Once there was a little red fox. She had clear green eyes and pointy brown ears. She had very good taste, but she had no fears! Every day, she took five minutes to lick her pretty brown coat, five minutes to brush her pointy white teeth, and five minutes to groom her well-padded paws. However, it took this little red fox more than thirty minutes to decide which shoes to wear around her den. When she grew tired of wearing a pair, she set it aside to chew and tear. Simply put, this was a fox with flair!
More than anything else in the world, this little fox loved shoes. If she had to choose, it was always shoes! She would choose a shoe over beef stew! She would choose a shoe in any hue!
All the other foxes chided her, “Silly fox, why do spend all your time with shoes when there’s an entire forest to play in?” Amused, the little fox replied, “You choose the forest grooves, but I choose the groovy shoes!” With that, she turned and walked away with her spirits up, her head up, and her tail up!
One morning, the little red fox woke up before dawn. In her den in the woods, she decided that it was time to fetch more goods. So, she set out for her favorite village. There she always found a large selection of irresistible shoes that came in all sizes and colorful hues! Shoes in reds and blues! Shoes with glittery glues! Shoes always in twos! All the villagers here left their shoes on their porches overnight for the little red fox to take. At least, that’s what she thought!
As the little red fox trotted through the sleepy village looking over all the shoes on display, a large black, yellow-eyed cat, named Rudolph, yowled angrily at her. The little red fox was used to it. What she was not used to, though, was a big, black dog whose mean growl made her heart beat faster than a spinning top. It was all worth it, though, when the first sunbeams of the day danced upon a shiny purple shoe. How it caught her eye! The little red fox gasped, “How gorgeous! How glorious!” She ran towards the gleaming purple shoe, picked it up with her teeth, and carried it home.
Soon, all the villagers began to hiss, “There must be a shoe thief in our midst.” Shoes were disappearing now on a regular basis. The town sheriff then ordered a search of every house in the village and in the surrounding area. The shoes were nowhere to be found!
In the following weeks, more shoes disappeared from this little village. Then, a policeman, still searching for the traitor, found a slew of chewed shoes scattered along a forest trail. Bemused, he thought out loud, “Could this be the clue to the mystery of the missing shoes?” Cautiously, he looked around until he stumbled upon a crumpled, discolored shoe in front of a fox’s den. Carefully, he looked inside.
The policeman was amazed at what he had found! Surrounded by a multitude of colorful shoes, the little red fox sat happily chewing on a bright yellow shoe! Then, the policeman looked even more closely and was surprised to find something else! It was a happy brood of little red foxes! And, what were these little red foxes doing? Chewing! Each little fox was all aglow, gleefully chewing on a bright and shiny shoe, each a different color of the rainbow!
Born in Christiana, Delaware, Sarah is the youngest of four. She attends the Charter School of Wilmington and has won awards for her essays. She also plays violin and viola and likes to bowl (her three-person team won 1st place in Nationals in Washingotn, D.C. at the National History Bowl in 2011).
SIDE NOTE: This children’s tale is based on a true story from a small town in Germany. Have you read a news item that you wanted to turn into a story?