The Fox and the Lion

There was once a fox that lived in the Midwest and never had a worry in the world. He was loved by the hunters and was at the top of the food chain. By his own definition, he was untouchable. One day while the fox was out walking through the woods, a group of traveling hunters captured him and sold him to the highest bidder. The fox ended up being shipped to an African zoo, and boy did he hate it!

He stated planning his escape the day he was there. The fox ended up making friends with a worker there, and tricked the man to release him. The fox was very pleased with himself and his accomplishments; however, he quickly realized the area he was in, was nothing like that of his home. He was no longer the alpha animal.

There were so many bigger and scarier animals. The fox was very nice, and he used that to his advantage. One day at the watering whole, he saw a huge rhino. The fox “if I could make friends with that guy, I would be on top again with his help.” The fox made friends with the rhino, and it was a very beneficial friendship for the fox!

The rhino taught the fox everything about Africa, what to do or what not to do, what to avoid or what to befriend. The biggest points the rhino made were, to never get to comfortable cause that is when the danger strikes, and beware of the lions. The lions were the top of the food chain, and they got there by their viciousness. The fox took those things to heart, until the day he crossed at lion.

At first he ran when he saw the beast, but once he stopped he began to think. “Is their rep really true, that lion didn’t even chase me?” “Maybe rhino only thought that because he has never encountered one!” The fox snuck his way back to the lion and watched him. The lion just laid there yawning the whole time. “This creature can’t be that vicious!” The fox decided to introduce himself to the lion. “Hi, I a

I haven’t seen my friend in days! Where could he be? I bet he found his way home, good for him. Now he is happy!” said the rhino.

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Author's Note: This story was pulled from the fable "The Fox and the Lion". The fable was pulled from Aesop Illustrated by Milo Winter (2006). The story is about a fox encountering a lion and growing accustom to the lion. The fox was scared the first time and fled immediately, the second time the fox hid behind and tree to watch from a distance, and the final time the fox went straight up to the lion. The story ends with the fox saying hi to the lion, thus leaving the ending open (although I feel the authors intent was probably the negative ending). I left my original story somewhat open as well; one person can assume either good or bad news, which is up to interpretation, but the negative is hinted at harder. This story reminded me of the movie Madagascar a bit. That is the movie that involves zoo animals escaping and ending up in the wild. They learn how to survive not being in captivity. I wanted my fox to have a somewhat similar issue. I wanted the fox to have to adjust, and to experience how adapting feels and looks. Image is from this link.