The Adventures of the Fox
The Adventures of the Fox: Yahya Türkeli

Translation: İrem Türkeli

Illustration: Sevinç Taşdemir (Biberoğlu)

E-ısbn: 9786256020375

All publishing rights of this book are owned by the publisher.
No part of this book may be quoted or reproduced in any form or by any means, in whole or in part, without written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

Trademark Registration: 2012 / 35576
Publisher Certificate: 53253

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Recommended for elementary school students by the Ministry of National Education, published in the December 23, 1991 issue of the Bulletin of Notifications, with the decision of the Board of Education dated 11.10.1991 and numbered 660-9381.

Books in the Series:

Book: The Fox and the Stork

Book: The Fox and the Crow

Book: The Fox and the Chicken

Book: The Fox and the Goat

Book: The Fox and the Ducklings

Book: The Fox and the Helpful Animals

Book: The Fox and the Animals in the Forest

Book: The Fox and the Mole

Book: The Fox and the Bear Cubs

Book: The Fox and the Turtle

The Fox and the Stork – 1

Once upon a time, there was a hungry fox. The fox set out to find food to fill its belly. It walked a short distance, then a long distance, crossing hills and valleys.

As it walked, it became very tired. It decided to rest under a tree by the river. Looking around, it felt sad when it couldn't see any food.

While it was deep in thought about how to satisfy its hunger, it suddenly noticed the stork's nest on the tree. In the nest, the stork and its two chicks were laughing and playing. At that moment, the fox wanted to eat the chicks. However, it was disappointed to see that the nest was high up.

Before long, a bright idea came to its mind. Whistling, it approached the tree. When the stork heard the whistling, it looked down. To its surprise, it saw the fox wrapping its long tail around the tree trunk and rubbing against it.

The stork could not understand what the fox was doing. Curiously, it called out to the fox:

— Hey fox! What are you doing?

Ignoring the stork, the fox continued to pretend to cut down the tree by rubbing its tail against it. The stork called out again, louder this time:

— Hey fox brother! What are you doing over there?

Slowly lifting its head, the fox replied:

— Nothing, this is my father's tree. I will cut it down and make firewood before winter comes.

The stork was very surprised by this statement. Thinking to itself:

— What more will I hear? For all these years, I’ve made a nest here. Not once has anyone said, "This is my tree." Now the fox comes and claims it as "my father's tree" and says it will cut it down. How can this be?

The fox exclaimed loudly:

— I won't freeze in the cold of winter; I will cut down the tree and use it for firewood.

The stork, naively, responded:

— If you cut down the tree, it will fall over. My nest will collapse. My chicks cannot fly yet. Please, don’t cut down the tree for now!

Hearing these words, the fox was pleased with the stork's foolishness. It continued rubbing its tail against the tree. The stork pleaded:

— Wait a couple more months; when my chicks can fly, I’ll let you cut it down.

— No, I will cut it down today. I will only refrain from cutting it if you give me one of your chicks as rent for the tree.

The stork begged:

— But how can I do that? I cannot part with my chicks!

— You know what to do. You can either accept my condition or I will cut down the tree. If we agree, one of your chicks will be yours, and one will be mine. Don’t worry, I will take better care of it than you.

In desperation, the stork stammered:

— Give me a day, so I can talk to my chicks. Come back tomorrow, and I’ll give you one.

Realizing its cunning had worked, the fox accepted the stork's proposal without pressing further.

— Talk to your chicks. I’ll come back tomorrow.

The fox left, pleased that it had deceived the stork.

That night, the stork wept all night, holding its chicks tightly.

In the early morning, a crow searching for food saw the stork crying with its chicks. It approached them. Seeing the crow, the stork tried to compose itself.

The crow said:

— What’s wrong? Why are you crying early in the morning?

Not wanting anyone to interfere, the stork replied:

— Go away; don’t meddle in my affairs.

— Don’t be angry, stork brother. As they say, “He who does not speak of his troubles will not find a remedy.” Perhaps I can help; tell me what your trouble is.

The stork's chicks:

— Please, dear mother, tell us what happened to us. It won’t hurt. Maybe it will help.

Upon her chicks' insistence, the stork recounted the events that had occurred with the fox.

When the stork finished speaking, the crow suddenly started laughing. The stork, angry, said:

— Did I tell this to make you laugh?

Seeing the stork's anger, the crow stopped laughing:

— Why shouldn’t I laugh? Tell me, does the fox have an axe, a saw, or anything to cut the tree? How will he cut it? He wants to trick you and eat your chick. His tail won’t cut the tree, no matter how much he rubs against it...

After saying this, the crow flew away.

The stork finally came to her senses. She stopped crying, embraced her chicks, and began to laugh and play again. Meanwhile, she was very angry at the fox.

— You liar! You were going to trick me and eat my chick!

The fox came to the stork early in the morning. Whistling, he wrapped his tail around the tree and began to rub against it. At the same time, he was keeping an eye on the stork's nest, waiting for her to say something.

The stork paid him no attention. The fox was very surprised.

When the stork remained silent, he said:

— Hey, stork! I’m cutting the tree, just so you know.

The stork looked down from her nest:

— Go ahead, I want to see that! You liar! Cut it if you can! You thought you could trick me and eat my chick, right? You filthy liar!

The fox froze at the stork's words. “She didn’t talk like this yesterday. Someone must have advised her,” he thought.

Still, fearing that the stork might give up her chick, he continued to pretend to cut the tree with his tail. Meanwhile, he called out to the stork:

— The sin is off my hands. If I cut the tree, then you’ll see what happens!

The stork laughed:

— Cut it, and then we’ll talk.

As the fox rubbed his tail against the tree, his fur began to fall out. Then he started bleeding. Unable to bear the pain in his tail, he pulled back.

The stork said:

— What happened? Why didn’t you cut it? You filthy liar! You thought you could trick me!

Once the fox's deception was revealed, the stork's chicks began to laugh:

— Liar, liar...

The fox said:

— Someone must be advising you. Now I understand. The crow that just flew away must have given you advice. May he get his due!

Without looking back, the fox left. He set off to find the crow and settle the score. He traveled a short distance, then a long distance, through valleys and over hills.

Let’s see what kind of adventure the fox will have next. We’ll read about that in the second book.

The Fox and the Crow - 2

The fox set out to confront the crow that had given the stork advice. It traveled a long way, crossing hills and valleys, until it reached a marshy lake nestled between the mountains. Many birds were gathering food by the lake. The fox climbed onto a large rock to see if the crow was there and spotted it eating worms in the swamp.

To avoid being seen, the fox lay down on the rock and began to devise a plan to catch the crow. The crow, unaware of being watched, continued its search for food in the swamp.

A clever idea struck the fox: “Crows love to eat the eyes of dead animals. I can pretend to be a dead animal and catch the crow...” It began to prepare.

First, it entered the swamp and covered itself in mud to disguise its appearance. Then, it lay down on the path the crow would take, pretending to be a dead animal and waited.

As evening approached, the crow headed home to its nest. While flying, it saw what it thought was a dead animal and became very excited. It landed next to the fox, which was so covered in mud that it was unrecognizable. The crow circled around it to get a better look but couldn’t recognize it due to the lack of feathers on its tail.

To check if it was truly dead, the crow pecked at the fox's back a few times. Despite the pain, the fox remained still. The crow then hopped onto the fox's back and was about to peck it again when the fox caught the crow tightly with its front paw.

Suddenly, the crow found itself trapped between the fox's feet. It was very surprised and frightened. The fox said:

“I’ve caught you. I have an account to settle with you,” and the crow recognized the voice as that of the fox:

“What harm have I done to you, dear fox? Let me go on my way. If I had known it was you lying there, would I have harmed you? I thought it was some other animal.”

The fox replied:

“You prevented me from getting my food.”

“But my food is not the same as yours, so why would I stop you?”

“That’s not the case. I tricked the stork, and you advised it not to give its chick to me. Besides, I scratched my tail on a tree. Now you will pay for this.”

The crow pleaded, “If I had known it was you, would I have given advice to the stork? Forgive me for my mistake. I won’t interfere again.”

The fox replied, “No! I will eat you instead of the stork’s chick.”

Hearing the fox say it would eat him, the crow tried to save itself:

“If you listen to me, I have a great suggestion for you. I’m sure you’ll like it, and you’ll be very comfortable. You won’t go hungry at all.”

The fox asked:

“Okay, what will you suggest?”

“You won’t be satisfied by eating me. I wouldn’t even fill a corner of your stomach. But I know a very important secret. I will share this secret with you. Once you learn it, you will never go hungry again. You won’t have to wander around looking for food; it will come to you. You can eat and enjoy.”

The fox, growing impatient, urged:

“Come on, say what you have to say!”

The crow continued:

“Do you see that mountain over there? There’s a wishing stone among its steep rocks. Only I know its location. If you climb onto the stone and make a wish, all your desires will come true instantly. Those who cannot fly cannot climb onto the stone. You cannot climb it. Instead, I will climb it for you and make your wish. Your wish will come true immediately.”

The fox asked:

“What will you wish for me?”

The crow replied:

“When I reach the wishing stone, I will say ‘Wishing stone, wishing stone! By the command of God, every day give the fox two kilos of tail!’ Two kilos of tail will come every day. You’ll eat and enjoy. This way, you will never go hungry.”

The crow’s suggestion delighted the fox.

It said:

“What if you trick me?”

“Would I ever trick you? You will spare my life,” the crow pleaded.

The fox thought to itself:

“What if it’s true? I could escape hunger. Eating the tiny crow wouldn’t satisfy me anyway. It’s worth a try.”

The fox said to the crow:

“Alright, let’s go there. If there’s no wishing stone, I’ll eat you instead.”

The crow:

“You don't have wings. You can't get up there. It's covered with very high and steep cliffs. I have wings, I can fly up. Would I ever deceive you?”

Today has a tomorrow. If I get caught by you another time, what will happen to me then? The fox believed the crow's words. They set off towards the mountain together. They traveled a long way, through valleys and hills. Finally, they climbed to the peak of the mountain covered with steep cliffs. The fox couldn't make it to the peak. He left the crow. The crow flew and landed on a high rock, taking a deep breath of relief:

“Oh! I barely escaped from your hands, he said. Landing on the wish stone, the crow said, now listen to me.”

By the command of God, grant this fox a good beating. If he gets a good beating, he will come to his senses. He causes a lot of harm to others and the environment, he said. The wish stone fulfilled the crow's wish.

The fox couldn't understand what had happened to him. He realized that the crow had deceived him and ran away from there. When he had deceived the stork, he was happy with its foolishness. Now he himself had become a fool.

The fox, in a bad mood, left there and started searching for food again. Let's see what kind of adventure he will have this time?

Let's read it in the third book.

The Fox and the Chicken - 3

The fox, hungry, set off on a journey to find food. It walked a short distance, then a long one, crossing valleys and hills. Eventually, it arrived at a village. Although it had arrived, it was quite tired and was about to faint from hunger.

This village was very beautiful, with vineyards and gardens in the middle