ONCE upon a time there was a partridge， and that partridge was sorely troubled， for no one in the world is safe from trouble and worry。Her trouble was that for some time back she was not able to rear her young， because of Auntie Fox， who made a royal feast of the young brood。No sooner did the fox find out that the partridge had hatched her young than she tied some brambles to her tail， and， dragging it along the ground， pretended to plough the land close to the place where the partridge had her nest。
Turning to the partridge， the fox would say：
“How dare you trespass on my land！Off you go lest I eat you up。”
The partridge， frightened， would run away， and the fox would eat the young。
This had gone on for three years。
On the fourth year it so happened that， while the partridge was weeping， just as a man will do out of worry and grief， she met a hound。
“What is the matter， friend？ Why dost thou weep so？ What ails thee？ Why art thou so inconsolable？”
“Oh，”said the poor bird，“I am full of trouble。”
Then the hound said， sympathetically：“What has happened unto thee？”
“What has happened unto me？ O dear friend， so many years have I tried to rear my young， and no sooner do I see them when Auntie Fox， with the brambles and thorns trailing behind her tail， comes and claims the land， and says，‘Hast thou again hatched young on my land？ Get thee off lest I eat thee，’and I am so frightened that I run away， and the fox then takes the family and leaves me childless。”
The bird stopped here and looked despairingly at the hound。She wondered what he could do for her。But no one knows whence help may come， and just when it is least expected it arrives。And so it happened to the bird。
The dog， who had been sitting all the time listening， as it were， with half closed ears， suddenly shook himself， and said：
“Is that the trouble which ails thee？”
“Yes， that is my trouble。”
“Well， if that be so， let me come with thee， and may be that I shall be of some help。”
And so they both went to the partridge’s nest。There the dog crouched behind the bushes and waited for the fox to come。He had not to wait very long until the fox， with the brambles tied to her tail and pulling them along， made pretence of ploughing the land。
“Now then， you partridge， are you trespassing again？”
But the fox was not allowed to finish the sentence， for out of the bushes sprang the dog。The fox took to her legs， running as fast as they would carry her。
Now， whether the hound ran or did not run I do not know， but I certainly can say that the fox ran for all she was worth and raised a cloud of dust behind her。And so she ran and ran until she reached her lair， and she buried herself deep in the ground， very thankful to have saved her skin from the teeth of the dog。
The hound， wearied， tired， and vexed that the fox had escaped， settled down at the mouth of the lair， waiting for the chance that the fox would come out again， that he might set his eyes upon her。But it was all in vain， for the fox， once safe， never dreamt of coming out again。But then， having nothing else to do， she started talking to herself。
“Clever fox， clever fox！ I know that thou takest care of thy skin。Thou didst well to save thyself， and to get safely away from that hound。Now let me ask my eyes，‘What did you do when the hound was after me？’”
“Well， we， turning right and left， looked out to see which way we could save thee and hide thee。”
“Dear eyes，”said the fox， and， full of satisfaction， she stroked them with her paws。
“Now I will ask my forelegs：‘And ye， my forelegs， what did you do when the hound was chasing me？’”
“What did we do？ We ran as fast as we could to carry thee safe to the lair and to save thee。”
“Very good， then， my darlings，”and she kissed them and stroked them lovingly。
Then she asked the hind legs：“What did you do when the hound was chasing me？”
“What did we do？ We raised the dust and threw it into his eyes to save thee。”
“My darlings，”again the fox said， and licked them and caressed them；“so must you always do。”
The fox then， having nothing else to do， said：“I must now ask thee， tail，‘What didst thou do， my tail？’”
“I， what was I to do？ I waddled to the right and left， and yet he never caught me。If it were not for the legs， I am afraid I should not see the sun any more， and neither wouldst thou， O fox。”
“As thou sayest， then， thou art the only one who did not help me； thou art mine enemy， for if it were not for the blessed legs none of us would have seen the sun any more。All right， out thou goest， thou fool！ Thou must no longer be with me or with my darling eyes。”
And turning round， she crawled backwards and pushed it out of the lair。
The hound， who was sitting outside， was just waiting for this， and no sooner did he see the bush of the tail coming out than he pounced on it， and getting hold of it he pulled with all his might and dragged out tail and fox together。
And that was the end of the fox。
The fox may have been very clever， but the old proverb is true：“Each animal dies through his own tongue。”And since that time the partridge hatches her young unmolested， and the land of the fox has remained unploughed。
center鹌鹑、狐狸和猎狗的故事
世上总有烦恼。有这么一只鹌鹑也正烦恼着。
鹌鹑的烦恼是因为不能好好地照料自己的后代。它一直得不到安宁，因为有一只狐狸老是想方设法要来吃掉它的蛋。每当狐狸看到鹌鹑孵蛋的时候，就会在尾巴上系一束荆棘，假装在田地里耕犁，并向鹌鹑的窝犁过来。然后，狐狸就对鹌鹑大叫：“你怎么敢占用我的土地？马上给我滚开，不然，我就吃了你。”
受惊的鹌鹑只得逃开了，于是狐狸把鹌鹑蛋吃个精光。
这样的情况持续了三年。到了第四年，鹌鹑又生下了自己的孩子，怕狐狸来吃，所以哭了。这时，一只猎狗经过它的面前。
猎狗问：“我的朋友啊，你为什么伤心难过呀？”
“哦，”可怜的鸟儿说，“我碰到的是让人烦心的事啊！”
猎狗同情地问：“发生什么事了？”
鹌鹑说：“每年我孵蛋时，狐狸总会在尾巴上拖一条荆棘对我喊，说这块土地是它的。它叫我赶快滚开，不然会吃掉我。于是我只得逃跑，狐狸就把我的孩子都吃了。”
鹌鹑说完这些，又伤心地哭了，因为它不知道猎狗能帮它什么忙。
猎狗很仔细地听完鹌鹑的叙述，然后安慰它说：“你别伤心，我来帮助你。”
鹌鹑有些不放心地说：“你能帮我什么呢？”
猎狗说：“我就和你呆在一起，狐狸肯定不敢再欺侮你。”
于是，它俩一起来到鹌鹑做窝的地方，猎狗躲在树丛后面等狐狸。没多久，狐狸拖着荆棘来了。
“你这个鹌鹑，又来侵占我的地盘！”狐狸叫嚷着。
没等狐狸把话说完，猎狗从树丛里跳了出来，狐狸吓得用尽全身力气转身就逃，猎狗在后面紧紧地追赶。
狐狸拼命地跑，那根拖着荆棘的尾巴扬起一阵尘土，狐狸一直逃回自己的老窝里才舒了口气，庆幸自己还算幸运，没落在猎狗的手里。
猎狗看到狐狸逃回自己老窝，很是气恼，便守在狐狸的窝门口等狐狸出来。可这一切都是白费，狐狸趴在窝里就是不出来。时间长了，狐狸也有点无聊，开始自言自语起来。
它对自己说：“狐狸真聪明，懂得怎样保全自己的性命。现在让我来问问：我的眼睛啊，当猎狗追赶我的时候，你在做什么啊？”
“哦，我吗？我一直在左看右顾，看清我们逃命的路啊！”
“你是我最亲爱的眼睛。”狐狸感到非常满意，它用爪子抚摸了一下眼睛。
“现在问我的前腿了，喂，猎狗追我的时候，你在做什么呢？”
“我尽我的能力快跑，以免落到猎狗的嘴里啊！”
“很好，亲爱的，”它很用心地抚摸前腿。
然后它又问自己的后腿：“猎狗追我时，你在做什么呢？”
“我扬起尘土，让它看不清我们逃跑的路线。”
狐狸抚爱着后腿，说：“你做得真好！”
问完这些以后，狐狸觉得没什么事情可做了。过了一会儿，它想起了尾巴，于是便说：“我得问问你啊，我的尾巴，它们都为我卖力的时候，你在做些什么呢？”
“我吗？我在后面摇来晃去，猎狗倒也没抓到我，如果不是腿儿跑得快，我和你都看不到明天的太阳了。”
“这么说，你在这场逃跑中没有出过力。”狐狸愤愤地喊道。
“可我平时帮了你不少忙，让你吃到鲜美的鹌鹑蛋。”
狐狸却不愿意听，说：“你在关键时刻不帮助我，便是我的敌人。要不是我的眼睛，我的腿儿，我们都活不到明天。好了，滚出去吧，臭尾巴，我再也不需要你这条拖后腿的尾巴了。”
说完，狐狸转过身向后退，把尾巴伸出洞口。
猎狗一直守候在狐狸洞外，它看到狐狸尾巴露出洞外，一把揪住，然后紧紧咬住狐狸尾巴，用尽全身力气，一下子把狐狸拉了出来。
狐狸的末日到了！
平时我们常说狐狸聪明，不过有一句谚语说得对：“所有的事情都坏在舌头上。”狐狸也是犯了这个毛病。
从此以后，鹌鹑无忧无虑地孵育着它的后代，狐狸们也改掉了尾巴上绑荆棘的习惯。
