The Fox and the Cat

By vida wenokur

          The Fox found the Cat caught near the thornbush one day. It seemed that he was out of luck, and since the Fox was a canny individual she decided to save him. She brought him home with her so he could recover in the great Den that she guarded with many others.

          She did not see him then for several days, as she was very busy and he had much recovering to do. But he did call out to her when he saw her passing through the halls with a simple “hey!”

          She turned. “Is that all you have to say for yourself Kitten?” She asked. “I, with all my great tricks, brought you here, and that is how you address me?”

          The Cat looked a little sheepish, an expression far from natural for a cat. “You sure do have some great tricks.”

          “And how many tricks do you have?”

          “I know one trick,” The Cat said proudly. He pulled her to the side, out of the way of the others passing through the Den, so that they could speak softly.

          “Only one trick?” The Fox crossed her arms.

          “Yes. I have a talent for getting others’ attention. When they chase me, I can climb a tree and stay out of their grasp.”

          The Fox was unimpressed. “I have far more tricks than that. I suppose I shall have to spend some time tutoring you in them, my Kitten.”

And so she did. The Fox taught the Cat many things. They grew close as they dwelt together, sharing their lives. But she never could teach him all that she knew; she never had enough time. He knew many tricks though, enough to live and work in the Den. She had many dangers to attend to, many plans to make and deals to strike.

However, when Nox, tall and cloaked in night, went on the hunt, all the Fox’s plots fell away. With the trap pressing in all around her, she ran to the Cat. Perhaps he could escape. Perhaps it would be his first trick that could get him through, where all hers had failed.

This story follows the format of ATU type 105. The Aarene-Thompson-Uther classification system is for organizing the similarities in fairy and folk tales from around the world. You can click here to read a few other versions of this tale.