Member-only story
The Cock and the Fox
or Trump and the Media
Going back to The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, one of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, there is the popular “beast fable” involving Chanticleer the Cock and Reynard the Fox. This is the modern version.
Chanticleer was a noisy, domineering egotist who thought that he was so mighty that his crowing raised the sun. As such, all the animals should adore and honor him.
Reynard was a sly, cunning creature. He used his wiles to gather information from many animals and he would piece together stories that he could use for his own advantage.
Chanticleer’s reputation grew and grew. He was perceived as powerful. He acquired more space in the barnyard, then married a hen. Through his bargains with the Farmer, he continued to get more space, and he married again and again. Finally, he wound up with seven wives. The Farmer saw this, and gave Chanticleer his very own house. It was White, connoting the power and the prestige that Chanticleer had acquired.
Reynard the Fox heard more and more about the rooster, Chanticleer. Reynard gathered more and more information about Chanticleer, and found that the more he knew and spread the news to the other animals the more his own advantages grew.
