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“I can’t account for it,” said the ox. “But I have a decided conviction that we ought to kill them as soon as possible. They bring misfortune. They are evil. If you don’t follow my advice, rely upon it, one day you will all regret it.”

“I agree with the ox,” cried the horse. “Bite them to death! Kick them to pieces! And the sooner the better!”

“Kill them, kill them!” cried the sheep, the goat and the stag, with one voice.

“Yes, do, do!” screamed the duck, the goose and the hen.

“I have never heard anything like this in my life,” said the lion, looking round in surprise at the crowd. “It’s just the most peaceable and timid animals in the forest that want to take the strangers’ lives. What have they done to you? What are you afraid of?”

“I can’t tell you any more than the ox can,” said the horse. “But I feel that they are dangerous. I have such pains in my loins and legs.”

“When I think of those two, I feel as if I were being skinned,” said the ox. “I feel teeth biting into my flesh.”

“There’s a tugging at my udders,” said the cow.