Old Man Sun was a man of immense courage. One afternoon, while dozing at home, he vaguely sensed something climbing onto the bed. Immediately, his whole body began to sway, as if he were soaring on clouds, leading him to think, "Could I have been bewitched by a fox spirit?"

He stealthily cracked an eye open and saw **a creature curled up, the size of a cat, with yellow fur and a green beak, slowly crawling from his feet, wriggling gently, its movements so delicate it seemed afraid of waking the old man from his slumber.

Before long, the fox reached the old man’s ankles, rendering them numb. Moments later, it crawled toward his thighs, which instantly felt weak and useless. A realization dawned in the old man’s heart: "It really is a fox spirit; how else could it possess such sorcery?" He kept perfectly still, waiting until the fox reached his lower abdomen. Suddenly, he sprang up, slamming both hands down, grasping the fox’s neck with a fierce grip and hauling it back with force.

The captured fox struggled frantically, writhing left and right and yelping incessantly, but the old man’s hands held it fast like iron clamps. No matter how hard it fought, it could not break free from the restraint.

Old Man Sun burst into laughter and eagerly called for his wife to enter the room, shouting, "Woman, bring me a rope!"

His wife obeyed, fetching a length of rope. The old man, nimble of hand and foot, quickly bound the fox around its waist, holding the two ends of the rope in his hands. He chuckled, "I’ve long heard that foxes are masters of transformation; today I shall finally see for myself. Little fellow, quickly change for me to witness."

Upon hearing this, the fox instantly contracted its belly, its body shrinking in a flash to the thickness of a bamboo tube. Just as it seemed about to escape, the old man panicked, squeezing the rope tighter with all his might.

Seeing its trick fail, the fox puffed out its belly, its body swelling to the size of a large bowl, hard as stone. The old man pulled desperately on the rope ends until, gradually, his strength waned, his hands growing sore and weak, causing his grip to slacken. The fox immediately seized the chance to shrink its body, intending to flee.

The old man grew anxious and quickly instructed his wife, "Hurry! Go fetch a knife! This little beast is too cunning; to prevent future trouble, it must be cut down with one blow."

His wife searched everywhere, unsure where the knife was hidden, and called out, "Where is the knife?"

The old man impatiently retorted, "I truly cannot fathom you! Isn't it hanging properly on the weapons rack to the left? How can you not see such a large blade?" As he spoke, he turned his head to point out the exact location.

Suddenly, the rope slipped from his hands. He spun around in alarm, but the fox was gone—a mere phantom—having long since vanished without a trace, never to be seen again.