Once upon a time, a fox ran out of the forest and came to a town. There he crept around between the houses and came across a bucket of paint. The bucket fell over and covered the fox from top to bottom in white paint.

Startled, he jumped away and stopped just before the forest to drink at a pond. When he saw himself in the water, he exclaimed in amazement: "How beautiful my fur looks, so shiny and white. No one is as beautiful as me!"

He strutted into the forest, called all the foxes together and said: "Look at me, no one is as beautiful as I am, none of you shines as white as I do. So from now on, I am the ruler of all foxes, and everyone must catch a mouse for me every day!"

The other foxes marvelled at their gleaming white ruler and bowed to him. Only one of the foxes did not bow. He was standing on the other bank of the stream that flowed past. The ruler of the foxes shouted angrily: "Bow to me, I am your ruler and you must catch me a mouse every day."

But the other fox called out with a laugh: "Why don't you come over to me and I'll show you what I'll give you?"

The white-coloured fox jumped angrily into the water and swam to the other side. But when he came out of the water, all the white colour had been washed out and the fox looked like all the others, only much wetter.

The other foxes laughed and left the former ruler of the foxes standing in his puddle.

"Now I'll have to catch a mouse myself," thought the fox and scampered off. But he never went into town again.

Fassung Djamila Jaenike, nach:  H. Fähnrich, Märchen aus Georgien, München 1995, englische Fassung Lysander Jaenike © Mutabor Märchenstiftung