O, when she’s angry, she is keen and shrewd!
She was a vixen when she went to school;
And though she be but little, she is fierce.
– William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 3, Scene 2. With both Demetrius and Lysander in love with Helena and a confused Hermia in a rage, Helana rounds on her former best friend. She uses an animal metaphor to brand Hermia a "vixen." She also hurls a petty insult at her stature, saying that although she is small she is vicious.