A few years ago I stumbled upon the book "Squids will be squids" by Jon Scieszka. I loved it! For some time I have wanted to write a fable.
Then one day, my Muse spoke to me.
Once there was a young fox who was very clever. At least he thought so. He loved to shock and surprise all of the other animals in the woods with his clever contraptions and pranks.
Mama Fox (who was extremely good looking)-despite being overwhelmed by multiple pups- clever enough to always be one step ahead of this particular oldest fox pup.
That day as usual she tucked the pups in for a nap, curled up by them and slept with one eye open. This young Fox had been trained to not leave the house without telling Mom where he was going and asking if it was ok. He knew it was for his own good. This time however, he thought he would be so clever and sneak out. He told himself that Mom was tired and would not want to be disturbed. Mom Fox heard his little feet pitter-patter out the den and with her open eye saw his bushy tail disappear around the corner. She waited for a minute for him to come back and tell her where he was going. Nothing. So Mom Fox sat up, stretched and walked out to the front of the den to see if she needed to go looking for him.
Just then Mr. Owl came calling.
"Um.. Mrs. Fox...umm... well I thought you should know...young Fox came by dressed up as a "Radical Wolf Extremist"...he put himself in cloaks of fur and stuffed them so he would look the part... Mrs. Owl and I...We know he means no harm but just thought maybe you should know he's prancing around like that... oh and he's also carrying a trap- just like the ones the "Radical Wolf Extremist Pack" uses...
Now Mrs. Fox was in a panic. She barked and howled his name loudly outside. "FOOOOX!!" COME HOME NOW!!!" "WHAT are you DOING?" Soon she head a little bark in response. He heard her bark and was coming. He entered the den but his demeanor was not what she expected. Instead of a "tail between the legs head-down" Fox there stood a "What Mom?" Was he still thinking he was so clever? He seemed to be dressed fairly normal too. Could there have been a mistake? He carried a small bundle of furs.
"What's that?" She gestured
"What's what?" He replied so cleverly.
So the conversation took place about how she knew exactly what he was up to, and why it’s a terrible idea to go around pretending you belong to a "Radical Extremist Wolf Pack,” how it's definitely NOT funny and why. Bright eyed Fox's pointed ears listened intently.
Then they got to the trap part. "I made it" he explained. Mom began to tell him how lucky he was that the Owl's called on her and how had he been seen with a trap the Rangers could have been called and he might even get locked up. "Locked up!" The young Fox's eyes were wide open now. "I didn't know it was that bad! I guess I shouldn't have left it there!”
“Left it WHERE??” Mom Fox barked.
You can imagine what happened next. It was not pretty. Although this time the Ranger did not "lock him up" some very serious warnings were given, the grave situation was somberly discussed on how one should never cry "Wolf!" in front of the Badger’s family's den (or any another animal's) then run away leaving a replica of the "Radical Extremist Wolf Pack's" trap...EVEN if it’s only made with twigs and toilet paper rolls...…EVEN if it’s just a joke, EVEN if you don't like the Badgers cause they are “mean”.
The moral of the story is: No matter how clever and funny you think you are, ALWAYS follow your family's rules, ESPECIALLY regarding where you will be. If you are hiding where you are going and what you are doing you probably AREN'T doing anything very clever.
