dʒˈoʊsəf dʒˈeɪkəbz ɪŋklˈuːdᵻd ɐ vˈɛɹiənt, mˈɪstɚ fˈɑːks, ɪn ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ fˈɛɹi tˈeɪlz, bˌʌt ðɪ ɚɹˈɪdʒɪnəl pɹˈuːvnəns ɪz mˈʌtʃ ˈoʊldɚ; ʃˈeɪkspɪɹ sˈɜːkə wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd fˈaɪvhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti nˈaɪn ɐlˈuːdz tə ðə mˈɪstɚ. fˈɑːks vˈɛɹiənt ɪn mˈʌtʃ ɐdˈuː ɐbˌaʊt nˈʌθɪŋ, ˈækt wˈʌn, sˈiːn wˈʌn:
Joseph Jacobs included a variant, Mr Fox, in English Fairy Tales, but the original provenance is much older; Shakespeare (circa 1599) alludes to the Mr. Fox variant in Much Ado About Nothing, Act 1, Scene 1: