Issue nº 220

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In the days when animals spoke

When I was a child, a great many stories started with two phrases: the first and best known was “Once upon a time...”

The second, also well known to Brazilians, was: “In the days when animals spoke...” Perhaps this tradition began with the fables of an old slave, Aesop, who lived over two and a half centuries ago. The origins of the tradition are also legendary; depending on the encyclopedia consulted, its birthplace varies from Greece to Ethiopia. But this does not have the least importance, for the legacy has crossed time, proved successful in all generations, and is still alive today.

Now and again I reread what they teach, and they strike me as more important than what many current philosophers teach. Below are some fables that use the motif of the fox; these stories are so strong that even today the poor animal is a synonym for cunning.

The fox and the monkey king

The animals decided that the king of the group would be elected by the best dancer. At the end of a big feast, the monkey was crowned king.

The jealous fox went for a walk around the neighborhood. There he discovered a trap intact with food inside it. He swiftly picked it up and brought it to the group:

“I found this banquet and felt that I had to bring it to our king, who shall have priority in all things.”

In all innocence, the monkey stretched out his paw to get the food, and was caught in the trap.

“You betrayed me!” he shouted.

“What do you mean? I did not even try to take the food! But at least we have seen that you are not fit for the position; an intelligent animal would never make a decision without first thinking a lot about all the possibilities and dangers involved.

The fox with the cut tail

A fox was caught in a trap. She managed to free herself, but her tail was cut off. From then on, she began to find herself fearfully ugly. But she found a solution: on meeting her friends she would say:

“I think the latest style now is to have your tail cut off. It makes hunters covetous, and it’s of no use to us, just a useless weigh that we carry around.”

“Dear sister,” answered one of the friends, “if you had a tail, would you be giving us this advice? We are wise enough to know when someone wishes us well or when they just want to make us share their deficiencies.”

The fox and the farmer

Tired of seeing his harvest always being partly destroyed by that small animal, the farmer managed to capture the fox. Without the least pity, he drenched it with firewater and set fire to it.

Knowing she was going to die, the fox began to run through the crops, and everything around her caught fire too. While she was running off, she shouted:

“Next time, try to be understanding and indulgent! It’s always better to give a little of what you have than to want to keep it all! Whenever we do bad, it ends up working against us!”

The fox and the crow

The crow stole a piece of cheese from some shepherds and settled in a tree to enjoy it. At that moment a hungry fox passing by asked for a bit of the cheese, but the crow said no with a shake of his head.

Then the fox began to say that the crow had all the qualities: he was smart, he knew how to fly, and he had beautiful black feathers. He had only one defect: he could not sing like the other birds.

To prove that the fox was wrong, the crow opened his mouth to sing, and the cheese fell to the ground. The fox seized it immediately and left, saying:

“Dear friend, such is the price of vanity! When someone praises you so highly, you should always be suspicious!”