Once upon a time, in the land of the Ainu, there lived a fox named Poyn and a tiger named Tora. One day, Tora the tiger, feeling bold and strong, challenged Poyn the fox to a race. “Let us race from the top of the world to the bottom,” said Tora. “Whoever wins shall be the chief of the world!”

Poyn, with her clever mind, agreed to the race. As soon as the race began, Tora bounded off at great speed, thinking he would surely win. Little did he know, Poyn had cleverly caught hold of Tora’s tail and was being pulled along.

Just as Tora was about to reach the finish line, he turned around to mock Poyn, whom he believed to be far behind. This sudden movement flung Poyn forward, landing her right at the finish line. Poyn called out, “Here I am, Tora. What took you so long?”

Tora was astonished and very upset, but he couldn’t deny that Poyn had won the race.

Still, Tora the tiger was annoyed at the trickery, so he challenged Poyn the fox again. This time, he said, “You are known to be the craftiest of all creatures. Let us see who can roar the loudest. Whoever has the loudest roar shall be crowned chief of the world.”

Poyn thought for a moment, even though she was already the chief of the world. “How about the best three roars wins?”

Tora agreed to the contest. Tora, eager to show his might, stood tall and prepared to roar first. Meanwhile, Poyn quietly scraped a hole in the ground and hid her head in it to protect her ears.

Tora roared with all his might, a roar so loud that he thought it would be heard from the top of the world to the bottom. But when he finished, Poyn popped her head out of the hole and said, “Why, Tora, I hardly heard you. You can surely roar louder than that. Try again.”

Angry and determined, Tora roared even louder, putting all his strength into it. Meanwhile, Poyn hid her head again. Tora’s effort was so immense that he fell over, exhausted. Only having to roar three times at any volume to win, Poyn easily defeated the tiger. Once he had regained his strength, Tora decided to leave for Japan.

With Tora gone, there were no tigers left in Ainu-land. Poyn the fox, known for her wit and cleverness, became a legendary figure among the Ainu. And that is why, even today, foxes are known to be crafty and eloquent.

The End

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This fable has been adapted from an Ainu folktale told by Ishanashte of Shumunkot and recorded by Basil Hall Chamberlain in his 1888 book Aino Folk-Tales. This version of the story was written by Madeline Jarboe. The author has adapted this story in order to modernize it and make it suitable for younger readers, but has attempted to keep the story as accurate to the original as possible with great respect towards the peoples and cultures who have graciously shared it with the world.

The Ainu are a group of people who have lived in Japan for a very long time, especially on the northern island of Hokkaido. They have their own unique culture, language, and traditions that are different from other Japanese people. The Ainu are known for their beautiful crafts, like woven clothes and carved wooden items. They also have special dances and songs that they use to tell stories about their history and their connection to nature. Even though there aren’t as many Ainu people today, they work hard to keep their traditions alive and share them with others.