THE STRAW OX. 135

into the steppe to graze, and she herself sat down
behind a hillock, and began spinning her flax, and
cried: “Graze away, little ox, while I spin my flax ;
graze away, little ox, while I spin my flax!” And
while she spun, her head drooped down and she began
to doze, and while she was dozing, from behind the
dark wood and from the back of the huge pines a
bear came rushing out upon the ox and said: “ Who
are you? Speak and tell me!”—And the ox said:
“A three-year-old heifer am I, made of straw and
smeared with tar.’—‘‘ Oh!” said the bear, “ stuffed
with straw and trimmed with tar, are you? Then
give me of your straw and tar, that I may patch up my
ragged fur again !”—‘Take some,” said the ox, and
the bear fell upon him and began to tear away at the
tar. He tore and tore, and buried his teeth in it till
he found he couldn’t let go again. He tugged and
he tugged, but it was no good, and the ox dragged
him gradually off goodness knows where. Then the
old woman awoke, and there was no ox to be seen.
“Alas! old fool that Tam!” cried she, ‘ perchance it
has gone home.” Then she quickly caught up her
distaff and spinning-board, threw them over her
shoulders, and hastened off home, and she saw that
the ox had dragged the bear up to the fence, and in
she went to her old man. “Dad, dad!” she cried,
“look, look! the ox has brought us a bear. Come