Old Sultan

Sultan was a devoted dog owned by a farmer who could no longer grasp onto anything due to old age and tooth loss. The farmer once declared, while standing with his wife in front of the front door, "The following day I aim to shoot Old Sultan. He is no more helpful.”

His wife said in response, "He worked for us so long, and he's been so loyal, that we might as well provide him his keep." The wife said this out of pity for the devoted animal.

The man questioned, "What? You are not intelligent. He has no teeth left in his mouth, thus no burglar is afraid of him. Now he can go. If he served us, then he must have eaten well.”

The unfortunate dog, who was nearby resting flat in the sun, heard everything and lamented the fact that tomorrow would be his last day. He was good friends with the wolf, and in the evenings, he would sneak out into the forest to visit with him and lament his impending doom.

“Listen, kinsman, be optimistic,” the wolf said. “I'll save you from this problem. I have an idea in mind. Your master will leave the house tomorrow early in the morning with his wife to go make hay. They will also take their young child with them. The child is laid in the shade behind the hedge while they are at work. You also lie down there, acting as though you were trying to protect the child. Then I'll emerge from the forest and take the kid away. You must pursue me quickly, as if you were going to get it from me. I'll let it fall, and you'll bring it back to its parents, who will believe you saved it and be extremely thankful to hurt you. On the other hand, you will receive royal treatment, and you will never again go without.”

The dog liked this approach, and it worked out as expected. The father cried out when he saw the wolf running across the field with his child. When Old Sultan brought the child back, the father was overjoyed and stroked him while saying, "Good job, Old Sultan. Not one of your hair will be touched. For as long as you live, you will be fed for free.”

And he instructed his wife, “Go and immediately make some bread soup for Old Sultan so he wouldn't have to bite. Bring my bed's pillow, as well. He can use it to lie on.” Old Sultan was thereafter in the best state of wellness he could have imagined.

A short while later, the wolf paid him a visit and expressed his happiness that things had gone so well. “But, kinsman, if I ever get the chance to steal one of your master's fat sheep, you'll just close a single eye,” he said.

Don't count on it, the dog answered. "I'll continue to be loyal to my lord. I'm unable to accept it.”

The wolf assumed the phrase was not being said sincerely, so he snuck in to steal the sheep in the middle of the night. However, the farmer whom the obedient Sultan had informed of the wolf's plan waited for him and cruelly combed his hair with a flail. Only wait, you scoundrel. You'll be sorry,” the wolf yelled out to the dog as he fled.

The dog was challenged by the wolf, who sent the boar to inform the dog the following morning to enter the woods and resolve the dispute. Old Sultan was unable to find a second, so he chose a cat with only three legs. As they ventured outside together, the poor cat limped and arched its tail upward in misery.

The wolf and his companion were already there when their attacker arrived, but they mistaken the cat's extended tail for a saber and assumed he was carrying one with him. They also believed that each time the poor animal hopped on three legs, it was picking up a stone to shoot at them. They then became alarmed. The wolf climbed a tree while the wild boar skulked into the brush.

The dog and the cat questioned why no one was in sight as they got closer. However, the wild boar hadn't been able to completely cloak himself in the leaves. He still had protruding ears. The cat was warily scanning the area when the boar wiggled his ears. Thinking it was a mouse, the cat leaped on it and bit down severely. “The guilty party is in the tree,” the boar rushed up and yelled.

The wolf was seen when the dog and cat turned to look at him. Embarrassed by his display of terror, the wolf quickly made peace with the dog.