"The Fox and the Child" "'My story started one day, by chance, on the way to school." "'I remember it only too well." "I was just 10 years old." "'It was the first time I had seen a fox so close." "'And he hadn't heard me." "He stayed there and I watched him.'" "Don't be afraid, Fox." "Don't be afraid." "'My heart was beating flat out." "'He was so cute." "'For a moment, I thought I might be able to touch him." "'Throughout the day at school, I could only think of the fox at the big beech tree." "'On my return to the place where we met, I was sure I'd find him again." "'I'd decided that" "I would try and tame this fox." "'At that point, I had no idea that it was the beginning of a great adventure.'" "'As autumn advanced, my fox was not to be found." "'My walks had become an obsession." "'I found the forest more and more mysterious" "'Then one evening, I was struck by how small I was in the midst of all that nature." "'I spent my days learning to read, write and add up, 'and yet I was still unable to find the slightest trace of my fox." "'However, he had to be there, somewhere right under my nose.'" "'The snow that night had acted like a magic powder." "'All was there to be seen, the paw prints of rabbits, deer and badgers." "'And then, there in front of me, 'my fox's tracks.'" "# Paw by paw and step by step, who is it that went this way?" "#" "# Paw by paw and step by step, will my little finger say?" "#" "# On his way, the rabbit leaps, with his feet together #" "# Spiky hedgehog crosses hands in any weather #" "# A mark of three twigs in the snow, it's a bird, no, it's a crow #" "# A wild pig with no shoes on makes a cut of four deep holes #" "# Paw by paw and step by step, who is it who went this way?" "#" "# Paw by paw and step by step, will my little finger say?" "#" "# So finely curved is your track, the waltz of a stoat #" "# Two small soles, two small heels, what a fine turn you promote # 'lt was amazing to walk in his steps, he showed another way of getting around." "'He made me cross the same path again and again, 'changing his mind all the time.'" "# Paw by paw and step by step, who is it that went this way?" "#" "# Paw by paw and step by step, will my little finger say?" "#" "# In the snow and in the cold, the fox goes on so bold. #" "# Big bad paws and claws displayed, # # let's hide as the wolf parades #" "'I was stuck home for the rest of winter." "'I was afraid I would lose track of him forever." "'My parents had found me a book on the life of foxes." "'Already, I knew it almost by heart." "I tried to imagine him." "'I was becoming, little by little, like a fox in the middle of winter." "'I had always seen winter as a beautiful season." "'But, for my fox, every day was full of danger." "'The book kept repeating, "Eat and not be eaten."" "'And I repeated to myself," ""Be strong, my fox." "Hold on." "Our paths will cross again."" "'I remember the evening I heard them calling to themselves on the mountain." "'It was terribly cold.'" "'It was the end of winter, the time of year when they pair off.'" "'Somebody had told me their courtship was a strange mix of love and war.'" "'Their cries sounded like the shriek of witches.'" "'My thoughts lingered on my fox." "'Out there, amidst the shadows and stars, 'he lived in his kingdom.'" "'Spring was not far off, but I was worried about my fox." "'There was a big campaign in the area to get rid of them." "'Anything and everything would be used." "Poison, traps, guns." "'Some people thought them pests." "'But I found them beautiful and fascinating." "'But my opinion didn't count.'" "'I was free again, after two months indoors." "'I was mad with joy." "'I took up the tracks of my fox." "'My father had told me how to find their dens." "'I just had to be careful to not get too near to them." "'Foxes don't like it when you get too close to their homes.'" "Oh, no!" "'But I only found empty dens, or even worse, blocked ones." "'It would seem that the war between man and the fox will never end.'" "Anyone there?" "Oh, Fox?" "Oh, Fox?" "'So this was where my fox lived." "'I was so happy again." "Now I'd found him, I wanted to see him.'" "Wait!" "Wait!" "'My fox was a vixen, and she'd given birth to cubs." "'She was moving them to another hiding place." "'She'd heard me." "Why wasn't I more careful?" "'" "'I knew she couldn't have gone very far with her little ones." "'So I climbed up into the big beech to keep an eye on the valley below." "'I had seen her here once before, surely I'd see her again." "'I was happy to wait until she appeared.'" "'I was beginning to doubt my patience, when an idea came from nowhere, on four paws." "'If my sandwich could attract a hedgehog, it could do the same to a fox.'" "Psst!" "Go away!" "Hey!" "Go now!" "Hey, come here! Don't be afraid." "Come!" "Why are you going so soon?" "Wait!" "You'll come back, won't you?" "Yes!" "'Days came and went, but my fox didn't come back." "'I didn't want her to forget me." "'Every day, I went to the tree to let her know that I was still there, waiting for her.'" "'It was now two weeks since I had seen any sign of her." "'It was quite a lonely time." "'I asked the old trees to keep an eye out for me." "'These old boys must see everything from high up in their branches." "'But they're not very talkative.'" "You're not going again?" "'I had just made a giant step, and I had to follow her." "'I didn't really know where I was going, but that wasn't important." "I didn't want to lose her." "'The old grouch of the mountains." "'No one had seen him for years, but I had." "'I never told my parents about it." "'More and more I felt I had to find her again." "'I had the whole holiday ahead of me." "'I learned to be patient." "'Sometimes many days went by before I saw her again." "'I loved waiting for her." "'Little by little, I earned the right to get closer." "'There was no question of stroking her." "'But it wasn't wrong to try.'" "Come on, come here." "Here, look, it's for you." "Come here." "No!" "Come back here!" "Look!" "Here." "Hey!" "'You unpredictable fox!" "'I loved the feeling I had when she appeared like that, by surprise, 'as if she had always been there." "'It was exciting to go deep into the forest with her." "'It had the scent of adventure." "'It's funny." "At times she would wait as if I wasn't going quickly enough for her." "'One day, I followed her to the giant's footprints." "'That was really something special," "I shouldn't have been there.'" "'Every child knew it was the most forbidden place imaginable.' Wow!" "Oh, no, Fox!" "I wasn't making fun of you!" "Oh, Fox?" "'I never imagined that a fox could sulk, but sulk she did." "'It was sweet." "'It inspired me to give her a name, which came to me out of the blue.'" "Titou." "Titou!" "'Titou... it was cute, especially for someone so moody.'" "Look!" "Look!" "Look!" "Is that you there?" "You knew it would rain?" "How did you know that?" "Titou!" "It's not the first time you've come here." "Do you know many places like this?" "Fox, this isn't funny!" "I want to get out of here." "Stop!" "Stop!" "Everyone stop!" "Lila! Mum!" "Over here!" "Dad!" "'As a punishment for my escapade," "I wasn't allowed out for a week." "'My parents had been more afraid than me." "'I never stopped thinking of Titou." "Pictures of her were constantly running through my mind." "'I enjoyed reliving the moments we had shared together." "'I wanted so much to find her again.'" "My beautiful Titou, you haven't forgotten me." "I'm so excited to see you again!" "Oh, it has been so long since I last saw you." "You missed me?" "I missed you, yes." "Hey, wait!" "Where are we going?" "'I liked watching her." "'I wondered what she liked, 'if she was happy to be with me." "'If she liked flowers." "'If she saw things in the same colours as I did.'" "Titou!" "Come over here! 'She was always alert, always checking around her.'" "Come on!" "That's it." "Come here!" "'There was always a moment on our outings, when I felt she wanted to leave." "'Usually, I was right." "And seconds later, she'd disappear.'" "Where are you going?" "What's wrong?" "Wait for me!" "Go away!" "Go!" "'I dreamt of wolves all through the night 'and wondered if I would see her again." "'But there she was, more playful than ever.'" "Titou." "Come." "'The fox cubs didn't take long to adopt me." "It was extraordinary." "'The summer days flew by without me noticing.'" "Come on." "Look, you shouldn't be afraid." "This is where I live with my parents." "That's my house, over there." "It looks funny, doesn't it?" "And that's my father driving his car home." "Here, boy." "Come on, boy!" "Dinner time!" "And that means supper's ready." "Away." "All right, see you tomorrow." "'I was so happy." "I felt, at last, we had become real friends." "'She was so excited when we met again." "She put on a show for me." "'I knew she was happy to see me." "'At that moment, I felt that I really understood her." "'She was my secret.'" "Come on!" "Let's have a race." "Last one there is a rotten egg!" "Hurry!" "I win!" "You're the rotten egg!" "Titou, here." "Don't be afraid." "Look, it's a fire." "Good, let's go and play something." "Let's say it's winter, and there's snow and you come to my house to get warm." "Shall we play?" "So we'll pretend we've come to the land of fairies, and we have to live somewhere." "There's the walls." "Good." "And this is our house." "This is my chair." "And this here is the door." "Are you coming in?" "Hey, stay still!" "Let's pretend this is your collar." "Is that OK?" "Come on!" "Er, you just hit your head against the wall." "So we'll say you were waiting for me, while I went for mushrooms in the forest." "Good." "Now, you can't keep running off." "Listen!" "Hey!" "Sit down!" "Sit down!" "Hey, stop!" "Come back here right now, or I won't be your friend!" "'It upset me to see her run off like that, in the middle of our game." "'As usual, I had to wait until she wanted to come back." "'It would have been nice if she had listened to me for once." "Oh, there you are, Titou." "Are you still upset?" "Titou, Titou!" "Titou, Titou, Titou!" "You're not angry with me any more?" "Come on, I'll let you see my bedroom." "Titou, Titou!" "What are you doing?" "Titou!" "Come on." "Come in!" "You see, I have my own den." "Do you like my bedroom?" "Let's play hide and seek." "Where are you?" "I saw you." "What are you doing?" "Stop!" "No!" "Wake up, Titou, wake up." "Please get better." "You can't do this now." "What will I do, then?" "I promise you, I'll never do anything you don't like." "We'll play the games you choose." "Titou?" "My head was spinning." "I didn't know what to do." "Should I look for her or go home and wait?" "'It was in that moment I realized that the fox did't need words to understand me." "I felt she had learned me something important." "She had trusted me." "'It was then that I understood, why foxes always flee when they see us." "'They have known for a very long time that we could never truly be friends." "Why did you leave?" "'It wasn't by keeping her that she would remain mine." "Understand?" "'I'd confused possession for love." "It's big words." "What I liked was that the fox wasen't something cuddly,   or a pet, What I loved was the excitement of the wait." " You understand?" " Yes." "'I called to her, sometimes." "Did you see her again?" "Often, the whole summer, sometimes she answered me." "Sometimes, she answered me, sometimes not." "'But I was never to see her again." "Why not?" "Maybe she understood something." "'Maybe she didn't want to see me anymore." "'Maybe she had been called somewhere else by the forest." "She loved you too." "Do you think so?" "Yes." "Really?" "Like that." "Fall asleep now."