The Singing Fox

Once upon a time, there was a young man who lived in a small village at the foot of a mountain. His family was poor, and he had to go to the mountain every day to pick wild vegetables to make a living. One day, when he was wandering in the woods, he saw a small fox trapped in a trap. The young man thought that he could sell the fox for a good price and approached it with a knife. However, as soon as he raised his hand, the fox spoke to him.

"Please don't kill me," said the little fox. "I can sing beautiful songs for you, and my song will bring you good luck."

The young man was surprised to hear the fox talk, but he was also intrigued by the idea of having a singing fox. He decided to spare the fox's life and brought it home.

At first, the young man wasn't sure if the fox could really sing, but as soon as he let it out of the cage, the little fox began to sing. Its voice was clear and sweet, and the young man was amazed. He listened to the fox's songs every day, and soon people from all over the village came to listen too.

The young man realized that he could make a living from the fox's singing, so he started taking it to nearby villages and towns. People were eager to hear the fox's songs, and the young man earned a lot of money. With the money he earned, he was able to buy better food for his family and even build a small house.

However, the young man's prosperity didn't last long. One day, while he was away on a trip with the fox, the slave owner who lived in the neighboring village heard about the singing fox and demanded that the young man lend it to him for a week. The young man refused at first, but the slave owner threatened to report him to the authorities for keeping a wild animal as a pet. The young man had no choice but to agree.

The slave owner was delighted to have the singing fox and took it back to his mansion. However, he didn't treat the fox well and kept it in a small cage. The little fox was miserable and stopped singing altogether.

When the young man came to collect the fox after a week, he was horrified to see how thin and weak it had become. He tried to get the fox to sing, but it wouldn't make a sound. The young man knew that the slave owner had mistreated the fox, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Heartbroken, the young man decided to take the fox home and care for it himself. But it was too late. The little fox died on the way back to the village.

The young man was devastated by the loss of his beloved fox. He buried it on a hill overlooking the village and planted a tree over its grave. To his surprise, the tree grew very quickly and bore silver fruits.

At first, the young man didn't know what to do with the silver fruits, but then he had an idea. He picked them and brought them to the market to sell. People were amazed by the unusual fruits and offered to buy them for a high price. The young man realized that he could make a living from selling the silver fruits, just like he did with the singing fox.

Eventually, the young man became known throughout the region as the "silver fruit seller." He made enough money to build a bigger house for his family and even started a small business. He never forgot about the little fox who had changed his life forever, and he always smiled when he remembered its beautiful songs.

Years later, when the young man was an old man, he visited the hill where he had buried the fox. To his surprise, he saw that the tree had grown into a magnificent silver tree, and it was covered with silver fruits. The old man picked some of the fruits and brought them back to the village. He gave them to the children, telling them the story of the little fox who could sing beautiful songs and how it had changed his life. The children listened in awe, and they looked up at the silver tree on the hill, wishing they could hear the fox's songs too.

And so, the story of the young man and the singing fox was passed down from generation to generation, becoming a legend in the small village at the foot of the mountain.