Authority

The stars watched the fox, and took pity. From their heavenly heights, they cast a spell. Wear the woman’s skull, they said to the fox, and the woman shall return to life. The fox, unable to resist, followed the stars’ instructions and transformed into a human. She took the form of the woman, not as a crone but as the maiden who once was. Through a mess of flowing hair, her eyes fell upon her fair exposed skin.

“I’m naked,” said the fox in human words, and hurried to wear the woman’s rags.

From then on, the fox lived not only as herself, but as another. She set out to travel the world, and forever had with her that first skull — her disguise, her identity, her companion.