The Professor Fox

A Mother’s Dilemma

On the edge of a river, overshadowed by a large bush, lived a tortoise with her three young children. The soft, round youngsters soon attracted the attention of a fox who lived in the nearby forest.

A Disguise of Courtesy

One morning, while strolling along the riverbank, the fox greeted the tortoise in a friendly manner and asked, as if out of genuine curiosity, “Madame Tortoise, how is it that I don’t see you as often as I used to?”

“Mr. Fox, although I love nature, I have very little time for sightseeing now that I have three toddlers to look after,” replied the tortoise.

The Education Question

“I’m glad to see you take your young ones seriously; that is the hallmark of an ideal mother. But tell me, what are you going to do for their education?” the fox inquired.

“Education?” the tortoise fumbled. “To be honest, I had never given it much thought!”

“I thought so. That’s where many mothers go astray,” observed the fox gravely. “They pamper their kids to no end but neglect their education, watching helplessly as the young ones grow up to be as foolish as themselves. I shudder to think of the future of our forest, which was once proud of many scholarly animals.” The fox sighed.

A Sly Proposition

The tortoise, now deep in thought, implored the fox to advise her on how to educate her children. The fox replied, “It has been a long time since I gave up my professorship, but all my former pupils now hold prestigious positions in the administration of the forest, serving the king lion. Since you are my neighbor, I will take it upon myself to educate your children. Hand them over to me.”

With hope in her heart, the tortoise led her young ones to the fox’s residence, a spacious hole a furlong away.

Devastating Realization

That night, the fox devoured one of the toddlers. The next day, when the mother tortoise came to check on them, the fox brought only one young tortoise out of his hole at a time, doing this three times. The mother tortoise returned, happy. When she visited again, though there was only one toddler left, the fox continued his charade by bringing it out three times, deceiving her into believing all was well.

The next day, however, the fox had nothing to show her. He promptly lied, stating that the pupils had been sent to his elder brother, the director of public instruction in the forest, for further education. While returning home, a crow that had witnessed the fox munching her little ones asked derisively, “At what price did you sell your kids to the fox?”

A Grieving Mother’s Fury

“Sold?” she scoffed. “It is for education, my dear crow, for the future of the forest that I have entrusted my boys to the professor fox!” she replied proudly.

The crow let out a cry that was both a laugh and a lament and then recounted the terrible truth about what the cunning fox had actually done to her children. Enraged, the tortoise set out to seek revenge, but the fox eluded her. All she could do was scream and curse him for an entire hour while the fox watched from a safe distance, grinning wickedly.

The Tortoise’s Plan

Determined to avenge her loss, the tortoise hatched a plan. One day, while the fox was crossing the river, she seized him by one of his legs underwater. The fox chuckled, “What a funny mistake! How confidently the tortoise bites a stick of bamboo, thinking it’s my leg!”

Realizing her error, the tortoise released him, and the fox leapt to the shore. Hours passed, but the tortoise kept waiting. When the fox appeared again, she swam close to the surface, ready to catch him during his next crossing. But the fox delayed, and after a long wait, the tortoise floated into view to see what was taking him so long. In an instant, the fox jumped onto her back and bounded to the other side before she realized what he was doing.

A Call for Help

Heartbroken, the tortoise returned to her lair and shed bitter tears. “I understand your agony,” said a comforting voice. The tortoise looked up to see the crow. “I will help you punish the wicked fox. While sitting on the queen’s window this morning, I overheard her plan to come bathe in the river this evening for the full moon. When the queen is neck-deep in water, swim near her stealthily and hang on to her necklace. To get rid of you, she will take off her necklace. As soon as she does, slip away and see what happens next,” instructed the crow.

Intrigued, the tortoise agreed to follow the plan.

The Queen’s Bath

That evening, as the moon rose, the queen arrived at the river with her maids, while her bodyguards waited by her bejeweled palanquin on the riverbank. Once the queen was deep in the water, the tortoise clung to her diamond necklace. Startled, the queen yanked the necklace off and, although the tortoise slipped away instantly, she let out a scream and threw it onto the bank. The crow swooped down, picked up the necklace, and flew away.

The queen’s maids raised an alarm, and the bodyguards rushed to the bank, seeing the crow fly off with the necklace, the diamond beads glinting like stars. They ran, shouting and swinging their clubs and swords, attempting to scare the crow into dropping the precious necklace. But the crow flew on, avoiding their grasp until he reached the fox’s den, where he dropped the necklace in full view of the queen’s men before soaring to the safety of a tall tree.

Justice Served

The guards surrounded the fox’s hole, and one of them thrust his sword inside. The frightened fox emerged instantly. Without wasting a moment, the guards brought down their heavy clubs on his back. He fell dead, releasing a piercing howl that the tortoise could hear from the river.

Before the guards returned to the queen with the necklace, the crow informed the jubilant tortoise of the tragic end of the cunning professor fox!