Fox Stories

My mother has been cleaning out her attic and sorting out the papers and momentos she saved from my siblings and my years in elementary school. She handed me a brown envelope full of papers with examples of writing and drawing from my earliest years, and I came across these two stories, both about foxes. I wonder why I was thinking about foxes so much? I remember there was a fox that lived somewhere in our back woods and my mother would always comment about how much he STUNK! Perhaps that stuck in my mind when I went to school.

Why the Bear Has a Short Tail: a Pourquoi Tale

One very cold day a bear with a line of fish hung on his back met a fox. The bear said that would be a good supper. He asked how he caught those fish. The fox was a sly fox. He said a few things and watched the bear hurry to the pond. The bear did all he said. When it was sundown the bear decided he had enough fish. The bear got very angry. He remembered what the fox said. But he couldn't do it. Part of his tail came out of the ice. Since that winter day all the bears on earth have very short tails. Even this day all the foxes are as sly as sly can be.                  by Jennifer C.

 

I think I must have written this one in first or second grade judging by my handwriting. It's obvious to me that I had a story in mind, but couldn't quite get in on paper. I still have that problem.

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Here's the second story that must have been written in second or third grade. I love that we were learning how to write dialogue. I think it's hysterical that I refer to boys and girls as 'lads' and 'lasses'!  Nevertheless, my teacher wrote "Very good story!" at the top of my paper and gave me a shiny blue star. Kudos to mom for saving these jewels.

A Clever Fox

Once a fox saw a bee. He caught the bee and put it in his bag. Then he went to a house.
"Can you take my bag while I'm gone?" 
"Yes." She took the bag inside.
"Don't open the bag."
She opened the bag because she heard a buzz. Her hen ate it. Then the fox came back.
"Where is my bee?"
"My hen ate it."
He took the hen. He went to another house. He went to town without the bag. He came back.
"Where is my hen?"
The lass said, "my lamb scared it away."
"Then you must give me your lamb." Then he went to a lad's home and went to town. Then he came back.
"Where is my lamb?"
"My brother scared it."
"Then you must give me your brother."
But he gave the fox their dog. And no one saw him since that day.