The Two Brotherspage 12 / 20
As soon as the hare saw that the coast was clear, she sprang towards the castle, and went straight to where the king's daughter was sitting, crept under her chair and scratched her foot. "Will you go away," said the king's daughter, thinking it was her dog. The hare scratched again, and again, thinking it was her dog, she said, "Will you go away." The hare, however, did not let this turn her from her purpose, and she scratched a third time, and this time the king's daughter looked down and saw the hare and recognized her by her collar. Then she took her up in her arms and carried her to her own room, and said, "What is it you want, dear hare?" She answered, "My master, who killed the dragon, is here and has sent me to ask for one of the loaves, such as the king himself eats." The king's daughter was delighted to hear this, and sent and ordered the baker to bring one of the king's loaves. "But," said the little hare, "the baker must carry me back, so that the butchers' dogs may not get at me." So the baker carried her to the door of the inn, where he set her down on her hind legs, and she then took the bread in her front paws and carried it to her master.
"Well," said the huntsman to the innkeeper, "you see, my friend, the hundred gold pieces are mine." The innkeeper was filled with astonishment, but now the huntsman said, "The bread I have got, now I wish for some of the roast meat that is served at the king's table." The innkeeper was too wise to bet again, and only exclaimed, "I should like to see you get it."
This time the fox was sent for, and the huntsman said to him, "Little fox, go and fetch me some of the roast meat, such as the king himself eats." The fox knew more tricks than the hare, and he crept round corners and ran along the side-cuts, so that the dogs never caught sight of him at all, and so he made his way till he got under the chair of the king's daughter and scratched her foot. She looked down and recognised the fox by his collar, and she took him into her room, and said, "What is it you want, dear fox?" He answered, "My master, who killed the dragon, is here and has sent to ask for some of the roast meat that the king himself eats." So she ordered the cook to prepare a dish of roast meat, such as was served to the king, and to carry the fox back to the inn; there the fox took the dish from him, brushed off the flies, that had settled upon it on the way, with his tail, and carried it in to his master.