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 they retire to the badger's home. An unexpected pregnancy and a forest full of gossipy creatures necessitates their marriage, which rounds out the act. The poacher Harasta is engaged to Terynka and is out hunting in preparation for their marriage. He sets a fox trap, which the numerous fox and vixen cubs mock. Harasta, watching from a distance, shoots and kills the vixen, sending her children running. At Harasta's wedding, the forester sees the vixen's fur, which Harasta gave to Terynka as a wedding present, and flees to the forest to reflect. He returns to the place where he met