Everyone and Everything

by William Forde

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  ‘Sleezy the Fox’

  (Everyone needs a second chance; sometimes)

  Many, many years ago in a country called Transylvania, there were a great many angry farmers and the cause of their anger was a very clever fox called Sleezy.

  Every night when the farmers had finished their day's work, they’d put their cows in the cowshed, their chickens in coop and their sheep in the pen.

  Every morning when they went out to start their day's work, one of their chickens had been stolen or one of their sheep had been killed. The only trace of the intruder was a set of fox's footprints in the ground.

  All the farmers tried to catch the clever fox, but they all failed. Whatever kind of trap they set to catch the clever fox, he always proved too clever for them.

  One farmer dug a deep pit outside the chicken coop and covered it with twigs and leaves, but in the morning the trap was undisturbed and another feathered chicken had been stolen. Another farmer hid inside the chicken coop all night long, armed with a shot gun, but must have fallen asleep. When he woke up the following morning, he found a note fastened on a piece of string around his neck that read: "Thank you for my chicken dinner. See you again soon." Sleezy the Fox.

  One by one, the clever fox stole chickens from every farm in the village, and try as they may, none of the farmers were clever enough to catch him.

  One day, all the farmers decided that they’d had enough of this fox so they held a meeting in the Grand Hall to decide what they were going to do about this clever chicken thief and sheep killer.

  All the farmers in the village attended this meeting and after much talking and thinking, they decided to put a reward up for anyone who caught ‘Sleezy the Fox’.

  The notice was placed on every post around the village and before long everyone around had read it. It said:

  "500 crowns for anyone who catches ‘Sleezy the Fox’, dead or alive."

  This was a large amount of money and before very long, every farmer and hunter in the surrounding villages were out looking for Sleezy; hoping to catch him and make their fortune.

  The reward notice was read by Farmer Hans, a poor but kind farmer who had recently come to Transylvania with his wife and seven children.

  Farmer Hans read the note and thought, "If only I could catch this fox alive, I could claim the reward and have enough money to buy some more cows, sheep and chickens for my small farm."

  Now Farmer Hans was a poor man, but he was a very wise man who knew a great deal about foxes. In the country where he’d been born, there were many foxes and many clever ways of catching them.

  He realised though, that Sleezy was no ordinary fox and was probably the cleverest foxes in the whole wide world.

  The very next day, Farmer hands told all the other farmers that it was his intention to catch ‘Sleezy the Fox’ for them and to claim the 500 crowns reward.

  All the other farmers laughed and said, "What chance has a stranger of catching this clever fox, when we, who have farmed these fields all of our lives have been unable to catch him?"

  The more they laughed Farmer Hans, the more determined he became to catch ‘Sleezy the Fox’. He told the other farmers that he would return within the week with Sleezy and claim his reward.

  That night, Farmer Hans thought about different ways of catching this clever fox alive and eventually he decided upon his best plan.

  The next day he moved the chicken co-op away from the farmhouse and placed in the middle of the field where all his sheep grazed.

  When the farmers heard of what Farmer Hans had done they laughed and laughed. "If Farmer Hans leaves that chicken coop out in the middle of the field tonight," said one of the farmers, "all of his chickens will be stolen by the morning!"

  "Everyone knows that chicken coops should be near the farmhouse," said another, "not in the middle of an open field where a prowling fox can get to them easily."

  Farmer Hans simply ignored their laughter and continued moving the chicken coop into the middle of the field.

  That night, after supper when the children had been put to bed, Farmer Hans prepared to catch the clever fox.

  He went to a large old trunk, opened it and took up the hide of a sheep, which he had planned to turn into a rug at home at some future date. He carried the hide to the field where his seven sheep grazed and placed it over his head and around his shoulders, before lying down on the ground amongst the sheep.

  The night got darker and as the moon shone down on the field, the shadow of a fox appeared. Sleezy stopped at the edge of the field and looked around. He quickly noticed the chicken coop in the middle of the field and counted eight sheep fast asleep nearby. There wasn't a farmer in sight. Sleezy sneaked through the fence and slowly made his way very quietly towards the chicken coop.

  Sleezy sneaked past the sleeping sleep, one by one, ever so quietly: one – two – three – four – five – six – seven and eight. As he passed the eighth sheep, he could smell the feathered chickens. Then he began to think about all the chicken dinners he would be able to eat next week.

  Just then, Farmer Hans rose up ever so slowly and ever so quietly and before Sleezy knew what had happened, Farmer Hans slipped a big sack over the fox's head and body and quickly pulled the cord tight.

  He had caught ‘Sleezy the Fox’ and had not lost one chicken in doing so!

  The very next day, Farmer Hans walked into the village and rang the bell in the Village Square to summon all the villagers and farmers. When everyone heard the village bell ring out, they knew that someone had some very important news to tell them, so they hurried to the square.

  When all the villagers and farmers had assembled in the square, Farmer Hans held up the wriggling sack and said, "Here is Sleezy the Fox whom I caught. I claim the 500 crowns reward."

  Upon hearing these words, everyone cheered and came forward to pat Farmer Hans on the back. Sleezy was then placed in an iron-barred cage, which was securely locked.

  There was much celebration in the village during the next three days and everyone spoke about Farmer Hans as though he had always lived there. Even those farmers, who had previously laughed at him, had to admit that he had been cleverer than they had been

  When the celebrations were over, a meeting was held in the Grand Hall to decide what they were going to do with ‘Sleezy the Fox’.

  Everyone was present at this meeting, including Farmer Hans. Sleezy’s iron-barred cage was placed in the centre of the Grand Hall whilst the villagers and farmers decided his fate.

  The Mayor of the Village asked, "What shall we do with Sleezy?"

  "Kill the chicken thief," yelled one farmer.

  "Boil him in a pot," shouted another villager.

  "Cut him up and feed him to the dogs," said another.

  One by one, all the villagers and farmers had their say. As each one spoke, Sleezy became very frightened. Then Sleezy began to wish he had never seen a feathered chicken in his life. He hung his head very low in shame and started to cry. As he did so, Farmer Hans, who had not yet spoken, looked across at Sleezy and he saw a teardrop fall from the fox’s eyes.

  The gentle farmer began to feel sorry for the poor fox that he had so cleverly caught, and the more he heard the other villagers talk about which way they wanted to kill Sleezy, the more he knew that the fox ought not to die.

  When all the villagers and farmers had spoken, the Mayor, realising that Farmer Hans had not yet said anything, asked, "What do you say we do with the fox, Farmer Hans?"

  The other people assemble said, "Let us hear what Farmer Hans has to say. After all, he was the one who caught the fox. He ought to be the one to decide the fate of the fox."

  The Grand Hall fell silent and everyone waited for what Farmer Hans had to say.

  Farmer Hans came to the front of the Grand Hall where everyone could see him and he stood upon a large, wooden barrel, so everyone could hear him.

  "It seems to me," said the gentle farmer, "that human beings ought
to be wiser and more humane than foxes."

  "What do you mean?" asked a big bully farmer who had lost four chickens to Sleezy’s midnight prowls. "He killed four my best chickens, so why shouldn't he die?"

  Farmer Hans continued, "It seems to me that the fox only did what any wild fox would do when he got hungry. Killing chickens for a wild fox is only natural. He has never been taught to do anything else."

  All the villagers and farmers listened attentively to what Farmer Hans was saying.

  "But it is not natural," said Farmer Hans, "for human beings to kill in anger or revenge. Haven't we been taught better than this caged fox?"

  "But....... what shall we do with the fox if we don't kill him?" asked one villager.

  "If we let him go free, he will only continue to kill more of our chickens," said another.

  "I shall teach him not to kill chickens, sheep or cows." said Farmer Hans.

  "But you can't teach a fox not to kill chickens," the big bully farmer laughed out loud.

  "I remember how you laughed at me before," said Farmer Hans, "when I told you I would catch the fox and again when I moved the chicken coop into the middle of the grazing field."

  The farmers stop laughing and thought awhile before one of them said, "You're right, Farmer Hans. Perhaps a man like you who was clever enough to catch this clever fox is clever enough to be able to teach him not to kill chickens."

  So the life of Sleezy was spared. Sleezy went to work for Farmer Hans and the gentle farmer trusted Sleezy to guard his flock of sheep. Sleezy became the only ‘Sheep Fox’ in the whole of Transylvania. He never killed another chicken, sheep or cow again, and each day when his work was done, he would be given a nice, warm meal in the barn where he slept.

  On a night time before he went to sleep, Sleezy would often think how close he came to being killed and he felt very glad to have been given ‘a second chance’ by the kind Farmer Hans.

  Living with kind Farmer Hans over the years naturally led to Sleezy becoming kinder himself, and as time passed, ‘Sleezy the Sheep Fox’ grew to love his master and the flock of sheep he protected daily. In time, even the chickens grew to trust the fox, who was now allowed to collect their eggs from the chicken co-ops in a basket every morning.

  If ever you go to Transylvania and happen to see a fox on a farm chasing sheep and going into the chicken coop with a basket and his mouth, don't shoot him, because it might be Sleezy, the cleverest fox in the whole wide world.

  I'm glad that "Sleezy the Fox" was given a second chance. Aren’t you?

  The end

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