--- title: XII. How the Bear Lost His Tail — Wigwam stories told by North American Indians · full text with trees description: XII. How the Bear Lost His Tail, «Wigwam stories told by North American Indians» by Mary Catherine Judd: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: (Iroquois) --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73136/37/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [Wigwam stories told by North American…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73136/) / XII. How the Bear Lost His Tail # XII. How the Bear Lost His Tail XII. How the Bear Lost His Tail of «Wigwam stories told by North American Indians» by Mary Catherine Judd: the whole text, 34 sentences and 418 words. The small number after every sentence leads to its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself. (Iroquois)[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") An old fox saw an Indian with a sled-load of fish.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") The fox wanted a fish, but was afraid of the man.[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") How could he get a fish without letting the Indian know?[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") At last he thought of a plan.[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") He laid himself down by the sled-road and made the Indian believe that he was dead.[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") The Indian wanted the fox’s skin, but did not have time to take it.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") He threw the old fox on the sled with the fish and pulled the big load towards his wigwam.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") While the Indian was hard at work pulling, the old fox pushed off two or three good fish and rolled off himself.[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") In a minute he was out of sight with the fish.[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") The fox met a wolf who asked him, “Where did you get the fish?”[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") The fox did not like the wolf, but told him the trick he had played on the Indian.[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") “It is easy.[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") Go and do it,” said the fox.[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") The stupid wolf ran away, and after seeing the Indian, lay down and waited as the fox had told him.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") The Indian found him, but he was not to be fooled twice by the same trick.[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") He pounded the old wolf with the stout stick he used for a cane.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") The wolf jumped up very sore and ran away to find the fox.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") He did not find him.[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") A bear saw the fox eating the fish while the wolf was gone.[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") “Where did your fish come from?” asked the bear.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") “Follow that road down to the river and you will find a fishing place.[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") Put that long bushy tail of yours into the water.[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") Wait until the fish bite it, then snatch them out.”[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") The bear ran down to the river and did just as the fox had told him, but the fishing place froze over while the bear waited for the fish to bite.[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") The bear did not know this, for his back was turned to the water.[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") It was a very cold day, and the bear thought he would walk and get warm.[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") He tried to get up, and his tail broke off short in the ice.[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") The bear ran so fast that he found the fox, and he wanted to fight him.[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") “I have done nothing,” said the fox.[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") “It is all because you are so slow.”[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") The bear never had a long tail after that time.[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") The fox never lost his fine one.[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") Kaanerwah, Iroquois Chief.[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") - ← previous: [XI. the Hunter Who Could Fly](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73136/36/) - next →: [XIII. the Blue Heron and the Wolf](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73136/38/) - ↑ back to [Wigwam stories told by North American Indians](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73136/)