Tiny Fox Finds Home

A Tale of Belonging and Finding Your Place

For children ages 3–6. Approximate listening time: 10 minutes.

Transcript

Tiny Fox Finds Home: A Tale of Belonging and Finding Your Place At the edge of a wide green forest, beneath the roots of an old oak tree, lived a very small fox named Fina. Fina had bright orange fur and four tiny black paws. Her tail looked much too fluffy for the rest of her. One, two, three... jump! Hee-hee! Fina loved chasing butterflies. She loved sniffing mushrooms. And most of all... Mmm... breakfast. she loved finding things to eat. But on this particular morning, Fina chased a yellow butterfly farther than she had ever gone before. Wait! Wait for me! Past the mossy stones... Past the tall ferns... Past a little bubbling stream... until suddenly— Oh. The butterfly was gone. And Fina had no idea where she was. Mama? Mama! Oh no. Fina looked to the left. Trees. She looked to the right. More trees. She looked behind her. Even more trees. Fina's ears drooped. Then she heard something moving beneath a pile of leaves. Who's there? Me! Pip the mouse! Collector of seeds, finder of crumbs, champion tunnel digger! Oh. Hello. Hello! You look lost. I am lost. I'm trying to find my home. Easy! What does it look like? Well... It has trees. We're in a forest. And leaves. Lots of those. And... dirt? Hmm. This may be harder than I thought. My home is under a big tree. Aha! Follow me! I know a big tree! Come on! Wait for me! Pip led Fina through the forest until they reached an enormous tree. Its trunk was wide. Its branches stretched high into the sky. And beneath its roots was a little round doorway. Ta-da! Big tree. Little door. Home! Maybe! Mama! I'm— Goodness gracious! home? Well, hello there. You're not my mama. No. I'm fairly certain I would remember having a fox. Oops. A kind older rabbit named Mabel stood in the doorway. Behind her came the delicious smell of warm carrot bread. Oh. Sorry. That sounded like a very hungry apology. Come inside. But I have to find my home. And you will. But searching is much easier with a full tummy. Here you are. One slice for Fina. One tiny piece for Pip. Tiny?! You are a mouse. Fair point. Mmm! This is good. Thank you. Now tell me about your home. It's under a tree. Anything else? There are soft leaves where I sleep. And a little hole where the morning sun comes in. And Mama always sleeps beside me. Ah. Now we're getting somewhere. Sometimes, when it's cold, she curls her tail around me. And how does that make you feel? Warm. Only warm? No. Safe. Anything else? Like... like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. That sounds like home. But I don't know how to get back there. Perhaps someone who can see the whole forest can help. The owl! The owl. So Fina, Pip, and Mabel walked to the tallest pine tree in the forest. High above them sat an old owl. OWL! Whooo... Who is shouting? Me! Naturally. Excuse me, Mr. Owl. I'm trying to find my home. Hmm. Home. Very important place. What can you see from your home? Trees. Hmm. We already tried that. What can you hear? At night? At any time. Fina thought. I hear a stream. Not a big one. It goes... shhhhh... over little stones. And sometimes there are frogs. Interesting. Anything else? In the morning, I hear three knocks. Every morning. Knock. Knock. Knock. A stream. Frogs. A woodpecker. Hmmmm. The owl spread his enormous wings. I know that part of the forest. Follow the stream toward the hill where the birch trees grow. You know where my home is?! Perhaps. But we must hurry. The sun is going down. They followed the stream. Past the stones. Under the branches. Around the blackberry bushes. But the forest grew darker and darker. Pip? Yes? Are you still there? Right beside you! Mabel? Right behind you, dear. Okay. What was that?! Me. Oh. Right. Fina tried to be brave. But every shadow looked bigger at night. Every branch seemed to reach toward her. Maybe... Maybe we'll never find it. We will keep looking. But what if Mama can't find me? Then we'll make the biggest fox-finding team the forest has ever seen! We'll ask every rabbit. Every mouse! Every bird. Really? Really. No tiny fox gets left alone in our forest. And for the first time since she had gotten lost, Fina didn't feel quite so small. They climbed a little hill. At the top stood a grove of pale birch trees. Fina stopped. Wait. What? Listen. A moment of quiet. Then— That's it! That's the sound! Then we're close! This way! Fina! Not so fast! Fina ran down the hill. Across the stream. Around a mossy stone. And then— My tree. There it was. The old oak. The little opening beneath its roots. The soft bed of leaves near the doorway. Home! Mama! Fina?! Fina! Mama! Oh, my little fox. I've been looking everywhere for you. I'm sorry. I followed a butterfly... and then I didn't know where I was. You're here. You're safe. That's what matters. I missed you. I missed you too. Very much. Fina buried her nose in her mother's warm fur. Her mother's tail curled around her. Just like it always did. Mama? Yes? I learned something today. What's that? Home isn't just a tree. No? No. It's where you feel safe. And where somebody wants you to come back. I think that's a very good definition. And sometimes there's carrot bread! And who are all your friends? This is Pip. And Mabel. And Owl. They helped me find my way home. Then you are all welcome here. Do you have snacks? Pip! What? It was a long walk! That evening, Fina's little home beneath the oak tree felt fuller than ever. There was Mabel. There was Pip. There was Owl, sitting outside because he was much too large to fit through the door. Perfectly comfortable out here. And beside Fina was Mama. Ready to sleep? Almost. Almost? I was just thinking. About what? Maybe home can get bigger. What do you mean? Yesterday, home was you and me. Today... Pip and Mabel and Owl are part of it too. I think you're right. Goodnight, Mama. Goodnight, my tiny fox. And so Fina discovered that sometimes you have to wander a little... to understand what it means to come home. A home can be beneath an old oak tree. It can be a warm room. A familiar voice. A tail wrapped around you on a cold night. Or simply a place where someone says... “We're glad you're here.” Whooo's ready for bed? Not me! Pip. Okay. Maybe me. Goodnight, little fox. Goodnight, forest. Goodnight... home. The end.

Tiny Fox Finds Home

Transcript

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