Prologue
A small three-year-old British boy with vibrant green hair sat by himself in one corner of the daycare, building a tower with blocks. He sighed, wishing he had someone to play with. He knocked over his finished creation and started building it again. No one wanted to play with the weird green-haired kid, it seemed. He stood up and went to the bathroom. When he got back to his small stack, though, a little golden-haired girl was restacking all the blocks on top of another. When they all fell over, she giggled with delight. The boy stood behind her, not knowing what to do. Eventually she turned around, hearing a noise behind her. She quickly noticed him, and, being the shy thing she was, could do nothing but stare up at him. The boy finally said, "Do you wike playing with my blocks?" She nodded. "Well, my name's Ferb," he said, pointing to himself. "What's your name?"
She replied shyly, "Emily. Emily Grace Kinney."
"I wike your bow," Ferb said. "But I know how to build a better tower. Can I help?" Emily nodded again.
Ferb kneeled down beside her and picked up two blocks. Soon enough, he had built an exact scale model of the Eiffel Tower! Emily was astonished, and the look on her face said so. "Will you be my friend?" Ferb asked. "I always wanted a friend to play with me."
"I wanted a friend too," Emily said quietly. Ferb grinned and began instructing her on how to build the tower.
Over the next few weeks, Ferb and Emily became better friends as they went to daycare almost every day. Ferb was happier than he had ever been before, since he didn't have any brothers or sisters and he hadn't had any friends. Emily was very glad for a friend, especially when her baby doll's head fell off and some older boys called her a crybaby. "Leave her alone," Ferb told them, and went to work putting the doll's head back on while Emily sniffled in a corner. A few minutes passed and Ferb soon walked over to Emily to give her the doll. She was surprised and happy and gave Ferb a hug. He hugged her back.
When Emily told Ferb she was getting a pet soon after her fourth birthday, he asked to come with her to the local animal shelter. She asked her parents and they said yes, he could. So as soon as Emily's parents had a day off of work, they drove the half-an-hour trip to the Chelsea Animal Rescue. There were the usual dogs and cats, but Emily decided she wanted something more unusual. She followed Ferb down one aisle and stopped when she heard one animal's cry above all the others. (Really it was an ear-piercing-screech – that's why she noticed it in the first place. After all, this is an animal shelter.) After she got over the shock that comes when your eardrums almost burst, she tried to find the source of the noise. She instinctively plugged her ears when she started to hear it again. Following the screech, she was led to the aisle furthest from where she had been standing. She looked around at the animals – and then she saw it.
A tawny-colored fox sat in one of the cages, with a soft pink blanket underneath her. She had a white patch of fur on her belly, one dark brown ear, and a reddish-brown tail and feet. Emily gasped with delight and motioned to Ferb to come over. The fox soon noticed the blonde-haired creature kneeling before her cage and stopped wailing to examine her. Emily stood up and called out, "Mum, Dad – I think I've found it!" John and Emma Kinney rushed over to see what their daughter had found. The shelter manager followed close behind.
"Oh, yes-"the shelter manager said- "that's our fox. She's usually very well behaved. I don't know what's gotten into her today."
"She's beautiful," breathed Emily. "Can I have her, Mum?"
"She is a rather pretty thing," said Emma. "What do you think, John?"
"You said she is well behaved?" Mr. Kinney asked the manager. "Well, Gracie," he said, turning to Emily, "I guess you can have her – but on one condition."
"What's that, Father?"
"You have to be responsible. Take care of her, you know?"
"Of course, Dad." Emily grinned. "I know exactly what to name her – Kiki!"
Over the years, Ferb's dad had taken trips to the States here and there. Every time he went, Ferb would stay with Emily and her family. The two had developed nicknames for each other. Ferb teasingly called Emily 'Em', and Emily called Ferb 'Ferby'. They went to Chelsea Preschool together, and Emily and Ferb were now looking forward to starting kindergarten together.