Once in summer-time the bear and the wolf were walking in the forest,
and the bear heard a bird singing so beautifully that he said:
'Brother wolf, what bird is it that sings so well?' 'That is the King
of birds,' said the wolf, 'before whom we must bow down.' In reality
the bird was the willow-wren. 'IF that's the case,' said the bear, 'I
should very much like to see his royal palace; come, take me thither.'
'That is not done quite as you seem to think,' said the wolf; 'you
must wait until the Queen comes,' Soon afterwards, the Queen arrived
with some food in her beak, and the lord King came too, and they began
to feed their young ones. The bear would have liked to go at once, but
the wolf held him back by the sleeve, and said: 'No, you must wait
until the lord and lady Queen have gone away again.' So they took
stock of the hole where the nest lay, and trotted away. The bear,
however, could not rest until he had seen the royal palace, and when a
short time had passed, went to it again. The King and Queen had just
flown out, so he peeped in and saw five or six young ones lying there.
'Is that the royal palace?' cried the bear; 'it is a wretched palace,
and you are not King's children, you are disreputable children!' When
the young wrens heard that, they were frightfully angry, and screamed:
'No, that we are not! Our parents are honest people! Bear, you will
have to pay for that!'

The bear and the wolf grew uneasy, and turned back and went into their
holes. The young willow-wrens, however, continued to cry and scream,
and when their parents again brought food they said: 'We will not so
much as touch one fly's leg, no, not if we were dying of hunger, until
you have settled whether we are respectable children or not; the bear
has been here and has insulted us!' Then the old King said: 'Be easy,
he shall be punished,' and he at once flew with the Queen to the
bear's cave, and called in: 'Old Growler, why have you insulted my