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Stories & Legends
Chantecler and the Fox
Elaine Marie Jordan
The Cock and the Fox is one of the fables of Aesop, a learned slave in the mid-6th century BC in ancient Greece. The various collections that go under the title Aesop's Fables have been enjoyed for centuries for their clever portrayal of animals in various situations speaking as humans, and for the moral lessons implicit in those tales. In the 17th century, the most famous French fabulist Jean de La Fontaine put many of Aesop’s stories to verse in his collection of Fables.
This story of Chantecler and the Fox celebrates the astuteness of the cock, which gets the better of the fox in a game of wits. Its lesson seems most appropriate for our times, with its mania for ecumenism and achieving a utopist world peace. Ecumenism and the new world order plan are also traps to lure naïve Catholics from their secure traditional position and “be eaten” by the shrewd foxes – Progressivism and Freemasonry. Here is his story:
A cock, perched among the branches of a lofty tree, crowed loudly. The shrillness of his voice echoed through the woods, and the well-known sound brought a fox, who was prowling in quest of prey, to the spot.
The fox tries to lure Chantecler to the ground with talk of universal brotherhood
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Seeing the cock at a great height in the tree above him, the fox set his wits to work to find some way of bringing him down.
He greeted the bird in his gentlest voice and said, “Have you not heard, dear cousin, of the proclamation of universal peace and harmony among all the different beasts and birds? We are no longer to prey upon and devour one another, but love and friendship are to be the order of the day. Do come down, and we will talk over this great news at our leisure.”
The cock, who suspected that the fox was only up to his old tricks, pretended to be watching something in the distance. The fox asked him what it was he looked at so earnestly.
“Why,” said the cock, “I think I see a pack of hounds yonder.”
“Oh, then,” said the fox, “I must be gone.”
“Why, dear cousin,” said the cock, “pray do not go. I am just coming down. You are surely not afraid of dogs in these peaceable times.”
“No, no,” said the fox. “But they may not have heard of the proclamation yet!”
And off he ran in fright, frustrated.
Now the English add a moral to their version: Beware sudden offers of friendship.
But the incomparable La Fontaine ends his verse with this:
And our cock laughed to himself at the fox’s fear,
Because the pleasure is doubled when the cheater is cheated!”
Posted December 19, 2007
Related Topics of Interest
Hernan Perez del Pulgar, “He of the Valiant Deeds”
The 12 Days of Christmas Carol
The Symbolism of Snowflakes
'Thief! Thief!'
The Tumbler of Our Lady
The Medieval Fish
The Peasant-Nobles of Roncal Valley
The Story of Lady Anne Grimston
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