Ruvi Fox In the old days, when my mother was a baby and I was a handsome young boy and stepping all around the village, there was an older woman living on her own in her small house in the countryside. She had only a daughter who had married a while ago and now lived in the nearby village. The older woman decides to visit her daughter and takes her some butter and cheese. She prepares two big tins; one filled with butter, the other with cheese. On her way she comes across a fox. He speaks: “Hi Grandma, I am Ruvi. Where are you going to?” ”I am going to see my daughter.” ”Let me be your son and join you ...” ”OK, my black-boy, let’s go.” ”Grandma, I see these tins are heavy. Let me carry one of them.” They walk quite a while. Ruvi Fox says: “I need to go to down there to have a pee.” He goes down behind a big rock and eats all the butter in the tin, not forgetting to fill it with some earth and sand. He plays the same trick again a bit later, this time eating the cheese in the other tin. When they arrive in the village, Ruvi Fox says: “Grandma, you have a talk with your daughter, I will go into the village to have a look around.” Later on when the women open the tins, they see neither butter nor cheese, only some earth and sand. Grandma returns home a week later. In front of her home was a big black stone. About evening time Ruvi Fox comes and sits on the black stone singing and making fun of Grandma: “Mi ri ta te / Pir mal ma te.” Grandma chases after him. This happens each evening for a couple of days. Then Grandma decides to put some glue on the surface of the black stone. Ruvi Fox comes, sits on it and starts to sing in a rhythm: “Mi ri ta te / Pir mal ma te.” But his tail sticks on the black stone, and as Grandma runs towards him, he tries to force his tail so as to get away. His tail breaks off and he manages to run away but without it. Grandma takes the tail and decorates it with colourful beads and puts it on the wall. Ruvi Fox comes and begs her: “Please give it back to me. All my friends are making fun of me. You know how embarrassing it is for a fox to be tail-less. They are singing after me: Qoli qutto / Dil qutto.” She smiles: “Qoli qutto / Dil qutto … OK, now you go to the goat and bring me some milk. Then I will give you back your tail.” He runs to the goat: “Hi, I am in hurry, please give me some milk for Grandma. Then she will give me my tail so I can join my friends.” The goat answers: “Bring me some leaves, then I will give you milk.” He runs to the tree, asking: “Please give me some leaves. I will take them to the goat, she will give me some milk for Grandma, then she will give me my tail and I could join my friends.” The tree replies: “Go to the fountain to bring me some water.” He rushes to the fountain: “Please, can I have some water for the tree? Then I will take leaves to the goat. She will give me some milk for Grandma and after having my tail back I could join my friends.” The fountain says: “You go and call the girls to come here. When they sing, dance and jump over me, then I will give you water.” To the girls he says: “Come on girls, jump over the fountain. Then I could take water to the tree. In exchange for the leaves, the goat will give milk for Grandma. She will give me my tail and I will be able to join my friends happily.” The girls answer him: “Our shoes are torn. Take them to the shoemaker to repair them.” He begs the shoemaker: “Please repair these girls’ shoes. They are going to jump over the fountain so I can take some water for the tree. In payment for its leaves the goat will give me milk. When Grandma gets milk, she will let me take my tail so I will be able to play with my friends. Otherwise they don’t let me join their games.” The shoemaker replies: “I am hungry. Ask the chickens for some eggs.” This time he hurries to the chickens: “Oy, my dearest chickens. This is the first time I have come to ask you a favour. Would you be kind enough to give me a couple of eggs? Not for myself but for the shoemaker. He will then repair the girls’ shoes, they will jump over the fountain and I will take some water to the tree. It will give me leaves for the goat. When I take her milk to Grandma she will give my tail back. And I will be able to play with my friends.” The chickens cluck: “Go to the harvest ground. There are farmers there. Request some wheat and corn. Be polite to them, you cheeky boy.” He is tired but still hopeful: “Hi, gentle farmers. Would you kindly donate a little bit of wheat and corn for the chickens? I will take some eggs from them for the shoemaker. He will repair the girls’ shoes. The girls will walk to the fountain in their beautiful shoes. The fountain that is happy when girls jump over it will give me water. The tree will quench its thirst and give me leaves. The goat, her stomach full of leaves, will give me her nicest milk for Grandma. And Grandma will give me my tail back. Then it will be my time to be the happiest fox in the wood and join my friends.” The gentle harvestmen aren’t gentle to him, they shoo him away, even throw some stones after him, saying to each other: “This naughty fox is playing a trick on us. He thinks we are stupid.” Ruvi Fox runs down the hill and waits for the night. When it gets dark, he starts to shout: “Oy, hurry up. Wolves have come to eat your sheep and donkeys. Hurry up and save them.” As the farmers run to save their herds, Ruvi Fox quietly comes and picks up some corn, muttering: “That’s the language you understand. I have tried to be nice to you, but it did not work.” He pours down the corn in front of the chickens and takes eggs to the shoemaker, who repairs the shoes. Ruvi Fox takes them to the girls and they sing and jump over the fountain that then gives him water. He pours water on to the root of the tree and gets some leaves for the goat. The goat gives him milk and he takes it to Grandma. But when he arrives at Grandma’s house, she is not at home. Because her cow is giving birth in the trees, she has left her home to look after the cow. He breaks in through the window and takes his tail that is now beautifully decorated. He is a naughty boy and so drinks the milk. He puts on his lovely tail and makes his way to join his friends. When all his friends see his colourful tail, they are fascinated: “Oo, God, where did you get this tail?” “Remember, you were teasing me and calling me Qoli qutto / Dil qutto. But I will be good to you and do you a favour. Now I am going to tell you where I got this tail. I got it in the lake over there. Under the water there are so many of them. I wish I had dived in the deepest side of the lake because the most beautiful ones are there. But, you know I am a bit lazy. I didn’t bother go to very deep.” All the foxes run to the lake and dive in at the deepest side. Since they cannot swim, they all scream for help. But Ruvi Fox enjoys it a lot and laughs loudly. After that day he never plays tricks on older women and he lives happily ever after. So do the older women!