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The Man and the Fox / El hombre y el zorro
Bi-lingual, Spanish/English edition of this traditional story originating in Central Asia.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2005
About the author
Idries Shah
565 books449 followersIdries Shah (Persian: ادریس شاه), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi (Arabic: سيد إدريس هاشمي), was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen critically acclaimed books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.
Born in India, the descendant of a family of Afghan nobles, Shah grew up mainly in England. His early writings centred on magic and witchcraft. In 1960 he established a publishing house, Octagon Press, producing translations of Sufi classics as well as titles of his own. His most seminal work was The Sufis, which appeared in 1964 and was well received internationally. In 1965, Shah founded the Institute for Cultural Research, a London-based educational charity devoted to the study of human behaviour and culture. A similar organisation, the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (ISHK), exists in the United States, under the directorship of Stanford University psychology professor Robert Ornstein, whom Shah appointed as his deputy in the U.S.
In his writings, Shah presented Sufism as a universal form of wisdom that predated Islam. Emphasising that Sufism was not static but always adapted itself to the current time, place and people, he framed his teaching in Western psychological terms. Shah made extensive use of traditional teaching stories and parables, texts that contained multiple layers of meaning designed to trigger insight and self-reflection in the reader. He is perhaps best known for his collections of humorous Mulla Nasrudin stories.
Shah was at times criticised by orientalists who questioned his credentials and background. His role in the controversy surrounding a new translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, published by his friend Robert Graves and his older brother Omar Ali-Shah, came in for particular scrutiny. However, he also had many notable defenders, chief among them the novelist Doris Lessing. Shah came to be recognised as a spokesman for Sufism in the West and lectured as a visiting professor at a number of Western universities. His works have played a significant part in presenting Sufism as a secular, individualistic form of spiritual wisdom.
Idries Shah's books on Sufism achieved considerable critical acclaim. He was the subject of a BBC documentary ("One Pair of Eyes") in 1969, and two of his works (The Way of the Sufi and Reflections) were chosen as "Outstanding Book of the Year" by the BBC's "The Critics" programme. Among other honours, Shah won six first prizes at the UNESCO World Book Year in 1973, and the Islamic scholar James Kritzeck, commenting on Shah's Tales of the Dervishes, said that it was "beautifully translated".
The reception of Shah's movement was also marked by much controversy. Some orientalists were hostile, in part because Shah presented classical Sufi writings as tools for self-development to be used by contemporary people, rather than as objects of historical study. L. P. Elwell-Sutton from Edinburgh University, Shah's fiercest critic, described his books as "trivial", replete with errors of fact, slovenly and inaccurate translations and even misspellings of Oriental names and words – "a muddle of platitudes, irrelevancies and plain mumbo-jumbo", adding for good measure that Shah had "a remarkable opinion of his own importance". Expressing amusement and amazement at the "sycophantic manner" of Shah's interlocutors in a BBC radio interview, Elwell-Sutton concluded that some Western intellectuals were "so desperate to find answers to the questions that baffle them, that, confronted with wisdom from 'the mysterious East,' they abandon their critical faculties and submit to brainwashing of the crudest kind". To Elwell-Sutton, Shah's Sufism belonged to the realm of "Pseudo-Sufism", "centred not on God but on man."
Doris Lessing, one of Shah's greatest defenders,stated in a 1981 interview: "I found Sufism as taught by Idries Shah, which claim
Born in India, the descendant of a family of Afghan nobles, Shah grew up mainly in England. His early writings centred on magic and witchcraft. In 1960 he established a publishing house, Octagon Press, producing translations of Sufi classics as well as titles of his own. His most seminal work was The Sufis, which appeared in 1964 and was well received internationally. In 1965, Shah founded the Institute for Cultural Research, a London-based educational charity devoted to the study of human behaviour and culture. A similar organisation, the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (ISHK), exists in the United States, under the directorship of Stanford University psychology professor Robert Ornstein, whom Shah appointed as his deputy in the U.S.
In his writings, Shah presented Sufism as a universal form of wisdom that predated Islam. Emphasising that Sufism was not static but always adapted itself to the current time, place and people, he framed his teaching in Western psychological terms. Shah made extensive use of traditional teaching stories and parables, texts that contained multiple layers of meaning designed to trigger insight and self-reflection in the reader. He is perhaps best known for his collections of humorous Mulla Nasrudin stories.
Shah was at times criticised by orientalists who questioned his credentials and background. His role in the controversy surrounding a new translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, published by his friend Robert Graves and his older brother Omar Ali-Shah, came in for particular scrutiny. However, he also had many notable defenders, chief among them the novelist Doris Lessing. Shah came to be recognised as a spokesman for Sufism in the West and lectured as a visiting professor at a number of Western universities. His works have played a significant part in presenting Sufism as a secular, individualistic form of spiritual wisdom.
Idries Shah's books on Sufism achieved considerable critical acclaim. He was the subject of a BBC documentary ("One Pair of Eyes") in 1969, and two of his works (The Way of the Sufi and Reflections) were chosen as "Outstanding Book of the Year" by the BBC's "The Critics" programme. Among other honours, Shah won six first prizes at the UNESCO World Book Year in 1973, and the Islamic scholar James Kritzeck, commenting on Shah's Tales of the Dervishes, said that it was "beautifully translated".
The reception of Shah's movement was also marked by much controversy. Some orientalists were hostile, in part because Shah presented classical Sufi writings as tools for self-development to be used by contemporary people, rather than as objects of historical study. L. P. Elwell-Sutton from Edinburgh University, Shah's fiercest critic, described his books as "trivial", replete with errors of fact, slovenly and inaccurate translations and even misspellings of Oriental names and words – "a muddle of platitudes, irrelevancies and plain mumbo-jumbo", adding for good measure that Shah had "a remarkable opinion of his own importance". Expressing amusement and amazement at the "sycophantic manner" of Shah's interlocutors in a BBC radio interview, Elwell-Sutton concluded that some Western intellectuals were "so desperate to find answers to the questions that baffle them, that, confronted with wisdom from 'the mysterious East,' they abandon their critical faculties and submit to brainwashing of the crudest kind". To Elwell-Sutton, Shah's Sufism belonged to the realm of "Pseudo-Sufism", "centred not on God but on man."
Doris Lessing, one of Shah's greatest defenders,stated in a 1981 interview: "I found Sufism as taught by Idries Shah, which claim
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 26, 2025
2006 - Trade - Childrens book
October 14, 2014
The Man and the Fox.
The drawing of the Fox is wonderfully engaging. Fell in love with him at once. Bet children fall in love with him too.
Politely accosted by a man, `May you never be tired.'
The Fox replies `May you always be happy.'
This is at a time when the moon grows on a tree and ants like pickles.
The man then asks the Fox what he would like, of course he would like a chicken. A chicken is promised, if he follows the man to his house. Naturally such an invitation ends badly, the Fox finds he has been tricked and trapped.
His chicken in a bag is a pile of stones and he is caught in a net. However this beautiful Fox is also clever. He decides to stop worrying and start thinking. He uses one of the stones in the bag, the one with the sharpest edge, to cut through the net and escape.
Making the hole is not done in one sweep. First one paw is free, then another, then his nose, until he has made a big enough hole by wriggling and pushing, to get out.
There are lots of other things to see in the story.
I saw:
Not everybody who is polite is to be trusted.
What about the Chicken the fox wishes for? Not very nice for the chicken, but then that is the nature of a fox, or is it?
Be careful what you ask for and who you ask.
Try and be more observant.
After all, Robar could have felt the stones in the bag before running off into the bushes with his prize. Stones don't feel much like a chicken. Why doesn't he?
The Fox runs off and one is pleased as anything.
Man might be clever, full of tricks and deceits but a Fox knows better than that and is even cleverer.
He runs off laughing and laughing and that is why a Fox will refuse an invitation to a walk and why they are very difficult to catch. All foxes know the story of the man and the Fox.
The drawing of the Fox is wonderfully engaging. Fell in love with him at once. Bet children fall in love with him too.
Politely accosted by a man, `May you never be tired.'
The Fox replies `May you always be happy.'
This is at a time when the moon grows on a tree and ants like pickles.
The man then asks the Fox what he would like, of course he would like a chicken. A chicken is promised, if he follows the man to his house. Naturally such an invitation ends badly, the Fox finds he has been tricked and trapped.
His chicken in a bag is a pile of stones and he is caught in a net. However this beautiful Fox is also clever. He decides to stop worrying and start thinking. He uses one of the stones in the bag, the one with the sharpest edge, to cut through the net and escape.
Making the hole is not done in one sweep. First one paw is free, then another, then his nose, until he has made a big enough hole by wriggling and pushing, to get out.
There are lots of other things to see in the story.
I saw:
Not everybody who is polite is to be trusted.
What about the Chicken the fox wishes for? Not very nice for the chicken, but then that is the nature of a fox, or is it?
Be careful what you ask for and who you ask.
Try and be more observant.
After all, Robar could have felt the stones in the bag before running off into the bushes with his prize. Stones don't feel much like a chicken. Why doesn't he?
The Fox runs off and one is pleased as anything.
Man might be clever, full of tricks and deceits but a Fox knows better than that and is even cleverer.
He runs off laughing and laughing and that is why a Fox will refuse an invitation to a walk and why they are very difficult to catch. All foxes know the story of the man and the Fox.
Read
September 2, 2013The Man and The Fox, by Idries Shah
This children's book presents the element of deceit and also of overcoming challenges. It can be used in the classroom to illustrate that not all people can be trusted because they don't have the other persons best interest in mind. It is also portrays a valuable lesson for children so that they can realize that they can overcome obstacles with perseverance and determination. The fox shows that using what you have around you can be beneficial. This book does an outstanding job of presenting two diverse concepts and I think it would be beneficial to read this book and implement these life lessons with children. Although the book uses the fox to illustrate the message it still makes an impact.
This children's book presents the element of deceit and also of overcoming challenges. It can be used in the classroom to illustrate that not all people can be trusted because they don't have the other persons best interest in mind. It is also portrays a valuable lesson for children so that they can realize that they can overcome obstacles with perseverance and determination. The fox shows that using what you have around you can be beneficial. This book does an outstanding job of presenting two diverse concepts and I think it would be beneficial to read this book and implement these life lessons with children. Although the book uses the fox to illustrate the message it still makes an impact.
Read
July 9, 2015The folktale of a fox who is tricked into a trap by a man, but who is able to escape using his wits. This would be a good choice for reader's theater as it only requires two to three people, has a simple narrative, and the vibrant pictures can be used as cues for students.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews