A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Carrying a broken reed as a pilgrim’s staff, a fox claims to have renounced stealing and to be travelling to Mecca. A cock, a waterfowl and a hoopoe join him. At his den they see remnants of his victims, but he reassures them that these belong to his former life. The next morning he invents accusations against the cock and waterfowl, then kills and eats them. His religious titles and language are a predator’s disguise within the fable, not a statement about pilgrims generally.

The hoopoe escapes from his mouth by inviting him to answer her offer of advice. She then directs a royal hunting party to his den and warns him of the approaching army, prompting him to run into its hounds. The hunters kill him and take his gall-bladder for a supposed remedy prescribed for a princess. The ending does not report her recovery; that prescription remains a plot device rather than an effective treatment.

Speaking fox whose false repentance lures bird companionsSpecific translated narrative
01

Origins & earliest records

Kermani storytelling, Iran

02

Records & interpretation

Complete XX, pp. 118–123, directly read in original-edition OCR.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Persian Tales

    D. L. R. Lorimer and E. O. Lorimer, collectors/translators · 1919

    Kermani tales; XX, The Fox’s Pilgrimage to Mecca, pp. 118–123

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

D. L. R. Lorimer and E. O. Lorimer, Persian Tales (London: Macmillan, 1919)

Kermani tales; XX. Kermani tales; XX, The Fox’s Pilgrimage to Mecca, pp. 118–123

Complete XX read through final formula. False repentance, hoopoe’s claims versus enacted events, and unconfirmed medicinal outcome separated. Original paraphrase; individual storyteller unnamed.

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References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical translated folktaleLorimer, Persian Tales (1919), Kermani tales; XX, The Fox’s Pilgrimage to Mecca, pp. 118–123Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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