The Wolf and the Man (Grimm)
Division into sections is editorial.
The foxs challenge and search for a man
The story began when a fox and wolf engaged in a conversation about human strength. The fox explained how no animal could withstand humans and how all creatures were forced to use cunning to protect themselves from mankind's power.
Once on a time the fox was talking to the wolf of the strength of man; how no animal could withstand him, and how all were obliged to employ cunning in order to preserve themselves from him.
The wolf, however, remained unconvinced and boastful about his own abilities. He declared confidently that if he ever had the chance to encounter a man, he would attack him without hesitation, dismissing the fox's warnings about human strength.
Then the wolf answered, 'If I had but the chance of seeing a man for once, I would set on him notwithstanding.'
The fox, eager to teach the wolf a lesson, offered to help arrange such an encounter. He told the wolf to come early the next morning, promising to show him a real man. The wolf agreed to this arrangement and presented himself at the appointed time. The fox then led him to a road frequently used by huntsmen, where they would wait for the right opportunity to demonstrate human strength to the overconfident wolf.
The battle with the huntsman
As they waited on the road, the first person to appear was an elderly discharged soldier. When the wolf asked if this was a man, the fox replied that he had been one, but was no longer in his prime. Next came a little boy heading to school.
Again the wolf inquired, and the fox explained that this child was going to be a man someday. Finally, a hunter appeared, carrying a double-barrelled gun on his back and a hanger at his side. The fox immediately recognized this as the perfect opportunity and told the wolf that here was a true man who must be attacked.
The fox wisely retreated to his hole for safety, while the wolf rushed forward to attack the huntsman. When the huntsman spotted the approaching wolf, he regretted not having loaded his gun with a bullet, but aimed nonetheless and fired small shot directly into the wolf's face. The wolf grimaced from the pain but refused to be frightened and launched a second attack. The huntsman then discharged his second barrel at the persistent wolf.
Despite the pain from both shots, the wolf continued his assault and rushed at the huntsman once more. This time, the man drew out his bright hanger and delivered several cuts to the wolf, striking him right and left with the sharp blade.
The wolf swallowed his pain, and rushed on the huntsman, but he drew out his bright hanger, and gave him a few cuts with it right and left, so that, bleeding everywhere, he ran howling back to the fox.
Wounded and bleeding from multiple injuries, the defeated wolf finally retreated, howling as he fled back to where the fox waited safely in his hole.
The wolfs humiliation and lesson learned
When the battered wolf returned to the fox, his companion mockingly asked how the encounter with the man had gone. The wolf, now thoroughly humbled by his painful experience, admitted his complete misjudgment of human capabilities. In his wounded state, he described the battle from his limited understanding, interpreting the huntsman's weapons through his animal perspective.
'I never imagined the strength of man to be what it is! First, he took a stick from his shoulder, and blew into it, and then something flew into my face which tickled me terribly'
The wolf continued his confused account, describing how the man breathed into the stick again, causing something to fly into his nose like lightning and hail. When he got close, the man drew what appeared to be a white rib from his side and beat him so severely that he was nearly left for dead. The fox, having witnessed the wolf's arrogant boasting proven wrong, delivered a final mocking rebuke about the wolf's braggadocio, saying he had thrown his hatchet so far that he could not fetch it back again. The tale thus concluded with the wolf's complete humiliation and the fox's vindication about the superior strength and cunning of mankind.