The mare and her foal were grazing in the paddock.

The wolf saw them and the foal made his mouth water. He went to the mare and asked her, "How much do you want for your foal? I want to buy him."

The mare replied, "Unfortunately I've forgotten how much he costs, but the blacksmith wrote down the price under my hoof. If you can read, look it up for yourself, otherwise you'll have to give up the idea of buying him."

The wolf boasted about his reading skill and was glad that everything went so smoothly. The mare now lifted her hind leg and told the wolf to go and have a look at the price under her hoof. The wolf did as he was told, opening his eyes wide so as to see the price better. But the mare kicked the wolf so hard that he fell on his back seeing stars.

The wolf had no desire to look at the foal's price any more and ran howling into the forest.