The Tailless Fox

Once upon a time, there lived an old woman. She milked her goat, placed the jug on the ground, and went to gather wood chips and brushwood to start a fire and boil the milk.

A fox came along, stuck its nose into the jug, and began lapping up the milk. The old woman pounced on it, grabbed a hoe, and chopped off the fox's tail. The tailless fox ran off, climbed onto a rock, and began to plead:

"Grandma, grandma, give me back my tail! I'll reattach it and run off to catch up with my friends. I don’t want them to say, 'Where have you been, tailless fox?'"

The old woman replied:

"Go and bring me some milk."

The fox went to the cow:

"Cow, cow, give me some milk! I'll take the milk to the old woman, and she'll give me back my tail. I'll reattach it and run off to catch up with my friends. I don’t want them to say, 'Where have you been, tailless fox?'"

The cow replied:

"Go and bring me some grass."

The fox went to the field:

"Field, field, give me some grass! I'll take the grass to the cow, the cow will give me milk, I'll take the milk to the old woman, and she'll give me back my tail. I'll reattach it and run off to catch up with my friends. I don’t want them to say, 'Where have you been, tailless fox?'"

The field replied:

"Go and bring me some water."

The fox went to the spring:

"Spring, spring, give me some water! I'll take the water to the field, the field will give me grass, I'll take the grass to the cow, the cow will give me milk, I'll take the milk to the old woman, and she'll give me back my tail. I'll reattach it and run off to catch up with my friends. I don’t want them to say, 'Where have you been, tailless fox?'"

The spring replied:

"Go and bring me a jug."

The fox went to the girl:

"Girl, girl, give me your jug! I'll take the jug to the spring, the spring will give me water, I'll take the water to the field, the field will give me grass, I'll take the grass to the cow, the cow will give me milk, I'll take the milk to the old woman, and she'll give me back my tail. I'll reattach it and run off to catch up with my friends. I don’t want them to say, 'Where have you been, tailless fox?'"

The girl replied:

"Go and bring me some beads."

The fox went to the peddler:

"Peddler, peddler, give me some beads! I'll take the beads to the girl, the girl will give me a jug, I'll take the jug to the spring, the spring will give me water, I'll take the water to the field, the field will give me grass, I'll take the grass to the cow, the cow will give me milk, I'll take the milk to the old woman, and she'll give me back my tail. I'll reattach it and run off to catch up with my friends. I don’t want them to say, 'Where have you been, tailless fox?'"

The peddler replied:

"Go and bring me an egg."

The fox went to the hen:

"Hen, hen, give me an egg! I'll take the egg to the peddler, the peddler will give me beads, I'll take the beads to the girl, the girl will give me a jug, I'll take the jug to the spring, the spring will give me water, I'll take the water to the field, the field will give me grass, I'll take the grass to the cow, the cow will give me milk, I'll take the milk to the old woman, and she'll give me back my tail. I'll reattach it and run off to catch up with my friends. I don’t want them to say, 'Where have you been, tailless fox?'"

The hen replied:

"Go and bring me some grain."

The fox went to the thresher:

"Thresher, thresher, give me some grain! I'll take the grain to the hen, the hen will give me an egg, I'll take the egg to the peddler, the peddler will give me beads, I'll take the beads to the girl, the girl will give me a jug, I'll take the jug to the spring, the spring will give me water, I'll take the water to the field, the field will give me grass, I'll take the grass to the cow, the cow will give me milk, I'll take the milk to the old woman, and she'll give me back my tail. I'll reattach it and run off to catch up with my friends. I don’t want them to say, 'Where have you been, tailless fox?'"

The thresher took pity on the fox and gave her a handful of grain.

The fox took the grain to the hen, the hen gave her an egg, she took the egg to the peddler, the peddler gave her beads, she took the beads to the girl, the girl gave her a jug, she took the jug to the spring, the spring gave her water, she took the water to the field, the field gave her grass, she took the grass to the cow, the cow gave her milk, she took the milk to the old woman, and the old woman gave her back her tail. The fox reattached her tail and ran off, catching up with her friends.

More fairy tales

• Vardapet and the Servant
• Anait
• The Tale of the Poor Man and His Wife
• The Happiness of a Fool
• Father-in-law and Son-in-law