Black grouse Story: cunning fox and marten
In the forest lived a black grouse. Everyone called it Jielingdi.
Of the four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—summer was its favorite. In the summer, as long as it hid in the bushes or dove into the dense foliage, it could escape the watchful eyes of predators. It dreaded the arrival of winter, but winter came anyway. The tall and short trees alike shed their leaves, leaving Jielingdi with no place to hide.
Sure enough, two fierce beasts in the forest were arguing over who would get to eat Jielingdi. The fox insisted that the black grouse was his, while the marten claimed it belonged to him alone.
The fox said, “Jielingdi lives in the bushes and sleeps on the ground. In summer, it hides in the bushes, and no one can see even a shadow of it. But now it’s winter, the grass has withered, the leaves have fallen, and it has nowhere to hide. I’m the top ground hunter, and the ground is my territory, so naturally, I should be the one to eat it.”
But the marten said, “No, Jielingdi sleeps in the trees. I’m the top tree hunter, and the trees are my territory, so of course, I should be the one to eat it.”
Jielingdi heard every word of the two villains’ quarrel. It flew up to the treetop at the edge of the forest, perched there, and thought, “If I stay in the tree, the marten will catch me, but if I fly to the ground, the fox will get me. Where should I sleep tonight?” Thinking about it, Jielingdi fell asleep and, in a dream, kicked out its foot, lost its balance, and fell off the tree with a thud!
The snow on the ground was deep and soft.
The fox, leaping in the snow, raced toward the forest edge. Meanwhile, in the trees, the marten jumped from branch to branch, swiftly approaching the forest edge as well. They were both rushing to be the first to devour Jielingdi.
Look, the marten was the first to leap onto the tree where Jielingdi had been sleeping. It searched up, down, left, and right, but there was no sign of Jielingdi!
“Alas!” the marten thought. “I came too late! It must be on the ground, sleeping in the underbrush, and the fox must have eaten it by now.”
The fox reached the forest edge, looked around, and searched every bush but found no sign of Jielingdi!
“Alas,” the fox thought, “I came too late! It must have been sleeping in the tree, and the marten must have eaten it.”
The fox looked up and saw the marten perched on a dead branch, baring its white teeth. The fox, enraged, shouted, “You ate my Jielingdi! Just wait and see what I’ll do to you!”
The marten snarled back at the fox, “You ate Jielingdi yourself and now accuse me? Just wait and see how I’ll deal with you!”
With that, the two started fighting, determined to fight to the death. Snow was flying in all directions as they wrestled.
Suddenly, a dark figure flew out of the snow!
The fox and marten were so startled that they were terrified out of their wits. Each quickly fled: the marten darted up a tree in the blink of an eye, and the fox dashed into the underbrush just as fast.
The figure that flew out was none other than Jielingdi. It had fallen into the deep snow while dreaming and was buried underneath, still asleep. If it hadn’t been for the two villains’ loud argument waking it up, it would still be sound asleep in the snow.
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In the natural world, where the law of the jungle prevails, small animals all have their own survival skills. Jielingdi was lucky to escape from its predators. The fox and the marten were too selfish, each harboring their own schemes, wanting to monopolize the prey. If they had worked together, Jielingdi would have had no chance of escape.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
