“Reynard and Bruin.” Europa’s Fairy Book, Joseph Jacobs, New York, London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1916, pp. 42-50.

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Apr 2023 23:29:54 +0000

“Reynard and Bruin.” Europa’s Fairy Book, Joseph Jacobs, New York, London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1916, pp. 42-50. Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 04/30/2023 - 17:29

Joseph Jacobs

Tale Summary

Reynard the fox knew that Bruin the bear had a beehive full of honey that he kept a good eye on, and very much wanted some. One day, he told the bear that he had to go to a christening, and once in the woods, ate some of the honey. When he returned, Bruin asked what name had the child been given, and Reynard replied “Just-begun”. Twice more he played this trick, giving the names “Half-eaten” and “All-gone,” having eaten all the honey. Bruin invited the fox to eat some honey with them, but found it gone, and accused Reynard. The fox replied that Bruin must have eaten it, and said if they lay in the sun a while the honey would sweat out of whoever ate it. The bear fell asleep, and Reynard smeared some leftover honey on his mouth, tricking him into thinking that he had eaten it in his sleep. Sometime after, the fox saw a man with a cartful of fish go by, and ran far ahead to lay in the road as if dead. The man found him, and thinking he would make a nice gift for his wife, Ann, he threw him in the back with the fish. Reynard threw the fish one by one behind them before jumping out without being noticed. Bruin asked about the fish, as the water was frozen over, and the fox brought him to a hole in the ice, telling him to stick his tail through. The bear’s tail got stuck in the ice, and meanwhile Reynard told the man and his wife that there was a bear trapped in the ice and they could do whatever they wanted with it. While they were busy beating on Bruin with sticks, the fox ransacked the house. The man, upon arriving home, threw a jar of cream at the fox and hit his tail, leaving a white tip (this is why foxes have white on the tips of their tails. He went back to Bruin, who was crying because he lost three quarters of his tail in the ice (this is why bears have such short tails), and blamed the fox. Reynard said that he had been hit so hard on his head by the man that his brains spilled out onto his tale, and kind Bruin carried him off to his bed, but all the while the fox sang:

“The sick carries the sound! The sick carries the sound!”

Bruin knew he had been tricked, and caught the fox’s leg in his mouth as he hid behind a briar bush. The fox said:

“That’s right you fool, bite the briar root”

And thinking he was biting at the bush, let the fox go and instead grabbed a root.

“That’s right, now you’ve got me,
            Don’t hurt me too much,
                     Don’t hurt me too much,
                               Don’t hurt me too much”

And as the bear heard the fox’s voice getting further away, he knew he had been tricked again. Sometime after that, a man was plowing his field, and told his lazy oxen that he would give them to the bear if they did not go faster. Overhearing this, the bear came forth for his prize, but agreed to let the man finish his field. Just then, Reynard approached the man and asked for two geese in return for his help. The fox told him what to say, and went back to the woods to make dog noises. The bear asked about this, and the man said it was the king out hunting for bears. Bruin begged him for help hiding in exchange for being off the hook for the oxen. Reynard called from the woods asking the man what the black thing was with him, and Bruin replied it was the stump of a tree. Reynard called out for the man to chain it in the cart and chop it up, and although Bruin asked that he only pretend to do so, the man killed the bear with his ax. The man then asked his wife, Ann, for two geese to give the fox, but she instead handed him a bag with two hunting dogs, which chased him to his den. The fox then asked each of his body parts what they had done to help save him. His eyes looked for the shortest way, his nose smelled the hounds (and so on), but his tail got caught in the bushes. To punish his tail, he stuck it out the den, and the dogs pulled him out and ate him.

Fairy Tale Title

Reynard and Bruin

Fairy Tale Author(s)/Editor(s)

Joseph Jacobs

Fairy Tale Illustrator(s)

John D. Batten

Common Tale Type

The theft of fish, Tail-Fisher, Sick Animal Carries Healthy One, Biting the Tree Root, Theft of Food by Playing Godfather

Tale Classification

ATU 1, ATU 2, ATU 4, ATU 5, ATU 15

Page Range of Tale

42-50

Full Citation of Tale

“Reynard and Bruin.” Europa’s Fairy Book, Joseph Jacobs, New York, London: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1916, pp. 42-50.

Original Source of the Tale

Tale Notes

At the end of the story, the narrator says that the fox deserved his end, and asks the reader if they feel the same. This tale is also comprised of several ATUs, reading like several stories strung together.

AV��ʪ and Curation

Kaeli Waggener, 2023

Book Title

Europa's Fairy Book

Book Author/Editor(s)

Joseph Jacobs

Illustrator(s)

John D. Batten

Publisher

G. P. Putnam's sons, The Knickerbocker Press

Date Published

1916

Decade Published

1910-1919

Publisher City

New York
London

Publisher Country

United States
United Kingdom

Language

English

Rights

Public Domain

Digital Copy

Available at the Internet Archive

Book Notes

None

Traditional

White