The plot of the book bears many similarities to a fable by Aesop regarding a wolf and a crane; in both stories, a predator has trouble with their mouth or throat, and requires the aid of another animal to place themselves inside the jaws of the beast. In the original fable, the wolf simply decides that letting the crane live is reward enough, and the crane goes without payment. In this story the fox decides to eat the protagonist but is ultimately outsmarted.