THE FOX AND THE OTHER ANIMALS FROM THE WOOD

One day all the animals from the wood met up in the same place! They wanted to decide whether the wood should continue to go this way or that way.

       There was one of them for every species.

       The blackbird was there with the hare, the porcupine and the mole, the rat and the screech owl, the squirrel and the owl, the snail and the snake, then the fox and many, many others…but the wolf was not there!

        “Ah, but the wolf isn’t here! We must be careful and weigh-up the situation,” the fox very quietly whispered to herself.

       “It’s time to vote!” cried the hare.

       “But the wolf isn’t here,” pointed out the tortoise.

       “It doesn’t matter! Just put the hazelnut between your paws: we are going ahead with the voting” stated the blackbird.

       When the cunning fox heard this, she crouched down very

quietly: she had decided to sneak away.

       “Where are you going?!” asked the tortoise approaching the fox, with the porcupine by his side.

       “I’m leaving! ” replied the fox, ” Because if there are blackbirds in this wood, I’m a fox and as I don’t know the wolf’s plans…I’ll return when the wolf comes back!”

        “Oh you clever scheming one! You don’t want to risk crossing the wolf, do you!?” bawled the tortoise.

       But the porcupine knew! Then without opening his mouth he moved his tiny-little, shy, pale paws to keep his friend nice and quiet: he had his spines and she her shell…but what about the other animals…?

       “You keep quiet you good for nothing rascal! You can act the fool because you are ugly, flat and all shell. You know that the wolves’ teeth can do nothing to you! You have no common sense. Would you have been able to tell me what you have just told me, if you had only been a poor, weak crawling animal without your armour around you! The porcupine has its spines, you have your shell, and I’m not even allowed to try and be cunning? I know how painful it is to be bitten by a wolf! Do you know what I’ll do?

I’m going to hide right there in one of those bushes, and I’ll only come out once I see my friend the wolf coming along.”

       The fox is cunning, and that is just what she did!

       After some time the wolf slunk in!

       And in the end, there was the wolf sitting next to his friend the fox on a chestnut-tree stump…both with a hazelnut between their paws just like all the others!