There was once a sly old fox with nine tails, who was very curious to know whether his wife was true to him: so he stretched himself out under a bench, and pretended to be dead as a mouse.
Mrs Fox, Brothers Grimm (Trans. unknown)
*****
I’m presently translating a few fairy tales and for inspiration have been going through a book of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. When I read this opening line I laughed and read it again.
I’ve found another version of the story entitled How Mrs Fox Married Again, which gives more of a clue about the plot than the simpler Mrs Fox.
Illustration by Walter Crane, found in Project Gutenberg.
