Once upon a time in a land not too far from here, there was a brightly lit wood with open glades and gently flowing streams, with every conceivable green you could imagine. The floor of this vast wood remained carpeted in flowers throughout the year. In this wood lived many creatures, most of them we know, but some we don't. Among these creatures we do know lived a fox with all his Wiley ways. He had very few friends in this wood, they were all afraid of him as he was always hungry and most things in the forest were the right size for him to eat. All the animals used to call to each other as the fox approached, warning them of the danger, and then they would scurry off into deep under growth or into the nearest tree out of his reach. He would look up forlornly at the flustered birds in the trees mocking him while his tummy rumbled, poor fox he always went hungry. Magpie had been sitting on a branch not too far away she sat watching silently at the foxes attempts to get a meal and the teasing that was going on. She thought for a while and decided to follow the fox through the woods for a while. The fox sauntered from glade to glade while the magpie watched the goings on. The fox looked up once or twice noticing the magpie following him as he could hardly miss her in the green wood with her beautiful and striking white and black plumage that seemed to shimmer with all the colours of the rainbow when the light would strike it a certain way. When he looked up again thinking she was watching him hunting she was gone. He dropped his head again he sighed deeply; he was very lonely he wished he had someone to talk to his tummy rumbled and he moved on towards the big stream near the edge of the wood, as he approached the stream the flowers cleared and the grass shortened and there in
front of him, perched on a branch just out of his reach was the magpie between him and the stream.
'Hello Fox how are you today?' she asked.
'I am very well thanking you Magpie, might I just say that you are looking lovely today.' (It was a very polite wood even if someone wanted to eat you)
'Thank you very much fox but you are the one who is more beautiful than I.' the fox looked puzzled.
'Why do you say that?' he asked.
'I am surprised you ask.' she replied' why it's your beautiful coat of course it attracts me all those colours of brown and red and the whiteness of your chest. It is the reason I was following you through the wood.' she was lying about this but the fox knew nothing of it. He was too busy feeling very good about what the magpie was saying about him to notice the lie. The truth was that she did find his coat of fur much better than her own; she did wish she had a coat like that instead of her boring black and white. Her lie was for something else:
She began to act quite haughty towards the fox as she continued the conversation;
'That's not the reason I am daring to speak to you Fox, it is a very dangerous thing to do to talk to a fox just about how good each of us look' The fox nodded, licking his lips. The magpie ignored this, adding, 'I am risking my life to talk to you to say that I might be able to help you if you can help me?' the foxes ears pricked up, his mouth still salivating,
'What is your idea magpie though I doubt it would be of any use to me. I cannot see what you possibly would have that I would want.' magpie smiled.
'It is not what I have fox. It is what I can help you with.' the fox glanced over at the stream then looked back at the magpie.
'Let me get a drink from the stream magpie, and then I shall consider what you have to say though I see little what I can offer you in return I shall listen to your proposal. She nodded towards him twice, squawking loudly, fox headed to the stream to drink deeply.
When he returned to the spot the magpie was still waiting for him. He was surprised at this thinking that the magpie had been teasing him and it had all been a trick. He said nothing instead he sat down in front of the magpie lick his front paws. Then said,
'Alright magpie, my thirst is quenched; I am ready to hear what you have to say.
'I am glad to hear that you are less thirsty than you were I hope that what I have to offer will be able to quell your appetite.' Magpie opened her wings and flew round where the fox was seated then returned to her perch on the branch just out of reach of the fox.
' Ahh that's better I needed a little stretch. Now where was I? , oh yes, I had a proposal for you fox.'
Yes yes I know that what is it exactly I haven't got all day you know.'
Magpie smiled to herself, an inward smile.
'Oh I am sorry fox; I would like to propose that I would help you get food for yourself in exchange for something for me.'
Fox laughed so loudly that he startled some other birds in a tree quite far away. Once fox had caught his breath he asked magpie while still laughing
'How do you think that you can catch prey for me? You are a magpie you do not catch other animals and birds.'
'You are right Fox, I do not eat the other animals like you do but I can act like a decoy for you.' fox stopped laughing frowned slightly and asked what magpie meant by this? She explained;
' if I am in a glade looking for food or preening myself I act the other birds and animals trust me to sound the alarm if you come around,' fox nodded in agreement remembering her shrill distress call. 'now if you were to come from the direction that I was guarding and take one of the other animals or birds as a meal instead of me, that would help you would it not?
Now fox was not stupid and he considered this plan that magpie had come up with looking at it from all the directions he could think of he finally replied to magpie;
'You are right magpie that would indeed help me but what would you want in return for this help that you give me.'
'I would want from you three things fox, firstly I would want your assurance that you would never harm me or seek to eat me. Secondly I would ask for your help in finding all the shining objects in the wood because I do love them so and thirdly I would wish us to become friends fox because I do love your fur so much.' fox considered this for a few moments, wondering what magpie meant by shining objects and how much of a friendship a fox and a magpie could have. Fox looked up at magpie in the branch above him, just out of reach and said,
'Your terms are most fair magpie, and I see no difficulties for either of us unless I break the terms of our agreement. Magpie smiled, flapping her wings and hopping on the branch.
'I am very glad you like it fox,' she said, adding I am sure we can become good friends.
'How do you know I will not deceived you magpie and eat you when you come down to me here?' he asked magpie, she looked at him and said rather dismissively,
' because fox I know you are not stupid and you can see that what I say is true, the other animals and birds trust me and you will end up with much more if you don't eat me and I don't sound the alarm.'
'you are a very clever magpie,' said fox 'I am sure we will be good friends.'
The next day the pair met at the same spot, then after a while magpie went off to the next glade to preen herself in the lovely sunshine.
Fox crouched very low in some long grass not far from the clearing and watched developments. Magpie was hopping from one side of the clearing and fluttering to the other as if to look for fox and once even stopped in front of him and winked and fluttered off with contented noises so the other wildlife could enter the glade. Magpie began strutting about with puffed feathers even looking into a small puddle of water to see all was right with her feathers. Fox thought to himself, 'she should have done that before she came to see Me.' laughing inwardly. Magpie began feeding around the glade, watching as other birds and creatures ventured out into the open, she smiled inwardly to herself. The glade became quite busy with all manner of life, as it did so Magpie began to wonder if fox was still there in the long grass; Magpie moved slowly to the far side of the clearing, keeping one eye on the far side sensing that fox would pounce soon. Magpie knew fox better than she thought at that moment a blur of rust and cream darted from the grass to grab something on the far side of the glade. There was a great plume of feathers then a great wave of noise and motion as all life tried to escape the path of the fox. The noise was deafening screeches, squawks and the great rush of wings. Magpie followed as quickly as she could with the crowd shouting madly with the throng. She looked down at the clearing to see fox with the old pigeon held tightly in his sharp teeth. Fox turned and headed towards the river bank with his prize between his teeth. Magpie looked more closely at the cleared glade then hopped and complained with all the other birds in the trees about how could the fox have got so close without anyone seeing him and how clever he had become. Magpie agreed. Hopping and complaining with the rest of them. When at last the last birds disappeared from the clearing magpie flew down to the ground and picked up all the shiny objects that had fallen from the other creatures without them noticing. Magpie took them to her nest hidden safely deep in the middle of the wood, then turned and headed for the river at the edge of the wood as quietly as she could because the whole wood was quiet old pigeon had been wise and well known 'Who would keep the wisdom of the wood now?' one of the sparrows had asked while they were at the clearing.
'Maybe it should be me.' Magpie had said with a shrug of the shoulders.
As magpie flew the rest of the way to the river she remembered that the sparrow had agreed with what magpie had said and suggested it to the other birds around him.
Magpie looked down in revulsion at the small bluish stain not far from where the fox sat cleaning up after his meal. To get ahead you need to sacrifice others magpie thought. Magpie sat watching silently for a few minutes then flew down when the coast was clear, landing not far away from fox. Magpie bowed lightly to fox and fox nodded in acknowledgement Magpie hopped closer and said,
'The plan worked very well Fox did it not?'
'Might I say that you are looking particularly lovely magpie.' he said licking his paw, Magpie blushed slightly beneath her feathers and dipped her head smiling shyly at the compliment. Fox continued, ' Yes Magpie, an admirable plan it worked better than I had hoped.'
'I'm glad you approve I also did very well from the clearing.' she said smiling
'I am also glad to hear that I could be of help magpie.' fox said almost dismissively
'So we will do it again' magpie asked greedily.
'I see no reason not to under the terms of our agreement of course,'
'Of course,' magpie agreed
Over the weeks the pair continued to work the plan while fox got fatter and magpie's pile of treasure grew and grew. Until finally one day fox and magpie met as usual on the edge of the wood not far from the river magpie perched upon the very branch where they had first talked.
'Good morning Magpie, you are shining like the sun this morning. Has all that treasure rubbed off on you?' she magpie clucked and nodded in pleasure at foxes compliments, she loved to hear them. Magpie was so happy especially with her treasure and her compliments from fox Magpie didn't care what was going on; fox had grown large and his number had even grown. Magpie being magpie knew this without being told. Once she had tamed her blushes she asked after them,
'They are all very well magpie, thank you for asking.'
Fox looked knowingly round the clearing,
'It is just as well you are on that branch magpie I would not be able to see you on the ground.'
'Yes,' she laughed 'it looks like someone isn't taking care of things properly anymore round here,'
'indeed.' replied fox lifting his paw and licking it thoughtfully.
'Even if the grass is tall I am still very contented are you magpie?'
' yes I am too,' is it time to go and see what we can find Fox?'
'Yes I will find a clearing and you follow behind and we will see if anyone comes to see you today.' said fox.
Magpie clucked her distinctive cluck in acknowledgement and followed fox high up in the branches. It wasn't long before she lost him in the thick undergrowth. She was a little dismayed, she flew ahead in the rough direction that fox had been heading and landed in the clearing trying to anticipate foxes move. Magpie hopped about clucking and squawking attracting the attention for the other animals in the woods. All was quiet in the woods not a cheep could be heard apart from the rustle of a light breeze touching the ends of the leaves. Magpie suddenly felt very alone in the long grass dark clouds gathered over the wood as if to warn of the danger ahead. Magpie paid it no heed she was to intent on her spoils and where fox was she wondered. That question was answered by a sudden thud knocking the air from her lungs and a huge pressure on her body, red, red everywhere, 'blood, blood!' she screamed there was no blood there was only fox ; paws pinning magpie firmly to the ground. She stared at him in disbelief
'What- are-you-doing?' struggling to talk and breathe at the same time. Fox smiled his wry little smile.
'I am doing what I have to do, what I must, what I need to do, there is nothing left in the wood for me to hunt so now I will need to eat you magpie in order to live.'
'B-but I helped you fox to hunt more easily and for that you will eat me?' he nodded.
'It is what I do, what you did was steal from the other animals gaining from what I was able to hunt but it is not what you do so for that I will eat you.'
Magpie tried to think quickly
'But Fox if you eat me there will be no one to speak to or to hunt you will die of starvation and alone.' fox laughed.
'I am always alone magpie what difference will that make to me it is what I do I hunt and eat alone and when I am lucky I get to have a family like now. As for food I am strong enough now to move from here to the fields and other woods.'
'What do you mean?' asked Magpie.
'There is much more to see than just these trees, there is great open lands even bigger woods and even bigger rivers than the one here.'
'I never knew there was more. No one I had spoken to in the woods had said anything so I just assumed this was it.' tears poured from magpies eyes.
'how can you want to eat me when I have tried only to help you fox.' anger and frustration spitting from her.
'You only sought to help yourself to others trinkets magpie how easy it was when you came to talk to me that day for the first time I did not covet myself I did not deceive you I only deceived you now when you know what I am and what I do you should never be surprised at me magpie I never needed your help but if someone offers you an easier way they will take it will they not Magpie?'
Magpie nodded her head remorsefully…
It was a long time before Fox would return to that wood; he knew it would take a long time to heal the damage that Magpie and he had caused.
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