The Fox and the Cat

In the forest the cat meets the fox. The fox looks down on the cat, but it remains to be seen who will escape when the hunter arrives…

The Fox and the Cat is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale about a cat and a fox. The cat is friendly, she knows only one way to escape the hunting dogs. The fox looks down on her, he knows a thousand ways. However the fox is caught when the hunter arrives and the cat escapes.

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Complete text The Fox and the Cat

It so happened that the cat met the fox in a forest. She thought to herself, “He is clever and full of experience and much esteemed in the world.”

She spoke to him in a friendly way. “Good day, dear Mr. Fox, how are you? Is everything alright with you? How are you getting through this dear season?”

The fox, full of all kinds of arrogance, looked at the cat from head to foot. For a long time he did not know whether he would give an answer or not.

At last he said, “Oh, you wretched beard cleaner, you piebald fool, you hungry mouse hunter, what is going on in your head? Are you in a place to ask me questions? What have you learned? What kind tricks do you know?”

“I know only one trick,” the cat, replied modestly.

“And what is that?” the fox asked.

“When the hunting dogs are on my tail, I can spring into a tree and save myself.”

“Is that all?” the fox said. “I am master of a hundred tricks and have into the bargain a sackful of cunning. You make me feel sorry for you. Come with me, I will teach you how people get away from the hunting dogs.”

Just then a hunter with four dogs arrived. The cat sprang nimbly up a tree and sat down on top of it. She sat there quite concealed by the branches and foliage.

“Open your sack, Mr. Fox, open your sack,” the cat cried to him, but the dogs had already seized him and were holding him fast.

“Ah, Mr. Fox,” the cat cried. “You with your hundred tricks are left in the lurch! Had you been able to climb like me, you would not have lost your life.”

Tips for Telling The Fox and the Cat

• In this fable, the fox looks down on the cat. While telling this story, you could show who is speaking in the dialogue by looking a little up for the cat and a little down for the fox.
• This fable is more interesting when you don’t explicitly tell your listeners what the two characters feel about each other. Feel it when you are telling the scenes of the story, and your listeners will feel it without being told in words.
• There are more short stories involving foxes (see below), you might want to combine some of them as episodes in a bigger story.

All Questions Answered

More Useful information

• “The Fox and the Cat” on Wikipedia

Fairy tales with a cat

• Cat and Mouse in Partnership
• Herr Korbes
• Old Sultan
• The Bremen Town Musicians
• The Fox and the Cat
• The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was
• The Wedding of Mrs. Fox

Fairy tales with a dog

• Frederick and Catherine
• Old Sultan
• Sleeping Beauty
• The Bremen Town Musicians
• The Dog and the Sparrow
• The Fox and His Cousin
• The Fox and the Cat
• The Good Bargain
• The Mouse, the Bird and the Sausage
• The Three Languages

Fairy tales with a fox

• The Fox and His Cousin
• The Fox and the Cat
• The Fox and the Geese
• The Fox and the Horse
• The Golden Bird
• The Hare’s Bride
• The Wedding of Mrs. Fox
• The Wolf and the Fox
• The Wolf and the Man
• The Wonderful Musician

Fairy tales with a hunter

• Little Brother and Little Sister
• Little Red Riding Hood
• Snow White
• The Fox and the Cat
• The Six Swans
• The Wolf and the Man

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