The Fox Healer

An old man and an old woman once planted a little cabbage stalk beneath their floor. It grew so quickly that the old man made an opening for it first in the…

An old man and an old woman once planted a little cabbage stalk beneath their floor. It grew so quickly that the old man made an opening for it first in the floor, then in the ceiling. The stalk rose all the way to the clouds. At its top stood magical millstones: turn them once and a pie appeared; turn them again and there was a pot of fragrant porridge.

The old man climbed up, tasted the food and returned for the old woman. For her, he wove a strong basket with two ropes. The ascent was long and the old woman grew tired, so they decided to go back down. Close to the ground, the basket settled softly into a haystack, but the traveller still wanted to rest after her unusual journey.

A fox passed by. The villagers called her a healer because she knew how to make herbal tea. She inspected the ropes, made sure the old woman was well and suggested a quiet evening in the warm bathhouse. The old man brought a small bag of toasted oat flour and a little pot of butter, while the fox brewed mint tea and mixed soft dough for flatbreads.

After the rest, the fox showed the old man and woman how to make a stable lift. They fastened four slings to the basket, joined them to a single lifting rope and wound it around a wooden windlass with a reliable stop. Inside, they secured a seat with a handrail. All three tested the device several times with sacks of hay before deciding to ride up themselves.

For the village celebration, the millstones above made pies, and the new lift gently lowered baskets of food to the neighbours gathered beside the cabbage stalk. The magical object stayed in its place among the clouds. The old man and woman handed out the baking, and the fox was honoured for her tea, sensible advice and reliable device, rather than a miraculous cure. They decorated the stalk with lanterns and cared for it as their shared road to a kindly wonder.