One day, a fox told his children that he was going out to get some eggs for them. He walked around till he saw the nest of an eagle high up on a tree. There was no way to reach the nest. So, he plucked some grass and stuck it into his ears. It gave him a very strange appearance.
He knocked on the tree-trunk and called out, “Give me some eggs, or I’ll knock down your tree!”
The eagle was so frightened that it threw down an egg. The fox asked for another egg.
“No, I won’t!” said the eagle.
“If you don’t, I’ll knock down the tree with these stalks and take all your eggs,” threatened the fox.
The poor eagle threw down one more egg. The fox laughed and said, “You are really foolish! Did you really think I could knock down the tree with these stalks
of grass?”
The eagle was so angry at being tricked by the fox and losing her eggs that she swooped down on him. She lifted him in her strong talons and flew towards the sea. She dropped him on an island and flew back to her nest.
The fox looked around the island. It was silent and deserted. ‘I will die on this lonely island if I don’t do something fast,’ thought the fox.
He soon got an idea. He began to sing the songs he had heard from shamans and magical men. Gradually, several creatures from the sea came up to listen to his song.
“What are you singing about?” they asked.
“I’ll tell you,” replied the fox, “But please tell me if there are more creatures like you in the waters of the sea?”
“Oh, yes,” they said, “There are hundreds of us!”
“I need to get back to the land on the other side. My children are there,” explained the fox, “Could you all come up and form a raft so that I might cross the sea to go to my home.”
The creatures of the sea were very helpful. As the fox sang, they all came up and formed a huge bridge from the island to the land. The fox stepped on to their backs and ran across them to reach the sea shore on the other side.
Thanking them, he trotted off home!
