Grimms' Fairy Tales The Wedding of Mrs Fox Summary

Summary

Two short, linked tales stage a comic test of fidelity and social standing in a fox household. In the first story an old fox with nine tails suspects his wife of unfaithfulness and lies down under a bench pretending to be dead. Mrs Fox retreats to her room while her maid, Miss Cat, cooks and answers visitors. When word spreads that the old fox has died, a procession of suitors arrives to court the widow. Miss Cat interrogates each wooer at the door and reports to Mrs Fox whether he matches the late husband's nine tails; any who fail are dismissed. Only when a young fox with nine tails appears does Mrs Fox prepare to remarry, but just as the wedding is about to be celebrated the supposedly dead husband springs up, beats off the suitors and expels his wife and the crowd.

The second story repeats the basic test with a different twist: after the old fox dies, not only foxes but all manner of forest beasts—wolf, dog, stag, hare, bear, lion—come to court the widow. Miss Cat again screens them on superficial traits (the story notes traits like red stockings and a pointed mouth), and Mrs Fox refuses those who do not match the dead husband's qualities. At last a young fox arrives who meets her standard, and the wedding goes ahead; Mrs Fox bids the household clear out the old corpse to make room for the new husband, and the tale ends with dancing and a sly moral about the old fox’s failings in gratitude.

Both stories are brief, episodic fables that hinge on a repeating comic situation: disguise, testing, and a decisive reveal. They emphasize outward appearances, social rituals of courtship, and an ambiguous domestic justice enacted by the duped spouse.

Key events

1. Old fox pretends to be dead by lying motionless under a bench.
2. Mrs Fox locks herself away; Miss Cat serves and answers callers.
3. A sequence of fox suitors arrive; Miss Cat reports their number of tails.
4. Only a nine‑tailed fox is acceptable; wedding preparations begin.
5. The 'dead' old fox rises and drives off the suitors and Mrs Fox.
6. In the second tale, many different beasts (wolf, dog, stag, hare, bear, lion) court Mrs Fox but are turned away.
7. A young fox finally satisfies Mrs Fox and the wedding is celebrated with the corpse removed.

Analysis

These paired vignettes use repetition and a simple formal test to probe themes of fidelity, appearance versus reality, and social ritual. The old fox’s feigned death creates dramatic irony: the reader sees both the deception and its consequences. Repetition (a succession of suitors, the cat’s ritualized questioning, and the repeated refusal formula) builds comic momentum and emphasizes how social criteria—like the count of tails or trivial physical marks—govern acceptance and exclusion. The maid Miss Cat functions as both go‑between and gatekeeper; her literal reporting of what she sees makes her a conduit for the wife’s desires and for the tale’s satire of matchmaking by checklist.

Symbolically, tails and red stockings stand in for inherited or external signs of status and identity, and the old fox’s resurrection enacts a punitive restoration of patriarchal control. Narrative technique is simple and oral in tone: dialogues are quoted as snatches of song or rhyme, and the pacing is brisk—situation, test, resolution—typical of folk storytelling aimed at illustrating a social lesson through comedy. The paired structure (two similar but distinct episodes) lets the tale vary its stakes—first intrafamilial testing among foxes, then a broader commentary when beasts of many kinds court the widow—without altering the core moral focus on choice, deception, and domestic order.

Important quotes

“I am not sleeping, I am waking, Would you know what I am making? I am boiling warm beer with butter, Will you be my guest for supper?”

Miss CatMiss Cat greets the first wooer at the door with a sung reply that masks the household’s pretense and frames the cat as intermediary.

“If she’s in want of a husband now, Then will it please her to step below?”

WolfThe wolf (as suitor) speaks this line through Miss Cat’s reporting; it illustrates the formulaic courtship question that recurs as animals call for the widow.

“Then let him come upstairs,' said Mrs Fox, and ordered the servant to prepare the wedding feast.”

NarratorThis declaration marks the turning point when Mrs Fox accepts a young fox and prepares to remarry, prompting the removal of the corpse and the celebration.

Characters in The Wedding of Mrs Fox

• old Mr Fox
• Mrs Fox
• Miss Cat
• young fox
• wolf
• dog
• stag
• hare
• bear
• lion
• all the beasts of the forest