A man and a fox

There was once a man cutting a tree in the wood and a fox came along and he asked the man could he hide behind the tree that the hunters were coming to kill him and the man told him he could.
When the hunters came they asked the man did he see any fox. He shook his head but he wanted to please the hunters and he pointed with his thumb. The hunters did not understand him and they went away.

When the hunters were gone the fox came out and went away. The man said “you are a mean fellow that would not thank me for letting you hide behind the tree”. The fix said “I would have thanked you if you were as good with your hand as you were with your head”.

Original Source

The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0041, Page 216