Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Week One Story: Fox and Goat







One day a hungry red fox stumbled across his rabbit friend, Mike, stuck in the bottom of a well. The rabbit called out for help but due to his extreme hunger the fox jumped into the well and feasted on the stuck rabbit. Once the fox’s hunger subsided he realized he was stuck with water up to his neck. He tried crawling out but the rocky interior was slick with moss. He knew someone would come by the well because it was shared by a few of the locals.  After being stuck for four days his water supply was running low. Mike the rabbit’s family started to lose hope on finding him and went to the well to fetch more water. The fox called out, “Help! Help! I have been stuck down here forever”. The rabbit family quickly fetched a rope to pull the fox out. While hoisting the fox out one of the rabbits asked, “Have you seen Mike? He has been missing for five days.” The fox responded, “no no see I have been stuck down here, sorry.” The rabbit asked how long he had been down there and the fox responded, “five long miserable days!” The rabbits immediately dropped the rope and the fox went crashing down into the well. The desperate fox started to lose hope until his goat friends, Mark and Mary, stopped by after hearing the fox’s cries. “We will climb down and help you”, said the goat couple. The agile goats scaled the rocky wall down to the fox. The smell of fresh goat caused the famished fox to go crazy and he promptly ate both of the goats. The fox quickly forgot about being stuck in the bottom of the well and fell into a food coma. The fox continued his life down in the well for five years until he realized he had eaten all of the local animals. Upon realization, a storm developed with torrential downpours. The floodwaters quickly filled the well lifting the fox to the top. “I’m free!” said the fox who then lived happily ever after.

The Fox and Goat (1607-1677) by Wenceslaus Hollar
Source: Wiki Common



Authors Note: The original fable consists of a fox and a goat. The fox is stuck in a well and convinces the goat to come down because there is going to be a drought soon. The goat climbs down and the fox jumps off of the goats horns and out of the well.

Bibliography: "The Fox and the Goat" from the Fables of Aesop, by Joseph Jacobs.

3 comments:

  1. Hi Vann,
    I really enjoyed reading your story. I did not expect the fox to eat his friend right off the bat! I really like how the story flowed and your style of writing. Each time I thought I knew what was going to happen, you added in little twists and turns that I didn’t expect and I really like the unpredictability.

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  2. Very well written story! Honestly, I did not think that the fox would survive because it seemed like it would be karma or something. I found it interesting that the animal lower on the food chain was also always willing to help and did not really think of the consequence of helping a predator. Definitely unpredictable like Lindsey mentioned.

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