One summer the fox heard that a nomad wolf was courting his neighbor, the elder she-dog. So the wily fox made himself an outfit of wolf's clothing: a grey fur cloak, boots and cap. Then, when the she-dog's brothers were away and she was at home with her younger sister, he called upon her.

"I have two herds of fat reindeer," said the fox to the elder sister, as he sipped the bilberry tea she offered him. "I have come to seek your hand."

Thinking that this was indeed the nomad wolf, the she-dog served him reindeer meat, hot mare's-blood sausages, raw walrus liver and pickled fish, all delicacies. The fox sat in his cap all the time lest he be recognized. He explained this with, "Being a wealthy person, I keep my cap on that people might respect me."

All of a sudden, the sound of dogs barking could be heard. "It is my brothers returning from hunting," the she-dog said.

The fox quickly thought up a plan and said, "They might scare my herds. I must go and caution them."

The fox went out and dashed up the nearby hill and loosened some rocks. When the dog brothers came in sight, he pushed the boulders down the hillside and crushed them all. Then he returned to the tent and finished his tea, chatting charmingly with the sisters. When the sisters got busy with their housework, he made off with all their food supplies.

Early next morning, the sisters became most alarmed on discovering their supplies gone and their brothers still absent. As they searched the valley and found their poor brothers dead, they wept in despair.

Not knowing what to do, they went to the nomad wolf to seek his advice. He was puzzled. "But I never came to you yesterday!" he exclaimed.

The sisters put two and two together and realized they had been tricked by their neighbour, the fox. With the wolf's help, they worked out a plan to get their revenge.

Next day, the fox, unaware that he had been discovered called on the sisters, again dressed as the nomad wolf. While the fox drank bilberry tea and exchanged pleasantries, the nomad wolf stealthily entered the tent, caught hold of the wicked fox and tied him up.

Then they put him in a sack and took him out in the tundra, collected dry grass and brushwood for a fire, piled it round the sack, surrounded the tinder with stones and then lit a fire.
Somehow the fox managed to get out of the burning sack, his wolf's clothing aflame, and rushed headlong over the tundra like a burning torch.

Satisfied at their revenge, the dog sisters and the wolf returned to the tent. The nomad wolf wed the elder sister, and the younger dog looked after their children. Sometime later, she found herself a husband too.

Since that time red foxes began to appear in the tundra. So it seems that wily old fox, scorched and fiery red, managed to survive his roasting after all.