Master Fox had his home on the hillside. Every evening, he went down to the valley, prowled about the poultry yards of the farmers and ran back to the hillside with a fat cock or hen between his teeth.

Master Fox had his home on the hillside. One evening, as he was going down, he met God, who rebuked him with these words: “Master Fox, you do a great wrong by stealing hens from the poor farmers in the valley. You rob them of their daily bread. Come with me, and I will teach you to eat and live like a gentleman.”

The idea pleased Master Fox, for he had a great ambition to eat and live like a gentleman. So he went with God. When they reached a clearing, God sat down on a high rock and said, “Master Fox, go and fetch me some stones from yonder.”

Master Fox went forth eagerly and soon collected a heap of stones. God raised his hand and blessed them three times, and behold, the stones were turned into
loaves of fresh bread. “Have your fill now,” he said.

Master Fox fell upon the loaves with a great appetite, and as he ate them, he felt that he was on a fair way of becoming a real gentleman. “You must be thirsty now,” said God to him. “Would you like to have some cool, fresh water?”

Master Fox was dry in the mouth and said readily, “Yes, please.”

“Go to yonder rock and strike your right knee on it three times,” God bade him, and He raised His hand and blessed the spot thrice. Master Fox did as told, and immediately, there burst forth a limpid spring from the hard rock. Master Fox
quenched his thirst and left refreshed.

“Now, you will certainly like to have a drive home in a carriage and pair, like a gentleman, Master Fox,” said God.

Master Fox had never driven in a carriage and pair, and he felt that he must drive home like a gentleman. God told him to bring four sticks, two mice and a red bug.
Master Fox hurried here and there and got the desired things. God raised His hand and blessed them thrice, and a beautiful carriage drawn by two horses stood ready before Master Fox. A red-coated driver held the reins in his hands. Master Fox felt ecstatic as he looked out of the window at the fading landscape and the twinkling lights in the valley. But an idea began to grow fast in his mind, and before he reached his house, he jumped out of the carriage and sped fast towards the general meeting place. He howled loud and long, calling upon his fellows to come for an urgent meeting.

Foxes from all the corners of the hill came forth, and soon there was a large gathering of old and young. Master Fox took his stand high up on a prominent rock and addressed his audience. There was a general hush of silence into which his words rang out clearly.

“Dear brethren, I have called you at this unusual hour because I have a matter of great importance to communicate to you. It concerns your comfort and happiness.

For ages, our kind have had to suffer from the cruelty of farmers, in our attempt to earn our daily flesh and fowl. From this day, we shall never endure any humiliation. I shall teach you to eat and live like gentlemen.” The foxes looked at one another in great surprise, and the elderly wizened ones shook their heads at this overly pretentious idea of this upstart and wiseacre. “The old ways of our fathers are good enough for our children and us,” they murmured. But the younger generation was taken up by the idea, and said, “We would like to eat and live like gentlemen. Tell us how.”

Master Fox was greatly pleased. “Listen, brethren,” he said, with enthusiasm. “Do as I tell you. Go and fetch, each of you, several stones. Heap them up in front of me. Here,” he said, pointing to a spot. The younger foxes went in all directions and cleared the hillside of all the stones. The heap rose into a tower.

Master Fox then solemnly proceeded to do as God had done. He raised his right foreleg and waved it in the form of a cross. Old and young watched him with bated breath. He waved thrice and looked at the heap of stones. Nothing happened. The stones were as black and hard as before.

He tried again, this time with a greater show of ceremony. Nothing happened. The spectators looked at Master Fox and then at one another and raised their brows. The elderly ones who had been sceptical shook their heads as if to say, “What did we say?”

Master Fox wondered what had gone wrong, but thought it better to try again. For the third time, he waved his foreleg. There was a general murmur of impatience, and some of them booed.

Master Fox had to act quickly to save the situation, and so he threw out his chest and said, “Friends, it’s too late to eat bread. Gentlemen eat bread in the mornings at breakfast. I will give you water instead. I am sure you are thirsty, for you had to come running here.”

The idea was welcomed by the younger ones who were really thirsty. “It’s simple,” he continued. “Each of you strike your right knee thrice on the rocky ground, and water will burst forth.”

The thirsty ones struck the ground with their right knee, while Master Fox raised his foreleg and waved it in the air. The hillside soon looked like a vast quarry, with
the foxes breaking solid rock with their knees. But the ground was as dry as ever, and their mouths grew drier and more parched. There was grumbling all over, and
pain and disappointment were written on the faces of the crowd.

“Patience! Patience!” cried Master Fox, in a voice that was choking with terror. “It’s the wicked owl that has cast the evil eye upon me, and caused all this pain to your knees. You can’t go home limping. I will make a carriage and pair for each of you, so that you are driven home like gentlemen. Go and fetch, each of you, four
sticks, a pair of mice and a red bug.”

The foxes limped in all directions, and each fetched the sticks, mice and bugs. The sceptical elders watched with growing irritation and said among themselves, “Fools learn by experience.” Master Fox once again began his acrobatics with his foreleg. But the mice remained mice, and the red bugs remained red bugs. Soon, the hillside became the playground of the mice.

Master Fox was now at his wits’ end. The whole hillside rumbled as if with thunder. He turned to the right and saw an army of clenched white teeth snarling at him and advancing upon him. He turned to the left, and the same sight met him.

He turned to look behind him, and there were snarling teeth. And in front, the whole hillside gleamed with white teeth and fierce eyes. There was no escape. Master Fox was torn into a thousand pieces.

A folktale sourced from The Wise Fools of Moira and Other Goan Folk Tales collected by Prof. Lucio Rodrigues.

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