Fox Fables (Bilingual Book)

Fox Fables is a collection of two fables, one from Aesop and one from traditional Chinese folklore. The first, the Fox and the Crane, tells the story of one-upmanship between the fox and the crane. Fox invites Crane over for dinner, but to prove his superiority, serves the delicious meal in a bowl from which Crane cannot eat. Crane decides to play the same trick on Fox, so invites Fox over for dinner, then serves the meal in a dish from which Fox cannot eat either. Fox learns a lesson about feeling too superior over others.

In the second fable, Fox finds himself face-to-face with Tiger, who wants to eat Fox for lunch. Fox decides to outwit Tiger by claiming that he is King of the Forest. To prove it, Fox invites Tiger to follow him throughout the forest to show that all the animals are scared of Fox. As the pair go through the forest, every time they happen upon an animal, it runs away in fear. Tiger is astonished to see the animals all run from Fox, never realizing that they are actually running away from Tiger himself. Humbled, Tiger leaves Fox alone. Fox is amused by his own cleverness.

The drawings in this book are beautiful and the colors vibrant. The stories are easy to read and younger children will enjoy the pictures and tales. Older children will also benefit from the “lessons” of the fables.