One day, there was a fox who hadn’t found anything to eat all day. During his search for prey, he went hoping in the forest. But he heard a noise and feared when he heard it. The fox thought this was a big noise and felt the entire forest had shaken as if a new animal had come. He said to himself: “It’s better that I flee.” The fox thought again: “If I flee like this, I will suffer hunger to death.”
He said instead: “It’s better that I hide in any place and see how big this animal is. If it catches an animal and eats it, I too will get food from the remains.” So the fox moved slowly toward the sound. The fox advanced a little and saw from afar a large drum lying under a tree. The tree’s branches were bent downward. When the wind blew, the branches shook and hit the drum, making a loud noise.
The fox was watching the drum while hiding behind a stone. The fox thought waiting in his place wasn’t safe and the big animal would make him its prey when it saw him. He said: “Now I must leave the forest and go to another place.” But he thought and said: “This forest is my home, so why must I leave my home and go to another place? My mother used to always say to me: ‘One shouldn’t make hasty decisions in times of crisis.’ So I must go forth and see this huge animal and what it will be.”
The fox moved slowly toward the drum. He thought and said: “When this animal raises its leg to hit me, I will flee far away from here.” But the animal didn’t move at all. The fox thought of advancing a little. Still, the animal didn’t move at all. He said to himself: “Let me touch the animal and see.” The fox thought a little, then after that raised his foot slowly and hit the drum. A loud sound occurred. The fox moved a few steps backward, then advanced again and began to feel more courageous.
He touched the drum again and thought: “This animal has a very thick skin, and also a very large body. This means it has a lot of meat and blood in its body.” He began to drool saliva. Then with a huge jump, he climbed the drum and with his teeth tried to bite the skin. But he wasn’t able to penetrate the drum’s skin. The fox thought: “How big an animal it is, and I’m very weak. It’s not even able to defend itself.” He began to bite forcefully to tear the skin and wasn’t able to penetrate it. On the contrary, his tooth broke. He used all his strength to tear the skin, which made him angry. Finally, the skin tore. After that, it wasn’t difficult to tear the skin completely. The fox said in astonishment: “I tore the skin, but without the exit of a single drop of blood.”
Everything seemed empty. He took a deep breath and was disappointed in hope. He didn’t get anything to eat, but also lost his tooth. The wind blew again. The branches leaned again over the drum, but this time didn’t make a noise. The fox thought and said: “What’s the problem? I broke my tooth, but I should have driven away my fear.”