The Rooster and the Fox

A long time ago, on a farm, there lived a very proud rooster. He had every reason to be proud! He was big, strong, and very handsome. When he walked across the yard, he lifted his feet high and nodded his head with each step. His feathers were shiny and streaked with gold, and his bright red comb stood tall on his head. When the sun shone on him, his feathers sparkled like treasure. All the hens thought he was amazing. They followed him everywhere and didn’t complain when he ate the best worms and the tastiest grains of corn.

The rooster wasn’t just proud of how he looked. He was even prouder of his voice. Every morning, before the sun rose, he would stand on his perch, stretch his neck, close his eyes, and crow as loudly as he could. His voice was so strong it could wake people in the next village. He loved showing off and waking everyone up. It made him feel very important.

Not far from the farm, in a forest, lived a sly fox. The fox had often watched the rooster from a distance. He thought about how tasty the rooster would be for dinner, and his mouth watered just thinking about it. The fox tried many clever tricks to catch the rooster, but the rooster always stayed safe.

One day, the fox decided to try again. He hid in some bushes near the farmyard and waited quietly. Soon, the rooster wandered into the garden, pecking at the ground as he looked for food. Step by step, the rooster came closer to the bush where the fox was hiding. Just as he was about to step into the bush, the rooster saw something strange. He spotted the tip of the fox’s black nose and the shine of his sneaky eyes. The rooster quickly jumped back with a loud squawk and flew up onto a nearby wall.

The fox stepped out of the bushes, smiling kindly. "Oh, don’t fly away, my dear friend," he said in a soft voice. "I didn’t mean to scare you. I came here because I wanted to hear your wonderful voice. Everyone says you are the best singer in the land, and I wanted to see if it was true."

The rooster tilted his head and looked at the fox. "Oh? What do they say about my voice?" he asked.

The fox sighed and pretended to look sad. "Well," he said, "some people say you can’t crow properly with your eyes shut. They claim that if you close your eyes while crowing, it will sound weak, like a tiny chick’s peep. Of course, I don’t believe them. You are far too talented for that."

The rooster’s feathers puffed up with anger. "That is nonsense!" he cried. "I always crow with my eyes shut, and my voice is never weak. I’ll prove it to you right now!" The rooster stood tall, stretched out his neck, closed his eyes, and prepared to crow.

But before the rooster could make a sound, the fox jumped up and grabbed him by the neck. The fox ran off quickly, holding the rooster tightly in his jaws.

The hens in the yard began squawking and flapping their wings, making a lot of noise. The farmer’s wife, who was in the kitchen, heard the chaos. She grabbed a rolling pin and ran outside. When she saw the fox with the rooster, she began to chase him, shouting loudly. The farm workers heard the noise and came running with sticks and pitchforks. All the animals joined in too. The pigs squealed, the horses neighed, and the cows mooed. The farmyard was full of noise.

The fox ran as fast as he could, but the rooster had an idea to save himself. "They are going to catch us soon," he said to the fox. "If you tell them I came with you on purpose, they might leave you alone."

The fox thought this was a clever idea, so he opened his mouth to shout back at the people. But as soon as he opened his mouth, he let go of the rooster. The rooster flapped his wings, twisted free, and flew up into a nearby tree.

The fox looked up at the rooster, then back at the angry crowd chasing him. "I should have kept my mouth shut," he said to himself and ran off into the forest.

The rooster, now safe in the tree, smoothed his feathers. "And I should have kept my eyes open," he said. "That won’t happen again!"