It was a lovely day in Downtown City. Blythe and the female pets were headed for the park to relax for a while. Blythe offered for the male pets to come with them but they refused, each with their own excuse. Vinnie said he needed some time to practise some "sweet new dance moves", Sunil is afraid of everything that has to do with water since it had rained last night meaning there would be rain puddles and mud puddles everywhere, and Russell had to finish an "interesting" new book (he was on the last chapter).
Blythe sighed as she breathed into the freshly-washed air while gripping the leashes of Zoe, Pepper, Minka and Penny Ling. "Isn't it a lovely day for a walk in the park?" asked Blythe to the rest of the pets. "It sure is!" said Minka, jumping up and down. "It feels great to get away from the boys for a little while," sighed Penny. Blythe looked around for a secluded spot in the park for her and the pets to rest. She finally found a small spot with a bench and decided they go there. Blythe sat down on the bench and opened up her purse taking out a "Teen Spot" magazine and began to read it. "Teen Spot" is the most popular magazine in Downtown City and was meant for teenage girls aged from 13-19 years old. However, sometimes teen boys read Teen Spot and little girls would sometimes steal Teen Spot magazines from their older sisters. Blythe began to remove the leashes from the pets one by one.
Zoe sat down next to a nearby pond checking her reflection out as if the pond were a mirror while Pepper thought of a new prank. She snickered to herself as she thought about it. Minka climbed up a tree and swung around it, screeching. A squirrel who was there immediately scurried inside the tree as fast as her small legs could carry her because her home was inside the tree. Penny walked next to the tree, ribbon-dancing with a ribbon wand that had orange ribbons. Pepper crept up to Zoe, making sure she didn't notice the comedic skunk. After that, when Zoe least suspected it, Pepper jumped up shouting "BOO!". This caused Zoe to be so frightened she accidently fell in the pond. Pepper laughed so hard she was rolling on the ground crying, pointing at the wet Zoe who did not seem amused. Zoe climbed out of the pond, shaking her fur to get the water out. All the water landed on Pepper, causing her to be the wet one and to not be amused. "Hmph!" said Zoe, storming off. Pepper shook off the water and trotted after Zoe. "I'm sorry, ok?!" cried Pepper, begging Zoe to forgive her. "Sorry?! HA!" barked Zoe. Her bark was so loud it scared a pigeon who was resting on the tree where Minka was on it's branches, causing the pigeon to fly away.
"It was just a harmless prank," said Pepper, letting off some of her stinky scent. "Harmless?! HARMLESS?! DID YOU NOT REMEMBER JUST BEFORE WE LEFT WHEN BLYTHE SAID TO NOT GET WET OR MUDDY OR ELSE WE WOULD GET A BATH!" "Zoe, don't make such a big deal out of it," muttered Pepper. "After all, you just fell in a pond, no big deal. Besides, you're a dog, so you can swim. It doesn't matter, Zoe. Unless you really are that obsessed with your coat." "DID YOU NOT HEAR WHAT I JUST SAID!" cried Zoe. "DO YOU NEED HEARING AIDS OR SOMETHING?!" "Woah, woah, woah, what's going on over here?" asked Blythe rushing over between the cocker spaniel and the skunk, leaving her magazine on the bench. All of a sudden, they heard a whimpering sound. "Wait a minute," said Zoe, lowering her voice to normal level. "Did you hear that whimpering sound?" "Yes," said Blythe. "I did..." "Meh, t'was probably a rabbit or squirrel!" said Minka. "No, it doesn't sound like one of those," said Zoe, beginning to sniff the air. "It doesn't smell like any sort of rodent or lagomorph either." Zoe began to follow the smell over to a hedge.
Zoe went through the hedge and found a dark red fox with reddish-brownish bangs that covered her right eye. She had dark, forest-green eyes and had a reddish-peachish underbelly. Her paws and tip of tail were as white as snow and seemed to be a female. Both of the fox's front paws were caught in a leg trap, with a red, juicy-looking apple next to it. She was struggling to get her paws out but it was no use. Zoe could tell this fox was wild as it didn't have a collar and smelled of grass, dirt and flowers, a smell usually wild animals had. "Erm, hello," said Zoe. "What are you doing here?" grunted the vixen. "Uh... need any help?" asked the purple cocker spaniel. "No, I'm pretending to be caught in a leg trap and struggling to get out of here," saracastically remarked the vixen. Zoe, ignoring the fox's snooty sarcasm, simply replied, "I'll go get some help!" Before Zoe could take off, the vixen said, "Why would a pampered pooch like you care about a wild animal like me?" "Because you're in danger, and you seriously need some help!" said Zoe. The fox just rolled her eyes. Zoe poked her head out of the hedge. "A vixen's caught in a leg trap and needs your help, Blythe!" cried Zoe. "A fox?" questioned Blythe, seeming surprised. "Why is a fox in the middle of a city park? Foxes are usually found in forests or national parks. And it's caught in a leg trap? Those are illegal in Downtown City! Any person found with an animal leg trap in Downtown City immiediately gets 10 years of jail."
Blythe took her purse with her since it had emergency supplies and she and the rest of the pets approached the hedge. She opened it and gasped when she saw the fox. She and the rest of the pets ran up to it. Blythe bent down. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?!" asked Blythe. The fox simply laughed in Blythe's face. "Wow, I always knew dogs were dumb, but I never knew they were so dumb that if they see a wild animal in danger, they get a human being to help! And, what's worse, is that she actually has the nerve to ask if I'm ok! Not only is that a stupid question, but this human being actually thinks I'll respond! Humans are incapable of understanding animals!" "Actually, I can understand animals," said Blythe. The fox continued laughing until she realized that this human being actually understood her. The fox's eyes grew wide. "Wait a minute. You can understand me?" Blythe chuckled, lowering her voice so just the pets could hear her, since she, the pets, and Youngmee were the only ones that knew Blythe's strange ability to talk to animals and she didn't want anyone else to know. "I guess I can," she spoke softly. "Yeah, Blythe can understand you," finally spoke Penny Ling. "She can understand all animals... well, at least, most of them."
"Wow... Are you magical?" asked the fox. Blythe chuckled. "No, I'm not magical," responded Blythe. "Then how come you can understand animals and pets?" Blythe paused to think about it, then she sighed. "Sorry, but even I don't know how come I can talk to animals. Before I moved here to Downtown City, I was an ordinary person. I couldn't understand animals in the old suburban neighborhood I used to live in. But, I remember, just before I moved, I wished I could talk to animals and actually understand what they were saying. I guess my wish came true when I moved here." "Wow, I never knew wishes could actually come true," said the vixen. "Because ever since my 2 front paws were caught in this leg trap, I've been wishing that I would somehow manage to get free. It never came true, though." "Well, it's about to come true," said Blythe, zipping up her purse and taking out some emergency supplies. "I'm gonna free you from that trap." "I still don't know if I can trust you," said the vixen.
"Don't worry, you can totally trust Blythe!" said Minka. "She's the nicest human you've ever met!" Blythe tried to lift up the leg trap so the fox could free herself, but the first try was unsuccesfull. Luckily, when she tried again, she managed to lift up the cover of the leg trap. The fox removed her paws from it, and that's when Blythe noticed her wrists were bleeding! It was like tiny little red rivers were pouring out from them. "Oh dear, your wrists are bleeding!" cried Blythe. "How long have you been stuck in that leg trap?" The fox paused to think for a minute, then replied, "Since last night." "You must be starving!" said Blythe. Without another word, Blythe took out some antiseptic wipes. She began to wipe at the fox's wounds, but it yelped out. "Listen, I know it hurts," said Blythe. "But it's the only way for the bleeding to stop." Blythe continued to wipe away the blood until no more blood was coming out of the animal's front wrists. "It still hurts a little," said the fox, looking at her wrists. "Don't worry, darling," said Zoe. "Once, I was taking a walk with Blythe and I tripped over a sharp stone and began to bleed a little! Luckily, Blythe had her emergency supplies in her purse and wiped away the blood with her antiseptic wipes. It stung like mad, but I felt better in the end!" Zoe showed the vixen her wrist. It wasn't bleeding anymore.
"Once I was in the park with Blythe," said Minka, "And I was swinging 'round a tree! However, I swung so fast I cut my wrist on the tree bark! Luckily, Blythe had her emergency supplies on hand, and she wiped away the blood with her antiseptic wipes. It was stinging alot, but I feel better now!" Minka showed the vixen her wrist. It wasn't bleeding. "None of those accidents are the same as bleeding from a leg trap," muttered the vixen under her breath. Pepper couldn't take the fox's attitude anymore. "Listen, fox," said Pepper, spraying some of her stinky scent. "Stop being sarcastic with your attitude and be grateful that we saved you from that leg trap! If we weren't here, you would've bled and starved to death!" "And who are you to tell me what to do and what not to do?" challenged the fox. They both had a staring contest. They both glared at eachother. Pepper finally sprayed her stinky scent, causing the fox to blink. "HA! You blinked! I win, and you lose," said Pepper. "That was cheating," grunted the fox under her breath. Blythe wrapped some clean gauze tape around the fox's front paws. "How can I walk like this?" asked the fox, looking down at her paws. "It's something to seal in your wounds to heal them," said Blythe.
"Now we should give you some food," said Blythe. "You haven't been eating since last night." Blythe fumbled around in her purse and took out 1 orange food bowl and 1 icy-blue bowl. After that Blythe took out a bag of a brand of treats called "Pet Dreams". Every animal in the world loves Pet Dreams. Then Blythe took out a bottle of water. Blythe opened up the bag of Pet Dreams and poured it out on the orange food bowl. It was now filled with bone-shaped treats. Blythe opened the bottle of water and poured it out on the icy-blue food bowl. It was now filled with crystal-clear water. Blythe pushed the 2 food bowls towards the fox. "Eat and drink up," said Blythe, smiling. "How do I know this stuff isn't poisonous?" asked the fox. "To prove this food and water isn't poisonous, I will eat and drink some myself!" said Zoe. She ate one of the treats in the orange food bowl and lapped up some of the water in the other food bowl. The fox began to sniff the treats. Then, she took a little nibble. Then she ate half of it. Then, she eagerly devoured it and ate all the rest of the treats and drank up all the water until the 2 bowls looked like there was no food there in the first place. The fox licked her lips.
Blythe chuckled. "You sure are hungry, aren't you?" The fox smiled. "Thanks for helping me. Now, I must be on my way." Blythe stopped the fox. "Oh, no no no no no! You can't continue on like this. There may be more leg traps around this place. You're gonna stay with me at the Littlest Pet Shop until I'm completely sure you're completely better. Besides, you seem to be only a year old, a teenage fox. And anyways, how did you get caught in that leg trap, anyway?" The fox simply sighed. "I don't wanna talk about it..." "Don't worry, Blythe will understand your situation," offered Penny, smiling. "Fine, then," said the fox. "Here's my tale. Just a week ago, I was with my parents since I'm not old enough to start a life on my own yet. Then, these wretched hunters came over and killed them with what humans call guns. They tried to kill me, too, but I dodged the small little round ball (bullet) that hit a small rabbit instead. They ran after me and I ran as fast my little legs could possibly carry me. Then, without looking in front of me, I ran into an open large metal vehicle (truck) that was filled with caged wolves. They all growled at me. I suddenly felt as small as an ant and I felt like they were giants about to squash me under the soles of their feet. Luckily, they were in cages so they couldn't get to me. As soon as the hunters lunged at me, the door to the open vehicle closed. I breathed a collective sigh of relief. Then, the vehicle started and we began to move. I immiediately knew what this place was. It was something that humans call, "a relocation truck" used to relocate animals, mainly the wolf. I could hear those hunters' angry shouts from inside the truck. I could tell they were still after me. I was in that place for a week. It was so hot and uncomfortable and I couldn't breath correctly and I was starving and thirsting, longing for at least a little morsel of food or water. Then, when they finally released us all in the forest next to this city last night, those wolves and hunters chased after me. Luckily, I jumped from vehicle to vehicle to cross the road. The wolves didn't follow me since they aren't as creative or smart as foxes and were probably scared of getting run over by the large metal vehicles, but the hunters ran across the road, risking their lives just so they could kill me. Then, I ended up in this park, and those hunters set that leg trap for me and put an apple in it to tempt me. Even though I knew better than to fall for animal traps, I used my 2 front paws to grab the apple and enjoy a tasty meal, but I lost my balance and fell over, causing the leg trap to slam down on my paws. Those hunters fell asleep by the time I was trapped, and they were gone by the morning. I don't know where they went to now, and all I wish for is to get back home and somehow revive my parents, who are dead now."
"Wow, I feel sorry for you," said Blythe. "I am too," said Minka, shedding a tear. "We all feel sorry for you," said Penny. "Hey, those hunters could still be around here somewhere," said Blythe, frantically looking around. "That's why you need to come with us!" "Fine, alright," grunted the fox. She jumped headfirst into Blythe's purse. "I'm gonna hide here so the hunters won't follow me," whispered the fox. Then, she dipped her head back inside the purse and the pets and Blythe could hear the sound of munching and crunching. "Hey, is she eating our treats?!" cried Penny. She loved food more than all the other pets, hence the fact that Penny is a bit chubby. "Don't worry, there's plenty more treats at the Pet Shop." "Sorry about cutting our time at the park short," said Blythe. "It's ok, we tooootally understand!" said Minka as Blythe snapped back the leashes on the pets. "We better keep this fox hidden from Russell," said Pepper. "Why?" asked Blythe. "Because Russell is a hedgehog, and, well, the fox is the the hedgehog's worst enemy." "Right, especially since Russell's parents were killed by a fox..." "Please don't talk about that, they make me sick to my stomach." "Oh, sorry Pepper." And they took off.