Why do foxes have long tales?

Well, foxes ARE pretty sharp and cunning. Æsop used foxes in his Fables, so the fox has been in literature and folk tales and associated with slyness for many centuries. My Dad saw a fox once backing into a small river in Scotland. The fox had something white in his mouth and let it go when only his nose was above the surface, then climbed out on the opposite back, shook himself and took off. My Dad fished the white thing out and discovered it was a piece of sheep's wool and it was alive with fleas... Clever fox!