Misty Hoots

The Fox and the Dogs

There once was a fox that was very unhappy with his life. He was a lonely brown fox as there were no other foxes nearby. He was sad and desperately wanted someone to spend his time with. All day long he heard the joyous barks of the playing dogs not too far away.  Many days he would hide by the bushes watching the dogs wrestle and play with one another. He wanted to play with the dogs but he knew he was different from them. One day he decided to pretend to be a dog and befriend the dogs he watched so constantly. The fox thought if the dogs were to believe he was also a dog he would have friends and be so happy.

He found the dogs playing in their owners’ yard. He cautiously approached them. He told them he was a lost dog who had come from a far away place. The dogs were surprised at how the “dog” looked so much like a fox but they accepted him anyway. The dogs and fox became friends and the fox was happy for the most part. He finally had someone to play and spend his days with but it was a hard job pretending to be just a dog. The fox wanted to be able to run through the forest chasing rabbits but all the dogs wanted to do was play fight and chase cats. The fox decided to accept that they were different and he was just happy he had friends.

One day as the dogs and brown fox were playing in the yard, the dogs spotted a gray fox at the beginning of the forest. Suddenly the dogs started chasing the gray fox. The sad brown fox sat watching his new friends chase the gray fox when he could not make himself chase someone so like himself.  But he was also very surprised at seeing another fox. After awhile the dogs came back having lost the gray fox. The brown fox, later that day, looked for the new animal in the forest but never found him. The brown fox, learning other foxes were somewhere nearby, left in search of finding some friends more like him. He had learned to be yourself; pretending to be someone else can keep you from who you need to be.