The Hunter and Fox-- Storytelling, Week 9

The Hunter and the Fox
Once there lived a hunter. He was known as the greatest hunter in the land. He was a skilled archer and trapper. There was nothing he could not hunt and capture. He kept many of the skins and heads of his capture creatures as trophies to remind him of his achievements.

Although he was an accomplished hunter, he was a lonely hunter. Every day from a day of hunting, the hunter would come home to an empty home. He had no one to talk to. It is not fun when you have a lot of things but have no one to share it with.

One day when the hunter returned from a trip, he noticed that his home had been visited in his absence. It was not like any common break-in for nothing was taken or missing. The home actually looked better than it had ever looked. It was cleaned and organized. The confused hunter thought nothing of it until it happened again.

This time not only was the housed cleaned but there was also dinner ready on the table. The hunter could not ignore this any longer.

One day the hunter pretended to go away on another hunting trip, but was actually hid himself in a bush and waited for the intruder to arrive. Eventually a fox appeared. The fox entered his home and transformed into a beautiful woman. The hunter approached this woman and asked her if it was her who was cleaning his home and making him dinner. She responded that yes it was indeed her that was cleaning and cooking for him.

As a hunter, his first instinct was to kill this creature/woman but he could not help but admire her beauty. He let her go but he threatened her that if she should return he will be forced to kill and hunt her like the rest of the animals. The fox-woman ran away in fear from hearing this.

After the fox-woman finally left, the hunter returned to his normal routine of hunting and being alone. As the weeks went by, the hunter’s home became messier. Looking at the mess, the hunter began to miss the fox-woman and her company. The hunter felt lonely.

Feeling lonely, the hunter decided to hunt or search for the fox-woman. Weeks passed by and still no luck of finding the fox-woman for the fox-woman was so heart- broken by the hunter she hid herself.

Being the best hunter, the hunter eventually found the fox-woman and asked for her forgiveness. The fox-woman could see that the hunter was genuine and thus accepted his apology. They embraced and the hunter told the fox-woman that he loved her. Hearing this the fox turned into a beautiful woman.

(Fox-Woman)

 Author's Note:
This story was based from the the Fox-Woman from Marriage Tales. In the Fox-woman, the hunter comes upon an intruder but she is not like any other common intruder. She does not steal or break anything. Rather, she cleans and cooks. The hunter curious about this intruder decides to hide out until the intruder arrives. Upon the intruder's arrival, to the surprise of the hunter he discovers that it is a woman but she is not any ordinary woman. She is a fox-woman. She is a fox when she wears the fox skin and is a woman when she takes it off. The hunter confronts the fox-woman. The fox-woman responds by telling him that she is his wife. The hunter is unable to accept her as she is and therefore rejects her, causing her to run-off. My story was based off this story but I made a few changes. For instance, my story has a happier ending. The hunter and the fox-woman end up together. My story was more a love story. My inspiration came from the Beauty and the Beast. Like the beast from Beauty and the Beast, the fox-woman becomes human after learning that she is loved.

"The Fox-woman" from the Native American Marriage Tales by Thompson (1929).Web source: Sacred Texts