Fable: The Boy and the Fox

The Boy and the Fox

The Boy and the Fox

A long time ago, when the mists had yet to fall and monsters didn't roam the earth, there was a boy who lived in the middle of the forest. He lived alone, as his parents had been killed in one of the many border skirmishes that plagued the land. But he ignored the pain and emptiness left in his parent's stead, and focused on surviving.

One day, the boy was visited by a fox, though this was no ordinary fox. This fox was an oboroten: a shape shifter. The Fox was not from this land: he had been driven from his home for stealing, and now he wandered from town to town thieving and surviving as best he could. It was only the boy's poor misfortune that the Fox had stumbled upon his home.

The Fox watched the boy for several days and nights from the woods, taking note of the food that the boy kept, the few valuables that he hid, and the cutlery that he ate with. Then on the third day, near dusk, the fox stood up on his hind legs, limbs straightening into that of a humans, face shortening, and his muzzle flattening out to resemble that of a man's. The Fox's other face was very handsome, with dazzling blue eyes and thick red hair pulled back and dangling over his ears. Finally the Fox swept a hand across his chest, and the fur that covered his body morphed into that of fine travelling clothes. The fox set his bag filled with other valuables into the small recess between a tree's roots, and then started to walk out of the forest.

Striding through the underbrush, the Fox stepped onto the path leading to the house, straightened his necktie, and then knocked loudly on the door. A few sparse seconds crept by, and then the door creaked open, the boy poking his head out.

"Yes?" the boy asked, staring timidly out of the door.

"Hello son," the Fox said, tipping his hat down to the boy. "I seem to be lost here. I was waylaid by bandits off of the road and they stole everything but the clothes on my back. I was wondering if you would have some food to spare me so that I could make it to the next village?"

The boy hesitated for a moment, and then nodded: opening the door to allow the Fox in.

"Thank you," the Fox said, sweeping his hat off of his head and setting it onto the hat stand. "I am so very sorry to take up your time."

The boy said nothing, moving into the kitchen and leaving the fox by himself. The Fox busied himself by opening the drawers and taking whatever he could find that was valuable: an old silver knife, a golden wedding band, a small amethyst gym. His pockets were slightly heavier than when he had first arrived, but not as heavy as he would have liked.

The Fox crept into the kitchen, silently opening the drawers behind the boys back and shoving silverware into his coat pockets. He plucked a loaf of fresh bread and shoved it under his arms, and then a large wedge of cheese into the breast pocket. With this and the money he was sure to make by pawning off the jewelry, the fox would be able to eat well for several nights to come.

The Fox finished shoving an end of salami into his waistband as the boy turned around, a small bundle of food wrapped in a kerchief and held in his small hands.

"This is all I can spare," the boy said in his faint, wispy voice. He handed over the bundle, and the fox accepted it.

"It is more than enough," The Fox said, smiling at the thought of all the food he would have now. The two of them stepped out onto the front stoop, finding that the sky had gone from bright and sunny to gray and overcast. Thunder and lightning boomed in the distance, signaling the beginning of a very unpleasant rainstorm.

"There wouldn't happen to be somewhere that I could take shelter at, is there?" the Fox asked as he looked up at the rain. "At least until the rain passes?"

The boy nodded, pointing to the east. "There's a cave half of a mile east of here. You'll find shelter there until the rain passes."

The Fox smiled, and tipped his hat to the boy before walking in the direction he had pointed, stopping only to grab his precious bag of stolen belongings. In no time he found the cave, setting down his bag and morphing back into his animal form. The rainstorm outside worsened, and the Fox moved as far away from the entrance as he could to stay dry.

Suddenly at the back of the Fox's neck, he felt a soft brush of wind, and a low growling sound. The Fox froze, turning to find himself face-to-face with a bear nearly ten times his size. The Fox froze, and in an instant he was engulfed in the slimy blackness of the bear's mouth.

Much later the boy arrived at the cave, peering inside and spotting the bear dozing in the far corner after his meal. The boy watched for several minutes, and then slipped inside and grabbed the Fox's bag of belongings and left the cave.

"And I thought that foxes were supposed to be clever."