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Japanese fairy tales Oni Tengu Kitsune Tanuki Kami
The Greatful Fox
Once a group of children caught a young fox which they bound with
ropes. They were carrying the frightened animal to the village to sell
for fur when they ran into a young man who offered them some money for
the fox. The young man’s friend laughed at him for wanting the
animal but he laughed even harder when he found out that his friend had
purchased the fox simply so he could set it free.
The fox ran off and rejoined his parents who had been watching what had
happened from afar and were both overjoyed and grateful to the young
man.
For a long time afterwards no one thought much of what had happened and
the man who’d freed the fox moved to a distant city. The man grew
ill and the doctors said that his life could only be saved with a
fox’s liver, but none of his friends were able to help him obtain
one. A letter was sent out requesting that a fox’s liver be sent.
A while later a well dressed, very polite but sad man came with a fresh
fox’s liver.
The patient was immediately treated and soon was well again. He
believed of course that a friend from the small town had sent the
remedy and was therefore surprised to receive a letter starting that
there was a shortage of foxes and so his friend had been unable to buy
a liver. The man then remembered his earlier encounter with the foxes
and realized that they must be his benefactors. He didn’t know
for certain however until he moved back to his previous home where he
once again saw the fox. He called out the animal which came to him. The
fox came to him and reported that he and his wife had learned of his
illness, and so they had sacrificed one of their sons to keep him
alive. The man was deeply touched and thanked the fox with tears in his
eyes. He promise that he would donate a beautiful fox portrait at the
temple of the kam Inari according to the ancient custom in which
pictures of foxes line the temple entrances.
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