Chapter 4

A little fox lived with his parents in a small town near a forest Every Sunday, they all visited his grandmother who lived in a house within that forest But one day, his parents fell ill. They had to stay in bed and would not go outside. But the little fox still wanted to see his grandmother, whom he loved very much. He had traveled it so often with his parents, he knew it by heart. He was certain he was old enough to travel it by himself. And so, he begged and pleaded with them to let him go by himself until they finally let him.

He walked by the fields of clover, not minding the bees collecting their honey, as he had promised. He ignored the butterflies glistening in the dim light of the forest, as he had promised. He walked past that patch of colorful flowers in the clearing along the path, as he had promised. And he didn't pick a single blowball the whole way to his grandma's house, as he had promised. And he reached it safely, for the great joy of his grandmother.

He spent there all day. She told him tales, some he knew and loved, some he never heard before, but loved even more. They ate her sweet, sweet pie, the one of which no other could bake as her. They laughed and played until it was time for him to go home again. With her best wishes to his parents, he set out for his way home. But now, that all he had to look forward to was his bedtime, he felt no rush anymore to hurry along. Neither his parents nor his grandma had said anything about getting home as fast as he could. So none of them could complain if he just picked a blowball, or maybe even a few, he assured himself.

He could, for once, enjoy this path to the fullest. No parents to drag him away from all the wonderful things this forest had to offer. He picked blowball after blowball. He blew on them with all the air he could muster, then enjoyed following the dancing swarm between the trees. All the way, butterflies accompanied him, entertaining him with their colorful displays. And the flower patch had never looked brighter. He even had time to sit down today and take a closer look for once. There were so many different ones, of all colors and shapes and smells. Even some he had never noticed before.

Why had he never noticed such wonderful flowers before, he asked himself. But the longer he thought about it, the longer he looked at them, it dawned on him. No, it wasn't that he hadn't noticed them. They hadn't been there before.

This wasn't his patch.

Without noticing, just following the blowballs and the butterflies, he had strayed from his path.

He was lost.

That thought fell like a ball of frost deep into his belly. He jumped to his feet. He wanted to run, but he didn't know where to. He wanted to cry out out but he didn't know to whom. He wanted to go home, but he didn't know how.

Panic began to take him over. He looked around, like he could find a sign somewhere. As he found nothing to remind him where he came from, he began to pant. He heard his own breathing heave in his ears. The ever present smell of the flower seemed to overpower his nose.

He couldn't stand it anymore. He wouldn't get home by staying where he was. His feet took off on their own. Something deep inside him had chosen the direction. Desperate, he looked for any single bit he might remember. Any tree, any flower, any shrub he may have passed before. But they all looked the same.

The longer he ran without any clue where he was going, the more his eyes teared up. Fear growing and growing inside him, he had started to cry. Not seeing anymore where he was going, he started to run into branches. It felt like they were clawing after him. Scratching his skin, grabbing his legs, ripping his clothes. Then, he bumped into something.

Something that shrieked in shock. Something that fell to the ground. Something that send him tumbling through the air.

He picked himself up. He heard its quick breaths before he saw it. A bunny. Not much older than himself. Rather a bit younger. She crouched on the ground, frantically looking around. Almost, like she couldn't see him.

He got back up and moved towards her. Her head shot up as he rustled the leaves and twigs around him. A few times, she looked directly at him, but she still did not see him. Finally, her quivering nose seemed to pick up his scent. Now her head turned towards him. Her eyes were wide as saucers.

"Are you all right?," he asked.

But she only shied away from him. He could smell the fear rising in her.

"You're a fox?" she asked in a frightened whisper.

"Yes, and you're a bunny," he said, not understanding why she needed to pointed out. What happened next confused him even more.

She tried to get to her feet, but slipped on twigs and leaves. When she got up, she'd trip over a root and fall back down. She barely crept a few inches away before being backed up against a tree.

Wondering what scared her so much, he stepped closer to her. Another twig breaking under his foot made her jump. He saw tears welling up in her eyes. "What is wrong?" he asked the terrified bunny.

She cowered on the ground, burying her face in her paws. "Please, don't eat me!" she sobbed.

"Why would I eat you?" he asked.

"You are a fox," she repeated. "Foxes eat bunnies. My dad says so. But I don't want to be eaten!"

"I have eaten no bunny. Never ever," the fox assured her. "And I don't want to eat you."

"Really?" the bunny asked, still not believing him. "You're not lying to me?"

"Really," he assured her. "All I want is to get home, but I am lost."

Through heavy sniffs she said: "I am, too. Oh, had I only listened to dad. He always told me I would get lost in this forest some day."

"Yes, my parents always told me not to stray from the path, or I wouldn't find my way back," he said, feeling his own tears starting again.

When he heard that the bunny lifted her head, looking straight past him. She said: "I need no path. I know every yard of this forest by heart."

"You really know all of it?" the little fox asked, now him not believing what he heard.

The bunny nodded and answered: "I come here every day. I like exploring it, I like the flowers, and the butterflies, and most of all, the blowballs."

At these words, the fox smiled. "I like those, too," he said. "But my parents never let me explore, I always need to stay on the path."

"It's no wonder you got lost once you left your path," she said.

"But, then how are you lost?" he wanted to know

"Because I can't see, of course," she answered. Now she sounded confused.

"Did you get something in your eyes?" he asked. "Or did you go blind? I noticed you not looking at me."

"Are you making fun of me?" she asked impatiently.

"No, really, I don't understand," he said.

She pointed to the treetops. "The sun is down. It is night."

"And?" he said, still not understanding.

"It is dark. I can't see in the dark." Just as the bunny had said that, she had an idea. "Wait, can you see in the dark?"

"Of course, everybody can" he said.

"Every fox," she said. "Bunnies can't. But, maybe, then you can see for me!"

"Yes, we could do that!" the fox agreed with her.

The bunny jumped up, still looking past the fox. Then her excitement went down. "But, I still can't see where you're going," she said in disappointment.

"That is easy to fix," the fox laughed.

Without a warning, he took her paws in his. This made her jump again. She tried to pulled away, but then she realized what he had in mind.

He said: "Okay, now we just need to find my path and I can go from there without your help."

"But I can't go on without your help," she protested.

He smiled at her, before he remembered she couldn't see him. Still, he said: "I never said I'd leave you there. You can stay at my home tonight. And tomorrow, I'll bring you home."

But she seemed not as excited as him. "Staying at a house full of foxes, all night?"

"I told you, we don't eat bunnies," he reminded her. "But you said your dad thinks that. So, do you think it would be better if I stay at your place? Because I won't find my way home from there."

"I guess you're right," she admitted, still sounding a bit scared. "Do you promise they won't eat me?"

"I promise," he said without hesitation.

And with that, they started on their walk through the forest. The bunny really knew her way around the forest. Just from his descriptions alone she could make out where they were. It didn't take them long to find the path from his grandma's house back to his home, once they started to trust each other.

His parents were overjoyed when he finally returned home. Of course, they had been worried, and wouldn't stop thanking the surprised bunny. Despite still being sick, they made every effort to make her feel at home. The next morning, they all had breakfast together. After that, as he had promised, the little fox took the bunny home. At first, her family were terrified as she had been when they saw him. Most of all her dad. But when the fox stepped up and explained them how she had found him lost in the forest, they were surprised. When he told them she helped him find his way back home, they grew proud of her. And when he told them, she had to stay at his place then, because it had become too late for her to make it home by light, they were just grateful for him keeping her safe. Most of all her dad.

And from that day on, the fox and the bunny were best friends ever after.


A/N:

Here it is, the story of a fox and a bunny, as told by Nick Wilde. Though he may have tweaked it here and there a bit to fit his audience. Yet it's not like he'll ever let anybody know that.

In that sense, I hope you like my first attempt on writing more in a children's story fashion. If you did, please give me a fave, if not, the reviews section is your place to help me improve.

I hope I can get the next chapter out by Sunday, if not, it'll be on Monday.