The Grateful Foxes

One fine spring day, two friends went out to a moor to gather fern,

attended by a boy with a bottle of wine and a box of provisions. As

they were straying about, they saw at the foot of a hill a fox that

had brought out its cub to play; and whilst they looked on, struck by

the strangeness of the sight, three children came up from a

neighbouring village with baskets in their hands, on the same errand

as themselves. As soon as the children saw the foxes, they picked up a

bamboo stick and took the creatures stealthily in the rear; and when

the old foxes took to flight, they surrounded them and beat them with

the stick, so that they ran away as fast as their legs could carry

them; but two of the boys held down the cub, and, seizing it by the

scruff of the neck, went off in high glee.

The two friends were looking on all the while, and one of them,

raising his voice, shouted out, "Hallo! you boys! what are you doing

with that fox?"

The eldest of the boys replied, "We're going to take him home and sell

him to a young man in our village. He'll buy him, and then he'll boil

him in a pot and eat him."

"Well," replied the other, after considering the matter attentively,

"I suppose it's all the same to you whom you sell him to. You'd better

let me have him."

"Oh, but the young man from our village promised us a good round sum

if we could find a fox, and got us to come out to the hills and catch

one; and so we can't sell him to you at any price."

"Well, I suppose it cannot be helped, then; but how much would the

young man give you for the cub?"

"Oh, he'll give us three hundred cash at least."

"Then I'll give you half a bu;[78] and so you'll gain five hundred

cash by the transaction."

[Footnote 78: _Bu_. This coin is generally called by foreigners

"ichibu," which means "one bu." To talk of "_a hundred ichibus_" is as

though a Japanese were to say "_a hundred one shillings."_ Four bus

make a _riyo>,_ or ounce; and any sum above three bus is spoken of as

so many riyos and bus--as 101 riyos and three bus equal 407 bus. The

bu is worth about 1s. 4d.]

"Oh, we'll sell him for that, sir. How shall we hand him over to you?"

"Just tie him up here," said the other; and so he made fast the cub

round the neck with the string of the napkin in which the luncheon-box

was wrapped, and gave half a bu to the three boys, who ran away

delighted.

The man's friend, upon this, said to him, "Well, certainly you have

got queer tastes. What on earth are you going to keep the fox for?"

"How very unkind of you to speak of my tastes like that. If we had not

interfered just now, the fox's cub would have lost its life. If we had

not seen the affair, there would have been no help for it. How could I

stand by and see life taken? It was but a little I spent--only half a

bu--to save the cub, but had it cost a fortune I should not have

grudged it. I thought you were intimate enough with me to know my

heart; but to-day you have accused me of being eccentric, and I see

how mistaken I have been in you. However, our friendship shall cease

from this day forth."

And when he had said this with a great deal of firmness, the other,

retiring backwards and bowing with his hands on his knees, replied--

"Indeed, indeed, I am filled with admiration at the goodness of your

heart. When I hear you speak thus, I feel more than ever how great is

the love I bear you. I thought that you might wish to use the cub as a

sort of decoy to lead the old ones to you, that you might pray them to

bring prosperity and virtue to your house. When I called you eccentric

just now, I was but trying your heart, because I had some suspicions

of you; and now I am truly ashamed of myself."

And as he spoke, still bowing, the other replied, "Really! was that

indeed your thought? Then I pray you to forgive me for my violent

language."

When the two friends had thus become reconciled, they examined the

cub, and saw that it had a slight wound in its foot, and could not

walk; and while they were thinking what they should do, they spied out

the herb called "Doctor's Nakasé," which was just sprouting; so they

rolled up a little of it in their fingers and applied it to the part.

Then they pulled out some boiled rice from their luncheon-box and

offered it to the cub, but it showed no sign of wanting to eat; so

they stroked it gently on the back, and petted it; and as the pain of

the wound seemed to have subsided, they were admiring the properties

of the herb, when, opposite to them, they saw the old foxes sitting

watching them by the side of some stacks of rice straw.

"Look there! the old foxes have come back, out of fear for their cub's

safety. Come, we will set it free!" And with these words they untied

the string round the cub's neck, and turned its head towards the spot

where the old foxes sat; and as the wounded foot was no longer

painful, with one bound it dashed to its parents' side and licked them

all over for joy, while they seemed to bow their thanks, looking

towards the two friends. So, with peace in their hearts, the latter

went off to another place, and, choosing a pretty spot, produced the

wine bottle and ate their noon-day meal; and after a pleasant day,

they returned to their homes, and became firmer friends than ever.

Now the man who had rescued the fox's cub was a tradesman in good

circumstances: he had three or four agents and two maid-servants,

besides men-servants; and altogether he lived in a liberal manner. He

was married, and this union had brought him one son, who had reached

his tenth year, but had been attacked by a strange disease which

defied all the physician's skill and drugs. At last a famous physician

prescribed the liver taken from a live fox, which, as he said, would

certainly effect a cure. If that were not forthcoming, the most

expensive medicine in the world would not restore the boy to health.

When the parents heard this, they were at their wits' end. However,

they told the state of the case to a man who lived on the mountains.

"Even though our child should die for it," they said, "we will not

ourselves deprive other creatures of their lives; but you, who live

among the hills, are sure to hear when your neighbours go out

fox-hunting. We don't care what price we might have to pay for a fox's

liver; pray, buy one for us at any expense." So they pressed him to

exert himself on their behalf; and he, having promised faithfully to

execute the commission, went his way.

In the night of the following day there came a messenger, who

announced himself as coming from the person who had undertaken to

procure the fox's liver; so the master of the house went out to see

him.

"I have come from Mr. So-and-so. Last night the fox's liver that you

required fell into his hands; so he sent me to bring it to you." With

these words the messenger produced a small jar, adding, "In a few days

he will let you know the price."

When he had delivered his message, the master of the house was greatly

pleased, and said, "Indeed, I am deeply grateful for this kindness,

which will save my son's life."

Then the goodwife came out, and received the jar with every mark of

politeness.

"We must make a present to the messenger."

"Indeed, sir, I've already been paid for my trouble."

"Well, at any rate, you must stop the night here."

"Thank you, sir: I've a relation in the next village whom I have not

seen for a long while, and I will pass the night with him;" and so he

took his leave, and went away.

The parents lost no time in sending to let the physician know that

they had procured the fox's liver. The next day the doctor came and

compounded a medicine for the patient, which at once produced a good

effect, and there was no little joy in the household. As luck would

have it, three days after this the man whom they had commissioned to

buy the fox's liver came to the house; so the goodwife hurried out to

meet him and welcome him.

"How quickly you fulfilled our wishes, and how kind of you to send at

once! The doctor prepared the medicine, and now our boy can get up and

walk about the room; and it's all owing to your goodness."

"Wait a bit!" cried the guest, who did not know what to make of the

joy of the two parents. "The commission with which you entrusted me

about the fox's liver turned out to be a matter of impossibility, so I

came to-day to make my excuses; and now I really can't understand what

you are so grateful to me for."

"We are thanking you, sir," replied the master of the house, bowing

with his hands on the ground, "for the fox's liver which we asked you

to procure for us."

"I really am perfectly unaware of having sent you a fox's liver: there

must be some mistake here. Pray inquire carefully into the matter."

"Well, this is very strange. Four nights ago, a man of some five or

six and thirty years of age came with a verbal message from you, to

the effect that you had sent him with a fox's liver, which you had

just procured, and said that he would come and tell us the price

another day. When we asked him to spend the night here, he answered

that he would lodge with a relation in the next village, and went

away."

The visitor was more and more lost in amazement, and; leaning his head

on one side in deep thought, confessed that he could make nothing of

it. As for the husband and wife, they felt quite out of countenance at

having thanked a man so warmly for favours of which he denied all

knowledge; and so the visitor took his leave, and went home.

That night there appeared at the pillow of the master of the house a

woman of about one or two and thirty years of age, who said, "I am the

fox that lives at such-and-such a mountain. Last spring, when I was

taking out my cub to play, it was carried off by some boys, and only

saved by your goodness. The desire to requite this kindness pierced me

to the quick. At last, when calamity attacked your house, I thought

that I might be of use to you. Your son's illness could not be cured

without a liver taken from a live fox, so to repay your kindness I

killed my cub and took out its liver; then its sire, disguising

himself as a messenger, brought it to your house."

And as she spoke, the fox shed tears; and the master of the house,

wishing to thank her, moved in bed, upon which his wife awoke and

asked him what was the matter; but he too, to her great astonishment,

was biting the pillow and weeping bitterly.

"Why are you weeping thus?" asked she.

At last he sat up in bed, and said, "Last spring, when I was out on a

pleasure excursion, I was the means of saving the life of a fox's cub,

as I told you at the time. The other day I told Mr. So-and-so that,

although my son were to die before my eyes, I would not be the means

of killing a fox on purpose; but asked him, in case he heard of any

hunter killing a fox, to buy it for me. How the foxes came to hear of

this I don't know; but the foxes to whom I had shown kindness killed

their own cub and took out the liver; and the old dog-fox, disguising

himself as a messenger from the person to whom we had confided the

commission, came here with it. His mate has just been at my

pillow-side and told me all about it; hence it was that, in spite of

myself, I was moved to tears."

When she heard this, the goodwife likewise was blinded by her tears,

and for a while they lay lost in thought; but at last, coming to

themselves, they lighted the lamp on the shelf on which the family

idol stood, and spent the night in reciting prayers and praises, and

the next day they published the matter to the household and to their

relations and friends. Now, although there are instances of men

killing their own children to requite a favour, there is no other

example of foxes having done such a thing; so the story became the

talk of the whole country.

Now, the boy who had recovered through the efficacy of this medicine

selected the prettiest spot on the premises to erect a shrine to Inari

Sama,[79] the Fox God, and offered sacrifice to the two old foxes, for

whom he purchased the highest rank at the court of the Mikado.

[Footnote 79: Inari Sama is the title under which was deified a

certain mythical personage, called Uga, to whom tradition attributes

the honour of having first discovered and cultivated the rice-plant.

He is represented carrying a few ears of rice, and is symbolized by a

snake guarding a bale of rice grain. The foxes wait upon him, and do

his bidding. Inasmuch as rice is the most important and necessary

product of Japan, the honours which Inari Sama receives are

extraordinary. Almost every house in the country contains somewhere

about the grounds a pretty little shrine in his honour; and on a

certain day of the second month of the year his feast is celebrated

with much beating of drums and other noises, in which the children

take a special delight. "On this day," says the Ô-Satsuyô, a Japanese

cyclopædia, "at Yedo, where there are myriads upon myriads of shrines

to Inari Sama, there are all sorts of ceremonies. Long banners with

inscriptions are erected, lamps and lanterns are hung up, and the

houses are decked with various dolls and figures; the sound of flutes

and drums is heard, the people dance and make holiday according to

their fancy. In short, it is the most bustling festival of the Yedo

year."]

* * * * *

The passage in the tale which speaks of rank being purchased for the

foxes at the court of the Mikado is, of course, a piece of nonsense.

"The saints who are worshipped in Japan," writes a native authority,

"are men who, in the remote ages, when the country was developing

itself, were sages, and by their great and virtuous deeds having

earned the gratitude of future generations, received divine honours

after their death. How can the Son of Heaven, who is the father and

mother of his people, turn dealer in ranks and honours? If rank were a

matter of barter, it would cease to be a reward to the virtuous."

All matters connected with the shrines of the Shintô, or indigenous

religion, are confided to the superintendence of the families of

Yoshida and Fushimi, Kugés or nobles of the Mikado's court at Kiyôto.

The affairs of the Buddhist or imported religion are under the care of

the family of Kanjuji. As it is necessary that those who as priests

perform the honourable office of serving the gods should be persons of

some standing, a certain small rank is procured for them through the

intervention of the representatives of the above noble families, who,

on the issuing of the required patent, receive as their perquisite a

fee, which, although insignificant in itself, is yet of importance to

the poor Kugés, whose penniless condition forms a great contrast to

the wealth of their inferiors in rank, the Daimios. I believe that

this is the only case in which rank can be bought or sold in Japan. In

China, on the contrary, in spite of what has been written by Meadows

and other admirers of the examination system, a man can be what he

pleases by paying for it; and the coveted button, which is nominally

the reward of learning and ability, is more often the prize of wealthy

ignorance.

The saints who are alluded to above are the saints of the whole

country, as distinct from those who for special deeds are locally

worshipped. To this innumerable class frequent allusion is made in

these Tales.

Touching the remedy of the fox's liver, prescribed in the tale, I may

add that there would be nothing strange in this to a person acquainted

with the Chinese pharmacopoeia, which the Japanese long exclusively

followed, although they are now successfully studying the art of

healing as practised in the West. When I was at Peking, I saw a

Chinese physician prescribe a decoction of three scorpions for a child

struck down with fever; and on another occasion a groom of mine,

suffering from dysentery, was treated with acupuncture of the tongue.

The art of medicine would appear to be at the present time in China

much in the state in which it existed in Europe in the sixteenth

century, when the excretions and secretions of all manner of animals,

saurians, and venomous snakes and insects, and even live bugs, were

administered to patients. "Some physicians," says Matthiolus, "use the

ashes of scorpions, burnt alive, for retention caused by either renal

or vesical calculi. But I have myself thoroughly experienced the

utility of an oil I make myself, whereof scorpions form a very large

portion of the ingredients. If only the region of the heart and all

the pulses of the body be anointed with it, it will free the patients

from the effects of all kinds of poisons taken by the mouth, corrosive

ones excepted." Decoctions of Egyptian mummies were much commended,

and often prescribed with due academical solemnity; and the bones of

the human skull, pulverized and administered with oil, were used as a

specific in cases of renal calculus. (See Petri Andreæ Matthioli

Opera, 1574.)

These remarks were made to me by a medical gentleman to whom I

mentioned the Chinese doctor's prescription of scorpion tea, and they

seem to me so curious that I insert them for comparison's sake.