A weary fox is found by a shepherd and a ploughman. The ploughman beats it brutally until it lies stretched out like a corpse; the shepherd slings it over his shoulder, thinking he’ll keep the skin. Even the old dog licks its bleeding wounds. When the shepherd pauses to rest, the fox startles them all — it springs to life, snaps, and bolts through a hedge toward the distant bushes. A messy chase erupts: the ploughman curses his lack of a gun, the shepherd throws his crook, a woodman hurls his hatchet, but the fox outruns them all and vanishes down a badger hole. The speaker’s voice holds a quiet, vivid excitement — you can feel the dusty scramble and the grudging respect for the animal’s sly resilience. The mood is earthy and unsentimental, catching that raw moment where laughter, violence, and a wild survivor’s luck all meet.
The Fox — Summary
The shepherd on his journey heard when nigh His dog among the bushes barking high; The ploughman ran and gave a hearty shout, He found a weary fox and beat him out. The ploughman laughed and would have ploughed him in But the old shepherd took him for the skin. He lay upon the furrow stretched for dead, The old dog lay and licked the wounds that bled, The ploughman beat him till his ribs would crack, And then the shepherd slung him at his back; And when he rested, to his dog's surprise, The old fox started from his dead disguise; And while the dog lay panting in the sedge He up and snapt and bolted through the hedge.
He scampered to the bushes far away; The shepherd called the ploughman to the fray; The ploughman wished he had a gun to shoot. The old dog barked and followed the pursuit. The shepherd threw his hook and tottered past; The ploughman ran but none could go so fast; The woodman threw his faggot from the way And ceased to chop and wondered at the fray. But when he saw the dog and heard the cry He threw his hatchet--but the fox was bye. The shepherd broke his hook and lost the skin; He found a badger hole and bolted in. They tried to dig, but, safe from danger's way, He lived to chase the hounds another day.