A hungry fox chases a brood of goslings and their mother, singing about claiming their tender breastbones. As they reach the water, the geese plunge in, escaping the fox. Frustrated, the fox walks along the water’s edge in a rage, turning red all over except for the tip of his tail, which remains white.
Source:
Ten’a Texts and Tales
(from Anvik, Alaska)
by John W. Chapman
The American Ethnological Society
Publications, Volume 6 (ed. Franz Boas)
E.J. Brill, Leyden, 1914
► Themes of the story
Origin of Things: The tale explains the natural phenomenon of the fox’s red coloration and the white tip of its tail.
Transformation: The fox undergoes a physical change, turning red due to his emotional state.
Trickster: The fox, often depicted as a cunning figure in various cultures, attempts to use his wit to catch the goslings but ultimately fails.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about Koyukon people
A fox was going along. Hungry he was as he went along. Presently he saw yonder a brood of goslings, and their mother too, going with them. So he ran after them, and began to sing. Hungry as he was, he sang while he ran, “I shall have your tender breast-bone to sleep on! I shall have your tender breast-bone to sleep on!” Then they came to where there was water, and right in front of him they plunged in. Close to the edge of the water he walked along slowly in a rage; (so that) he turned red all over, except that the tip of his tail remained white.
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Dreamtime Whispers 