The Fox Balance

     There was once a Fox who was roaming the forest for almost a week trying to find something to eat. He was freezing from cold and was depressed because he could not find any food or smaller animals to satisfy his hunger. His strength weakened day by day. He could not understand how he could have arrived at such a state; he could imagine a wolf dying from hunger, but not a clever Fox!  So the Fox continued to walk, with his nose to the ground, to ferret out anything to consume. The woods, however, were devoid of prey. He started to dream about a juicy catch: he ran everywhere, going here to there in order to find food. But there was nothing to smell, and nothing to see on the horizon. Suddenly, the Fox sensed the presence of a chicken, so he started to run in full gait. The poor chicken attempted to escape his wily hunter. But the Fox didn’t give up; he persistently continued his hunt. With one tremendous leap the chicken’s neck was in the Fox’s mouth. Fox realized that his life had been saved, but then he awoke, and he knew that it had all been a dream.
     As Fox was walking in the woods, he passed an empty well. He looked about himself, again and again, to make certain that this time it wasn’t a dream. Unfortunately, the well was dry. Fox said to himself, “There must be something hidden at the bottom! “ Fox tried to find a pretext to justify his decision to go down into that well. He said, “If I don’t find something to eat, I will at least escape the heat of the sun!” So Fox grabbed the end of the rope, and he was soon down in the well.  To his chagrin, there was no food - no animal for dinner, down at the bottom of the well.
     Fox saw his end approaching; he was weak, and he had no more strength to climb the rope to get out of the well. He desperately awaited his death. Fox passed that night sleeping fitfully in the well. When the morning sun rose, he glimpsed  a ray of light. He was not the only animal who had hungered that night.  All of the forest inhabitants were rummaging for food.
     Old Wolf, too, craved a meal. The smell of the Fox attracted the Old Wolf, as the scent of the chicken had  attracted the Fox in his dream.  Old Wolf walked all night tracking the exciting odor, which finally led him to the well. There he discovered his friend, Fox, who would make a most delicious meal. Old Wolf didn’t  know how to descend into the well. He peered into the well to admire his future meal. Old Wolf began to salivate at the thought of such a tasty feast. He became so impatient.  How could he get down into that well? Now, Fox had always depended on his instinct and wits to stay alive. While he was usually fearful of his traditional enemies, this time Fox conceived a crafty plan to use his enemy as his savior.
     Because his strength was quickly ebbing away, Fox mad an effort to shout. “My friend, Wolf! How happy I am to see you; come join me for delicious meal.”  The Wolf listened happily to Fox, and said, “My dear, old friend Fox, you know how much I love you. Is there enough food for us both for ?”  “Of course, my friend, Wolf. Are you serious? There is enough food for us both for an entire month!”
     The Wolf was thrilled and Fox’s words increased his appetite. In his impatience he couldn’t figure out how to descend. Then he asked the Fox, “My dear Fox, how can I get down?”  “Oh, it is very simple. Do you see the big  bucket? Just sit inside and I will quickly pull you down so we can enjoy our sumptuous meal together.”
     Without a moment’s hesitation, the stupid Wolf followed Fox’s advice. He heaved his heavy body into the bucket and his weight automatically propelled him downwards. Then he suddenly realized that his friend Fox was hanging on the other end of the rope and was just as quickly going up. When the Wolf saw the Fox ascending, he asked him, “How come I am going down while you are going up?” To this question, the Fox cagily replied, “My dear Wolf, that is life. One goes up, and one goes down”.
 

 Copyright Emile M. Tubiana 2009 all rights reserved