Nearby a young vixen ( here , vixen means baby fox ) is playing . A curious Vixen Cub ( usually sung by a young girl ) , inquisitively chases a frog right into the lap of the surprised forester who forcibly takes the vixen home as a pet . Time passes ( in the form of an orchestral interlude ) and we see the Vixen , now grown to a young adult ( and sung by a soprano ) , tied up in the forester 's yard with the conservative old dachshund .