Today's fox story is one of Aesop's fables, "The Fox and the Grapes."
A Fox one day spied a beautiful bunch of ripe grapes hanging from a vine trained along the branches of a tree. The grapes seemed ready to burst with juice, and the Fox's mouth watered as he gazed longingly at them.
The bunch hung from a high branch, and the Fox had to jump for it. The first time he jumped he missed it by a long way. So he walked off a short distance and took a running leap at it, only to fall short once more. Again and again he tried, but in vain.
Now he sat down and looked at the grapes in disgust.
"What a fool I am," he said. "Here I am wearing myself out to get a bunch of sour grapes that are not worth gaping for."
And off he walked very, very scornfully.
There are many who pretend to despise and belittle that which is beyond...
I'm still in fox story mode. "The Fox Girl" was retold by James Riordan in Korean Folktales, 1994. It's a sad, bloody story.
There was once a wealthy man who had a son but no daughter. So badly did he want a daughter that he spent much of his time praying at temples and consulting fortunetellers. Finally, his prayers were answered and a girl was born: she was the apple of her fathers’ eye and could do no wrong.
When she was fifteen years old, the girl went mushrooming on the mountainside and was so engaged in her task that she did not notice the gathering shadows of dusk. Meanwhile, at home, her parents were becoming anxious, and they formed a search-party to comb the hills. However, just as they reached the top of a ridge they spotted the girl through the gloom in the valley below. Her father was much relieved.
‘Where have you bee, my dear?’ asked her father ‘We were...
I've got another fox tale today. In this one, they are mischievous, but also a bit magical.
Major Counselor Yasumichi's mansion had many foxes that live in the house and grounds. They were always making mischief but didn't do any harm to Yasumichi just ignored it. But over the years they became naughtier and naughtier and finally he became fed up and decided that enough was enough.
Yasumichi announced a fox hunt for the next day. The servants were to bring bows and arrows, sticks, or whatever weapons they could devise, and flush out every last fox. They would surround the house, and every fox that showed itself would be killed. Rather a major change in attitude I think. Couldn't they have just decided to scare them away from the mansion, not kill them. Don't worry though, these are foxes.
Near dawn Yasumichi had a dream. A white-haired old man, looking rather like an aged servant, was kneeling under the tangerine tree in...
A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned kitsune. Kitsune means fox in Japanese, but for us, it refers to the foxes in Japanese folklore. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. According to folklore, all foxes have the ability to shape shift into men or women. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others — as foxes in folklore often do — other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives. The more tails a kitsune has — they may have as many as nine — the older, wiser, and more powerful it is. the last story I share about the foxes, The Foxes' Wedding, was a happy tale, today's shows a different side of the kitsune.
A retainer who served the governor of Kai was heading home one evening from the governor's mansion when he saw a fox. The man chased the fox and...
Today's story comes from Folktales on Stage by Aaron Shepherd. The book is a very nice collection of scripts for children. Some were new to me and others familiar. There are funny stories and tales with a moral lesson. The scripts are clear and appropriate for children. If I worked with a group of kids, whether in school or storytime, I think it would be a nice addition to my shelves.
Shepherd based "The Boy Who Wanted the Willies" on a tale by the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, "The Story of a Boy Who Went Forth to Learn Fear" but added a lot of changes and embellishments.
There was once a boy, Hans, who was never afraid of anything, mostly because he didn't have enough sense to be afraid. One evening Hans and his sister were walking by a graveyard when the sister said the place gave her the willies. Hans asked what the willies were and his sister told him the willies are when...
A few weeks ago when we were at Origins Game Fair, Amber and I did a brief demo of Kitsune, a card game based on the kitsune, Japanese fox -spirits. I finally decided to look for one of the fox tales and found "The Foxes' Wedding." It's actually just a nice story where nothing goes wrong and everyone lives happily ever after. The story appears in Tales of Old Japan by Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford. The illustration above is available thanks Project Gutenberg.
Once upon a time there was a young white fox, whose name was Fukuyémon. When he was old enough, he shaved off his forelock and began to think of taking to himself a beautiful bride. The old fox, his father, resolved to give the son his inheritance early and retired into private life; so the young fox, grateful, worked hard to increase the fortune. The you white fox was determined to marry a certain lady-fox, who had such lovely fur that the fame...