Always and Forever

By:  Alan Durant

     Otter, Mole, Fox and Hare lived together in a house in the woods.  Otter cooked delicious meals.  Mole made and mended.  Hare kept a beautiful garden.
     And  Fox?  He worked harder than anyone, making sure everything ran smoothly.  He was always on hand with a helpful suggestion and an encouraging word.
   
     They were a happy family, and they loved each other dearly.

     But one day, Fox fell ill.  As the leaves started to drop from the trees, Fox grew thin, pale, and sad.
     One morning, he went out alone into the woods and didn't come back.

     His family found him, still and cold, covered in leaves, beneath an oak tree.  With sadness, they carried him home.

     They buried Fox by the light of the moon in his favourite place, under the willow tree.   The tree wept over him.  Otter, Mole, and Hare cried, too, as they said good-bye.

     A wintry sadness settled on the house in the woods.  Fox's family missed him so much. They felt lost without him.
     "He was so wise," said Otter.  'Whenever I had a problem, Fox always gave me good advice."
     "He was so clever, too," said Mole.  "You could ask Fox anything, and he always know the answer."
     "And he was so kind and loving," said Hare.  "He was always there to give you a hug when you needed one."

     Remembering the things they loved about Fox made his family miss him all the more.  Even talking about him made their hearts ache.

     They fell into silence.

     And so it continued, sun and moon, moon and sun.  There was only deep sadness in the house in the woods.
     Snow came and went.  The trees started to turn green once more.

     One afternoon, Squirrel came to visit.  "Where have you been?" she asked.  "Your friends have missed you."
     "We've been too sad to go out," said Mole.
     "We miss Fox too much," said Hare.
     "So do we all," said Squirrel, "but life has to go on."

     "How can it, without Fox?" said Otter, and he started to cry.  Mole and Hare started crying, too.  Squirrel tried to comfort her friends, but they could not be comforted.
      They were very pleased to see Squirrel again, though, so they asked her to stay for dinner.

      Otter cooked a proper meal for the first time in ages.
     "This is delicious," said Squirrel.  She sat back in her chair and smiled. "You know, there's one thing I don't miss about Fox, and that's his cooking.  Do you remember that awful pie he made?"
     "Yes," Otter Said, and he smiled, too, as he remembered Fox's pie.  Th potatoes were barely cooked, and the pastry was burned to a crisp. "Fox was a terrible cook."

     "He was a terrible handyman, too," said Hare.  "Do you remember that time he tried to make a chair?"
     "Yes," said Mole.  The chair had fallen apart the first time Fox sat on it.  They'd all laughed-- especially Fox.
     "And what about the time when you were sick, Hare, and Fox did the weeding?" said Mole.  "He pulled up the carrots by mistake!"

     They all laughed, remember these funny things.  It had been a long time since Otter, Mole, or Hare had laughed.  Before Fox had fallen ill, there had always been laughter in the house.

     "You know," Hare said after a while, "I'm going to make a special garden for Fox under the willow tree."  She smiled.  "I'll plant the carrots there."
     "And I'll build a bench for us to sit on," said Mole.
     "And once a month, I shall cook Fox's potato pie," said Otter.
     "But don't burn it," said Squirrel.
     "I won't," said Otter.

      And that is just what they did.

      They sat together often on Mole's bench, in Hare's garden, full of Otter's pie, recalling happy times.
     As they laughed, they felt they could hear Fox laughing, too, as if he were still there with them.
   
     And in their hearts and their memories and their laughter, Fox was still there, part of their family, beloved friend and companion-- always and forever.



Thank you for helping me build the bench I sit on, for planting and tending the garden, and for filling my belly with memories.  Though this little book was intended for Emily and Lucas (thank you Dagnones), I think it has helped me the most.