Once a fox saw a cock sitting high up in a tree. "What a good meal he could be for me!" thought the fox. But he could not climb up a tree. He wanted the cock to come down on the ground.
So the fox sat under the tree and said, "Hello, cock. I have some good news for you. There is an order from Heaven. Now all the birds and beasts shall live as friends. They shall not eat one another. Foxes shall not eat cocks and hens. So you need not be afraid of me now. Please come down. We shall sit and talk together."
The cock realized the fox's tricks and said, "That's good news indeed. I can see some of your friends coming to meet you."
The fox asked in surprise, "My friends? Who are they?”
The cock said, “Hounds.”
The word ‘hounds’ filled the fox with fear. He sprang up on his four legs.
The cock said, "Why should you be afraid of them? We all are friends now."
"I know that," said the fox. "But, perhaps, hounds do not know this."
And soon the fox ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. The cock was laughing.
