Storytelling for Week 13: The Fox and the Cat

 Reynard the Fox Web Source: Wikipedia

One day, the cat ran into a childhood friend of his, Mr. Fox. The fox had been away for several years, during which he devoted his time to his education. The cat approached the fox, who was carrying a large sack on his back, and greeted his old friend. However, the fox looked upon the cat with contempt. The fox considered himself to be greater than the cat, for he had spent his time learning hundreds of tricks for escaping predators. He the cat that he would consider the cat lucky if he knew but one of these tricks.

Indeed, the cat did know one trick. If ever he found himself fleeing from a predator, he would simply run up a tree and hide in the branches. He told this to the fox. The fox laughed and showed the cat the sack he had been carrying on his back. He explained that inside that sack were nearly a thousand tricks he could use, all of which would outperform the cat’s simple trick.

The cat became angry. He did not consider himself overly prideful, but he did not like the way his old friend had spoken to him. He decided to challenge the fox. The next day, they would open up the farmer’s fence that kept his many dogs from escaping. The dogs would immediately chase after the cat and the fox, and whoever demonstrated their trick the greatest would be the victor. The fox agreed and said that he would bring his sack and chose one at random to show that any of his tricks would be greater than the cat’s. The fox then went on his way.

The next morning, the fox and the cat met at the farmer’s fence. Already, the dogs were barking wildly at the two. They stood ten yards away while the rabbit, a mutual friend, waited for the cat’s signal to unlock the fence. The fox tried to open his sack to choose a trick, but could not untie the knot. What he did not know, was that, during the previous night, the cat snuck over and tied a knot around the bag so that it could not be opened. As the fox struggled with the sack, the cat told him to simply think of a trick from memory. However, the fox had not committed any of his tricks to memory; he only wrote them down and put them in his sack.

The cat then gave the rabbit the signal to unlock the fence. Immediately, the dogs began their chase. The cat found a nearby tree, ran up its trunk, and hid amongst its branches. As he looked down, he saw the fox still fumbling with his sack. He called out to the fox to hurry up and choose a trick, but it was too late. The fox could not think of a trick and was eaten by the dogs.

Author’s Note:

This story is based on The Fox and the Cat from the Brothers Grimm unit. The original story is basically the same as mine. However, I did add the part about the cat tying a knot around the sack. I like this story because it gives value to experience over education. Education is very important, but it is useless if not applied. The fox “knew” hundreds of tricks, but never did use any enough to commit to memory. The cat knew only one trick, but he practiced it often.

Bibliography

“The Fox and the Cat” from The Grimm Brothers’ Children’s and Household Tales translated by D. L. Ashliman (1998-2013).