The Wolf and the Fox

Foxes are often made out to be clever, sneaky and naughty in fairytales. Rarely are they good or friendly. Foxes are not evil as wolves in fairytales but they still get a bad reputation.

Here is a brief outline of the story “The Wolf and the Fox” by the Brothers Grimm.

A wolf and a fox lived together in a den. (It’s debatable if the wolf was a boy and fox a girl but in actual life, wolves and foxes can’t produce offspring together). The wolf is large and has huge sharp teeth. He’s the more aggressive and dominant. The fox is smaller and gentle and always bullied by the wolf. The wolf tells the fox to get some food, and the fox goes out to look for some scraps. She goes to a field and takes a small lamb. But after she brings the lamb home to the den, Wolf is not satisfied and wants another and something bigger. Wolf goes out to the field and tries stealing a full sized sheep, but he’s caught red handed by the farmer, who whacks him.
Another day, wolf demands that fox get some more food. The fox goes to a bakery and she takes some cakes and goes home carrying two cakes. Wolf is annoyed that it isn’t enough as he wants more cake and goes out by himself to get some. When he gets to the bakery, he makes a mess by knocking over buckets, stools and brooms. The baker sees wolf and hits him.
Then next time, fox has to go and find meat for herself and the wolf. She finds a cellar with meat stored there being chilled and salted. She takes it and goes home, but wolf is greedy and wants more meat. This time, fox and wolf go to the cellar together, but a butcher can hear them. Fox is able to get away as she’s quieter, smaller and sneaky but wolf is big and lumbersome. He gets caught and is killed.
Basically the story has shown that of the two, fox is clever, graceful and sneaky, is able to hide and not get caught. The wolf, being larger and more ferocious, is scarier but also clumsy because he’s uncouth.