I noticed in this unit that many of the fools are foxes. Foxes are known for being sly, clever and tricksters. I think this is really apparent in this series of stories. For example in Johnny-Cake, a cake rolls (not sure how…) and outruns a series of characters. As he comes upon each character he brags about how he has outrun a father, mother, son, two well diggers, two ditch diggers and a bear. When Johnny Cake comes upon a fox he yells out his same taunt, saying he's outrun all these other people and the fox replies that he couldn't hear Johnny Cake properly. As Johnny Cake gets closer and closer, repeating his phrase, the fox finally eats him up.
(Source by John D. Batten)
In Henny-Penny, the hen, goose, duck, rooster and turkey are all tricked by the fox. They are all trying to see the king to warn him that the sky is falling. When the fox hears of their mission he promises to lead them to the king. He says that he has a shortcut through his cave. Each animal is tricked by the fox and killed, with only the hen surviving. I think both of these stories really tell a lot about how foxes are seen in many cultures. Known for being cunning and sly, in many stories I've read they trick and fool other characters.
In general, the tricksters use their tricks to eat other characters. The other characters, or the "fools" are easily convinced and gullible. They follow the fox's instruction and influence quickly, making it almost too easy for the fox to trick them. You'd think that after all these stories the animals might learn from their mistakes!
Bibliography. English Fairytales Unit by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1890).
I read this unit too, and that is a good observation. I've noticed that the foxes are often the sly tricksters in other stories too. I wonder if the foxes trick the other animals because the foxes are hungry or just because they can. If the foxes are hungry and simply the smarter predator, then that is just how life goes. But if the foxes are killing the other animals simply to show how intelligent they are, then that is a very mean thing to do.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post! Foxes definitely seem to usually be cunning and tricky characters, especially in folktales and stories like Aesop's fables. I see that their role is very much the same in the English Fairytales. I've noticed, however, that once in a while these tricksters actually end up becoming fools themselves when their schemes and tricks end up backfiring on them.
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