The Cunning Little Vixen The Cunning Little Vixen The Cunning Little Vixen (; until the 1970s, generally referred to in English as Adventures of Vixen Sharp-Ears ) is a Czech language opera by Leoš Janáček, composed 1921 to 1923. Its libretto was adapted by the composer from a 1920 serialized novella, "Liška Bystrouška", by Rudolf Těsnohlídek, which was first published in the newspaper "Lidové noviny" (with illustrations by Stanislav Lolek). The opera incorporates Moravian folk music and rhythms as it recounts the life of a clever (alternative reading: sharp-eared) fox and accompanying wildlife, as well as a few humans, and their small adventures while
The Cunning Little Vixen to contain similarities to the music of French composer Claude Debussy. At Janáček's request, the final scene from " The Cunning Little Vixen" was performed at his funeral in 1928. Ursula Dubosarsky's 2018 novel for children, "Brindabella", is based on Rudolf Těsnohlídek's "Vixen Sharp Ears", the source story of the Cunning Little Vixen, relocated in the Australian bush, with the role of the Vixen played by a kangaroo. Broken down from the original Czech, the title is There is no mention in the Czech of a diminutive ("little"), although this idea is included in both the German "(Das schlaue Füchslein)"