, strutting by him.
"The fox grinned with pain, and said nothing. But that which hurt him most, was the compa.s.sion of a dull b.o.o.by of a donkey, who a.s.sured him, with great gravity, that he saw nothing to laugh at in his situation.
""At all events," said the fox, at last, "cheated and betrayed as I am, I have played the same trick on the dog; go laugh at him, gentlemen."
""Excuse me," said the griffin, "WE NEVER LAUGH AT THE HONEST."
""And see," said the bear, "here he is."
"And indeed Beppo, after much effort, had gnawed the string in two, and freed his paw; the scent of the fox had enabled him to track him, and here he arrived, burning for vengeance, and finding himself already avenged.
"But his first thought was for his dear cousin. "Ah! where is she?" he cried; "without doubt that rascal Reynard has served her some trick."
""I fear so, my old friend," answered the griffin; "but don"t fret.
After all she was nothing particular. You shall marry my daughter, and succeed to all the treasure and all the bones that you once guarded so faithfully."
""Oh, no, no!" said the faithful fellow; "I want none of your treasure, and, though I don"t mean to be rude, your daughter may go to Guinea; I will run over the whole world, but I will find my dear cousin."
""See her, then," said the griffin, and the beautiful cat, more beautiful than ever, rushed out of the cavern, and threw herself into the dog"s paws.