“Two or three hundred years ago, when people were far from being so crafty and cunning as they are now-a-day, an extraordinary event took place in a little town.”

“The cock said to the hen, ‘It is nutting time; let us go together to the mountains and have a good feast for once, before the squirrels come and carry all away.’ ‘Yes,’ answered the hen, ‘come along; we will have a jolly time together.'”

“A cock and a hen once wanted to go on a journey together. So the cock built a beautiful carriage with four red wheels, and he harnessed four little mice to it. And the cock and the hen got into it, and were driven off.”

“There was once a peasant who owned a faithful dog called Sultan, now grown so old that he had lost all his teeth, and could lay hold of nothing.”

“There was once a sheep-dog whose master behaved ill to him and did not give him enough to eat, and when for hunger he could bear it no longer, he left his service very sadly. In the street he was met by a sparrow, who said, ‘Dog, my brother, why are you so sad?'” Content Warning: This tale and post contains gore and violence pertaining to animals.