I have been trolling the Internet again and happened across another animal story. In past columns, we have had seasick fishes, an angry camel and a swan used as a club. This story tops them all.

It takes place in a land far, far away known as Belarus. Belarus is in eastern Europe. But our tale could be a story about an animal that triumphs over adversity anywhere. It’d be great for a segment of “When Animals Attack,” but there isn’t any video of the encounter. It could even be an endearing story of a cute little animal that is smarter than a human.

Our hero is a Belarusian fox, who we will call Fredino. Fredino is out minding his own business (as were the fish, the swan and the camel) when he meets “the hunter.” “The hunter” remains nameless in all the news reports I’ve seen, most likely because he is stupid and doesn’t want anyone to know. He is also referred to as “the man.”

“The hunter” meets Fredino, and being a hunter, he decides to shoot him. Fox hunting in Belarus is a popular pastime, so one can assume “the hunter” had perhaps actually hunted before.

Anyway, a spirited chase ensues. Uphill, over dale, through the farm fields, here and there, running willy-nilly all over the place. At last ,“the hunter” raises his gun (no fellas, I don’t know the make, model or caliber) and fires.

Fredino, a bit tired after all the chasing, barely misses dodging the bullet. Fredino lies wounded. “The hunter” cannot tell us exactly where said wound was located, but swears one existed.

Slowly, stealthily “the hunter” sneaks up on Fredino, sort of like Sarah Palin hunting caribou in the Arctic only with fewer people involved. Palms sweating, heart racing, he closes in to deliver the coup de grace. Then he realizes ammo in Belarus can be a bit on the expensive side. Being resourceful, he asks himself, why waste another bullet? Why not just knock the stuffing out of the fox with the butt of the gun? He steps closer, turning the business end of the rifle toward himself.

I must interrupt here to bring your attention to the extreme willpower exhibited by Fredino during this seconds-seem-like-hours episode. Fredino employed the popular play ‘possum strategy reminiscent of Clint Eastwood in the spaghetti westerns. Clint lies shot, and the bad guy slinks up kicking Clint with the toe of his boot to see if Clint’s really dead and ends up with a big surprise.

Closer gets “the hunter.” Fredino holds his breath. “The hunter” raises the rifle butt and just as the butt comes down, Fredino grabs for it with his little fox-paws.

According to official reports from prosecutors in Grodno, Fredino “fiercely resisted,” and a struggle ensued. Picture it, if you will, Fredino pulling on the butt and “the hunter” yanking on the barrel. Apparently “the hunter” had not been working out because he could not wrest his gun from a fox. We’re not talking an elephant here; it’s a fox. Heavens, my cat, Ra, is bigger than your average fox (by the way, Ra is not fat. He is merely big-boned . . . really).

Fredino grasps the trigger and pulls it. Shoots “the hunter” right in the leg. Personally, I think “the hunter” was lucky. From Fredino’s angle a lot of other body parts could have been hit. Fredino escapes, and “the hunter” gets a trip to the hospital. While authorities say the shooting was “accidental,” I’m not so sure.

Cohea, a freelance writer, can be reached by e-mailing a37_tao@hotmail.com.