Weaving Secrets in a Fox's Tail

myth.md

One day, a fox and a cat were walking through a field. The cat seemed unusually distracted, however, despite the fox's animated conversation. While the fox surely noticed, she did her best to try and draw the cat out through sheer ebullience. It had worked in the past, why not now?

"What's bothering you?" the fox asked, relenting.

"Oh, it's nothing," said the cat.

"Come on, if it was nothing, you wouldn't be such a sourpuss, now, would you?" the fox joked.

The cat was unamused. "It's...really nothing. I can't say. It's a secret."

"That's three things. Is it nothing, can you not say, or is it a secret?"

The cat blushed in his ears, "It's a secret."

"Can you tell me?" asked the fox.

"No, then it wouldn't be a secret anymore!" frumped the cat.

The fox and the cat walked on in silence for a bit. The secret was clearly bothering the cat, but the fox couldn't think of how to help.

"I know," said the fox, brightening up. "You can tell your secret to my tail. Not even I know what my tail thinks. You can get it off your chest, and no one need actually learn your secret.

The cat thought for a moment, and then nodded, "Okay, but put your paws over your ears!"

The fox put her paws over her ears and stood still, admiring the scenery, while the cat put his muzzle in the dense fur of the fox's tail and whispered his secret, weaving it through the fur. The fox heard nothing but the rustle of pawpads in fur, the cat felt immensely better getting whatever it was off his chest that he needed to, and the tail, to this day, has never let slip the cat's secret. That is why it is said that a good way to feel better is to weave your secrets through a fox's tail.

9:45:09 PM lunostophiles: That should be why fox tails fluff up when they get scared. Because if they get too scared all the secrets will shake out.
9:45:15 PM Matthew Scott: YES
9:45:18 PM Matthew Scott: Okay, yes.
9:45:23 PM lunostophiles: No, see.
9:45:41 PM lunostophiles: Fox (the archetypcal character) wants to hold all the secrets of all her friends in her tail, but she can't, and they fall out one day.
9:45:48 PM lunostophiles: So she has to ask all the foxes to hold a few secrets in all of their tails.

One day, the fox was walking along the edge of the meadow, but kept getting
scared and anxious. On one side of her was the meadow, but she felt open and
exposed there, too easily seen. On the other side was the forest, which,
while cooler than the sunny meadow, was also fraught with shadows and, as she
imagined, many lurking things.

The fox hadn't always been this anxious, but ever since word had spread that
the cat had felt so much better after weaving his secrets in her tail, so too
had the wolf, the rat, and the dragon, each pulling her aside to have her put
her paws over her ears and unburden themselves of their secrets. The fox was
proud of her role and did her best to keep the secrets safe.

The longer she walked, the more she bushed her tail out to try and make sure
that the secrets were well-hidden.

Eventually, the fox met up with her brother and they both continued along the
path. The fox's brother, noticing his sister's tail all fluffed up, asked,
"Did you get shocked by lightening? Your tail is all puffed up!"

The existence of a secret is half of its betrayal, and so the fox thought
quickly, before shrugging broadly, "Oh, I just brushed it, and that always
leaves it feeling so matted down, so I figured I'd let it air out some in the
shade sometimes, and in the sun sometimes. It feels good!"

The fox's brother gave her an odd look, but she did have a point - he had just
brushed his tail and it did feel rather stuffy. He bristled his fur out as
well and walked with his sister between sun and shade.

"Besides," he thought, "This will help keep safe all of the secrets I have
in my tail from my sister who can never know." For he too held the
confidence of many, but was always careful to keep it secure. This is why a
fox's tail will puff out when they feel anxious or threatened.