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"Ah, a hare is coming," said the musician. "I do not want him."
"Oh, dear musician," said the hare, "You play very well. I too would like to learn to play."
"You can learn quickly," said the musician. "You will only have to do what I tell you."
"Oh, musician," replied the little hare, "I will obey you like a pupil obeys his teacher."
When they had gone some distance together, they came to an aspen tree in a clearing in the woods. The musician tied a long string around the little hare's neck, then tied the other end of the string to the tree.
"Now quickly, little hare, run twenty times around the tree," shouted the musician, and the little hare obeyed. When he had run around twenty times, he had wound the string twenty times around the trunk of the tree, and the little hare was caught. The more the hare tugged and pulled, the more the string cut into his tender neck.
"Wait here until I return," said the musician, and went on his way.
the wolf, in the meantime, had pushed and pulled and bitten at the stone, and had worked so long that he freed his feet from the crack. Full of anger and rage he rushed after the musician, wanting to tear him to pieces.
When the fox saw him running by, he began to wail, crying out with all his might, "Brother wolf, come help me. The musician has tricked me."
the wolf pulled down the trees, bit the cord in two, and freed the fox, who went with him to take revenge on the musician. They found the tied-up hare, whom they rescued as well, then all together they set forth to find their enemy.
the musician had played his fiddle once again as he went on his way, and this time he had been more fortunate. The sound reached the ears of a poor woodcutter, who instantly, whether he wanted to or not, stopped working and, with his ax under his arm, came toward the musician to listen to the music.
"At last the right companion is coming," said the musician, "for I was seeking a human being, not wild animals." And he began to play so beautifully and delightfully that the poor man stood there enraptured, his heart filled with pleasure.
While he was thus standing there, the wolf, the fox, and the hare approached. He saw well that they had evil intentions, so he raised his shining axe and placed himself before the musician, as if to say, "Anyone who wants to harm him beware, for he will have to deal with me."
then the beasts took fright and ran back into the woods. The musician, however, played one more tune for the man to thank him, and then went on his way.
