The Nine-Tailed Fox

Here's another funny tale from the same Korean Folklore book

that also featured The Tiger and Persimmon. It's even more

hilarious.

Told by Ma Hĕ-Song; Gĕsĕng (1925)

 From Folk Tales From Korea (1952)

Collected and translated by Zong In-Sob

______________________________________________________________________________________________

The Nine-Tailed Fox

         One day a man made water by the roadside. Then he saw that he

Had done it on a white bone. He asked rather pointlessly ‘Is it cold?’

and the bone replied, ‘Yes, it it cold.’ So he asked again, ‘Is it warm?’

And the bone replied, ‘Yes it is warm.’

         The man was very alarmed at this remarkable occurrence, and he

Ran away. Then the bone got up and ran after him. It nearly caught

him up, and he was more frightened than ever. Just then he came to

a wine shop. So he turned to the bone and said, ‘Just wait here a

moment. I’ll get you some wine.’ Then he went into the shop and

ran away through the back door. He went on his way and saw no

more of the bone.

         A few years later he happened to pass by the same wine shop. He

saw another one in front of it, that appeared to be newly built.

<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:1.5in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">There was a pretty young woman selling wine in the new shop, so

<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:1.5in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">he went in. As he drank he chatted to the girl. His earlier experience

<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:1.5in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">came to mind, and he said. ‘A few years ago I outwitted a white bone

<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:1.5in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">on this very spot.’ As he spoke the girl turned into a nine-tailed fox.

<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:1.5in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:.5in">‘I was that white bone,’ she cried. ‘I have been waiting for you to

<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:1.5in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">come back.’ With these words she sprang on him and ate him up.

<p style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:1.5in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">And the moral is that one should not make water on white bones.