When Shakko Did Not Lie

Short Story by Eugie Foster
Originally published in Cricket
PodCastle reading by Melissa Bugaj

The singsong voice used by the narrator is appropriate to a fairy tale like this, I can imagine her reading this to her children in exactly the same voices. But she mangles the Japanese names pretty badly.

Folk tale style short story. The classic trickster fox goes on a quest but isn't allowed to lie. I was a bit disappointed by the resolution of Shakko's quest, I expected a bit more about cunning being useful beyond lying. The moral instead seems to be about bravery being more important when you can't apply your strengths. Not impressive, but not awful: 2.5 out of 5.