The wolf, who wanted to be the village head (Ukrainian Folk Tale)

One day an Ass was driven out into a forest glade by his master and left there by himself to feed on the grass.

Now, just about then a Wolf, and a very hungry Wolf he was, was out in search of prey in the forest. He came out into the glade, and whom did he see there but the Ass!

"The Lord be thanked!” said the Wolf to himself. "I won't be going hungry much longer.”

But the Ass had seen the Wolf too and was trying to think how to escape being eaten by him.

The Wolf came up to him, and the Ass said:

"Hello there! I have been waiting for you for three days."

The Wolf was surprised.

"What did you want me for?" he asked.

"They are holding elections to the village council, and they could not decide for a time who was to be the village head. But then someone

named you, and the others were very happy about it and sent me to fetch you so that you might be placed in office.”

"How lucky for you that you found me!" said the Wolf.

"Yes, I'm so glad I did! Get on my back and I'll take you to the village."

The Wolf climbed on the Ass's back, and as soon as they got to the village the Ass began braying loudly. The villagers came running, and they were all amazed to see a Wolf on an Ass's back! They fell on him with sticks and cudgels and beat him to within an inch of his life so that it was all the Wolf could do to drag himself away.

He came to a field, and there was a man at work there stacking hay.

Seeing the Wolf, the man stopped working and hid behind the stack.

And the Wolf, who had eyes for nothing but the stack, made straight for it.

"If I could just crawl as far as that hay stack there," said he to himself, "I do so need a rest!”

He reached the stack, climbed up onto it and lay down.

"Now, what made me want to become the village head for?" he asked himself. "My grandfather never was one, and my father never was one either. What I deserve is another beating so that I will not be so foolish again!"

Now, the man who was hiding behind the stack heard him, he raised his pitchfork and ran the Wolf through with it, and the Wolf fell back with a jerk and breathed his last.