Noah woke up the sound of rattling keys and the door swung open, Mr. Mudway behind it.
"Up!" he demanded.
Noah removed the sheet from himself and got out of bed, still curling his tail over him.
"Why do you do that?" he snapped. "A four-year-old savage would play with his tail."
"I'm cold, sir," said Noah worriedly. "My tail is my only comfortable, blanket sir."
"You already have one, you ungrateful brat!" said Mr. Mudway cruelly. "Remove it from you at once! Shall I ever see you like that again, it will be cut off!"
"No! No!" cried Noah. "I love my tail!"
"Then let it go," Mr. Mudway growled.
Noah released his tail and felt the strong cold once more.
Noah was led into a huge room that was very hot and had a strong smell of hot, boiling oil. A huge group of orphans were sitting at a table where they were pouring powder into some sort of liquid.
Mudway put Noah into the care of a very mean-looking horse. He wore a maroon jacket and was carrying a whip in his hoof.
He took Noah to the table, pulled a lion cub away to make room and placed Noah into the space to sit.
"Learn form the fox cub next to you," the horse ordered.
"Learn what, sir?" asked Noah.
"To mix powder for predator repellent."
"What is repellent, sir?"
"Another question and you'll get a taste of this whip," the horse threatened angrily. "Repellent is used upon the likes of you lest you are to cause harm to prey. Now get to work."
The horse stormed away to inspect the work of the others.
"You just simply put the powder into the liquid," the cub instructed Noah.
Noah found this quite easy to do so he wouldn't have to worry about being whipped.
"What's your name?" asked Noah.
"Rick Tricks," replied the fox who started to cough violently.
"Noah Sly," Noah introduced.
"When did you arrive?" asked Rick.
"Yesterday. Do you have a cold?"
"Not really," the fox cub remarked.
"Starved to death, that's what," a tiger cub intervened.
"I am," Rick confessed. "I'm so hungry I could eat the bear cub who sits next to me."
"But where is he?" asked Noah.
"Scrubbing the dining hall," Rick explained.
"Well maybe if we're lily we can work in the dining hall. Find something to eat."
"Show's how much you know," remarked a racoon on the opposite side of the table.
Noah understood almost at once what the racoon meant by that remark; they all queued down the long dining hall, where down the front, a grey, fat wolf was ladling contents into the bowls they were given as well as straws. When Noah got up to the front, he was ladled one bowl of mushroom soup and given a straw. While at Mrs. Pride's, he was only fed bread and cheese. It seemed enough but a tiny bowl of this stuff?
He took his seat next to Rick.
"Hand together, eyes closed!" demanded the master.
They all did so as the master recited; "For what we're about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful, Amen!"
And the orphans repeated the prayer. No sooner they done so, they hungrily tickled into their pathetic bowls of soup which took an unsurprisingly short time.
They headed for the praying room where they watched staff feast on a fat chicken, fresh bread, corn and tomato soup with a rich cake by the centre of the table. They always help hope one day they would have some of that - even if it was just a small piece. Why were they not allowed to eat like kings?"We should be eating that," said a young panther.
The orphans were suddenly forced to flee before the staff could make out who spoke. They were all led to the praying room by the horse and shut the door behind them until praying hour was over. But they did not pray. Instead, the bear cub who had been scrubbing the dining room, had sneaked some straws and snapped one of them and put the shortest back into the handful. The bear told them of the gamble and what the predator with the shortest must do if chosen.
Noah was very shaken with the idea but something had to be done.
The racoon drew first; a long one.
The tiger drew next and breathed a sigh of relief when also drew a long straw.
Rick drew next; another long straw.
A leopard, followed by a hyena, followed by a wolf, followed by a polar bear, followed by a cheetah, followed a weasel received long straws.
Noah took a deep breath as he stepped forward to take his gamble. He drew and his heart froze to the spot and everyone gasped in shock. Noah Sly, was the owner of smallest straw.
The racoon patted his shoulder in comfort.
"Maybe it broke," Noah excused.
"It was decided as it is," said the tiger cub sadly.
Noah had a difficult time sleeping through the calm night, he couldn't focus on his breakfast, he couldn't hold in mind what he was meant to do for mixing concoctions of repellant, he couldn't keep up with his prayers, he couldn't tuck into his soup like the others did that evening.
Everyone had finished their instantly expect Noah who was eating his soup very slowly trying to ignore everybody starting at him.
Finally he had finished his supper and had no choice but to meet the eyes of all the skinny orphans.
"It's time, Noah," whispered Rick who suddenly erupted with coughing.
"SILENCE DOWN THERE!" roared the master.
After several seconds, Noah removed himself from his seat, picked up his bowl wand walked steadily down the hall, each step making him more anxious after the last. He was forced to meet the angry eyes of the horse, whip in hand and looked at all the other orphans staring at him in desperation and worry.
Finally, he had arrived at the feet of the master, glaring at him with devilry.
The horse glared down at the fox cub, hooves on hips a whip in it's left.
"Back to your place, savage!" snapped the horse.
"Please sir," said Noah rather softly. "I want some more."
The horse looked like it caught a bone in his throat and he knelt down at Noah, emphasising the whip in his hoof.
"What - did you - say?!" he hissed. "And you'd better think twice before repeating."
Noah thought of returning but Rick's eyes reminded him to play the bet fairly.
"Please sir," said Noah, a little louder. "I want some more!"
The horse rose up and whinnied ferociously.
The cook fainted.
"YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE SAVAGE!" he screamed. "YOU'RE DEAD!"
"What's all the commotion?" demanded Mr. Mudway entering the hall, failing to hide hip flask into his jacket.
"This fox asked for more!" cried the master. "In all my days!"
"WHAT?!" roared Mr. Mudway. He glared Noah. "HOW DARE YOU COMMIT THE SIN OF GLUTTONY! WE HAVE KEPT YOU OUT OF THE STREETS AND YOU REPAY US BY ASKING FOR MORE THAN WHAT YOU NEED?!"
"I-I'm very sorry, sir!" whimpered Noah. "But we're very hungry. Rick, the other fox down there is sick and we need more to keep going!"
The hippo swelled with fury.
"I'VE HEARD QUITE ENOUGH!"bellowed the horse.
Mudway advanced towards the cub.
"COME HERE, YOU LITTLE ..."
Noah ran under the hippo's legs and he topples down.
The master tried to catch him but he tripped over the fat cook and fell headfirst into the soup pot and all the orphans were holding their heads down so they scrunched up faces hiding their laughter was concealed.
The hippo and horse tried getting up only to fall over eat other. The cook came out of his faint and and made for the orphan only to trip over them and once again they were in a heap.
Mr. Mudway lost patience and threw the master and cook aside only for the pot to fall on one of them. But that did not stop them from catching their prey.
Noah charged down the hall and into a foyer where the horse made for him. The fox cub dodged and the horse ran headfirst into a mirror, glass clattering everywhere and Noah escaping before he could get hurt.
Noah ran up to some stairs where he was met by Mr. Mudway charging at him. Noah charged up the stairs before he could be grabbed. Though very skinny and just five years old, it must be reminded that he is a fox - very fast and swift. Mr. Mudway on the other hand was fatter than any hippo imaginable so evidently he could not catch up with him.
Noah thought he had lost the hippo when all of a sudden he reappeared. He ran at the fox and was unaware of the top of a nail sticking out from the bottom of the wall. As Noah ran off, Mr. Mudway ran to him only for his trousers to get caught by the nail and with a loud rip, the hippo was only in a pair of underpants, with a beautiful gazelle in a pink skirt and bikini imprinted everywhere.
Noah charged away form the hippo when suddenly, a net was thrown over him. He was picked up and met with the face with the master, glaring angrily at him.
Mr. Mudway finally caught up still in his underpants.
"Let's head off to the board then shall we?" said the master.
"Now who's having more?" chuckled the hippo.
The hippo and horse, Noah still in his net, knocked the door.
"Enter!" demanded Mr. Tusk.
They opened the door and the elephant fixed their eyes upon Mr. Mudway's Gazelle pants.
"What's the meaning of appearing before us like this?!" Mr. Tusk demanded.
"I'm a Gazellephant," said the elephant next to him stupidly. He had obviously overdosed himself with wine.
The other elephants seemed to be in the same state though not as bad for they were sniggering slightly.
"You'll forget this humiliation when I state my purpose of being here in this mess!"
"Then state it!" demanded Mr. Tusk.
Looking at the netted fox cub, Mr. Mudway announced "Noah Sly has asked for more!"
Mr. Tusk was sipping his soup when hearing this and the shock made him suck into into his throat and the other spit out their wine.
One of the elephants whipped his tank onto the back of Mr. Tusk again and again until the spoon shot out of his mouth and struck Mr. Mudway in the eye.
"Got anymore?" asked the elephant next to Mr. Tusk holding out an empty wine glass.
Ignoring the request Mr. Tusk analysed: "Do you mean to tell me, that after he had eaten his supper, allowed generously by the board, Noah Sly asked for more?"
"He did!" blurted the horse. "Heard him with my own two years. Told it me directly!"
Mr. Tusk snatched Noah out of the master's hoof with his trunk and brought the fox cub close to his face.
"Nobody asks for more in my orphanage!" he growled at the quivering fox cub as the elephant's voice rose up.
"YOU HAVE SOME NERVE FOR THIS ACT OF INGRATITUDE!"
He placed the net back to the ground.
"Get him out of our sight, Mudway!" ordered Mr. Tusk.
"I thought we were having more," responded the elephant who sat next to the head.
Everyone, Mrs. Roundler, Mrs. Pride, Nurse Buckworth, the cook, the master and the board and the orphans watched the scene of terror in the dining hall as Noah suffered the whip on his back in front of everyone. Blood streamed and screamed in pain as tears ran down his cheeks and Mr. Mudway whipped him harder by each wail growing stronger.
Finally, Mr. Mudway had finished. He turned to the orphans and remarked "Anyone who follows this little rogue's example will suffer twice as much. Rick Tricks?"
Rick Tricks stepped forward coughing.
"Since your charitable gamble started this sin, you will remain in solitary confinement for week. No breakfast, no lunch, no supper!"
The orphans gasped softly as he coughed more violently.
"Mrs. Roundler, kindly do us the honour."
The she-hippo took the wretched, ill fox away.
Noah was so absorbed by the pain, he was on his knees sobbing heavily and everything that happened there was deaf to him. He was grabbed by the tail and chucked into a dirty backyard with overflowing bins and the heavy rain hitting him and stinging his back.
"You will stay there for the night," said Mr. Mudway. "And if I ever see you with your blanket, I will chop it off with a cleaver! UNDERSTAND?!"
"Yes, sir! Yes!" sobbed Noah.
Mr. Mudway walked up to him and tightened his muzzle. With a nod he walked back into the building.
Noah on the other hand walked into a little shelter and cried himself hard to sleep. Soon to be sold, soon to be experience of the outer world. What was life outside like to a predator like him?
Back in the office, Mr. Tusk and his elephants were deep in thought with how to handle him.
"That child will hang!" remarked Mr. Tusk's neighbour. "You just see!"
"The nineteenth century is over, stupid!" snapped Mr. Tusk.
"There's always the chance to have him thrown out?" said another. "Die in the streets?"
"Then it will all be exposed," said the head. "How we handle predators the way we are supposed to handle predators."
He paced the office and then came to a halt. He turned to his partners and replied with a smile. "Apprenticeship."
The others murmured in agreement while the drunk one collapsed
"An idea to make something of a predator," said Mr. Tusk happily.