Of Foxes, Dogs, and French Proverbs

 

Quand le renard se met à prêcher, prends garde à ta poule // When the fox starts preaching, look out for your hen.

Today, due to a not very obvious chain of associations*, I've started to look for some proverbs related to foxes. There were quite a few, as in many cultures they are perceived as sly, clever, deceptive and ruthless at the same time. 

And here is a fox, looking rather pious with his eyes fixed on a book, but with his ears pricked, alert to any opportunity that comes his way. 

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*  Now, to the chain of assotiations. I saw a set of pics from a dog show of Pastor Garafiano, a breed of dogs from La Palma island. They are very cute looking dogs, and one of the possible coloring is a rich, fox-like orange. So, foxes sprang to mind, and here we are.

Celui qui trompe

Celui qui trompe trouvera toujours ceux qui se laissent tromper // Those who deceive will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived — Machiavelli

Machiavelli was a clever guy.

Here is kitsune seducing the cat, for the reasons better known to herself. Maybe she just likes him, or maybe not. The mind of kitsune (狐) is unknowable.

The cat looks quite love-stricken already, I think.