There once were an ox, a pig, a goat, a ram, a cock and a hen who lived together in the forest. In summer they roamed in the forest, ate grass and spent the night where it fell upon them. But towards autumn, when the weather turned colder, the ox began to worry, "We must build ourselves a house, else what'll happen to us if it's a cold winter."

So the ox went to have a talk with the pig.

"Listen, pig, let's build a house, winter's coming and the cold'll kill us."

The pig replied, "There's no need for me to build a house. I'll go into the swamp in winter and stick my snout in the moss, it'll be nice and warm there."

Then the ox talked to the goat, "Let's build a house for the winter."

The goat answered, "I don't need a house. I've long hair, a beard that reaches the ground and shoes on my feet. I'll sleep under a bush, it'll be nice and warm there."

Then the ox tried to talk the ram round to his way of thinking.

"Let's build a house. Winter's coming and we've no place to go."

The ram said, "You foolish ox, why should I build a house? I wear one coat on top of the other. People make warm things from my wool and from my hide they make themselves coats—how could I feel cold? I'll sleep under a bush in winter, it'll be nice and warm there."

Then the ox went to the cock and the hen.

"Let's build a house. Winter's coming and we'll freeze to death."

But the cock and the hen replied, "Oh, no, we aren't going to build a house. We wear patch upon patch and piece upon piece. In winter we'll dig ourselves a hollow in the earth and put our heads under our wings, it'll be nice and warm there."

Nobody was willing to give the ox a helping hand. He took the axe and went alone into the forest to fell some trees. He carried the logs on his horns out of the forest to the building site, stripped them of the bark and cut them to the right size. Then the ox laid the foundation for the house of big stones, built the walls of logs on top of it, stopped up all gaps between the logs with moss and carried some earth on top of the roof. Then he made the doors and the windows and built a stove—and the house was ready. Winter came and the frost was biting. The ox fetched some wood from the forest, heated up the stove and rejoiced over his work, because the room was truly nice and warm.

The other animals, however, couldn't help but feel the cold, and all of them now remembered the ox's house.

The pig was the first to go to the ox's door and beg, "Dear ox, let me in to get warm, I'm freezing."

The ox replied, "You said you were going to be nice and warm under the moss in the swamp."

"The moss is under deep snow. Let me in, dear ox."

"Oh, well, come in," said the ox and let the pig into the house.

But the cold didn't relent and a snowstorm buried the cock's and the hen's hollow in the earth. In their distress they also went to the ox and begged, "Please, let us in to get warm."

"You wear patch upon patch and piece upon piece, and you sleep in a hollow in the earth, don't you?" the ox answered.

"Our hollow is buried under a pile of snow. Dear ox, let us stay with you and get warm."

The frost didn't leave the goat alone either, and drove him to the ox's door. The goat very woefully asked for permission to come in.

The ox said, "You've long hair, a beard that reaches the ground and shoes on your feet, can it be that you are cold, too?"

"Neither my hair nor the shoes are of any help to me—I'm as cold as cold can be."

So the ox let the goat in too.

At last the ram came to ask the ox to give him shelter from the cold. The ox said, "You wear one coat on top of another, you can't be cold. But, well, if the frost is getting at you, come in."

Wolves were roaming the forest in packs. They also walked round the ox's house, felt the doors and tried the windows, but they couldn't find a way to get in. So the old wolf thought he'd try to gain entrance with cunning. He knocked on the door and asked, "Let me in, dear ox. Allow me at least to warm the tip of my nose."

The ox replied, "We can't do that, you'll leap in and do us harm."

"I won't, dear ox."

So the ox allowed the wolf to put the tip of his nose in the crack of the door. After a short while the wolf asked, "Please allow me to warm up my front legs."

The ox replied, "I can't do that, you'll leap into the room."

"I won't, dear ox."

So the ox allowed the wolf to put his front legs inside.

The wolf again begged, "Let me warm my hind legs too, they're frozen."

"I can't do that, you'll leap into the room."

"I won't, dear ox."

So the wolf's hind legs were allowed in to get warm.

The wolf asked again, "Let the tip of my tail get warm too. The poor thing is freezing."

When the ox allowed the tip of the wolfs tail to get in, that was all the chance the wolf needed: he jumped into the room and right at the ox's throat.

Other animals saw the ox was in trouble and ran to his aid. The pig tore at the wolf with his tusks, the goat and the ram butted him with their horns. The hen cackled atop the stove and the cock crew:

"Cock-a-cock-a-cock,

I'm coming,

Doodle-doodle-doo,

Bring him here!"

The old wolf fled in a hurry leaving a trail of blood behind him. When he reached the other wolves, he warned them, "Keep away from that new house. Someone in there tore at me with his tusks and the other two butted me with their horns. There was also one who shouted:

Cock-a-cock-a-cock,

I'm coming,

Doodle-doodle-doo,

Bring him here!

If that one had caught me, I wouldn't have been able to escape alive." When the wolves heard this, they all took to flight.

But the ox and the other animals lived happily together in the house and if they're not dead yet they're still living.

David Bocchi

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