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On a crisp fall afternoon, there was a Fox. And this Fox, just like any other fox, was a very cunning one. For you see the Fox never hunted his own food, no that would be much too troublesome and tiring for him. Instead he would beg for food from travelers or even townspeople. Acting weary or hurt so that he would gain their pity and kindness. Kindness that would usually result in the Fox getting a satisfying snack, or even a hearty meal. But if the Fox were faced with a denial, then he would either steal from their garden, or would wait for their inevitable death and feast upon their rotting corpse.
So on this fall afternoon the Fox was looking for something to eat. He was hungrier than usual as well for you see, he had only been getting morsels of food that would take pity on him. Apparently harvests haven’t been so bountiful this year so every soul is trying to save some food for themselves. ‘How selfish of them.’ The Fox thinks.
But as the Fox was sniffing around for a good meal he saw something odd. He comes upon a quaint cottage in the middle of the forest and sees a very bountiful garden in front of it. This garden had beautiful herbs, only the ripest of fruits and vegetables, and bramble bushes that had bloomed their sweet and succulent berries quite nicely.
The Fox swiftly runs up to the front door of the cottage. ‘Ah! A kind soul must live here! Surely they would spare a poor creature like myself at least a couple berries. They have such a large bounty after all so surely a request like that wouldn’t offend them.’
The Fox sits at the doorstep and scrapes at the door with his paw. Whining and making such a ruckus that would surely get the attention of the person inside. And it does! The door opens and a woman is revealed. She looks down at the fox and scowls at him.
The Fox then puts on his show. He whines and howls and even nurses his paw slightly and says, “Oh my fair lady! Would you kindly spare some food for me from your garden? I have been starving these past couple days for you see, all of the animals have gone to prepare for the winter and the bushes that once gave plentiful berries are now starting to wilt. I haven’t gotten even a single nut! So please give me something and I will leave you be.”
The woman tsks and says, “You are a fox. You should be able to survive on your own just as well as any other wild animal should- even in dire circumstances such as yours. Now go and hunt something for yourself for I have better things to do.”
But before the woman could close the door the Fox yelps once again and says,
“But did you not hear me? There’s nothing for me out there-”
The woman then kneels down and puts her face right in front of the Fox’s and says,
“Yes. There. Is. You just refuse to try and seek it. My garden came from hard work and I refuse to even give a berry from it to you, just because you’re too lazy to find food yourself.”
The woman then stands back up again, still looking down at the Fox. Her scowl has grown.
“Now go be a proper Fox and scavenge your own food.” The door then slams on the Fox as he is left stunned.
The Fox paces around the forest floor. Seething at how the woman treated him.
“That wretched witch! How dare she treat me in such a way! So prideful of herself and her precious garden that she would refuse to even give a single berry to me! Well I’ll show her! I’ll steal each of her precious crops there so that she wished she had just given one to me!”
And so our Fox did just that. He waited until nightfall for the woman to fall asleep and once he saw the last candle within the cottage had finally been snuffed, he made his way into her garden. And the Fox had such a feast! A feast of eggplants, carrots, strawberries, apples even! Each fruit was ripe and fresh and perfect for the Fox. ‘I probably won’t be hungry for weeks after I finish!’ The Fox thought.
The Fox had finished his meal with a content sigh. Belly filled to the brim with all the delicious crops from that garden. But he still wanted to try one last thing, a dessert if you will. As he looked around the farm his eyes landed on the shiny little blackberries that grew on the bramble. Ah! A perfect fit for a last little snack for the Fox. And so the Fox walked over to the bramble bush and started picking off each berry one by one. Each berry being more succulent and sweet than the last. The berries were so delicious in fact, that the Fox didn’t even realize he had picked the entire bush until he ate the last berry. “Oh well at least it was a satisfying meal.”
The Fox was about to leave the farm and rest for the night but he felt this strange wriggling in his stomach. At first he just dismissed it as his stomach being upset from eating too fast but then the wriggling turned into a dull pain. Then that dull pain turned into a stabbing pain. The Fox howled and collapsed onto the ground, the same stabbing pain only getting worse and worse.
It felt like a thousand tiny needles were crawling around inside of him. And then… the most unbelievable thing happened. The Fox saw thorny bramble branches starting to crawl out of his flesh. The thorny branches were piercing through the Fox’s fur, weaving out of his ears, throat, and even eyes. The Fox could only lay there paralyzed as the branches overtook his body. Hearing the branches creak and the squelching of his blood and flesh as the plant sewn in and out of him as if he were a blank tapestry. The last thing that the Fox could feel was the pooling of his own blood beneath him as the shadow of death finally overtook him.
The woman stepped out of the house once the bramble had finally grown. Taking a black berry off of the bush and eating with a self satisfied smile. She then crouched down next to what was once the body of the Fox and said, “You should have wandered away Fox. For I despise a being that consumes one’s own hard work.”