Once upon a time there was a city in the middle of the forest, where an old man and a boy named Fadhel lived. One night they went to the forest where the old man was telling stories to Fadhel and one of these stories was about a fox. It was a frightening tale, when suddenly they heard a strange sound, but didn’t pay it any attention.
The old man continued to tell his story, describing the fox’s smaller compact shape, its long ears and the keen eyes of a predator that glow in the dark of the night. Fadhel’s facial expressions showed fear but the old man didn’t stop describing the fox.
After a while they saw something light up around them but the old man continued talking. Fadhel discovered that he wanted to meet some foxes and was surprised when some showed up. Fadhel hid behind the man as he noted the differences in the Arabian foxes from the red foxes he’d seen on the nature channel.
As he was hiding, the old man’s features began to change into a fox. Fadhel was so frightened and began to cry. The old man turned around and was a fox. He went and attacked the other foxes, chasing them away. The old man then changed form again, back to his old self. Fadhel was so frightened he wanted to run away. But the old man stopped him and said, “don’t be afraid my boy, I will tell you the truth.” And started to tell him his life story.
“When I was a child, my father brought me to the forest to hunt deer. When we arrived to the forest, my father fought with one of the foxes and was eaten in front of me and I couldn’t do anything but cry.
I ran away in rage, wishing to become a fox, to take revenge on the animal that killed my father. The Lord responded to my wish. I could turn into a powerful fox,” said the old man.
“Fadhel it’s a strange story but life is okay now that my wish has come true. People call me Abu Al Les, because I have the same name as that fighting spirit that never gave up.”
WRITER: Fatima Fadhel Saqer Fadhel Al Mehairbi
ILLUSTRATOR: Khulood Ghuloom Mohamed Hassan Al Janahi
