President Fox

Chapter 17: The Daily Shores

Stefolous shivered in his shell. He had come out before dawn because he wanted to be by the pool before the herons arrive. He wished the seaweed compost he had collected to cover himself was warmer, but it could not be help because they were still wet from the high tide of the night before. The wind whistled passed and a foamy spray splashed over his shell, making him even more miserable.

Flap, flap, splosh he heard, making him thrust his head out to see. A pure white heron with single yellowing thin feathers on either side of her eyes waded towards the seaweed mound curiously. When she saw a long neck and a familiar snout jutting out of the heap, she stopped then hurried forward with a raspy cluck of joy.

She called out, "Stefolous, my friend. It is you!"

Stefolous crawled out from under the heap and moved towards the edge of the pool stiffly. "Yes, Hestia. I am so glad you are the one I will be talking with today."

"Where have you been? How did you escape? Why were you arrested?"

Stefolous told his story backwards because that was the natural way for journalists to know the why's and how's and where's and when's of a story. Throughout, he made sure to mention nothing about Vixen and the weasel sisters. After concluding the reason of his arrest, he asked, "Can you help me, Hestia?"

"I do not know what I can do, but I will do my best," the bird said solemnly.

"I need information about Wolf. He has offered me asylum, you see. I know he is not doing it for altruistic reasons but I have little options other than to accept. I would like to know how far to trust him."

"Wolf, eh? He is a difficult animal to read. Any conclusion about whether he is saint or devil will depend on the day of the month the question is asked."

"I thought just as much," Stefolous said. "So, I will not waste my time on that. What I need to know is what happened to him when he left the jungle for a year, after the election of President Fox."

Hestia climbed onto a dry rock next to Stefolous and sat down. "He went to the killing fields, to talk with the bears who had not taken part in the war. Do you remember the bear that was finally caught and accused of assassinating President Monkey?"

Stefolous nodded with a scowl on his face. "Yes, Berry Black."

He remembered that case. The investigation was rushed and the evidences provided were weak and suspect. When he first saw the bear hobbling on one deformed leg, Stefolous knew that there was no way Berry could have killed President Monkey. Monkey would have been too quick and nimble for him. On the day of the trial, Berry could barely speak coherently, so he could not defend himself. Actually, he was laughed, boo-ed and hissed at throughout his testimony, which drowned out even the little he could say for himself. Stefolous, Hestia and a few other veteran journalists had issued articles that pointed out the lack of evidence. However, readers only read what they want to believe, so their articles were mostly ignored while the other more sensational – 'Proves Berry Is Guilty', or 'Berry's Claws On Monkey' – spread through the jungle like wildfire.

Hestia rubbed her beak against Stefolous' shell to comfort him. Then she said, "Well, our own Pacer the independent writer managed to track his family, and Wolf went with him to meet them. 2 uncles, 6 aunts and 12 cousins all confirmed and showed proof that not only was Berry a vegetarian, but he was also not very clever, and would not have managed to even make his way to that area of the jungle, let alone find the President and kill him."

Stefolous said thoughtfully, "Pacer, I know him. A lot of his works are on conspiracies and also animal disappearances. The article he wrote on a place called the zoo caused quite an uproar in the jungle."