There was a poor gamekeeper once, who had suffered from hard times all his life, so as he grew older, he wanted to get rich. He was only an under-forester. One day the forester said: “Near those old ruins, you know the ones I mean, a fox or a roe, or some creature of that sort, often crosses my path, and I can never manage to hit it, though I have shot at it a hundred times. If you happen to be going in that direction, look out for it.”

When the gamekeeper heard this, the first thing he did was to go to the ruins. Just as he got there, a huge fox appeared with a rustling noise. The gamekeeper felt uneasy, but the fox disappeared at once, so he sat down, put five big charges in his gun, and waited. It wasn’t long till the fox appeared again, and this time he was carrying a young fawn in his mouth. The gamekeeper shot at him—boom! The fox cried out, and ran [183]off into the bushes. But the gamekeeper saw that the fawn had run away and hidden itself in a cave. He thought: “The fox cried out, so he has some of my shots in his fur coat. I’ll get him some other time.”

So he went into the ruins through the gate. Within, there was a courtyard all deserted, and with its wall fallen down. So the gamekeeper passed through the courtyard and came into a spacious cellar. There he saw three lamps burning, and looking round, he was filled with amazement. But all this was as nothing, for in the corner were three glittering heaps of golden coins and one heap of big gold pieces. The gamekeeper reflected: “If I had all that, I should give up gamekeeping and have a splendid time.”

No sooner had he said this than a grey old man appeared and asked: “What are you looking for, gamekeeper?”

“Well, I shot at a fox and he ran in somewhere here, and so I’m wandering about looking for him.”

“You won’t get the fox you’re looking for, for I am he.”

“And why are you here in a fox’s shape? What&rs............