Foulfellow is one of the characters in the original “The Adventures of Pinocchio” (1883) by Carlo Collodi. Though he is simply named as “The Fox” (Italian: La Volpe). Pinocchio having gained five gold coins from Mangiafuoco (Disney’s Stromboli), the Fox and the Cat conceive of ways to steal them. They pretend to be old friends of Gepetto and “befriend” Pinocchio. Having him use one of his coins to buy them a good meal.
While they part as friends, the duo arrange a meeting with Pinocchio after midnight. They dress as bandits and attempt to murder him by hanging. Only the wooden puppet can not die that way. The Cat looses a paw to Pinocchio’s mouth. They encounter Pinocchio again in the morning, in their regular guises as his friends. They have him bury his four remaining coins in an empty fields, supposedly to grow a money tree there. Minutes later, thry dig up the coins and escape with them.
Pinocchio has a brief encounter with them much later in the book. They have both lost all their money and ended up disabled. The Cat is blind, the Fox lame and mangy. Reduced to begging for food or money. Pinocchio fills no pity for them.
In the Disney adaptation, they are given proper names and different roles. They are the ones luring Pinocchio first to Stromboli, later to Pleasure Island. Clearly scoundrels but never violent ones. John being the one making all arrangements for them, in the style of an actor. Gideon being mute. They receive no actual punishment. They have both had similar roles in various comic book stories, trying to deceive Pinocchio and other characters.
