A farmer had a horse that had been an excellent faithful servant tohim: but he was now grown too old to work; so the farmer would give himnothing more to eat, and said, 'I want you no longer, so take yourselfoff out of my stable; I shall not take you back again until you arestronger than a lion.' Then he opened the door and turned him adrift.

The poor horse was very melancholy, and wandered up and down in thewood, seeking some little shelter from the cold wind and rain. Presentlya fox met him: 'What's the matter, my friend?' said he, 'why do you hangdown your head and look so lonely and woe-begone?' 'Ah!' replied thehorse, 'justice and avarice never dwell in one house; my master hasforgotten all that I have done for him so many years, and because Ican no longer work he has turned me adrift, and says unless I becomestronger than a lion he will not take me back again; what chance can Ihave of that? he knows I have none, or he would not talk so.'

However, the fox bid him be of good cheer, and said, 'I will help you;lie down there, stretch yourself out quite stiff, and pretend to bedead.' The horse did as he was told, and the fox went straight to thelion who lived in a cave close by, and said to him, 'A little way offlies a dead horse; come with me and you may make an excellent meal ofhis carcase.' The lion was greatly pleased, and set off immediately; andwhen they came to the horse, the fox said, 'You will not be able to eathim comfortably here; I'll tell you what--I will tie you fast tohis tail, and then you can draw him to your den, and eat him at yourleisure.'

This advice pleased the lion, so he laid himself down quietly for thefox to make him fast to the horse. But the fox managed to tie his legstogether and bound all so hard and fast that with all his strength hecould not set himself free. When the work was done, the fox clapped thehorse on the shoulder, and said, 'Jip! Dobbin! Jip!' Then up he sprang,and moved off, dragging the lion behind him. The beast began to roarand bellow, till all the birds of the wood flew away for fright; but thehorse let him sing on, and made his way quietly over the fields to hismaster's house.

'Here he is, master,' said he, 'I have got the better of him': and whenthe farmer saw his old servant, his heart relented, and he said. 'Thoushalt stay in thy stable and be well taken care of.' And so the poor oldhorse had plenty to eat, and lived--till he died.