To celebrate 10 years of blogging I will post a chapter my novella “The Fox Brothers and Old Tanuki’s Trick” on the first Sunday of each month until the story is complete.
“How many times do I need to say it? No. Father and Mother both told us to never go to the human village.” Mitsu yawned and stretched.
The warm sunshine filtering through the pine trees made Mitsu feel sleepy. Their home sat high up the mountains and deep in the forest. Only a few animal families lived close, which was fine with Mitsu. It meant they didn’t have to share the sweet wild berries that grew in the area. Winters could be cold, but Father always made sure they had plenty of rice and other food. Few animals could enjoy rice. Each summer, Father brought big sacks of it from the human village nestled in the valley far below the mountain. Father and Mother spent the better part of summer working in the village.
“It will be good practice,” Kitsu said.
“Father didn’t show me the techniques he showed you, remember?” Mitsu shook his head. He felt proud to be a fox and be able to enjoy human food whenever he wanted. Like his brother Kitsu, he wished he could help his parents trick the humans out of their rice, but his parents refused to teach him anything. He had to figure out everything himself.
Kitsu puffed out his chest. “Well, I am older than you, and Father said I’m advanced for my age. I already grew my second tail, after all. If you come with me on this trick, you might just be able to grow your second tail sooner.”
Mitsu wrapped his single tail tight around his body. It wasn’t fair that his brother already had two tails while Mitsu still had one. Despite his bluster, Kitsu wasn’t even as good at pranks as Mitsu. He always forgot to hide both his tails. “And if there are dogs?” Mitsu asked.
Kitsu growled and suddenly leaped up. When he landed, his red fur had changed into the spikes of a hedgehog. “They won’t mess with a pair of hedgehogs. Not unless they want spikes in their noses! Besides, are you a fox or mouse?”
“They will only be fooled until they touch you.” Mitsu tapped his hedgehog bother’s nose, breaking the illusion in a puff of green smoke. “And I am a fox. I am not a mouse or a coward.”
“Then prove it. We don’t have to go all the way into the village. There are farms just outside of it according to Father,” Kitsu said.
Mitsu sighed. While he was better at illusions than Kitsu, he doubted he could fool a dog’s nose or a human’s knowledge. Kitsu failed to mention how farms had dogs. Father liked to complain about them. “Fooling crows, mice, and other animals isn’t the same as fooling a human.”
“Father said I am good enough to fool a human,” Kitsu said.
Mitsu doubted their father said anything of the sort, but his brother was still bigger. Challenging his boasts hadn’t ended well in the past. Kitsu wasn’t above throttling Mitsu until he yelped. “Hunters had hurt Father despite his abilities. We need more practice before—”
“Father hurt by hunters?” Kitsu laughed. “Never. Where do you come up with that stuff? You really are a mouse!”
Mitsu chided himself. He had almost broken his promise. Not even his mother knew their father had only eight tails. Father had lost one of his tails to a hunter and a dog, but he hid the fact using an illusion. Mitsu wagged his single tail, feeling sorry for his father. Foxes took pride in their tails. To lose a tail would be terrible, Mitsu thought. Father had always favored Kitsu, but Mitsu felt special to know something about their father that his brother did not.
I really need to stop talking without thinking, Mitsu thought. I can’t improve my skills if hunters got me. He wasn’t a mouse, but he also wasn’t a fool. Not every fox lived long enough to grow all nine of his tails.
“We could try to trick Old Tanuki,” Mitsu said.
Kitsu grinned. “Old Tanuki! We haven’t tried him yet. He might just be harder than tricking a human. What type of trick shall we play? What does Old Tanuki like to eat?”
Mitsu felt glad his brother was easy to distract. Despite the stories, Old Tanuki was still just a forest animal. He didn’t have the cunning of humans and foxes. “I don’t know. I guess something sweet.”
Kitsu’s smile revealed his fangs. “I know. Red bean cakes. We could make them spicy enough to burn Old Tanuki’s tongue, and I know where to find just the right plant.” He giggled. “Father and Mother will have to take us into town after they hear about this trick!” His giggle turned into laughter, and he twirled in place. His two tails quivered with excitement.
Mitsu felt his own tail quiver. His older brother’s excitement often infected him. Old Tanuki was a safer option to practice their skills, but the old raccoon dog would be harder to trick than squirrels and mice. Old Tanuki lived in a tree a few hours walk from their den. He liked to keep to himself, but Mitsu had heard from a sparrow that Old Tanuki was a trickster in his younger days. The sparrow claimed Old Tanuki was better than a fox, but Mitsu knew that for a lie. No animal was better than a fox at shape-changing and playing pranks. The sparrow had claimed the raccoon dog didn’t let anyone live near him except for crows. Crows liked to watch what animals did in the forest and gossip about it. That meant tricking Old Tanuki would require them to fool the crows too. Maybe Father will teach me after he hears of our trick, Mitsu thought. His tail swished the ground, and he raised his right paw. “We need to plan this.”
Kitsu leaped up and performed a midair flip. He landed and danced a jig on his hind legs. “You do the planning. I will go get the wasabi.” He darted off, his two tails whipping behind him.
Mitsu let his paw fall. “Kitsu is always in such a hurry. We have to do this right.” He tapped his foot. “Old Tanuki thinks highly of himself. Maybe we could pose as villagers come to seek his favor.” Mitsu smiled as the plan took shape. “Not even Old Tanuki will see this one coming.”
