The Mother and the Wolf

A FAMISHED WOLF was prowling about in the morning in search of food. As
he passed the door of a cottage built in the forest, he heard a Mother
say to her child, “Be quiet, or I will throw you out of the window, and
the Wolf shall eat you.” The Wolf sat all day waiting at the door. In
the evening he heard the same woman fondling her child and saying: “You
are quiet now, and if the Wolf should come, we will kill him.” The
Wolf, hearing these words, went home, gasping with cold and hunger.
When he reached his den, Mistress Wolf inquired of him why he returned
wearied and supperless, so contrary to his wont. He replied: “Why,
forsooth! use I gave credence to the words of a woman!”