Many springtimes ago, according to an old Polish legend, tiny kittens had been chasing butterflies at the river's edge and fell in. The mother cat, helpless to save them, started crying. The willows at the river's edge swept their long graceful branches into the water - the kittens gripped on tightly to the branches and were rescued.

Each springtime since, goes the legend, willow branches sprout tiny fur-like buds where the tiny kittens once clung.

The fox was boasting to the cat of his clever devices for escaping his enemies. "I have a whole bag of tricks which contains 100 ways of escaping my enemies," he said. "I have only one," said the cat, "but I can generally manage with that." Just at that moment they heard the cry of a pack of hounds coming towards them, and the cat immediately scampered up a tree and hid herself in its branches.

"This is my plan," said the cat. "What are you going to do?" The fox thought and thought as he looked in his bag of tricks, and while he was debating the hounds came nearer and nearer. At last the fox in his confusion was caught by the hounds and soon killed by the huntsmen. Miss Puss, who had been looking on, said: "Better one safe way than 100 on which you can not reckon."