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THE FOX AND THE GRAPES

Once upon a time, there was a little fox named Felix. Felix was very fast and could jump very high. All of the other animals always thought that he was one of the fastest animals they saw. Whenever anyone needed something

that they could not reach, they would ask Felix, for he could leap higher than even Harry Rabbit! He was known to be the highest jumper of them all in all of Shady Woods, and everyone even said that he could practically fly! He loved it when people would see him and say, “Oh, look! There goes flying Felix! He can jump so high!”

One day, Felix was walking along in the woods. He loved to walk in the woods and bask in the praise of everyone else. He knew that they were all envious that he was so good at jumping because he could get to things that even squirrels could not sometimes. Even the best climbers would take longer to get up to a branch with a tasty treat dangling on it than Felix would take. He would run, run, run, and then jump as hard as he could. He would fly through the air and snatch up anything that was within reach.

As Felix walked through the Shady Woods, he saw all sorts of animals.

“Good morning, Flying Felix!” said a squirrel.

“How’s it going, highflyer?” asked a badger as he walked by.

“Did you catch the moon yet?” asked a young little bunny, who stared up at Felix with wide eyes.

Felix took it all in and grinned. He loved the attention! As he kept on walking, he noticed that there was a crowd of animals gathering. He could see big animals and small animals. Mice, rabbits, and even a bear had gathered! Felix decided that he was very curious. He wanted to know why everyone thought that they needed to crowd up. He sniffed the air and could smell something sweet. So, off Felix went to see what was happening.

“What’s up, everyone?” Felix said as he sauntered into the crowd with his foxy grin. But, Felix was surprised when no one turned to look at him. They were all busy looking up at something. No one said anything to Felix and that made him feel annoyed. Why weren’t they looking at him? They always looked at him! When Felix looked up, he saw exactly why no one was looking at him. They were all looking at a very nice bunch of grapes! They were growing high up on a vine, out of reach from everyone. They were shiny and purple and looked like they would be very nice to eat on such a warm day.

Everyone was very busy talking about the grapes. They all wanted to get the first bunch of summer. Everyone knew that the first bunch of grapes of the summer would be the tastiest, juiciest, most delicious bunch of all and they all wanted to try some!

Felix was very unhappy because no one was looking at him. He frowned and sat down, his long, red tail swishing behind him as he thought. How could he get everyone’s attention again? A light breeze blew behind him and rustled up his fur. It felt like it did when he would jump into the air to grab things from up high!

That’s it! Felix thought. He knew how to get everyone’s attention once and for all.

“I can get those grapes!” he said. But, he was so quiet that no one seemed to notice him. They were all too busy talking to each other about the grapes and how they wanted to get a bite. So, he tried again. “I said… I CAN GET THOSE GRAPES!” This time, Felix practically yelled loudly enough for everyone to hear him over the commotion.

Suddenly, all eyes were on Felix, staring at him. They were all watching him in silence, and then Felix felt afraid. He looked at the vines and how high up they went around a tree. He saw just how high up those grapes were. They were so high that not even Brad the Bear could reach them when he stood on two legs! But, not wanting to embarrass himself, Felix took in a big, deep breath and looked at all of the animals around him. “I can get them!”

All of the animals cheered for Felix! They were very happy to hear that he would be able to get down the grapes for everyone to share. All around him, Felix could hear all sorts of animals talking. “Look! It’s Flying Felix! He can get them down!” called out one voice.

“If anyone can do it, Felix can!” said another.

“I heard that Flying Felix can touch the moon!” squeaked a little voice.

Felix took another big, deep breath. “But, if you want me to get the grapes,” he told everyone around him, “I need lots of space!” And with his request, everyone moved far from the grape vine to give him all of the space that he would need. They knew that Flying Felix needed to run to get up in the air!

So, Felix got ready. “I’m faster than a rabbit,” he told himself. “I’m stronger than bear. I’m smarter than an owl. I can do this!” He looked at the tree and the hanging vines that had wrapped around it, and then at the grapes. Then, he started to run. Faster and faster he went, his little paws pounding against the ground as quickly as he could. He was getting closer and closer, and the wand was all around him. He jumped up high into the air, pushing off with his paws and flew' toward the grapes. He got closer and closer. And then he started to fall. He could not reach the grapes! He wasn’t even close!

When Felix’s paw's touched the ground, there were hushed whispers all around him. Everyone was very surprised to see that Felix had missed the grapes!

“That was just a warmup!” Felix announced, and he turned around to look at the grapes. He shook off one leg at a time and then shook his whole body. “I’m faster than a rabbit and stronger than a bear. I’m smarter than an owl, and I can do this!” he told himself again before he started to run. He ran so fast that he could hear his heart beating in his ears and he felt the wind all around him. Then, he jumped again!

Again, he missed the grapes, and again, everyone was talking about him. They looked very worried that Felix would not be able to get the grapes. Felix felt embarrassed. Then, he saw something. He saw that if he ran and jumped on the tree, he could jump off of the tree trunk, kind of like a ball bouncing off of a wall! Then, maybe he could get it!

So, off Felix went again. He started running and running, as fast as his little muscles could, and he jumped! This time, everyone was surprised, for Felix had jumped at the tree instead of at the grapes! Could he not see what he was doing? But, they did not know what Felix’s plan was. Felix kicked off from the tree and flew toward the grapes. He was going even higher this time, and he was so close to the grapes! He opened up his mouth to catch the bunch of grapes and was so close that the grapes tickled his nose! But, again, Felix fell down, down, down, and away from the grapes. Felix landed on his back with a yelp. Now, Felix was very frustrated. He was very embarrassed. And, his back hurt. Felix was done trying. “Oh, forget it!” he shouted out as he turned around. “I don’t need those silly grapes, anyway!” He looked at all of the other animals that had gathered around him. “Don’t bother with them! They’re all sour anyway!” He frowned and huffed and stormed away from the group of people. He didn’t want grapes that weren’t ready!

As Felix ran away, all of the animals seemed surprised. But then, one little bunny spoke up. He hopped over to Bear and in his very quiet little voice, he said, “Excuse me, Mr. Bear?”

Mr. Bear looked down at the bunny.

“Could you please lift me up? I think I can maybe reach the grapes if you hold me up as high as you can!”

Mr. Bear looked at the bunny and then back up at the vine. “You know, little Bunny, I think you’re right!” said Mr. Bear. He smiled at the bunny and held out a very, very big paw. The bunny was so small that he could stand on the whole paw all by himself. Then, Mr. Bear lifted up the bunny, and sure enough, the bunny could reach it! So, the bunny picked off the bunch of grapes and they all shared it with each other while Felix the fox stayed away from everyone. The little bunny had offered Felix a grape too, but the fox shook his head. “I don’t need any sour grapes!” He announced as he ran away as fast as he could to be angry all by himself. And so, all of the other animals shared the most delicious grapes without him.

The Tortoise and The Hare

Once upon a time, in a forest far, far away, there was a great race every year. It happened on the first day of spring, when the new year’s blossoms were just beginning to wake up from their winter snooze, and when the sun was finally thawing out the frozen land. Every year, the fastest animals would all get together and challenge each other to a friendly race. The winner was the one who would get the first apple of the new year when it finally grew, and that was a grand prize, for the first apple of the year was always the sweetest, and they all said that it had good luck.

Every year, everyone always had the chance to join the race if they wanted to. Some animals would join, and others would stay home. Others would watch the race and cheer for their favorites. And every year, no matter who joined the race, Hubert Hare would always win. Hubert was a very fast hare, and he could run faster than anyone in the forest. He knew this, so he would always challenge everyone to beat him. But, because everyone knew that Hubert would win, fewer and fewer animals wanted to try.

One year, when everyone was preparing for spring, Olivia Owl was very busy gathering up the names of everyone that would be participating. She asked every animal if they wanted to race in the spring race, but every single animal said no! No one wanted to race against Hubert because they all knew that he would win, and he was a very sore winner. He would laugh at the losers. He would tell them that they are the worst runners ever, and he would hurt the feelings of everyone involved.

On that year, Olivia Owl talked to Barry the Bear and told him that she did not think that there would be a race. “You know,” said Olivia. “No one wants to race Hubert because he brags too much! They all say that it is no fun and that they do not want to! They would rather spend their day doing something better!”

“If only someone could race better than Hubert!” said Barry. He sighed. But, Barry and Olivia both knew that no one was faster than Hubert and that no one would ever be able to beat such a quick hare, no matter who they were! Hubert was undefeated!

“I can race,” said a slow, old voice. He sounded very slow and very shaky.

Olivia and Barry both turned around, and there, they saw Tommy the Tortoise! He was moving very, very slowly toward them. Both Olivia and Barry had to try very hard not to laugh. A tortoise against a hare? There would be no chance that Tommy could win at all! Everyone knew that tortoises were very slow and that they would never be able to run faster than a hare!

“If no one else is going to race, I will!” Tommy said, very slowly. “I do not want all of the spring fun to be ended because no one wanted to try! I am not afraid of losing.”

“If you say so,” said Barry and Olivia hooted in agreement. But, they needed someone for Hubert to race against, so they had no choice. They would have to let Tommy race, too!

On the days leading up to the race, the word got out very far. There was lots of talk about how a tortoise was going to race against the fastest animal that the forest had ever seen and everyone thought that was very funny. They did not believe that he would be able to win! But, they were willing to watch and see what happened. After all, anything was possible.

The day before the big race, Hubert came up to Tommy. Hubert looked at the old tortoise and laughed. He was very glad to see that the tortoise looked as old as he had sounded! “So, big guy, you think that you can beat me, huh?” asked Hubert. Hubert ran circles around Tommy as fast as he could. “Do you really think you’re faster than me? Look! I can literally run circles around you!” And Hubert was. Hubert could run a circle around Tommy before he could even move his feet quickly enough for just one step. “You’re going down!”

But, Tommy did not care. Tommy just smiled at Hubert and kept on going along without a care in the world. You see, Tommy was too old to care about winning or losing. He was too old to think that only the fastest would win. He knew a very important secret and he w’as sure that his very important secret would be enough for him to figure out how to beat Hubert. And, even if he did lose, he was okay with that, too, for he was not a sore loser.

On the day of the big race, animals came from far and wide to watch. They heard that there was going to be a hare racing a tortoise and they all thought that it sounded so absurd that they had to go and see it. So, just before the race began, there was a lineup of animals as far as the eye could see. They were all lined up along the race path, and they where very interested to see what kind of tortoise would challenge a hare to a race.

Slowly but surely, Tommy meandered to the starting line. The entire time he was making his way there, Hubert was behind him, laughing at him. “Good luck, slowpoke!” Hubert would say with a mean voice. “Don’t worry! I’ll leave you some pieces of apple seeds!” he announced. “I hope you’re ready to eat my dust!

But, Tommy did not care. Tommy did not mind that Hubert was saying all of those mean things because Tommy was taught that words only have power if he thinks that they have power, so he did not listen to Hubert. He knew that mean words were not nice to say.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” cried Olivia, hooting as loudly as she could for all to hear. “I hope you’re ready for a good race! Remember, this is a good, clean, fair race! No kicking or hitting or underhanded tricks! Just running and racing!”

So, Tommy and Hubert stood at the finish line.

“On your marks!” They were ready to go. Hubert was jumping from foot to foot impatiently. “Get set!” Hubert was ready to kick off to run. “Go!” And as soon as Olivia hooted, off Hubert ran!

Before Tommy could even lift his foot off of the ground, Hubert was off! He ran very quickly and reached the finish line in record time! But, he was not ready to win, yet! So, he turned around and returned back to the tortoise. “You know,” said Hubert, “I knew that I would win, but I didn’t know that I’d win before you could get in three steps!” Hubert thought he was hilarious, and he rolled around on the ground, laughing.

Tommy did not listen to Hubert at all. He ignored the hare and smiled as he walked along, humming his own song and not reacting at all. So, Hubert came up with his own game. He decided that he would run to just before the finish line and then go all the way back to Tommy. He wanted to know how many times over he could have beaten Tommy on his own. He was interested in seeing just how quick he could go. So, he went back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. After twenty times, Tommy was not even halfway done with the race yet! So, this continued for most of the afternoon. Tommy would slowly but steadily walk toward the finish line, step by step getting closer, and Hubert would run back and forth.

Soon, Hubert started to feel very sleepy. He was breathing big, deep breaths because he was running so much. He had an idea. If Tommy was as slow as he was, he could just take a nap! So, Hubert ran all the way back to Tommy one more time. “You know,” said Hubert. “You are so slow that I can take a nap and I’ll still beat you!”

Tommy smiled back at Hubert. He did not mind at all. “Good night,” he said politely as he continued to slowly walk away. And sure enough, Hubert walked over to a pile of nice, comfy grass, and curled up. Before Tommy had moved even a few more feet, Hubert was asleep!

Tommy kept on going, and soon, long after Hubert had stopped for a nap, Tommy realized that he could see the finish line! He kept going, step by step, and even though the crowds could see that the tortoise was about to win, no one wanted to cheer, for they did not want to wake up the hare. So, they watched very, very closely and very, very quietly.

But, just before Tommy could cross the finish line, Hubert woke up! Hubert blinked and looked around and realized that the sun was almost set. He had to win the race!! So, off Hubert went. He ran as fast as he could and he had never run faster than he was right that minute. He ran faster and faster.

“Go, Tommy, go!!” animals started to call out. They could see that Hubert was coming quicker and quicker. But, Hubert was not quick enough! Tommy was too close to the finish line!

So, for the first time, Hubert lost and Tommy won. Everyone cheered for him, and Tommy was very proud. Hubert was very angry. He yelled and he screamed and he said that he had gotten to the finish line so many times already that he could not have lost! But, because he never crossed the finish line, he was not the winner.

Tommy smiled at Hubert. “Slow and steady wins the race,” he said.

The Lion and The Mouse

One day, a small mouse was running around throughout a cave. The mouse was trying to be very quiet, for the mouse knew that a big, strong lion lived in the cave. But, the cave was the best place that the mouse could hide from the big falcon that was outside, looking for food. So, the mouse decided to hide in the cave. He was looking for a good place to hide away, knowing that the lion that lived in the cave liked to sleep during the day and was only really awake at night.

So, Mouse kept his paws crossed that this day would be like any other day, and the lion would stay asleep. He knew that he would be able to hide out and be quiet, but he just needed to find a good spot.

As Mouse looked around the cave, he saw a hole in the wall that looked like it would be the perfect hiding place. But, it was right next to the big sleeping lion. With no other choice, Mouse moved closer and closer to the lion. He tiptoed as quietly as he could, using one paw at a time to slowly and steadily creep all the way across the floor of the cave. He was very careful to be quiet, and he did a very, very good job at it.

But, in his sleep, the lion’s tail twitched and landed on the ground next to Mouse. It kicked up a little cloud of dust that tickled Mouse’s nose. Mouse tried very hard not to sneeze, but sure enough, he did. “Ah… Ah… ACHOO!” Mouse rubbed his nose and sniffled before he froze—did he wake up the lion? Sure enough, the lion was looking right at him.

“Eep!” squeaked Mouse and he tried to run all the way into the little hole. But, Lion was faster and Lion put a big, strong paw right onto Mouse’s tail. “Ow! Let me go!” squealed Mouse, trying to pull his tail out from under the lion’s paw.

“Why should I?” asked Lion. “I’m hungry and you woke me up from my nap. Everyone knows that lions are hungry when they wake up, and you woke me up. But, you are right here and I could eat you up and then go back to sleep!”

Mouse looked up at Lion in fright. He didn’t want to be lunch! “I’m sorry, Mr. Lion!” he squeaked. “But please, let me down! I promise I’ll be careful next time!”

The Lion frowned and picked np the mouse in his paw, holding him from his tail. He pulled the mouse closer and closer to his mouth and opened up his big, mighty jaws, and Mouse saw teeth that were bigger than his tail!

“I’m sorry!!” Squealed Mouse. “I’m going to be much more careful! But, why would you want to eat such a little mouse? I would not taste good and I am too small to make you full. Surely, you would be much happier with a worthier meal!”

The lion looked back at Mouse for a moment and seemed to consider it. But then, something happened. Lion put Mouse down. “You know,” he said with a big yawn. “You’re right. You’re not even big enough to be a little snack. Get out of here,” said the lion as he got comfortable on the floor again, stretching out his back.

“Thank you, kind lion!” said Mouse. “I promise I’ll return the favor someday!” And with that said, Mouse ran away.

Lion chuckled to himself. A mouse, save a lion? How absurd!

A month later, Lion went out on a great, big hunt. He went searching for something new to eat, for he was once again, very hungry. As he was hunting a pack of zebras, something horrible happened! As Lion walked underneath a tree, he suddenly found himself wrapped up in a big net that was stuck to the tree! He could not run away, for the rope was too big. He could not scratch or cut through the net either, because the little squares were too small for him to fit a tooth or a claw through. So, Lion was stuck!

Lion roared and roared as he tried to get out. He shook himself, but nothing happened. He tried to run away, but nothing happened. He tried to chew through the net, but again, nothing happened. Angry and stuck, Lion roared again.

But this time, Mouse happened to be nearby. He heard the roar and thought of the Lion that had let him go, not too long ago. “I wonder if that’s Lion…” he wondered out loud. He started to walk away, but then he remembered his promise. “Maybe I should go see if he’s okay,” said Mouse to himself, so off he went.

It did not take very long to find Lion—he was very busy making very big, loud roars that were so frightening that no one wanted to get near him. But, Mouse recognized the little white spot on one of his paws—the very paw that had held him up to eat him—and he knew that it was the same lion.

Mouse did not hesitate at all. He went right up to Lion. “Excuse me!” he squeaked, but Lion did not hear him. Lion was too busy rolling around and trying to get out of the net, but as he tried to get out, he only made himself more and more tangled up, unable to escape.

“EXCUSE ME!” Mouse yelled as loudly as he could, and that seemed to be enough. Lion stopped roaring and fighting the net and turned to look at him. Lion looked very annoyed.

“What are you doing here?” asked Lion. “Go away!” he was very angry and growled at Mouse.

“I think I can help,” said Mouse. He looked at the net. It would take a very, very long time, but Mouse was pretty sure he could chew it up and let Lion out. After all, he owed Lion a debt, and he always repaid his debts.

“Go away!” said Lion. Lion was not happy about being stuck and knew that if he could not break the net, then there was no possible way that a tiny mouse could instead! He knew that there would be no point in trying for the little mouse, for the mouse would never be able to do it anyway! He did not want to get his hopes up, so he tried to push Mouse away. But, he was so tangled up that he could not push away Mouse. He could barely move.

But, Mouse did not want to go away. Mouse wanted to do what he promised, so he walked right over to Lion and began to chew on the net. “Sit still!” he told Lion as he held up the net to his mouth and chewed on it. He was able to chew right through most of it very easily because it fit into his mouth. It was not hard to chew through it all when he could pick it all up! So, he chewed and he chewed. He chewed and chewed some more, until finally, a little piece fell down.

Lion, seeing that this was working, stopped moving so much. He stopped and he waited and he sat as still as he could while the mouse chewed through everything. It took all night, and some of the morning, too, but mouse kept on chewing until he had chewed free the lion.

When the net came loose and fell off. Lion stood up and stretched. He had been stuck like that all night and his body hurt! But, he looked down at the little mouse and realized something. Even though the mouse was so tiny, even he could be very helpful and very useful when it was time to help someone. Even he could really help Lion get out of a trap. Lion could not get through the net, but the mouse could, even if it took a very, very long time to do it. And for that, Lion was very grateful. He grinned down at Mouse.

“It seems the tables have turned,” said Lion as he stretched and bowed to the mouse. “And you have saved me this time, instead. I must say, I did not think that you could do it, but you did!” Lion was very, very surprised that Mouse could do something that he could not. Though Lion could not break the net with his strength, it was Mouse’s small size that allowed him to chew it up and break free.

And just then, the hunters that must have trapped Lion came running to check their net. They saw that Lion was not in the net and they looked very afraid, but Lion did not want to fight anyone. Instead, he picked up Mouse and stuck him atop Lion’s head. “I’ll take you home,” said Lion. “You deserve a break after all that chewing!”