School: Cill Liath (roll number 8696)
- Location:
- Killeagh, Co. Cork
- Teacher: Mícheál Ó Murchadha
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0396, Page 237
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- XML “The Clever Fox”
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- There is an old saying –"As cute as a fox"– and from the different stories you hear of his cleverness, you will admit there is a lot of truth in the proverb.
There was once a very poor widow who lived in a cottage close to a fox cover, which was inhabited by an old fox and six cubs.
Although the widow was poor she had the finest flock of geese, turkeys and hens in the countryside. The fowl were under the fox's nose crowing and cackling from morning 'till night. He appeared to know she was a widow for he never touched one of them.
One winter came very cold. All the country was snowed up and the fox being very hungry came to the widow's fowl house and although it was against his conscience, he took one of her finest hens. Next morning when the widow discovered her loss, she lost her temper and cursed the fox in three different languages. After a few days the weather got better and one fine morning when the widow counted her hens, she found she had two too many. She wondered who owned them but on looking up she saw Mr. Fox walking proudly away without waiting to be thanked. The queer part of it was that the hens he brought back were of the same colour and breed as the ones he took away.
- Collector
- Mary Cotter
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Curraghishal, Co. Cork
- Informant
- John Cotter
- Gender
- Male
