The Ukrainian folk tale "A Furry Thief (Sister Fox)"

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A Furry Thief (Sister Fox)

Ukrainian Folk Tale retold by Clever Hedgehog

Illustrations: Olga Zhestkova

Kids, do you remember that foxes are not pets? They are wild animals that hunt birds and small animals. They sometimes come close to villages where they can snatch a chicken. This is a story that Clever Hedgehog heard from his Grandfather.

Once upon a time, a Fox came to a small Ukrainian village. One night, She stole a chicken. She made off with it but wanted to find a place to hide. The “furry thief” made a plan to disguise herself as a humble traveler and ask to stay overnight among people in a house!

The Fox spotted a little house just ahead, knocked on the door, and came inside holding a sack with the chicken:

“Good evening, good people!” the Fox kindly said to the family in the house.

A Furry Thief (Sister Fox) Казка Лисичка-сестричка

“Good evening to you, Sister Fox!” they replied.

“Do let me in for the night!” continued the Fox.

“Our house is small and there is not enough room for you,” the people replied.

“Don’t worry! I’ll curl up on the bench and cover myself with my tail as a blanket”, said the Fox.

“All right, then”, the people agreed.

“But where should I put my sack with a chicken?”, asked the Fox.

“Put it near the fireplace”, the people answered.

The Fox did as she was told. Later at night, she woke up and ate the chicken.

In the morning, she woke up her hosts with the news: “I can’t find my chicken! Where is my chicken? You have stolen it!”, the Fox said.

The family looked in every corner of the house, but the chicken was not there.

The Fox sat down and pretended to cry. “All I had to my name was that chicken,” she sobbed, “and now it is gone! You must give me a duck in return.”

The request sounded fair, so they gave her a duck. The Fox put it in her sack and ran away.

The day passed, and it was time to find a new place to stay overnight. The Fox saw a house, knocked on the door, and came inside holding a sack with a duck:

“Good evening, good people!”, the Fox kindly said to the family in the house. “Do let me in for the night!”

“Our hut is small and there is not enough room for you,” the people said.

“Don’t worry! I’ll curl up on the bench and cover myself with my tail, and that’s how I’ll spend the night”, reassured the Fox.

“All right, then”, the family agreed.

“But where should I put my sack with a duck?”, asked the Fox.

“Put it under the bench”, the people answered.

The Fox did as she was told. But she got up in the middle of the night and ate the duck.

The next day, the Fox woke up her hosts with the news: “I can’t find my duck! Where is my duck? You have stolen it!”, she said.

They looked around the house, but the duck was not there.

“All I had to my name was that duck, and now it is gone!”, she sobbed. “You must give me a goose in return.”

The request sounded fair, so they gave her a goose. The Fox put it in her sack and ran away.

She ran and ran until night was upon her. She saw a hut just ahead, so she knocked on the door, and came inside holding a sack with a goose:

“Good evening, good people! Do let me in for the night!”, the Fox kindly said to the family in the house.

“We can’t do that! Our hut is small and there is not enough room for you,” the people replied.

“Don’t worry! I’ll curl up on the bench and cover myself with my tail, and that’s how I’ll spend the night”, reassured the Fox.

“All right, then”, the people agreed.

“But where should I put my sack with a goose?”, asked the Fox.

“Put it near the window”, the answer was.

The Fox did as she was told. But she got up at night and ate the goose.

The next day, the Fox woke up her hosts with the news: “I can’t find my goose! Where is my goose? You have stolen it!”, she said.

They looked everywhere, but the goose was not there.

“Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I had nothing to my name but the goose, and now it’s gone! You must give me a lamb in return,” said the Fox.

We don’t know how many villagers the Fox tricked this way until she came to this house. The owner of the house heard many similar unfortunate stories. For him, the Fox’s request sounded unfair: a lamb for a small goose! He didn’t want to be tricked into giving away one of his cute lambs.

After the Fox put a lamb into the sack, the family distracted the Fox for a few moments, and the man let the lamb out of the sack and put in a dog instead. The Fox took the sack and left.

And as she walked along, she was proud of herself thinking, “A duck for the chicken, a goose for the duck, a lamb for the goose! I will ask for a goat next!”

She shook the sack, and the dog inside went, “Rrrrrr-r-r!”

“That’s odd! The lamb growls like a dog!”, thought the Fox. She untied the sack and out jumped the dog.

The Fox bolted away, the dog ran after her, and the villagers never saw the Fox again.

The End

Did you like the story? Why did the Fox ask to stay in people’s houses? What did the Fox do each night after she was let inside? Have you read the fairy tale about how the Fox tricked two bear cubs?

🦊🧑🏼‍🌾 🐓🦆🪿🐑🐕