The Wedding of Mrs. Fox
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| The Wedding of Mrs. Fox | |
|---|---|
_tailpiece_p170.png) Tailpiece illustration by Walter Crane, 1882. | |
| Folk tale | |
| Name | The Wedding of Mrs. Fox |
| Aarne–Thompson grouping | ATU 65, 1350, 1352, 1510 |
| Country | Germany |
| Published in | Grimms' Fairy Tales |
"The Wedding of Mrs. Fox" (German: Die Hochzeit der Frau Füchsin) refers to two German fairy tales collected under the same title by the Brothers Grimm in Grimm's Fairy Tales as number 38.[1] It was included in all editions, and is classified as Aarne-Thompson type 65, 1350, 1352*, and 1510.[2]
The second version of the tale was told to the Grimms by Ludovico Brentano Jordis, who also wrote down "The Lion and the Frog" for the brothers.[3]
In the first version of the story, Mr. Fox has nine tails and feigns his death to test his wife's loyalty. Mrs. Fox rejects all the fox suitors that have fewer than nine tails. When she gets engaged to another fox with nine tails, Mr. Fox arises and throws everyone out of his house, including his wife.
In the second version, Mr. Fox dies and Mrs. Fox is suited by a dog, a deer, a hare, a bear and a lion. She rejects all of them because they do not have red pants and a pointed face. When a fox arrives and meets her requirements, she agrees to marry him and laments her first husband's selfishness.
Motifs
The Grimms used the word "Zeiselschwänze" for "tails" when Mrs. Fox asks about her potential suitors in the first version of the story. The root "schwanz" creates a double entendre as it is also used to describe male genitalia.[2]
