The Fox and the Cat (fable)
Ancient fable contrasting many tricks with one effective one.
The Fox and the Cat is an old fable, with counterparts in both Eastern and Western traditions that use different animals, about the difference between quick thinking and a grand plan. It has been included in Aesop’s fable collections since the early days of European printing and is listed as number 605 in the Perry Index. In the basic version, a cat and a fox compare their tricks and dodges. The fox brags about having many, while the cat admits to only one. When hunters arrive with dogs, the cat escapes by climbing a tree, but the fox, who considers many options without taking action, is caught by the hounds. Over time, many different morals have been drawn from the fable, and it continues to be reinterpreted, as shown by Isaiah Berlin’s use of it in his essay “The Hedgehog and the Fox.”
The fable contrasts one animal proud of its many stratagems with another that has just one simple trick. In a crisis, that single trick proves more useful than all the options. The story is found worldwide in many variations and is classified as type 105 in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther folklore index. A proverb from a fragment by the ancient Greek poet Archilochus says, “The fox knows many little things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” Erasmus recorded this in his *Adagia* from 1500 as *Multa novit vulpes, verum echinus unum magnum*. This proverb hints at an older fable involving a hedgehog instead of a cat, and such tales exist in Balkan folklore.
In the East, a similar story called “Hundred-wit, Thousand-wit and Single-wit” appears in the fifth book of the *Panchatantra*, which explores the results of poorly thought-out actions. It tells of two fish and a frog debating how to avoid fishermen. Single-wit the frog advises fleeing and is the only one to escape. The tale was also preserved in the Persian *Kalila and Dimna* as a story of three fish: one wise, one clever, and one stupid. When fishermen pass, the wise fish quickly leaves the pool, the clever fish avoids being eaten by playing dead, and the stupid fish is caught and eaten. In the 13th century, Rumi used this story in Book IV of his *Masnavi*, drawing from it the lesson of surrendering one’s identity to the wholeness of the Creator. Another analogue in the ancient Indian *Mahabharata* features a swan and a crow. The swan has only one way to fly, while the crow boasts of a hundred and one. The crow gets into tr
- type
- Fable
- index_number
- Perry Index 605
- folklore_type
- Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 105
- earliest_attested_proverb
- Archilochus fragment (fox knows many little things, hedgehog one big thing)
- notable_collectors
- Aesop, Marie de France, Odo of Cheriton, Jean de La Fontaine, Grimm Brothers
- key_variants
- Cat and fox; hedgehog and fox; fish and frog; swan and crow
Lore & Background
The fable has Eastern and Western analogues involving different animals. In the Panchatantra, the story of 'Hundred-wit, Thousand-wit and Single-wit' features two fish and a frog debating how to avoid fishermen; only Single-wit the frog escapes. The Persian Kalila and Dimna tells of three fish—wise, clever, and stupid—with the wise fish escaping quickly. Rumi used this story in his Masnavi, drawing the advisability of resigning one's identity into the wholeness of the Creator. The Mahabharata has a swan and a crow, where the crow boasts of a hundred and one ways to fly but gets into trouble over the ocean, and the swan rescues him.
Reader's Guide
The fable's significance lies in its enduring reinterpretation across cultures and centuries. In medieval Europe, the boastful animal is usually the fox, while the animal with one trick varies: hedgehog (Greece), crane (Russia), squirrel (Armenia), or cock/dove. In western Europe it is always the cat. The moral has been drawn variously: Odo of Cheriton saw the cat as those who know to 'spring into heaven' and the fox as tricksters; the Gesta Romanorum distinguished simple faithful from glib talkers; Marie de France emphasized detecting liars; Berechiah ha-Nakdan contrasted simple labor with status-consciousness. La Fontaine gave a practical moral: 'Too many expedients may spoil the business.' Isaiah Berlin's essay 'The Hedgehog and the Fox' used the fable to divide thinkers into hedgehogs (single defining idea) and foxes (wide experience). Stephen Jay Gould explored the metaphor for psychological styles and intellectual practice. The fable continues to be interpreted anew.
Did You Know?
- The fable is listed as type 105 in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther folklore index.
- A proverb attributed to Archilochus says: 'the fox knows many little things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.'
- In the German folk version collected by the Grimm Brothers, the fox brags of a hundred tricks 'and a whole sackful of cunning.'
- Isaiah Berlin's essay 'The Hedgehog and the Fox' uses the fable to categorize writers and thinkers.
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