A Tale of Mr. Fox

Welcome to Ada, Michigan, just a little South and East of Grand Rapids, where in the woods, lives a neighborly group of woodland creatures, each one playing an important role in the culture of the wood.  On one particular Autumn day, Mr. Squirrel was out gathering acorns for the long winter ahead, when along came Mr. Fox who craved a little… …conversation….

 

“Hello Mr. Squirrel,” said Mr. Fox.

 

“Hello Mr. Fox,” he replied.

“What are you doing there?”
  

“I’m gathering acorns.  Why do you ask?”

 

“Well, what do you do with all those acorns?  You can’t possibly be eating them all.”

 

“Well, we squirrels do a few things with them.  Right now I’m storing them to save them for later.”

 

“Why not just find them when you need them like Mr. Rabbit does, or like the deer do?”

 

“I just like knowing that I have  enough for the winter before the cold air sets in.”  As Mr. Squirrel finished saying this it occurred to him that Mr. Fox didn’t seem to be doing anything, but was simply gazing rather intently upon him.

 

“Mr. Fox, why aren’t YOU saving up for the long winter months?”

 

“Oh, my food won’t keep though the winter.  Besides, I like my food nice and fresh.”  stated Mr. Fox with a not-so-subtle lick of the chops.

 

“You don’t say,” replied Mr. Squirrel with a little hesitation.

 

“Well, while fresh acorns are the best, I’m still a believer in saving because the winter can be a cruel teacher to those who don’t.  Don’t YOU save for winter Mr. Rabbit?”

 

“Heh, heh, heh!  Are you kidding? I ONLY eat fresh food.  Yes, Sir! Only the best for me and my family.”

 

“But why not save up for the times when food is not so easy to get?”

 

“I eat fresh food because I’m worth it!”

 

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” said Mr. Fox.  “Won’t you join me for a little fresh dinner, Mr. Rabbit?”

 

“Well-gotta-go! Got-carrots-to-eat-you-know!  B-B-Bye”  And with a parting tip of his ear, and a quick show of his cotton tale, Mr. Rabbit was gone.

 

“Mr. Cardinal!  You’re just in time.  Mr. Fox and I were just talking about the need to save up for the winter.  Don’t you save up for the winter months?”

 

“Well, actually, I need to be careful of my weight.  I have to fly to be able to find food and building materials for my home.”

 

“But what do you do for the winter?”

 

“Oh, I go to my summer home in Alabama.”

 

“So Mr. Cardinal, won’t YOU join me for supper?”

 

“Sorry-gotta-fly!  I’ve-got-a-tight-schedule-to-keep,” and with a few flaps of his wings, Mr. Cardinal was out of sight.

 

“So, Mr. Squirrel.  It seems that we’re alone again.  Tell me, what do you do with all your extra acorns?”

 

“I go NUTS, of course!"  After an awkward pause he resumed, "OK, well there’s a few things we can do with those acorns.  Of course, when we squirrels get hungry during the winter, we have a ready-supply of food.”

 

“Yes, yes.  You’ve covered that.  What else?”

 

“Well, in the Spring, as we’re planning on a future family, we can drop some of those acorns onto the ground and let them grow into new oak trees.”

 

“What good is that?  You can’t eat an oak tree, can you?”
 

“No, silly.  Of course I can’t eat an oak tree, but oak trees are where the acorns come from.   By planting more oak trees, there’ll be more acorns to harvest for my growing family.”

 

“A growing family you say.  Sounds interesting.  Tell me, what else do you  do with all those acorns?”  

 

As Mr. Fox asked this, he noticed that there were several other squirrels gathering around him.

 

“They’re helpful for letting others know when they’ve worn out their welcome.”  And Mr. Fox was forced to make a hasty exit under a hail of acorns.