They may say I'm a Dreamer
It was a pretty day. The sun was cherishing the flowers with its beams and a gentle wind was brushing the branches. Honeybees were flying out and about to find sweet flowers for their honey and ants were collecting dried leaves for their nests. A blackbird sang its song and then flew onto the ground but was quickly driven back into the air by a red fox cub which growled at the black songbird. The bird looked at him angrily and then flew off to a better spot to sing its song. The young male cub stuck out his tongue and then turned back to the other three cubs.
"What did you find there, Bold?" His younger sister asked.
"It flew off. Nothing there for you Charmer."
The female cub shrugged and jumped on her other brother. They had been playing all along. Bold scratched his head and laughed. He had to help his sister for Charmer was now lying on the ground with Friendly upon her. There was no way she could escape. Bold growled and jumped on top of his brother. The three of them laughed and were soon fully obtained by their game.
The fourth cub, a dreamy female had let it all slip past her. She had smiled sweetly at her mother when she left; her father had been out all day. Dreamer had found her way away from the den. She sniffed the flowers in search of a meal or just to discover nature's blessings. Her own thoughts were her main occupation. She didn't care much about the other foxes. She would play with them if she had to, but mainly she would entertain herself. Her mother had chosen a name perfect for her.
She had been walking for a couple of minutes already and had gone far past the boundaries that her mother and father had pointed out to their cubs. It was dangerous beyond those boundaries, not because they went off Farthing Land because she was still on there, but because they had so little experience with the true nature surrounding them. They had no idea on what they could find. And it could be hard for Fox and Vixen to find their cubs in an area that was too big. Especially four cubs, each with different personality and different interests. They were all individuals, and Fox and Vixen knew that all too well. Dreamer yawned and sat down for a bit to scratch her ear. She looked around and lost herself in staring at a pink flower for too long. Suddenly her stomach began to make a noise. She frowned and looked at her white tummy. She was hungry, that was something she could recognise. If she went back to the den now, mother would soon come with some mice, or so she thought. But how could she get back? She had no idea what way to go. She became a little worried for a moment but in her dreamy world those emotions were soon switched into happiness and imagination and she soon made way towards home. If she had cried for her mother or father they would have reacted to it immediately but she was not the kind of cub to cry out. She had never really called out, whereas her two brothers made a game of howling. Dreamer was too silent for that.
She had already disappeared into her imagination when suddenly she came across some weird looking flowers. Her stomach made another sound and it made clear that it needed food, and it needed it now. Dreamer let her head hang slightly to the right side and observed the white and brown flower. It was flat, it almost seemed more like a leave from a water lily then a normal flower. Its stem was thick and bended a bit. Once she made sure that it was safe enough for a closer look, she crawled over to it and gently sniffed its smell. It was a different smell from all the other flowers she had ever sniffed on. Somehow she got a sign from her belly that this thing could be edible. She sniffed it again and then gently took a bite out of it. She let its taste run through her mouth and she enjoyed it. She soon ate the whole thing and then searched if there was more. She found three more and ate them all, even one that was red and had white dots on it. It pleased her to find that this food could have several funny colours. With a wide smile and her tale up in the air she continued her way, back to her home, their den.
It took her longer than expected to find her home. She got a little worried and started to walk up a small hill. She frowned as her stomach hurt. It made some strange noises and it made Dreamer totter. She tried to get a steady grip on the dry floor underneath her feet but she just couldn't. Finally she decided to sit down because everything seemed as if it was trying to fool her. Trees were walking, the ground was shaking. Dreamer had never dreamt about anything like that before and she didn't like it. It frightened her. She trembled as the pain increased. She shook her head just to make the dizziness go away. It didn't help. She decided to move on; she had to find her father. He would tell her what to do. She swayed to one side of the hill, to the steep side. Suddenly her back arched and she threw up. Bits of the white flower fell on the ground. Dreamer shook her head and nearly lost her grip. One back foot slipped from the hill as it went over the cliff. She quickly pulled it back and leant the other way, almost causing her to fall over in the other direction. She swallowed to make the dirty taste go away. She noticed a pool of water and crawled over to drink some of it to clear her throat. It helped a little bit. A bold magpie flew down opposite of the helpless cub. It screeched and laughed at the silly fox lying opposite of him. It wasn't a common thing to make fun of a fox without having to fear its wraith. However, this magpie had already witnessed Dreamer's cough up and it knew that this very cub had very little power left.
"Stupid fox cub," it screeched.
"Don't you watch out what you eat?"
Dreamer looked at him drowsily. She only saw a whirl of some black and white thing walking up and down.
"You've eaten a toadstool by the looks of it."
He let his eyes slip to the white remaining of it.
"Don't you know that it's poisonous?"
Dreamer didn't know what to do. She let the words slip into her mind and for once she came out of her dream world to face reality. She had heard about poison before, when Badger had told them the great journey from Farthing Wood. Her father and the group of animals had wandered through a poisoned area then. She knew that poison could kill any animal, big or small. She panicked. She looked at the whirl which was screeching in excitement and she growled at it. It screeched one last time and flew up into the sky. Dreamer collected all her strength and sent it to her legs. She made herself get to her feet at all cost. She took one step but simply collapsed right after it. She sank to the very edge of the hill, causing it to break down. She fell down with it and landed on her back with her head down. The whole world had gone mad. It was turning around and it made her dizzy. The pain she felt had become intense and her whole body felt limp. She tried to get up; she wanted to go to her brothers and sister, to play with them. She wanted to see her mother. She feared. She feared what would come, even though she had never witnessed death. She felt her life flowing away from her. She didn't feel the pain anymore. She moved her little feet one last time and then it was over.
The fox cub Dreamer had gone to dream forever...