Father Fox's Bag of Tricks

CHAPTER ONE: Father Fox

Chief Micanopy sat around the fire and the children gathered on the other end, forming a half circle. His voice sounded as scorched as the burning bark.
“Long ago, the elements -wind, water, air, and sun- looked out for the animal spirits on earth,” he said. “Tall mountains stretched across the land and reached up to the sky like open arms. Their tops remained hidden behind the clouds.”
He sprinkled droplets of water onto the hot embers and steams sizzled upward.
“A small cozy house, made from sticks and mud, sat alone in one of its valleys. It belonged to an animal family. There was mother eagle, father fox, daughter owl, and sister crow.”
Shadows of the mentioned animals danced across the walls. The children played with their hands and tried to mimic Chief Micanopy’s shadow puppets.
“Father fox dug and dug deep into the ground until he made the perfect burrow.”
His wrinkled and sun aged hands air clawed at the ground.
“The burrow was their home and had everything they needed. Every day, after a long day of playing outside, daughter owl and sister crow swooped in for bedtime and they covered themselves in warm down.
‘Father fox makes the best burrows,’ they thought.
It was because they felt safe there. They cuddled against one another and stared at the warm glowing firelight. Then they closed their eyes and listened to the gentle crackles of the fire until it lulled them to sleep.
Father fox’s burrow was unique because he built it under the roots of a very tall tree. He wanted to make sure that mother eagle could build a nest high in its branches because he knew that she loved to see everything from the treetops. She built a nest up high, just like father fox suspected, and it was her favorite spot. She stayed up there, day and night, surveying the surroundings for intruders.
‘Nothing is more important than keeping my family happy and safe,’ she said.
Sometimes daughter owl and sister crow would snuggle under her wings and perch on the roof with her. As the leaves rustled and twirled about, mother eagle would say ‘Look!’ pointing at the leaves.
‘When the leaves spin clockwise, that means that the wind is blowing east,’ instructed mother eagle.
She continued teaching daughter owl and sister crow how to interpret the direction of the wind and sun.
‘You can figure out what kind of weather there will be when the colors of the clouds change. White fluffy clouds will block the sun, grey clouds mean rain, low clouds give fog and no clouds yield sunny days.’
Daughter owl and sister crow oooh’d and ahhh’d at mother eagle’s lesson. She taught them more and helped them understand the rustlings of the creatures in the forest too.
Daughter owl could not contain her grin and bounced around until she could explore the forest with father fox and learn even more. Every day, he taught her how trees grew and where the sun went at night. He showed her many different types of plants springing from the earth and showed her the fish swimming in the stream.
‘You see the fish swimming against the tide?’ he asked.
She nodded.
‘Those are salmon.”
Daughter owl’s eyes grew larger when she listened to father fox explain things to her in ways that she could understand. She easily learned and remembered new things about the world when wandering with him. She hoped to grow as curious and wise as he.
Daughter owl, like mother eagle and sister crow, had extraordinary eyesight. They could see anything from anywhere! Including things that were hidden to most of the other animals. Not much escaped daughter owl’s large dark eyes. She observed as much she was spoke, which made her sensitive to other’s emotions. She knew that father fox was silly, that mother eagle was protective, and that sister crow was super smart - always counting her breadcrumbs and making new inventions. She loved her family just the way they were and tried her hardest to make them proud of her.”
Chief Micanopy noticed that most of the children were yawning and the ones that were not, were slouched over on a fellow camper. He cleared his throat and awoke the sleeping bunch. They sat it straight, pretending as though they had never been asleep.
“That’s enough for tonight,” he said.
They groaned.
“We will continue the story tomorrow night.”
The children’s parents came around and carried them off to bed and the chief settled in for the night as well.

CHAPTER TWO: Fish for dinner

The next day passed and dawn was approaching. The children gathered around the fire once again. Each held a warm drink in their hands. They sat upright and stared at the chief. Chief Micanopy began:
“One sunny morning, mother eagle was teaching daughter owl and sister crow how to make beaded necklaces. Father fox saw that they were having so much fun but he did not want to make beaded necklaces. He thought to himself, ‘Everyone else is having fun. Why can’t I?’ He had fun playing tricks and decided to play a trick on his family instead.
He walked behind a tree, kicked up the dust and changed himself into a black bear. He went inside their house as the bear and headed into the kitchen. With one swipe of his massive paws, he knocked all of the dishes from the cupboards. Next, he went into the bedrooms and tore apart the pillows and chair cushions with his sharp claws. Then, he ran back behind the tree, kicked up dust and changed back into a fox. He ran towards his family in a panic.
‘Oh no! Come see what has happened!” he shouted over to them. ‘A great black bear has broken into our home and has destroyed everything!’ he cried.
Mother eagle was suspicious. She did not see a bear nearby. She sees everything. Sure enough, when she entered the house, it was ransacked. Daughter owl and sister crow whimpered and cried. Nobody had ever broken into their home before!
After that, mother eagle and father fox worked together to set traps and watch for intruders. Nobody suspected that father fox had ruined the house. Why would they? He loved them and, besides, foxes are small and scrawny. They put their heads together and use their wits to outsmart predators. When no one was watching, father fox rolled over laughing to himself. He knew that he could trick daughter owl and sister crow but it felt even better that he had even fooled mother eagle.
Things soon calmed down and went back to normal. Mother eagle built a look out post from her nest so that she could see even farther. Father fox rebuilt the burrow stronger than ever. Daughter owl and sister crow played without worry. Confident that they would not be afraid without him there, father fox went out hunting for mice for dinner.
The sun was bright, warm and high in the sky. It was a beautiful day. Father fox noticed the sun getting brighter and brighter during his hunt. It began to hurt his eyes and he covered his face.
‘Father fox!’ said the sun.
Father fox’s ears perked and he stood still to pay close attention.
‘Yes?’ he said feebly.
His bony knees quivered.
‘Why did you trick your family and vandalize the house? They were scared and sad that their things were destroyed. And you laughed at them!’
‘I’m sorry,’ said father fox, ‘Everyone was having a good time but me, and I wanted to have fun too!”
‘Be kinder to your family father fox,’ said the sun, ‘And ask their forgiveness for what you have done to them.’
‘Ok!’ said father fox.
The sun dimmed and father fox could see again. He decided to quit hunting for mice since he was not having any luck and got fish instead. His family loved fish but he did not like it very much.
‘Maybe they will forgive me if I bring home fish for dinner,’ he thought aloud.
When he returned, everyone was happy to see him. They were happier to see that he had brought them their favorite meal. Daughter owl and sister crow hooted and squawked, “Fish!” at the same time. Father fox was panted proudly and bounced up and down to see them enjoying their meal. He thought to himself,
‘Now, there is no way that I can tell them about the trick that I played on them. I am afraid that it will ruin the good mood! Fish is better than an apology anyway.’
And so he sat and watched his wife and kids devour the meal.”
The chief patted his knees and remained quit to let the children know that part of the story had ended. One of the smaller one chimed in,
“Can we have one more story before bedtime? Please?!”
The chief chuckled.
“Okay but just one more.”
The kids slapped hi five with one another while others pulled in a victorious fist. Chief Micanopy waved his hands as though he were fanning himself to signal for the children to lean in closer. They did.

CHAPTER THREE: Woodland Sisters

He continued,
“The following days were uneventful. Daughter owl and sister crow played for hours outside under the long summer daylight. Father fox and mother eagle hunted for food and kept the house neat and clean. No intruders ransacked the house, the family played games together at night and they all slept sound.
Mother eagle and father fox watched two daughters playing well together in the yard. They loved how they got along so well and were such good friends. After a thoughtful talk, mother eagle and father fox decided that the sisters were old enough to go into the woods to explore on their own. Mother eagle and father fox told them so when their daughters came inside for the night.
‘Daughter owl, you’re so brave and sweet! Do you think you that you are able to keep yourself and your sister safe in the woods?’
‘Oh yes! Father fox taught me everything about the woods!’ said daughter owl excitedly. ‘Sister crow and I will do just fine! Can we go on our own now? Please, please, please?’ she begged.
Mother eagle giggled at daughter owl’s excitement. She brushed her neck against daughter owl’s and then turned to sister crow,
‘Crow, do you want to go exploring in the woods with your big sister?’
‘Yes, yes, yes!’ said sister crow.
‘Ok,’ replied Father fox. ‘Starting tomorrow, you two may explore on your own until it starts to get dark. You can go as far as the stream.’
The sisters were so thrilled that they could hardly sleep that night.”
The chief pretended that the story was over but continued on before the group could protest.

CHAPTER FOUR: Breadcrumbs

“The next morning the sisters woke up before sunrise, rushed to eat breakfast, and then set out on their first solo expedition. Daughter owl was pointing out to sister crow what she had learned from father fox but sister crow was not paying attention. She was in a rush to get to the stream. She had an idea and wanted to make an experiment with her breadcrumbs.
When they got to the stream, sister crow built a circle out of rocks and dropped her breadcrumb in it. The breadcrumb swelled with water. It looked huge! It grew to two or three times its size. She was so delighted and called to her sister,
‘Owl, come look at this!’
Daughter owl rushed to her side to see the oversized breadcrumb. Before sister crow could claim her prize, one of the rocks fell over and a fish swam in and gobbled up the huge breadcrumb. Sister crow was speechless.
‘What had gone wrong?’ she wondered.
She snatched the fish out of the water with her beak and handed it to her big sister.
‘Here you go!’ she said, ‘I think it liked you.’
‘Why?’ asked daughter owl, ‘I’m not a breadcrumb.’
Then she giggled and happily ate the fish. Sister crow put another breadcrumb in the water. It swelled and another fish appeared and ate it. She grabbed the fish out of the water and swallowed it whole. With a full mouth she said,
‘This is the best breadcrumb I have ever eaten!’
The girls giggled for a while and then decided that they better go home before it got dark. Father fox met the girls halfway in the woods. He heard them laughing from a distance. It sounded like they were having such a good time.
‘How was it?’ he said.
“We had a great time in the woods!” daughter owl replied.
‘I’m glad,’ replied father fox. ‘What’s so funny?’
Sister crow looked at daughter owl with wide eyes.
‘Nothing,’ she replied, and the two girls nearly burst with laughter.
Father fox was annoyed that they did not share the joke. He did not like that they were having such a good time without him. He wondered what the big secret was. The next day father fox followed them into the woods. He saw that sister crow was getting her own fish with breadcrumbs! They were rolling with laughter at how easy it was to trick a fish. He said to himself,
‘I’ll teach them a lesson about tricks!’
So father fox hid behind a tree, kicked up the dust and changed himself into a squirrel. He ran over to daughter owl and sister crow, stuffed all of the breadcrumbs into his cheeks, and ran away. Sister crow shrieked and mother eagle heard her cries from far away. She flew over to the stream at lightning speed. Daughter owl explained what happened while sister crow cried uncontrollably.
Mother eagle flew up above trees to find the squirrel but did not spot any. She only saw father fox whistling to himself and sniffing the ground in search of mice.
‘The dusky evening light must be playing tricks on my eyes’ she murmured to herself. ‘I did not see any squirrels. Not one… strange…’
She flew back to the stream to console her daughters; wrapping her long wings around both daughter owl and sister crow. Father fox made his way there too and the four of them walked home together.
That night mother eagle told the sisters to be more careful with the breadcrumbs. She sewed a squirrel proof pouch for them to carry them in. Sister crow felt better knowing that a squirrel could never steal her breadcrumbs again. Father fox stayed up to watch the fire burn out while everyone was asleep. He laughed.
‘I am truly the master of tricks! Nobody would guess that I was the squirrel! Not even mother eagle! She thought that she would find a squirrel but all she found was a me!’
The fire crackled, and an ember popped out and singed his fur. He shook out the flame on his paw and licked the scorch mark. … Now it is time for bed. We will reconvene same place, same time tomorrow night. Good night younglings.”
“Good night chief,” they answered back in unison, and their parents shepherded them off to bed.

CHAPTER FIVE: Twig Doll

That night, while everyone was sleeping, they all dreamt of what father fox would do next and could hear the chief’s voice narrating the story:
“The drizzly dawn woke everyone the next morning. The burrow was drafty and wet, and the family roused to find that there was a hole in the roof. Father fox volunteered to go out into the woods to get some twigs to repair it. He trotted along when the earth opened up and swallowed him. He cried for help but nobody heard him. Not even mother eagle.
‘Father fox!’ exclaimed the earth, ‘Why did you trick your family into thinking that a squirrel stole those breadcrumbs?’
Father fox was speechless. He ignored the sun’s warning, and now the earth was scolding him.
‘You should be kinder to your family. Sister crow is intelligent and her idea to catch the fish was clever. You should reward her for that. Instead, you stole her breadcrumbs and made her broke her little heart. You should apologize to her.’
The earth spat him back out above ground before father fox could respond.
‘I have a better idea than an apology,’ thought father fox.
Instead, he decided to bring some extra twigs home to make a doll for sister crow. He fashioned the prettiest doll out of those twigs and gave it to sister crow. ‘For me?’ she asked as tears filled her eyes. She hugged and kissed him on the cheek over and over again. Then she did the same to her doll, and showed it off to everyone.
Father fox saw how much she loved the gift and did not want to make her upset by telling her the truth about the breadcrumbs. He was certain that if she knew that he stole the breadcrumbs, that it would ruin her mood. He quietly watched her play and figured,
‘The doll is much better than an apology.’
He was surer of this than ever before.”
The next day the children rushed up to the chief to recount their strange dream and could not believe that they all had the same one. He nodded, and thought carefully.
“Come. Sit.” he commanded. “I think we can squeeze in another story before the start of our day.”
The children cheered and then almost immediately fell to the ground and crossed their legs.

CHAPTER SIX: Flower Crown

“Let me tell you about the flower crown for mother eagle,” explained the chief. He continued on from where the dream left off.
“As time passed, everyone including father fox forgot about the bear break-in and the squirrel thief. The sisters played outside in the woods. Mother eagle stayed busy making beaded necklaces for her daughters’ upcoming birthdays. Father fox tidied up their home and everyone was at peace.
The days were getting shorter and colder. The leaves started to turn bright orange, yellow and red. Fall was upon them and now it was time to prepare for winter. This changing weather also meant that it was time for mother eagle’s birthday! Mother eagle, like father fox, did so much for the family.
Everyone wanted to show how much they loved and appreciated her for that, especially on her birthday. Mother eagle loved the bright colors that marked her favorite time of year. Every year daughter owl and sister crow would find the brightest and most interesting leaves and bring them to mother eagle as a birthday present. This year was different. The sisters were getting older and daughter owl wanted to try her hand at the crafts that mother eagle had been teaching her and sister crow.
‘Sister crow,’ said daughter owl.
‘Do you know what tomorrow is?’
‘Owl, I’m tired. I don't feel like thinking about what tomorrow is. Can we go home now and eat some dinner?’ sighed sister crow.
‘Crow! Tomorrow is mother eagle’s Birthday! We always bring her leaves but this year I want to do something special. I want to make her a flower crown!” hooted daughter owl.
‘Oh boy owl! I almost forgot! Silly me. The problem is that it is fall, and all the flowers have gone to sleep for the winter. How will we make it?’ questioned sister crow.
‘Dont worry sister crow,’ said daughter owl. ‘Father fox showed me which flowers are still awake in the fall. Like this small purple one here.’
Daughter owl picked up a small purple flower that poked its head through the leaves. It looked spiky although it was soft. Purple was daughter owl’s favorite color. She thought it would make a lovely crown for mother eagle. Sister crow agreed and the two picked through the leaves gathering purple flowers for a crown.
Father fox came up with the same idea, for mother eagle’s birthday, on his own. He was busy looking for flowers too when he saw the sisters.
‘They stole my idea!’ he huffed.
They always brought bright leaves tor mother eagle on her birthday and now they were making a flower crown! Father fox wanted his gift to be unique. He ran behind a tree, kicked up the dust and changed himself into a toad. He hopped up to daughter owl and sister crow.
“Hello Toad,” said daughter owl.
Before she could turn to continue picking flowers, the toad reached out its long tongue and snatched the purple flowers from her talons. It gobbled them up and hopped away.”
The children gasped at the thieving toad and the chief told his story without pause.
“Daughter owl’s eyes filled with tears as she stood there sobbing. Sister crow went to comfort her and patted her slick black feathers on daughter owl’s back.
‘I wanted this year to be special for Mother eagle,’ said daughter owl.
‘Don’t worry owl. Every year is special. Let’s get her some leaves,’ said sister crow.
She did her best to lighten the mood. Father fox then turned himself back into a fox after listening to his daughters’ conversation. He did not think that stealing their flowers would hurt their feelings so much. He walked over to apologize to them but stopped and changed his mind. He thought about how angry they would be at him.
Instead, he decided to offer to make a flower crown for mother eagle together, using the flowers that he had gathered. He approached the solemn sisters.
‘Hey you two! What's going on?’
Daughter owl told him everything about the purple flowers and how a toad came and gobbled them up. Father fox furrowed his furry red brow.
‘That’s too bad but I have a solution,’ he said. ‘I am also making a flower crown for mother eagle’s birthday. I am missing some purple flowers. Would you two like to help me gather some? Together, we can make the prettiest crown the forest has ever seen.”
Daughter owl and sister crow fluttered about. They were pleased with the idea. They stayed out with father fox until the sun was setting to pick the prettiest purple flowers for mother. Afterwards, they worked together to braid them into a crown. When they were finished, it was a beautiful masterpiece. The girls forgot about the incident with the toad, perched on father fox’s back and headed home.
Mother eagle was patiently waiting for everyone at home with a steaming birthday meal. She was certain that her family would be making gifts for her birthday so she did not mind that it was getting late. When father fox, daughter owl, and sister crow arrived, dinner was ready. They ate together and talked about their adventures in the forest.
The next morning they presented the crown to Mother eagle.
‘This is the most beautiful crown I have ever seen!’ cried mother eagle.
Tears of joy filled her eyes as she placed the crown on her head. She wore it all day. All of the animals of the forest pointed as she flew by and said that it was the most beautiful crown they had ever seen too. Daughter owl, sister crow, and father fox were satisfied with their work and with how happy it made mother eagle.”
The children cheered at mother eagle’s delight at her gift. The wrinkles in chief Micanopy’s face deepened as she smiled brightly at the group.
“We will carry on with this later tonight. Now off you go.”
As usual, the parents were not too far away and ready for their curious children to finish listening to the chief’s great stories.

CHAPTER SEVEN: Final Warning

The day passed and the chief and his mini followers were gathered around a blazing fire once again. This time, they had marshmallows at the end of a stick and were roasting them. As they fished their sugary bait over the sea of flames, the chief continued on with the tale.
“A few days later, father fox noticed a strange rippling in the water as he was fishing in the stream. He looked around but saw nothing. When he resumed fishing, he noticed that the water began to rise. It did not move like a wave but more like a thing. It rose until it was eye level with him and it did not spill over.
‘Father fox,’ said the water.
‘Yes?’ he replied.
‘You never apologized to your family. After the first trick, you played a second, and then a third! It is not too late. Mother eagle has a forgiving heart, and so do daughter owl and sister crow. They will forgive you but you must go home now, and apologize to them for the tricks that you have played on them.’
The water slowly sank back down until there was nothing but a stream. Father fox thought about what the sun, earth and water had said to him.
‘I brought them gifts, and everyone forgot about it. Why should I apologize now when they are no longer sad? I showed how sorry I was. I’ll just be on my best behavior from now on. That should be enough,” he decided.
He ignored the sun, earth, and waters’ warnings again and went home, pretending that nothing unusual had happened to him in the woods.”
The children shook their heads in disbelief and knew that father fox was bound to get in trouble.

CHAPTER EIGHT: Blank Stare

Chief Micanopy nodded and kept on:
“The days were getting shorter. The sun was setting earlier. The first frost covered the forest. Sister crow did not like the cold and preferred to stay inside. Daughter owl went for walks with father fox in the woods because the cold did not bother them.
The sky was cloudless and the sun was high in the sky during one particular walk. Daughter owl traced the patches of light on the ground with her eyes as father fox explained where shadows came from.
‘You see…the light is on one side,’ he explained, ‘…And the leaves on the trees keep it from passing through. It leaves a dark spot on the ground. That is a shadow. It happens when light has to change directions.’
Just as he was finishing his explanation, an uncharacteristically cold wind ripped through the trees. It sent leaves flying and small animals scurrying. The wind seemed angry. Whirlwinds sprung up as clouds crashed into one another. The clouds covered the sky and left the forest dark and grey. The skies then cleared as quickly as they had greyed.
Daughter owl caught her breath. Her large dark eyes were wide and panicked as she looked around. She did not like the sudden weather change. Father fox stood still and acted like he did not notice what happened.
‘Father fox!’ daughter owl cried out, ‘What was that? What’s going on Father fox?! I don’t understand!.’
She shivered uncontrollably but father fox did not reply. When daughter owl looked into his eyes, she saw that they were empty. The mischievous sparkle was gone. He stood expressionless and unmoving.
‘I don't remember what I was saying,’ he said calmly, ‘Let’s go home.’
Daughter owl knew that something was different about her father. She just could not figure it out. No matter how hard he tried, father fox could not deceive her.
As soon as they arrived home, mother eagle and sister crow noticed it too. Mother eagle was uncomfortable. She began constantly adjusting her feathers. Sister crow treated his blank stare as an invitation to make him her new play toy and further investigate with her brilliant mind. She climbed on his lap and opened his eyes wide, looked into his mouth, and turned her head to look inside of his large ears. Once bored, she left him sitting where he was. He stayed there undisturbed by the thorough exam he had just received. Finally everyone went to bed but no one slept well.”
The children frowned at how uneasy father fox made mother eagle, daughter owl and sister crow. The chief could see how heavy their eyes looked and wished them all a good night. They whined and begged to stay awake but he refused and promised that they would do this again the following night.

CHAPTER NINE: Tricks and Tests

The next night approached faster than the last ones, and the children were excited to sit around the fire and listen to the rest of the chief’s lore. He sat patiently until the youngsters looked at him with their undivided attention. Their furrowed brows and pursed lips scrunched to prove how serious they were about continuing on with the story. He laughed at how stern their expressions were. Little did the children know, he was as excited to tell the tale as they were to listen to it.
“Are you ready?” he prodded.
“Yes!” the replied.
He took a deep breath and began.
“After that cold chill that put father fox in a trance, the wind whipped around the rooftop, and clouds lurked around the burrow in a thick fog. While everyone was sleeping, the wind visited the house that night. It told the family in a dream about the tricks that father fox had played on everyone. It was much like ours on the night we all dreamt the same thing. It showed him first turning himself into a black bear and ransacking the house. Next, it showed him stealing the breadcrumbs as a squirrel. Lastly, it revealed him turning himself into a toad to steal the flowers for mother eagle’s crown.
The wind also told them that she and her siblings -the sun, earth and water- did not approve of his bad behavior. She said that they warned him several times to apologize but he never did and now he had to be disciplined. They did this by separating his fox spirit from his body, and took it far away into the spirit world. His spirit would have to complete four tasks before reuniting with father fox’s body to make him whole again. He had to complete the first three because that was the same amount of tricks that he played on his loved ones. His fourth task was for the ultimate trick that he unknowingly played on himself.
First, he would have to climb the highest mountain to seek out the sun and ask him for forgiveness and encouragement. If the sun thought that father fox was trying to play a trick on him, then he would turn the spirit into ash. Second, he would have to swim out to the farthest island to ask the water to forgive and purify him. If the water thought that father fox was trying to play a trick on him and be insincere, then he would drown him. Third, he would have to dig a hole to the center of the earth to ask her for forgiveness and to be made whole again. If the earth felt like she was being tricked, then the walls of the hole would cave in to bury father fox. After being forgiven by all the elements, his last task would be to forgive himself. It was the only way to truly be free (of guilt).
If he did not feel bad for playing the tricks on his family, then his spirit would be too heavy for the wind to carry him home. His body did not function well without his spirit. Emptiness made his body too heavy walk the earth, too heavy to float, and too pale to face the sun. Without his spirit, he would slowly turn into a statue. If father fox did not use all of his strength and courage to complete these tasks, then it would be the end of him.”
The children looked around at one another, silently hoping that this would never happen to them. They then turned back to chief Micanopy to finish hearing more.

CHAPTER TEN: Walk in the Woods

He continued without prompt,
“In the morning mother eagle, daughter owl and sister crow went to see father fox. He was still sitting at the table where they had left him. Daughter owl could felt his emptiness as easily as we feel the heat from the flames. She peered into his eyes and asked him,
‘Father fox, can we go for a walk?’
‘Sure’ he said and they left.
He did not say much. He answered her questions with single word answers. She asked if he was happy.
‘I cannot be happy. I am not whole,’ he replied.
She asked if he was sad.
‘I cannot be sad. I am not whole.’
He was emotionless. Finally, in desperation, daughter owl wrapped her wings around his snout and asked,
‘Father fox! Do you still love me?’
Father fox turned to her and he said,
‘Of course, I love you. You are my daughter. I am here but my spirit is far away. I am in pieces. I cannot feel anything until I am whole. My spirit has to complete four tasks so that I can give you the love that you, your sister and mother deserve. I am sorry daughter owl. I will do my best.’
As he said this to her, tears streamed from her large black eyes. Daughter owl felt a wave of emotions rising and clawed at father fox’s fur. He did not react. She frantically flapped her wings in front of his face and he did not blink. She wanted him to do something…anything, but he did not react to her outbursts. She never felt that way towards father fox before and it confused her.
‘It is my fault!’ sobbed daughter owl. ‘I did not have the chance to stop you before you played your tricks. I see everything! And now you’re far far away and we may never get you back.
No! Maybe it’s mother eagle’s fault! She was always circling so high above the house. Why didn’t she catch you?! She is supposed to see everything too!’
Father fox looked at daughter owl and said,
‘Daughter owl, it is not your fault and it is not your mother’s fault. You do see many things but you cannot see everything. Even though you have exceptional eye-sight, I disguised myself as a bear, a squirrel, and a toad so that nobody would recognize me. I wanted to have fun like foxes do by playing tricks but I never should have tricked my family. Now I have to apologize to everyone. If I want to get better and be myself again, I also have to ask them for forgiveness.’
I wish I could say that he left with a heavy heart but father fox walked off and left daughter owl to return home alone.”
Chief Micanopy paused and the children begged for him to finish the story. He agreed because he knew that it was coming to an end.
“If you insist,” he said,
looking beyond the children to wink at their parents in the distance.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Right Path

“Daughter owl flew home and mother eagle noticed that she returned alone. She asked what happened and daughter owl told her of her conversation with father fox in the wood. She then explained how he went off to complete his tasks. Mother eagle claws dug into the hard earth. She could not believe that he did not say goodbye. Nor could she forget about the tricks that he had played. Everything was perfect in the house until he played his tricks on them.
Mother eagle did not like seeing daughter owl struggling with her father’s emptiness. Still, she knew that it was best if father fox spent some time alone in meditation, away from the distractions of family life, to hasten his spirit’s return. He had broken some of her favorite things, and had hurt sister crow’s and daughter owl’s feelings. All of those things were more important to her than words could express. The sisters ran into mother eagle’s bosom and cried for him.
Father fox could not cry because he was empty inside. He journeyed to a cave, high up in the mountains above the house to sit and meditated. His fox spirit nervously fluttered about. This left father fox cowering at the base of the mountain wondering if he would ever make it to the top. He sat there, took a deep breath, flattened his ears and grounded his paws. Even thought they were wobbling, he slowly began to climb. It was his first step in the right direction.
The end. Let’s talk tomorrow about what you all thought about the tale of father fox.”
Like clockwork, the parents swooned in to collect their children and whisk them off to bed. The chief wished them a good night and sweet dreams and they children responded in kind. He looked back at the mountains behind him and hoped that father fox made it up. He doused the fire and went of to bed as well.