Interpretation of the moral of the story

My own interpretation about the author’s life lesson

What represented each one of the characters?

In the real life kings could represent the authority: somebody who said to others what they had to do, no matter the intention, if it were “good” or “bad” they had to be obedient, and respectful to him. We can interpret the king as a father or a mother.

The princes, were showing the future: they were going to recieve the heritage, the wealth and the values. According to the tale, the eldest sons, who were very lax and lawless, could represent false friends who are not honest and can be interested only in their fortune, or taking advantage on a particular situation. The youngest son is the hero, he was the savior of the wealth, of the knowledge and of the respect to the lordliness. 

The princess remained the most precious thing, while the bird and the horse befriended her. And the other golden stuffs such as the cage, the saddle and the castel became complements to show the things we do not really need, superfluous things. The  princess represents the stability, loyalty, friendship, and goodwill.

The fox could be old wise people, these people who youngsters never want to hear, and who never abandon us. They stay there to guide our decisions.  In these kind of stories they usually are represented by our relatives. 

And what are the challenges and the warnings?

Since my own position and comprehension, the most important character was the fox.  The fox is an old, old relative who desires the youngest’s succes. It never was very far, and it was always watching closely to insure the princes’ victory, or our own’s. One of the main challenge is to listen carefully their recommentations. Another important fact is to drop down the shallow and insignificant details, we have to fix the goal and stay focused. His dead showed us the need to let go those old family stories to build a new one over new foundations. So the main challenge was to keep concentrated, following the fox’s coucils. We are used to thinking the senior’s councils are giving to annoy us. Remember the proverb: “If you wish good advise, consult an old man”.

As warnings, I catch, for exemple, to take care of false friends who without seeming to take advantage of your kindness or your ingenuity are planning how to knock you down. They could be friendly but in fact they are jealous of your good luck and your great succes. We have also be carefully with the appearences and the mirages, such as the golden cage, in the story. We have to stay humble and concentrated. We can’t have our cake and eat it too, we have to organise our live following an orden of priorities. We can have one, or two, but we always have to focus to reach the goal.