Part 2 of 4

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In the last episode, True was left in the woods, and he couldn’t see anything. So, he found a big tree where he could sit. This episode is part 2 of the story. Some words for you to know for this episode: dew is the water you see on leaves in the morning; a chapel is a small church; and an orchard is a garden of fruit trees. In this episode, True hears someone under the tree. Maybe they can help him. Let’s go back to the story.

When they began to greet one another, he found out it was Bruin the bear, Greylegs the wolf, Slyboots the fox, and Longears the hare. They had come to celebrate the holiday called St. John's eve under the tree. So they began to eat and drink and be merry, and when they had finished eating, they talked together.

The fox said: "Shouldn't each of us tell a little story while we sit here?"

Well! The others had nothing against that. They said it would be good fun, and the bear began because he was the group leader.

"The king," said Bruin, "has such bad eyesight, he can barely see the distance of one yard in front of him. However, if he only came to this big tree in the morning, while the dew is still on the leaves, and rubbed his eyes with the dew, he would get his vision back."

"Very true!" said Greylegs. "The king has a daughter who cannot hear or speak, but if he only knew what I know, he would cure her. Last year she went to the chapel at the palace. She let a crumb of bread fall out of her mouth, and a big frog came and swallowed it, but if they only dug up the floor, they would find the frog sitting right there, with the bread still stuck in his throat. If they would cut the frog open and give the bread to the princess, she would be able to hear and speak again."

"That's good," said the fox, "but if the king knew what I know, he would not be so short on water in his palace. Under the great stone, in the yard of his palace, is a spring of the clearest water one could wish for if he only knew to dig for it there."

"Ah!" said the hare in a small voice, "the king has the finest apple orchard in the whole land, but it does not bear much fruit because a heavy gold chain is buried around the orchard. If he dug up that heavy gold chain, it would be the most fruitful orchard in all his kingdom."

"Very true," said the fox, "but now it's getting very late, and we may as well go home."

So they all went away together.