The Fox and the Miller

This image illustrates the tale of a sly fox who helped a miller to live happily ever after..

The miller let the fox eat three of his hens, and in return,  the fox promised him that he would do something to repay this kindness.

First the fox visited the King of the East and told him that the King of the West wanted to marry his daughter.

The King of the East answered, ”If the King of the West brings me a flock of deer, I’ll give him my daughter’s hand in marriage.”

The fox left the palace and started shouting. A flock of deer wandered up to him and asked why he was shouting. The fox answered, “The Kings of the West and the East are going to do something terrible to us. I know how to stay alive, but what about you?” 

The deer implored the fox to help them. So he led the flock to a nearby stable and locked them up there.

The next day the fox brought the miller and the flock of the deer to the king.

To explain the miller’s shabby clothes, the fox lied to the king. He said that on the way to the palace they had been nearly drowned in a flood, and the water washed away the miller’s clothes. So the king gave the miller a set of new, royal clothes.

When the princess laid eyes on the miller she fell in love with him at once, and shortly afterwards they were married. 

However, for the completion of his plan, the fox wanted to give the miller a palace.

So he met with some giants and told them the same lies that he told the deer. When they asked for help, the fox led the giants away from their palace and burned them alive.

Thus the fox procured a golden palace for the miller.

In this two-part picture, the main image depicts the fox talking to the miller, and the inset shows the sly fox deceiving the giants.

Image: The National Parliamentary Library of Georgia