Charlotte Hudson, age 11
Amelia wanted it to snow more than anything: a white blanket covering the hills, the moors and the woods (her favourite place to be). Then suddenly, her dream came true! Thank goodness it was the Christmas holidays otherwise she would be skipping school just to play all day in the snowy woods. Amelia rushed upstairs after breakfast, eager to throw snowballs at her brother. As soon as they were there, Jake (her brother) was already rolling up snowballs to make the base of a snowman.
Snap!
They turned to the direction of a snapping twig. Amelia and Jake took steps back very slowly. As they were about to scream, a little fox came out of a berry bush! It was shivering, covered in snow and staring at the children. Amelia crept towards the freezing animal while Jake hid behind a tree. Brushing the snow off the shivering creature, the girl whispered to her brother, “Go and get Dad and tell him to bring some of Charlie’s food.” Jake nodded and went off to get his dad and the dog food. Minutes later, their father appeared in the clearing with a can of dog food and a plastic bowl.
“Eat up, buddy,” Mr Landis chuckled, pouring the food into the bowl. The fox started scoffing the food as if it hadn’t eaten in days.
“You know, we have left over chicken,” explained Mr Landis “Let’s take this little guy to our garden and toughen him up.” The family trudged back to their house, opened the gate and led the fox into their garden. Their dad went into the house to find the chicken so Amelia and Jake were in charge of the fox. It seemed rather interested in Charlie’s ball so Jake and Amelia threw it in the air and the fox jumped up and caught it. “Look at him go!” laughed Jake. When Mr Landis appeared again, he was joined by his wife (Mrs Landis) “So is this the little foxy?” she asked, pointing to the fox. “Yes, it is!” explained Amelia, “Dad, can I give him the chicken?” “Well actually, he’s a she,” explained the children’s mother.
“How do you know, Mum?” Jake questioned.
“Well, when I was younger, I volunteered at a fox shelter.”
While they were talking, Amelia was giving the fox a feast of the ages. She’d also decided to call her Luna because her fox-teddy-bear was called that. Randomly, Luna decided to lie down, close her eyes and start to snore. Everyone looked at each other. Finally, Mrs Landis nodded, signalling for them to leave her be. Luna remained their close friend for many more months. She even had cubs!
