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<v Speaker 1>Old Sultan. Sultan had guarded the farmer's house for many years. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>his muzzle was gray, his legs were stiff, and most

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<v Speaker 1>of his teeth were gone. One evening, he heard the

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<v Speaker 1>farmer speaking to his wife. Sultan is too old to

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<v Speaker 1>be useful, the farmer said, tomorrow I will get rid

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<v Speaker 1>of him. His wife objected. He served us faithfully. He

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<v Speaker 1>deserves food and a warm place for the rest of

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<v Speaker 1>his life, but the farmer would not listen. Sultan remembered

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<v Speaker 1>following the farmer through winter snow when both were young.

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<v Speaker 1>He remembered barking at a chimney fire until the family woke.

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<v Speaker 1>He had never counted those things as favors. They had

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<v Speaker 1>simply been his work. Sultan crept away to the forest

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<v Speaker 1>and found his old friend, the wolf. Do not worry,

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<v Speaker 1>said the wolf. Tomorrow, when the family is in the hayfield,

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<v Speaker 1>we will make it appear that you saved their child

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<v Speaker 1>from me. Your master will remember how much he needs you.

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<v Speaker 1>Sultan disliked frightening the child, but he was desperate. The

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<v Speaker 1>Next day, while the farmer and his wife worked near by,

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<v Speaker 1>the wolf carried out the frightening trick. Sultan chased him

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<v Speaker 1>at once. A moment later, the child was safe on

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<v Speaker 1>the grass with Sultan's standing guard. When the farmer arrived.

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<v Speaker 1>Our old dog saved him, cried the farmer. He stroked

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<v Speaker 1>Sultan's head and promised that the dog would be cared

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<v Speaker 1>for all his days. That evening, Sultan received soft bread

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<v Speaker 1>soaked in gravy and a cushion near the stove. Several

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<v Speaker 1>nights later, the wolf came to the farm. I helped you,

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<v Speaker 1>he said. Now you must help me. Look away while

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<v Speaker 1>I take one sheep. Sultan stood up from his cushion.

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<v Speaker 1>I cannot the farmer trusts me to guard them. You

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<v Speaker 1>have plenty of sheep, said the wolf. None of them

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<v Speaker 1>are mine to give, and the baby was yours to frighten.

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<v Speaker 1>Sultan had no quick answer. The rescue had saved him,

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<v Speaker 1>but it had also been a trick. He wished the

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<v Speaker 1>farmer had remembered his years of service without needing a

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<v Speaker 1>new performance. The wolf showed his teeth. Then I will

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<v Speaker 1>come tonight and we shall see whether an old dog

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<v Speaker 1>can stop me, Sultan warned the farmer. When darkness came,

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<v Speaker 1>the farmer waded in the barn with a sturdy stick.

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<v Speaker 1>The wolf crept toward the sheep. Sultan barked. The farmer

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<v Speaker 1>rushed out, and the wolf escaped with a sore back

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<v Speaker 1>and no supper from the forest. He howled that Sultan

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<v Speaker 1>had betrayed their friendship. Sultan answered, a favor does not

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<v Speaker 1>buy everything, I believe. The wolf demanded a fight. He

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<v Speaker 1>chose a wild boar as his companion. Sultan asked a

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<v Speaker 1>three legged cat to come with him because the cat

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<v Speaker 1>was the only friend nearby. At dawn, the wolf and

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<v Speaker 1>boar waited in a clearing. The boar sharpened his tusks

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<v Speaker 1>against an oak. The wolf practiced a frightening growl, stopped

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<v Speaker 1>to off, and tried again. Meanwhile, Sultan and the cat

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<v Speaker 1>approached in a slow walk. We are badly outnumbered, said

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<v Speaker 1>the cat. There are two of us and two of them.

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<v Speaker 1>I was counting legs. The cat had only three, and

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<v Speaker 1>Sultan's four were not as dependable as they had once been.

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<v Speaker 1>They saw Sultan approaching beside the cat. The cat's tails

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<v Speaker 1>stood straight up because one leg was shorter. He limped

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<v Speaker 1>and swung his body strangely. Look at that, Saber, whispered

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<v Speaker 1>the boar, mistaking the tail for a weapon. And he

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<v Speaker 1>is picking up stones to throw, said the wolf. Watching

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<v Speaker 1>the cat hop, the boar hid beneath leaves. The wolf

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<v Speaker 1>climbed a tree. When Sultan reached the clearing, nobody seemed

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<v Speaker 1>to be there. Then the cat saw the boar's ear

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<v Speaker 1>twitch beneath the leaves. Thinking it was a mouse, he

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<v Speaker 1>pounced and bit it. The boar sprang up with a

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<v Speaker 1>squeal and crashed through the bushes. The guilty one is

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<v Speaker 1>in the tree, he shouted. He fled. Sultan looked up.

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<v Speaker 1>The wolf climbed down slowly. Neither animal felt eager to

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<v Speaker 1>fight any more. The wolf admitted he had asked for

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<v Speaker 1>something Sultan could not rightly give. Sultan admitted that the

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<v Speaker 1>false rescue had begun their trouble. The boar called from

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<v Speaker 1>the bushes that he had no part in the apology.

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<v Speaker 1>The cat climbed half way up the tree to make

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<v Speaker 1>sure the wolf had truly come down. We could all

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<v Speaker 1>go home, Sultan suggested. For Once everyone agreed, they ended

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<v Speaker 1>the quarrel, though they did not become as close as before.

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<v Speaker 1>Sultan returned to the farm. He still slept near the stove.

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<v Speaker 1>He still guarded the sheep when he heard movement outside.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes age made him slow. It did not make him

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<v Speaker 1>forget whose door he watched the end. As always, visit

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<v Speaker 1>us at Readthetale dot com for all your favorite tales

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<v Speaker 1>and stories.