Reading Notes: Santal Folklore, Part B

(Red Fox, Wikipedia Commons)

In the Part B section of the Santal Folklore reading, I found the story "A Fox and His Wife" to be possibly the most intriguing to me.  The story describes a fox couple--husband and wife--who live with their five kits.  On their way back home to their children one night, they run into a tiger, who was waiting to eat them.  Although Mr. Fox has boasted about his intelligence before, it is Mrs. Fox who quickly responds with a request for the tiger--she needs him to help them solve a disagreement.  She tells him that the couple cannot split their five kits evenly between the two of them.  When the tiger hears that the couple has kids, he becomes greedy and wants to eat them too.  So, the three of them return to the fox den to bring out the children, so that they can divide them.  But when Mr. Fox goes in to get them, he never comes back out.  Mrs. Fox then goes in herself to check on Mr. Fox--backwards, so that the tiger can't eat her while her back is turned--and then announces that they no longer need help.  Angry, the tiger tries to go in himself to get the foxes out, but he can't fit into the den, and the foxes escape to live another day, thanks to Mrs. Fox.

Initially, the aspect of the story that most caught my attention was the fact that the fox was married to a wife, which is an instance of anthropomorphism that other stories like Aesop's Fables do not include.  The character of the fox's wife was unexpected to me.  Based on the beginning, I figured that the male fox would be the more dominant of the pair, but the female fox was quite clever and saved the day with her own quick wits.  She seemed to be a very humble and admirable character, brave and intelligent.  It would be interesting to retell the story through her perspective, as she comes out from the shadow of her husband into a place where she can save her family.  I bet there is a lot going on under the surface in her mind as she tricks the tiger.

Bibliography: "A Fox and His Wife," by Cecil Henry Bompas, Folklore of the Santal Parganas.