Once upon a time a fox lived in a forest with his wife and soon it was time
for the wife to give birth to the young ones. So, the fox couple set out searching for a safe place to rear their offspring.
One night, they spotted a tiger’s den and luckily, it seemed unoccupied. The female fox could no longer postpone the delivery and hence they entered the cave. A short while later, she gave birth to healthy cubs. But she was afraid that the tiger would return anytime now.
            “Darling,” she said, addressing her husband, “I am scared. You never know when the tiger will return. It is therefore better that we vacate this cave. Our children will also be safe.”
The male fox tried to instill confidence in her and said, “Dear, don’t worry. I will stand guard at the cave entrance. As soon as I spot the tiger, I will signal to you. All that you have to do is to pinch the young ones so that they start crying. I will ask you the reason for this and you say that our children are insisting on eating the flesh of a tiger. But, mind you, both of us have to say this very loud so that the tiger hears us clearly. I will then plan the next step.”
            Shortly thereafter the fox spotted a tiger and called out to his wife. The wife instructed her young ones to start crying loudly. The tiger heard their crying and asked the fox, “Why are they crying so loudly? Is something wrong?”  To this, the fox looked towards the direction of the cave and yelled out to his wife and said, “Wife, why are our children crying so much?” The wife promptly replied, “Dear husband, our children are feeling very hungry and they are insisting on eating a big, fat tiger.” “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” said the Father, “Never mind, there’s a tiger right at our doorstep. He will make a good meal.”
            On hearing this, the tiger was very frightened and thought to himself, “Imagine such tiny cubs eating the flesh of a tiger! I should get out of here.” The tiger gave the fox a frightened look and ran away as fast as he could.
A long tailed Langur, who was watching the entire incident, jumped from branch to branch and called out to the tiger.
“Dear Sir, why are you running away from your cave?” he asked. In a choked voice, the tiger said, “What else can I do? My cave has been occupied by some fierce looking animals.”
The Langur climbed down from the tree. “Don’t be a coward. I know that the animal you are talking about is none other than a fox and his family. If you wish, I can accompany you to the cave.”
The tiger was not Convinced. “Dear brother, you may be willing to come with me. But if the wicked animal pounces upon us, it will be very easy for you to hop on to a nearby tree and escape from his clutches. I would rather look for another cave.”
The mischievous Langur had other plans.
“Don’t worry. After all, we are neighbours and it is my duty to help you get rid of these animals. If you don’t believe me, I have a suggestion. I will tie my tail with yours. At least then, you can be sure that I won’t leave you in the lurch.”
The frightened tiger was in no condition to think for himself. He had to agree to what the monkey had suggested. When the fox spotted the monkey and the tiger with their tails tied together he again called out to his wife, “Dearest, quickly come out and see for yourself. I had once saved the life of a Langur and out of gratitude, he had promised to fetch me at least six tigers. He has so cleverly managed to bring the first one.”
            No sooner did the tiger hear this, he ran away as fast as he could. But in the process, he dragged the monkey also with him over the rough path strewn with stones and pebbles. Unable to bear the pain, the poor monkey died.
The clever fox saved himself and his family from being eaten up by the tiger.