Changing into human form and finding someone who loved it for its physical beauty were relatively easy.  But it was an unending, thorny path, to say the least, to be accepted by people and to live as a member of a community.

To start with, there was the dietary problem: For the fox inside the lady, the standard, mostly vegetarian diet consumed by the peasants, consisting of a bowl of rice mixed with barley, pickled vegetables, and bean-paste soup, was completely unpalatable.  It was not just a matter of fighting constant hunger or gobbling secretly despite the peril of being discovered.  The real torture was to eat all those foods, perfectly repulsive to a vixen, with an air of relish and gratitude as befitting an ordinary housewife.  Every meal meant suffering for the poor creature.

Even harder was behaving correctly, according to the complex and rigorous code of conduct required of a woman.  In the traditional large family, three generations usually lived together, with extra kinsmen visiting temporarily or staying on a permanent basis.  The near-impossible job was filling a multitude of roles: To become human, the vixen had to be a daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law, full of filial piety; a loving and respectful wife; a good housewife and able manager of the household economy.  She must be a caring mother, benevolent sister-in-law kind hostess to all the visitors, good aunt, and so on.  The list could continue indefinitely.

All these troubles were nothing compared to the ultimate trial of suppressing its animal feelings and behaving like a virtuous woman.  When its instincts were urging it to tear apart the girl next door who cast amorous glances at its man, the vixen had to learn to be gracious enough to praise the neighbor’s beauty.  Though it felt like biting its sister-in-law, who constantly tried to find fault, it learned to be kind and faced her with a smile.

The vixen eventually met a tragic end despite its innocence, good intentions, and single-minded devotion.  When its identity was exposed to human beings, all its hopes were dashed in an instant.  The vixen knew that this meant the end.  As had been stipulated, if it failed to become fully human, it would perish.  Choosing not to take revenge on its family or the village, it calmly met its death.

Conclusion

In its entirety, this story recounts the vixen’s numerous trials and misfortunes, showing how ill feelings such as the jealousy of a mother-in-law or the suspicions of gossipy village women combined to destroy the innocent creature.