A Man caught a Fox, and asked her:
"Who has taught you Foxes to cheat the dogs with your tails?"
The Fox asked: "How do you mean, to cheat? We do not cheat the dogs, but
simply run from them as fast as we can."
The Man said:
"Yes, you do cheat them with your tails. When the dogs catch up with you
and are about to clutch you, you turn your tails to one side; the dogs
turn sharply after the tail, and then you run in the opposite
direction."
The Fox laughed, and said:
"We do not do so in order to cheat the dogs, but in order to turn
around; when a dog is after us, and we see that we cannot get away
straight ahead, we turn to one side, and in order to do that suddenly,
we have to swing the tail to the other side, just as you do with your
arms, when you have to turn around. That is not our invention; God
himself invented it when He created us, so that the dogs might not be
able to catch all the Foxes."