An old man and his goodwife lived all alone by themselves.
"You make the dough for some pies, Grandma, and I'll harness the sledge and fetch some fish to fill them with."
The old man caught a lot of fish and piled it on the sledge until it was full, and as he drove home he saw a fox lying in the middle of the road, all curled up in a ball.
He got off the sledge to look at the fox, and the fox didn't budge when he came near, she lay there as if she were dead.
"Now that's a bit of luck," thought the old man. "That fox'll make a nice collar for the old lady's coat."
So he picked up the fox and put her on top of the fish. All the way home he walked in front, leading the horse, and didn't look round once.
When the fox saw that the old man was not looking, she began throwing the fish off the sledge into the road, one fish after another. Soon there were no fish left and the fox slipped quietly away.
The old man got back to the house and called for his goodwife. "Come out here, old lady," he called. "Come and see what a wonderful collar I've brought you for your coat!"
She looked at the sledge and it was emptyno fur collar, and no fish, and she began scolding her husband.
"You stupid old so-and-so, you thought you could make a fool of me, did you?"
