The Fox with His Tail Cut Off

A fable retold from Fifty Famous Fables by Lida B. McMurry

This fable is from Fifty Famous Fables, a collection retold by Lida B. McMurry in 1903. The text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The story comes from the Aesop tradition and teaches that others can see through advice given for selfish reasons. A fox who loses his tail tries to trick his friends into cutting off theirs, but an old fox sees what is really happening. The tale rewards honesty and warns against letting shame lead to dishonesty.

Band

Purple · Pre-readers and first readers, about 4 to 5

Length

short · about 315 words in 5 sections · 4 pictures

Source

Fifty Famous Fables, Lida B. McMurry · Project Gutenberg

First published

see the About page in the reader

Regions

Canada · United States

Included formats

• · Web reader and PDF
• · EPUB for e-readers
• · Home-print sheet
• · Folded booklet
• · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
• · Worksheet
• · Quick Check (6 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.