Sly as a Fox: How Trickster Stories Teach Us Lessons
A hungry fox walks up to a grapevine. Juicy purple grapes hang high above. The fox jumps and jumps but cannot reach them. Finally, the fox walks away saying, 'Those grapes were probably sour anyway!' This story is more than 2,500 years old — a storyteller named Aesop in ancient Greece used a tricky fox to teach a lesson about making excuses. People all over the world have been telling fox trickster stories ever since!
What You'll Learn
In this lesson you will: Learn what a trickster character is in folklore. Find out why foxes appear in stories from many different countries. Discover the lesson, called a moral, that trickster stories teach. Meet fox and trickster characters from Japan, West Africa, and ancient Greece!
What Is a Trickster?
A trickster is a special kind of character in folk stories. Tricksters are clever and sneaky. They use their brains instead of big muscles to get what they want. Sometimes they trick other animals or people — and sometimes they get tricked themselves! Tricksters appear in stories from every culture on Earth. In Japan, a fox spirit called the Kitsune is a famous trickster. In West African and Caribbean stories, Anansi the spider is a beloved trickster. In many Native American tales, Coyote plays tricks on everyone. And foxes appear in European fables as one of the sneakiest tricksters of all.
The Clever Fox in Action
Why is the fox such a popular trickster character? People noticed that real foxes are genuinely clever animals! Foxes can remember where they buried food, find ways past fences, and sneak into chicken coops without being caught. In one famous Aesop fable, a fox flatters a crow who is holding cheese in her beak. The fox says, 'What a beautiful voice you must have! Please sing for me!' The crow opens her beak to sing — and plop! — drops the cheese right into the fox's waiting mouth. The lesson? Be careful when someone flatters you. They may want something from you.
A moral is the lesson a story is trying to teach. When you finish a fable or folk tale, ask yourself: what did the storyteller want me to learn? Fox stories often teach us to think before we speak, watch out for flattery, and not give up — even when things seem hard.
Trickster Fox Stories From Around the World
JAPAN: The Kitsune is a magical fox that can turn into a person. Some Kitsune help humans, while others play pranks. As a Kitsune grows older and wiser, it grows more tails — up to nine! A nine-tailed fox is the wisest and most powerful of all. KOREA: The Gumiho is also a nine-tailed fox, but in Korean stories it often shapeshifts to fool people, sometimes as a villain and sometimes as a trickster. NATIVE AMERICAN PLAINS: Among some Plains nations, Fox and Coyote appear together as friendly rivals — two tricksters competing to see who is smarter. ANCIENT GREECE: In Aesop's fables, the fox uses words and flattery to outsmart animals much larger and stronger, including lions and wolves.
Flashcards — click each card to reveal the answer
In the fable about the crow and the cheese, how does the fox trick the crow?
Write Your Own Trickster Fox Story
You are going to write a tiny trickster fox story! It only needs 4 to 6 sentences. Follow this plan: (1) SET UP — What does the fox want? It could be food, something shiny, or a way across a river. (2) THE TRICK — How does the fox use cleverness or words to get it? (3) THE RESULT — Does the trick work? What happens? (4) THE MORAL — Write one sentence starting with 'This story teaches us that...' Then draw a picture of your fox in the middle of pulling the trick! Share your story with someone and ask them: Did the fox deserve to win?
What makes a character a trickster in folklore?
Match each trickster character to the culture or place its stories come from.
Terms
Definitions
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