Microstory 1290: The Fox and His Friends

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A dog and a chicken were bored of the farm where they had both lived their entire lives. They wanted to see the world, so they broke through the fence, and started their journey. They weren’t able to travel very fast, because the chicken couldn’t keep up with the dog, and the dog couldn’t move very fast when she had a chicken on her back. Still they continued, because it was important for them to see things they never had before, and to gain valuable experiences. As the hour grew late, they knew they had to find a place to sleep, so they settled on a nice, large tree. The lowest branch was high enough to keep the chicken away from danger, and the trunk was hollowed out, so the dog could crawl inside. When morning came, the chicken woke up with a start. For a second, she forgot where she was, and fell off the branch. She clucked louder than she ever had before. Had she still been at the farm, she would have awoken everyone else there. As it happened, only a fox was alerted to her presence. Fearful and worried, the chicken flew back up to the branch, and looked around for danger. The dog, meanwhile, ran off to patrol the area, to make sure her little chicken friend was safe. It was at this time that the fox glided up to the tree to see what the fuss was about. “Get away from me,” the chicken said to him. “I will not be your meal today!”

“Please do not be frightened.” The fox couldn’t remember where he had gone wrong in his life, or how he had generated such a terrible reputation, but he wanted to change that. Yes, this prey looked tasty, but he also desperately needed friends, and that had to be more important. “I promise that I am not here to hurt you.”

“My dog friend will return soon, and then you will be sorry.”

Then the fox got an idea. It wasn’t the best he ever had, but he felt he had to do something. He threw a grape into the air with his mouth, and then struck it with his tail. It flew up towards the trunk, and knocked the chicken from her roost. The fox then proceeded to sit there without hurting the chicken, so that when the dog returned, he could show them that he was telling the truth. Their friendship did not come easy, but over time, the fox was able to prove himself a better friend than an enemy.

This story was inspired by, and revised from, an Aesop Fable called The Dog, the Cock, and the Fox.

Microstory 26: What Does the Fox Want?

While Linda Carnegie was in the middle of setting the table, she looked up and saw a fox staring at her from outside her door. He watched her intently, like he was waiting for an answer to a question asked long ago. She was entranced by him. The patio outside of her apartment was closed off by a fence and thick shrubs, so he would have needed to make a concerted effort to get through it. He couldn’t have just been passing by. He moved his head to one side, which she interpreted to be an invitation. She had no choice but to accept this invitation. It was more of an order, and less of a request. Still in her slippers, she opened the glass door and got down on her hands and knees to crawl through the brush. One of her neighbors was outside waiting, not for Linda, but for the magnificent creature who had already invited him out. The fox started running away, but kept one eye on the two of them, slowing down as needed. The more she followed it, the more urgency she felt. They looked to the right and saw a few of their other neighbors, running after a squirrel. Up ahead, they were closing in on an elderly couple who were following a rabbit that was hopping every once in a while, keeping its dependents moving as fast as they could. As they continued the pursuit, they could see more people, in groups of at least two, each chasing their own animal. The ground shook and they ran faster, until they felt safe enough. Linda turned back and watched as a fiery mid-sized aircraft fell from the sky, and demolished the apartment complex.

Microstory 4: The Scorpion and the Fox

One day, a turtle, a frog, and a fox are sitting at the bank of a river. A scorpion comes along and asks if one of them would carry him across the river. The turtle is hesitant. "How do I know you won't sting me?" the turtle asks. "Because then we would both drown," answers the scorpion. "I'm sorry. I can't risk that," replies the turtle. The scorpion turns to the frog who hops away without a word. "I can carry you," says the fox. The fox carries the scorpion across the river and then swims back. A snake slithers up and tells the scorpion that he probably would not have been able to keep himself from biting the fox by the time they reached the bank. "Why didn't you sting him once you were safely across?" the snake asks. "Isn't that what scorpions do?" "I am not bound by my nature," the scorpion replies. "I make my own choices." Back on the first side, the turtle asks why the fox agreed to do that when it was so dangerous. "Animals like that believe it is best to perish if it means the death of an enemy," the turtle says. "I chose to give him the benefit of the doubt," the fox answers. "Not because it was in his best interests anyway, but because not helping an enemy would reflect poorly on me more than it would on him."