The Ferret Gets His Karma
There once was a ferret who was married to a fox. The two were happy together and had a son that they named Austin. Despite their happiness, the two did not have enough food to provide for their small family.
Ferrets and foxes are well known for their cleverness and their magical abilities. Deciding to use these gifts, the ferret and fox hatched a plan to provide for their family. The fox would magic herself into a woman and sell the ferret to a merchant for its coat. The ferret would pretend to be dead and then escape once the merchant had handed over the money.
The fox turned herself into an old woman and went into town. She sold the ferret and took the money to buy plenty of fruit and food for the family before returning home. The ferret played dead until the merchant set him down and then sprinted away back to his family in the forest. For a while the family was happy and all was well.
As time went on and Austin got older the family again fell on hard times. Annoyed at his wife, the ferret demanded she play dead this time while he transformed into the old man. The fox agreed. They went into town to perform the ruse again, only this time the ferret had hatred in his heart. When he sold the fox to a merchant, he saw an opportunity to rid himself of his wife. He whispered in the merchant’s ear that the fox wasn’t truly dead. The merchant then smashed the fox’s head, killing her instantly.
Happy with his ruse the ferret went home with his money and food. Selfishness and greed had darkened the ferret’s heart and he no longer shared all his bounty with Austin. Time went on and the ferret’s heart only became darker. Eventually, Austin began to suspect what had happened to his mother and formulated a revenge plan.
He went to his father one day claiming to be better at magic. Enraged, the ferret demanded that Austin transform himself into any form and he would be able to see through it. Agreeing to the plan, Austin hid under a bridge as a king and his guards crossed it. The ferret attacked the king and shouting that he knew it was Austin. The guards, startled by the attack, took the ferret and threw him into the river. In this way, the ferret learned his lesson and Austin avenged his mother.
Author’s Note: I based this story on How the Wicked Tanuki was Punished, a story from The Crimson Fairybook translated by Andrew Lang. I pretty much did a straight retelling of the story. The only difference between mine and the original is that the tanuki became a ferret. A tanuki is a sort of raccoon dog creature. I changed that to a ferret because I was unfamiliar with a tanuki and had a hard time visualizing the story because of that.
Hey, Meghan!
ReplyDeleteI thought you did a nice job retelling this story. Straight retellings can be tricky, because you need to walk the line between staying true to the original, without plagiarizing it but I think you found the balance well. This is a really brutal fairy tale, too. I'm learning that many of the classic tales we know (e.g. the Disney versions) are MUCH different than the myths that originally inspired them.
Hey Meghan!
ReplyDeleteYour story was pretty interesting and unique! I have to admit, the first paragraph's collection of oddities caught me somewhat off-guard, but not enough to not enjoy the story (fox/ferret marriage? Magic?). I enjoyed your more modern tone to bring a traditional story into a more modern sense. Myself having also never seen a tanuki, the ferret was definitely a great choice for the story.
Meghan,
ReplyDeleteThis story intruiged me from beginning to end. You have a great skill at making the reader feel empathy for certain characters, and despise others. Your tone and characterization really made this come to life. I was initially a bit shocked about the ferret and fox combination; ferrets are considered rodents and foxes are canines, but it was a charmbing combination nonetheless (at first). I would have loved to see more of Austin, so clever! This was super enjoyable to read. Great job!
Hey Meghan, what an interesting story! I admit that the first thing I wondered while I read your story was what Austin must look like, being a half-fox and a half-ferret. I suspect he’s very, very hairy. It’s a shame that the ferret allowed his irritation at his wife to manifest and develop into such hatred for both his wife and his son. I have to wonder, did the fox do anything specific to cause such hatred? Or was the ferret just tired of living with a fox? Great story either way!
ReplyDeleteHey Meghan!
ReplyDeleteWow, that story was really something! Trying to imagine Austin as a half-fox and half-ferret was kinda challenging to me, but I love the idea of that very much! I really liked the way the story seemed to flow and grab my interest almost immediately, so great job there! It was sad to see that the ferret resented his wife and children so deeply, but the world is rough and that happens in human life. Great job!
Hi Meghan!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the original story, but I definitely enjoyed this version. I didn't expect that the ferret would deceive his wife like that, but you made it seem natural and part of his character. It's too bad they couldn't just use their magic to procure food and money instead of having to do all of that complicated trickery...
Also, there's something sort of comical about a ferret fox baby in a fairy tale being named something as modern as Austin. I like it.