Original Text
In the Li family mansion of Ling County, it was often observed that vases, tripods, and antique curios would be moved to the edge of tables, poised precariously as if about to fall. At first, the Grand Historian Li suspected his servants were responsible and angrily punished them. The servants protested their innocence, but the cause remained unknown; so the study doors and windows were locked tight, yet by dawn the antiques were still displaced. Realizing this was no ordinary occurrence, Li secretly kept watch. One night, the entire room blazed with light, startling Li into thinking there were thieves. Two servants peered through the window and saw a fox lying on a box, its eyes emitting a dazzling radiance. Fearing it would escape, they rushed in to seize it. The fox bit one servant's wrist, nearly tearing off the flesh, but the servant held fast, and others joined to capture and bind the creature. When they lifted the fox, they found its four legs were boneless, dangling limply like ribbons. Li, recognizing the fox's spiritual nature, could not bear to kill it, so he trapped it under a wicker basket. The fox, unable to escape, ran about with the basket on its head. After enumerating its misdeeds, Li released it, and from then on, the strange occurrences ceased.
Commentary
Foxes practicing sorcery and causing mischief are frequently found in "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," each instance startlingly unique and possessing its own distinct character. In this tale, when the fox appears, "the room was filled with light," and "its radiance emanated from both eyes, shimmering in all directions." When captured, "all four paws were boneless, dangling limply like hanging sashes." It was "covered with a willow basket; unable to escape, the fox carried the basket as it fled." If one compares this with stories such as "Nightmare," "Catching Ghosts and Shooting Foxes," and "The Farmer," one cannot help but marvel at Pu Songling's unparalleled richness of imagination and the graceful variety of his descriptions.