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Activity 23, Earthly and Heavenly Explanations

"The Fox and the Mole," from Latin American Tales, by Genevieve Barlow.  Permission pending.

Once a fox and a mole were neighbors.  Each lived in his own snug little cave at the foot of a rocky hill.  Although their ways were quite different, they got along together very happily.

The fox was carefree, and spent his days roaming through the fields and forest in search of food and adventure.  But the mole stayed close to home, and dug for worms that lay around the roots of plants growing near the caves.

One night, when the new moon cast a faint silver light over hill and fields, the fox visited the mole as lie was sitting in front of his cave.

"What is your dearest wish, Mole?" asked the fox.

The mole answered promptly, "To have my pantry filled with those good worms that live around the potato roots.  What do you wish for?  Is it doves or partridges?"

"Nothing like that," the fox replied gaily.  "I wish to get to the moon."

"To the moon?" the mole asked in astonishment, as if he did not hear correctly.  "Did you say ‘to the moon'?"

"Yes, to the moon.  I would rather go there than travel to the sun or to the stars or roam the earth."

The mole shook his head in wonderment.  "But how can you get there?"

"I wish I knew!" the fox said, with a deep sigh.

It was only a few days later, as the fox was tying a rope around a bundle of firewood, that a wonderful idea came to him.  He shouted joyfully.  "Now I know how to get to the moon! It's very simple.  If I can get the condor to tie a rope to the tip of the moon, I can easily climb up there."

The fox picked up the firewood and rushed home.  Excitedly, he called to the mole, "Good news! Come out and hear the good news!"

The mole appeared in his doorway.  "What is it?"

"Tonight you and I are going to the moon.  We will get the condor to help us!"

The mole hesitated for a moment, then inquired, "Will there be food for us on the moon?"

"Of course," the fox assured his neighbor.

"Then I will go," the mole answered.

"Wait here!" the fox commanded.  He bounded toward the top of the hill, where the great condor lived.

"Good day, friend Condor," the fox called.  "Will you help me?"

"Good day, Fox.  Sit down, and tell me what you want me to do."

"Tonight Mole and I want to go to the moon, and you are the only one who can help us get there."

"I cannot carry you up there, because I am afraid to land on the moon."

"But would you be willing to fly near the moon?"

The condor nodded.

"Good!" said the fox.  "Now I will get enough rope to reach the moon.  Take one end of the rope in your strong beak, and fasten it securely to the tip of the new moon.  Are you willing to do this?"

The condor agreed to the plan and said, "I shall begin my flight when I pick up the rope at your cave."

When darkness fell, the fox and the mole were impatiently waiting for the great bird.  In front of the caves lay coils upon coils of strong rope made of the cortadera plant.

Finally the condor arrived.

"All is ready," said the fox.

The condor took hold of the rope in his beak.  As he flew, the rope rose up, up, up, higher and higher.  The fox and the mole watched in awe.  Finally, the condor returned from his long flight.

"The rope is tied securely," the condor reported.  "But until you are on your way, I shall fly along with you."

The fox and the mole thanked the condor and made ready to start their climb.

The fox felt gay and fearless, but he knew Mole was nervous, so he said, "I shall go first warn you of any danger that may lie ahead."

"Good! But I am beginning to wonder if the food on the moon will be as good as it is here."

"Don't worry.  It will be much better," the fox assured him cheerfully, as he started to climb up the rope.

The climbing fox was followed by the climbing mole.  Up they went, paw over paw, paw over paw.  Soon they were high above the treetops! Then they were looking down on the hill where they lived.

All at once they heard a loud, screeching "Ha, ha, ha!" It was the voice of a bright-colored parrot with beautiful green wings.  He circled around them.

Thinking that the parrot was mocking them, the mole became angry.  He stopped climbing and shouted, "Be quiet, you clumsy, chattering long beak.  You are jealous because you cannot go to the moon."

Instead of answering, the parrot circled around and around the mole, each time coming closer.

"Silly nitwit, go back to earth.  You will never get to the moon," the mole shouted.

"Ha, ha, ha! Neither will you!" the parrot replied, laughing.

Then the parrot flew to the rope above the mole's head.  He began to peck, peck, peck with his sharp beak.

"Stop, stop!"  pleaded the mole.  "If you stop pecking at the rope, I will give you enough corn to last a lifetime! White corn, yellow corn, purple corn, any color you wish!"

The parrot was too busy to answer.

"Peck, peck, peck." Then, CR-R-R-ACK, the rope broke.

The condor, flying beneath the mole, was prepared for this terrible moment.  He caught the mole on his back and flew him safely to his cave.

When the animals heard how foolish the mole had been, they began to taunt him and all his relatives.  To avoid hearing these unkind remarks, all the moles left their dwellings in caves and rocks.  They made homes for themselves beneath the earth.  Since then they have lived in those burrows and come out only at night when the other animals are asleep.

And what happened to the fox?  In Peru, it is said that on clear nights the fox can be seen standing on the moon and looking down on the Earth.

And when the new moon appears, a bit of rope can still be seen dangling from the tip if one looks very, very closely.

For Discussion

• Why is the mole less than enthusiastic about the fox's ideas?  How would you describe the mole's nature or personality?  How would you describe the fox's nature?  Given the character of the mole, do you think he should be trying to go to the moon?  Explain.
• Why do you think the parrot acts as he does?  It is important to know that parrots have a special place in Latin American Indian tradition.  An ancient Indian tribe in the area that was to become Ecuador told a story about parrots.  In it, a bird called a macaw rescued humankind from starvation.  Thus, throughout Latin American history, birds of the parrot family have been worshiped out of gratitude, and their feathers used for ceremonial dress.  In the light of these facts, do you think the parrot in the story act out of jealousy?  Is he mean or uncaring?  Does he seem friendly toward the mole?  Is he acting out the role of fate in some way?
• Is your world divided into foxes and moles?  What do the foxes do with their lives?  What do the moles do?
• Tales like "The Fox and the Mole" have been told for centuries because the moon was unattainable.  What might a 21st century fox want to do?
• How would you state the moral or lesson the way a person's ambition should fit his or her nature and position?  Do you agree with the moral or disagree?  Explain.

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