[Illustration: REYNARD PREPARING FOR BATTLE.--Kaulbach.]

The king, remembering this celebrated judgment, and skillfully reminded by
Frau Rückenau of the bear's and the wolf's rapacity, consented at last to
give Reynard a second hearing. The fox now minutely described the treasures
he sent to court,--a magic ring for the king, and a comb and mirror for the
queen. Not only was the fable of the judgment of Paris engraved on the
latter, but also that of the jealous donkey, who, imitating his master's
lapdog, and trying to climb into his lap, received nothing but blows. There
was also the story of the cat and the fox, of the wolf and the crane, and,
lastly, the account of the miraculous way in which his father, a noted
leech, had saved Nobel's sire by making him eat the flesh of a wolf just
seven years old.

The pleader then reminded the king of a noted hunting party, where Isegrim,
having secured a boar, gave the king one quarter, the queen another,
reserved a half for himself, and gave the fox nothing but the head. This
division was of course very disloyal, and the fox showed that he thought so
by dividing a calf more equitably; i.e., giving the queen one half, the
king the other, the heart and liver to the princes, the head to the wolf,
and reserving only the feet for himself.

[Sidenote: Duel between the fox and the wolf.] Reynard prided himself upon
these tokens of loyalty, and then, seeing that he had made a favorable
impression, he volunteered, in spite of his small size, to meet the wolf in
battle and leave the vindication of his claims to the judgment of God. This
magnanimous behavior filled the king with admiration, and the trial was
appointed for the following day, the intervening hours being granted to
both combatants for preparation. Reynard, still advised by Frau Rückenau,