The Fox was in trouble.
His enemies had been looking for any opportunity to retaliate against him, for he had made many with his cunning plots and schemes. Time and time again, he had tricked others into doing as he wished, and they would only realize afterward when the Fox smugly announced what had occurred.
But now, they had taken their revenge. Forced down into a well, the Fox could not use outwit the stone walls, nor could he use his silver tongue to convince the water to aid him. He was trapped, and soon, he would wither away from a lack of food.
But hark! There came the sound of an animal approaching, most likely one who knew not of the plan to take vengeance upon the Fox. A wicked grin spread across the Fox's face.
"Oh Fox, why are you down in the well?" Looking skyward, the Fox saw the face of the Goat staring down at him. Not an animal he was familiar with, but that unfamiliarity went both ways; a fact of which the Fox was all too willing to abuse.
"Why Goat, have you not heard?" He spoke in hushed tones, just loud enough to echo up to the other animal. "It's... it's terrible!"
The Goat, in fearful tones, asked, "What is it, Fox? What is so terrible?"
"The... the Lion is out hunting! He has gone mad, and wishes to eat us all," the Fox told the Goat. "I am hiding in this well, for it is the only safe haven I could find. I don't believe the Lion would consider looking in here for his victims."
Just as the Fox planned, the Goat replied, "Oh dear! Is- is there room down there for two? I do not wish to be eaten either!"
"Of course! It may be tight, but I would not turn away a friend," the Fox replied, barely able to keep the sadistic glee from his voice.
And as the Goat leapt down, the Fox made his move. Leaping up, he sprung off the horns of the Goat, catching the edge of the well and pulling himself up.
"Fox, what are you doing?!" The Goat bleated, confused and scared. "The Lion will catch you if you go back up now!"
The Fox laughed. "Did you truly believe such a tale? We may have not met before, but surely the other animals told you about me. The Lion is on the hunt for none but me, and it was he and his companions that put me down in that well to begin with. Thank you for being so easily fooled; I would not have lasted long down there!"
He bounded away, free at last, and the Goat was left in the well, slowly adding to its pools with his bitter tears.
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Authors Note: I have not changed too much from the original tale, but I have expanded upon it and slightly changed the storytelling style. The original was a brief fable of the Fox falling into the well through a bad turn of luck, and then tricking the Goat into coming down by saying that there would be a drought and being in the well would provide water. I changed those two aspects, changing the Fox's descent into the well from misfortune to an intentional imprisonment. Since foxes are often known for trickery and deception, I thought it would work well to have the other animals that the Fox tricked be the ones to force him into the well. Similarly, the drought reasoning felt unconvincing to me, so I tried to change it to something that fit better. Lions often take the place of arrogant hunters in fables, so it could be easily believed by the Goat that the Lion would be on the hunt.
Biography: The Fox and the Goat from The Fables of Aesop, pg. 82, by Joseph Jacobs. Web Source
Image: Kitsune, Wikimedia Commons
