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 *Originates from Korea* 

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Nine-tailed foxes are a fox that lives for a thousand years and  can turn into a fox spirit and shape-shift.  The form it likes to take though, would be as a beautiful young girl who seduces men and then eats them.

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There once was a couple with two sons but really wanted a daughter. Praying everyday for a daughter even if she were a fox, the family’s wish was finally granted. However, one day, the family started noticing that their livestock was mysteriously dying off. One day, a cow died. The next a goat and this continued for weeks. 

 

Finally the mystery was solved. The two sons believed that their sister was responsible, but of course the parents, desperate for a daughter, rejected this. Both sons were shown the door, and when they later returned, they found that the only one left in their family home was their sister. The night of their return, the oldest son was awoken from his sleep by a commotion only to discover that his younger sister was actually a murderous fox spirit who had eaten the rest of the family to become a “true” human.

 

Her last words before she disappeared were “you foolish humans who beg for a daughter so earnestly... I bet you would have never thought your selfish wish would be your undoing. After all, you must never trust a fox.”

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Glossary:

Shape-shift: The ability to transform - from fox to human 

Seduces: To make someone want to do something  

Livestock: farm animals 

Desperate: hopeless situation 

Earnestly: a serious mindset 

Undoing: A person's worst end - so in this case, it was the death of the family 

"True": A real human 

Foolish: stupid human

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Understanding Questions: 

1. What is the "moral" (the learning message) of this ghost story? 

2. What did the parents wish for? 

3. Was the sister good or evil? 

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