The Midnight Foxes

by Sarah Lean

  No, unfortunately – or was it fortunately? – they hadn’t.

  “Do you like foxes?” Tiger asked nervously.

  “Foxes are a nuisance,” said Henry gruffly. “They steal things from our bin at home and make a mess with the rubbish all over the lawn.”

  Tiger squeezed her mouth tight, feeling quite protective about Holly’s friend, the fox.

  “We’re very sorry to tell you,” said Tom, seeing Tiger about to get upset, “a fox stole your lunch.”

  “The fox didn’t know that it was stealing, or that eggs and socks and sandwiches belong to other people!” said Tiger hurriedly.

  “We made you another lunch,” Tom added.

  The children waited to see what Henry would say now.

  “Maybe I’ve been lucky to have my lunch taken,” said Henry, enjoying the treats the children had made.

  James agreed, saying, “This is a much better lunch than the one we prepared. The fox is also lucky to have you to defend it.”

  May Days smiled brightly at the children.

  “We’re going to protect the fox from the Staring Oat,” said Tiger bravely.

  “We’d better go now,” said Tom hurriedly. “We’ve got a den to stake out. The Staring Oat might be coming back any minute.”

  The stakeout at the Staring Oat Shed was as boring as staking out Mr and Mrs Cox’s eggs. Nothing to do but be still and quiet, camouflaged by grasses sticking out of their hats, lying on their fronts and waiting. Holly was much better at it than the children as she curled up and snoozed in the dry grass beside them. They didn’t see the Staring Oat or the fox at all. Feeling disappointed that they had no leads, Tiger and Tom trudged back to their grandparents’ houses.

  May Days’ little red keepsake box was open on the kitchen table in front of her. She asked Tiger to sit beside her as she had something to show her.

  “I didn’t know today was a special day,” said Tiger, “because I haven’t found out what the other important discovery is yet.”

  “It certainly was a special day. Today my granddaughter learned that foxes can’t help being foxes, no matter what people think of them.”

  Without letting Tiger look inside, May Days pulled out something small and put it in Tiger’s hand. Made from silver, it was a tiny tiger charm from a bracelet.

  Tiger peered at the miniature version of her favourite animal and felt lucky to be holding it.

  “Your parents bought that for me when you were born as I was so far away in Africa and missed the whole special event of you arriving in the world,” May Days said. “I didn’t get to see you, but I had this to remind me of you.”

  Tiger would have liked to wear the charm herself, but it was her grandmother’s special thing, and she gave it back, now warmed from her own hands.

  “Are there more things in your box?” Tiger asked.

  “There are,” smiled May Days, “but I’ll share those with you another special day.”

  Perhaps it had been a surprising day more than anything. Foxes were surprising, and so was Holly, and Staring Oats were more difficult to find than both of them. Just before Tiger got into bed, Holly took off, running down the garden into the night, instead of curling up on Tiger’s feet like a furry hot-water bottle.

  “It’s bedtime!” Tiger called after Holly, disappointed she didn’t stay. “We’ve finished playing for the day.” Had Holly gone to say goodnight to the fox? Would they be safe from the Staring Oat?

  Tiger tried not to worry and instead thought about the other discovery still to make about the fox. She wrote a note to Tom saying she thought they still didn’t know enough about foxes and sent it to him on the Peg-Bag-Pulley.

  Two minutes later a note came tinkling back.

  Don’t worry! Detective Tom is already on the case!

  Tiger smiled – she could always rely on Tom to help.

  The clanking and clumping of the builders’ boots on the ladders and scaffolding woke Tiger. Holly was asleep on Tiger’s feet, although Tiger hadn’t noticed her come back during the night.

  Tiger got up and Holly lazily opened her eyes but then went back to sleep, waving her tail and then curling it round her paws, still damp from the night dew.

  Tiger put on her wellies and detective hat and crept across the grass. There were no sandwiches on the windowsill and the fox wasn’t about, but someone whispered her name.

  “Detective Tiger?” said James the builder, as quietly as he could from the top of the scaffolding. “I can see the fox from here!”

  Still in her pyjamas, Tiger went to the Peg-Bag-Pulley and sent a note ringing at the other end of the line.

  James was still up on the roof, pointing in the direction they should take, when Tom appeared in pyjamas and detective raincoat. Tiger and Tom crept swiftly and quietly towards the Staring Oat Shed, but were only just in time to see the white tip of the fox’s tail disappearing through the grasses and then into its den.

  James was waiting for the children when they came back. He’d been watching the fox from the rooftop for a little while. He had a good view of the den from the roof and it was far enough away so that the fox didn’t know it was being watched. James did like foxes, even though his dad wasn’t so sure.

  “But it’s not fair,” said Tiger. “If we’re not allowed up on the roof, we can’t stake out the Staring Oat Shed, and we’ll keep missing the fox.”

  Over breakfast Tiger and Tom tried to think of ways to convince the builders, Mays Days and Grumps to let them up on the roof too. May Days plopped a boiled egg and a slice of toast on to their plates and said that the rules were there for a good reason and that a building site was a dangerous place for children.

  Tom frowned. Nothing seemed to be going his way: no office, no good sightings of the fox, no Staring Oat to defeat, and he had now begun to feel tired and unwell. His throat and head hurt and his nose was running.

  Grumps came to collect him, although Tom was unhappy to go.

  “It’s only a cold and if you rest and take some medicine you will probably be well enough to join in again soon,” Grumps said firmly.

  “I really want to find out where the Staring Oat is, and to see the fox again,” said Tom, looking sadder than Tiger had ever seen him before. He let out a big sigh as Grumps took him home to rest.

  Tiger felt bad for Tom and sat quietly at the table doing a lot of important thinking. Suddenly she had a bright idea that might solve all the things Tom was disappointed about at once.

  “What about if we build a high-up detective office instead!” she said, and cracked the top of her egg with a teaspoon.

  They would need everybody’s help.

  May Days thought it was a brilliant idea and chose a suitable wide-spreading oak tree in the garden.

  Tiger drew a treehouse den and then showed her plan to the builders and politely asked if they had any spare scaffolding planks that she could borrow.

  The two builders looked at the design and said they had enough spare pieces and would build it in no time at all during their lunch break and after work.

  Tiger and May Days called at Grumps’s house that evening. May Days gave Tom a bunch of grapes and Tiger gave him a puzzle book and some cards to play with. Tiger tried to show Tom how to play Patience. After only one afternoon, Tom was already going crazy stuck in his room.

  “How will we know if the Staring Oat comes back?” asked Tom. “What about protecting the fox?” Tom was impatient to be outside, detecting again.

  “The Staring Oat is lucky you’re unwell,” said Tiger to make him feel better, “otherwise you would definitely defeat it.”

  Tom wanted to get out of bed.

  “Tom! You’d better not get up,” said Tiger, who didn’t want to spoil the treehouse surprise until it was completely finished.

  With a firm voice, Grumps said, “Back into bed, young man. Quiet and rest. Those are the rules.”

  “Rules are boring,” said Tom. His eyes were watery and his nose red. Perhaps he was
n’t quite up to doing what he thought he could do, and suddenly he felt very sleepy.

  “Get better soon, Tom,” said Tiger.

  It had been a long day for Tiger building the treehouse, which had safety ropes all round it and a strong wooden floor that she’d helped to nail down. Tiger had promised to be very careful and grown-up when in the treehouse so, after she’d helped to fix the wooden ladder, she was allowed to be the first to climb up and look out at the great unexplored garden. It felt wonderful to see the view of the Staring Oat Shed from between the branches, but would feel even more special when Tom felt better and was standing next to her.

  Back in the tent and nearly time for bed, May Days had her red box with her.

  “I had some special friends in Africa,” she said, opening the lid. “They gave me these beads when I left.”

  May Days pulled out strings of coloured beads and placed them over Tiger’s head. The colours were joyful and bright. Sometimes when she missed her life back on the wildlife reserve in Africa, May Days would wear the beads and it would remind her of happy days with old friends.

  “But it wasn’t a special day today, Tiger. “It was a feeling-a-bit-lost-without-my-friend-Tom day.”

  “You’ve been a good friend to Tom,” said May Days, “and that made it special.”

  Tiger swished the beads and they tickled as they rolled across her neck. She wanted to make sure the fox and Holly were safe from the Staring Oat, hoping Tom would get better soon so they could watch out for them from their new high-up detective office.

  “I want to be the fox’s friend too,” said Tiger very thoughtfully.

  May Days said she was very proud of Tiger for saying this. “Is there anything else in the box to show me?” Tiger asked.

  “Just one more thing,” May Days chuckled.

  Tiger was determined to make tomorrow the most special day of all. Tiger was allowed to wear the joyous beads for a little longer before returning them to May Days to keep safely in her red box.

  The next morning Grumps told Tiger that Tom still needed to stay resting in bed for the day.

  The builders would finish rebuilding the chimney stacks by the following day, and once they were done, they would take all the scaffolding away again. That included the pieces borrowed for the treehouse. There wasn’t much time.

  Tiger was more determined than ever to make sure she and Tom could protect their friends, Holly and the fox. She wrote a list of the things she and Tom would need for a very special stakeout. She wrote a note for Tom and was about to send it to him on the Peg-Bag-Pulley when she noticed there was already a note waiting for her.

  Tiger smiled to herself. Not everyone slept at the same time and that must be the reason Holly didn’t stay on the camp bed at night, and why she was sleepy in the daytime. Maybe the Staring Oat only came out at night too! Tiger put her own note in the Peg-Bag-Pulley, asking Tom to follow some rules she had made for him. They were good rules to help him get well:

  She signed it with a tiny tiger picture, coloured in with a silver pencil, just like the charm from May Days’ bracelet.

  A little later, she went to see Grumps again, who was tiptoeing around the house so that he didn’t disturb Tom.

  “Do you think Tom will be well enough to come out this evening, just for a little while?” Tiger whispered.

  “Perhaps, but I don’t think he’ll be able to do too much,” whispered Grumps.

  “He doesn’t have to do anything except watch. It’s a night-time stakeout,” giggled Tiger. “You and May Days have to come too.”

  In more whispers, she asked Grumps if he would help her make a toy from an old tiger-print sock. She’d stuffed it with some dry grass but didn’t know how to sew it closed.

  “What is it for?” whispered Grumps.

  “For a new friend,” said Tiger.

  While Grumps sewed up the ends of the sock, also darning tiger eyes and whiskers on the toe, Tiger heard the quiet snores of Tom healing in his sleep in the bedroom down the hall. There was so much to do, but Tiger had only her friends in mind, and that really did make it feel like the most special day for her too.

  “Wakey, wakey, Detective Holly, you are going to have to be my detective partner today,” Tiger said. “I’m not going on my own.” Holly stretched and yawned and jumped off the camp bed and Tiger hopped on the tricycle with a box of cat biscuits and the sock toy in the basket.

  Holly and Tiger went down towards the Staring Oat Shed. When they were quite close, Tiger got off the tricycle and crouched down, scared at being so close to the monster’s den without Tom by her side. Still thinking of her friend, and with Holly tucked under one arm, she stepped out into the clearing, scattering the biscuits and sock toy, before jumping back on the tricycle and cycling away at speed.

  There was still lots of work to do in the treehouse too …

  The sun dipped behind the trees that evening and left the sky dark blue. Tom was sitting up in bed, bored stiff from having to be indoors all day, when Tiger arrived wearing pyjamas and a dressing gown, and her detective hat and badge.

  “Did you follow my rules?” Tiger said.

  “I did, and I feel much better now,” said Tom.

  “Your PET detective taxi is here to take you somewhere special,” said Tiger.

  Tom was thrilled and excited, as he hadn’t expected to be able to go outside. He almost leapt from the bed before Grumps slowed him down. Wrapped in his warm dressing gown and wearing the detective raincoat and hat, Tom was shown to the tricycle that now had a cushion in the bottom of the big wicker basket.

  “Climb in!” said Tiger.

  With Tom’s legs hanging out, Tiger pedalled and Grumps helped to push. Out of the front gate they went, and down the lane to Willowgate.

  A lantern burned brightly on the gatepost.

  “We have to be very quiet, Tom,” said Tiger. “This is the most important rule.” He said he’d try his best.

  More lanterns and candles lit a path to the treehouse. Tiger had made it into a comfy den for them all, spread with blankets and pillows against the trunk so Tom could lie back. There were snacks and flasks of hot chocolate, and Holly and May Days were waiting for them for their evening stakeout.

  The night drew in and the moon rose. They were now high enough to look right over the overgrown jungle garden to the clearing in front of the shed.

  Nobody found it boring staking out the Staring Oat Shed, warmed by hot chocolate dropping the binoculars from his nose.

  “S-S-Staring Oat!” he spluttered, trying not to make too much noise. “I just saw it under the shed!”

  Alarmed for the fox, Tiger grabbed the binoculars. Huge, glowing, bright green eyes reflected the moon and lamplight like mirrors. Tiger lowered the binoculars and now the glowing eyes seemed much smaller.

  “The binoculars magnify the eyes, Tom!” Had Tom jumped to another conclusion all that time ago? Tiger handed the binoculars back to Tom, hoping that he would solve this case himself. What else had glow-in-the-dark eyes?

  “Wait a minute!” whispered Tom, as just then he spotted two triangle ears, a black shiny nose and the orange fur round the eyes. “It’s not the Staring Oat’s eyes, it’s the fox’s!”

  Holly suddenly turned tail, bouncing carefully down the wooden ladder steps and disappeared into the bushes. As everyone’s eyes grew accustomed to the dim light, they too could make out the triangular shapes of the fox’s ears and nose, as it pawed at the ground to find the biscuits in the grass.

  “I think we’ve found the real Staring Oat!” giggled Tiger.

  The fox found the sock toy, sniffed it, picked it up in its mouth and then dropped it again, just outside the den. Everyone stayed very still and quiet, but suddenly Holly jumped out of the grass to play hide-and-seek with the fox again. Holly was so lucky to be a cat and get so close.

  Tiger and Tom gasped in amazement. What else could they see?

  Two more triangular noses followed by four glowing eyes and eight more
paws, came out from under the shed. Two fox cubs!

  Tiger and Tom had to stop themselves from shrieking with delight and stay quiet. They felt very fortunate to see what they could see.

  Soon growing confident, the fox cubs trotted out of the shadows and picked up each end of the sock toy, pulling it and pouncing around. Their fur looked softer and fluffier and they were a much rounder shape than the mother fox.

  Tiger wished she could be close enough to touch them as they rolled and tumbled over each other, diving, leaping, bounding and ambushing one another.

  Nobody in the tree den needed to ask each other to be quiet or stay still now as they were all mesmerised by the fox cubs and their mother and a white cat, playing in the light of the moon and lamps. There was nothing to say and only joy to feel at what they had all discovered together.

  Tom was leaving to go home before Tiger. He was looking forward to telling his friends back at school about his stay at Grumps’s house, how he’d found a dinosaur egg, defeated a monster and discovered a family of foxes.

  “The fox cubs will have grown up by the time it’s summer holidays and they’ll leave home and go and find their own dens somewhere else,” said Tom. He’d learned a lot about foxes and shared what he knew. “Then we can find out what it’s really like inside the shed!”

  Tiger wasn’t sure if it should be a detective office now all their cases were solved. Perhaps they’d wait and see what new adventure they might have the next time they saw each other. Tiger and Tom said a hundred goodbyes and Tiger waved with Grumps from his gate.

  Tiger was in the garden with Holly when May Days came to find her.

  “I have one last thing to show you before you go home,” she said.

  The last keepsake in the little red wooden box.