Текст книги "The young fox, who raps"
Автор книги: Rosemary Bloom
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Rosemary Bloom
The young fox, who raps
I’m a young red Fox,
I’m a smart guy.
Ducks and chicks are scared of me,
I think you know why!
I’m fond of rapping,
And also playing ball.
I am only five months old,
But I’m quite tall!
Hi! I’m Freddy the Fox. I live in the forest, in a deep cosy den. I’m red and fluffy. Mum says I’m handsome. What do you think?
Chapter 1
My family
This is my mum. She is graceful, beautiful and kind. Mummy takes care of us all the time, especially when my Dad is out. I love her a lot, because she is nice and fair. She never scolds me without clearing the matter up.
‘Are you fighting again, boys? Stop it at once! What will Father say?’ she says.
We aren’t listening, because we are both injured and angry. Brother’s ear hurts and I’m rubbing my neck.
‘Why should I? He started first!’
‘Lies! It was you who attacked me!’
Mother comes up, puts us apart and says, ‘Speak in turns.’
‘Fred has bitten my ear!’
‘And you have squeezed my neck!’
My brother is rather strong, a bit older than me and always boasts of it, then we usually fight. Today it has happened again. He has started teasing me, I have called him a fool and he has attacked me.
The mother hugs us and says, ‘You make me sad, boys! You are brothers, you have to stand for each other!’
Here comes my father. We dash to meet him! My Dad is good-tempered and wise. He knows each animal, path, ditch and den in our forest. I love listening to his stories!
‘Here are my dear boys! Were you good?’ Dad asks. I only manage to open my mouth to tell him the whole truth, when my sister appears! Yes, unfortunately, there are three of us!
My sister is very pretty. She can cast charming glances and look nice and obedient. But she is the first to make a mess and get us into trouble!
‘Not half, daddy! How could they be, if they fight every single day?’ she declares. ‘They also call each other names and say bad words!’
‘Look who’s talking!’ I am outraged.
‘Exactly! It is you, who starts first!’ my brother says.
‘And calls us names!’ I add.
‘Liars!’ Fiona says and pretends to get offended. She covers her eyes with paws as if crying.
‘What I hear?’ Mother decides to interfere. She hugs Fiona and shakes her head sadly.
‘Do you think boys should act like that? Look, you have brought a poor girl to tears! Come up at once and apologize, both of you!’ Father growls.
Dad always takes her side, because she is a girl! I constantly tell him to watch her for a while and realize she is not as innocent as she looks! Father doesn’t want to listen. He frowns and waits.
Of course, we do as we are told, then Mum and Dad hug us. It looks like we, I mean the kids, are friends again. Behind our parents’ back, Fiona sticks out a tongue and makes faces at us. Brother and I aren’t better either! We show her our fists and bare our teeth.
Later, when everything becomes quiet, and mum has kissed us goodnight, a storytime comes. The scary ones are my favourite! They are so thrilling! Daddy tells us about traps and bad people called hunters, cruel and skillful. They’ve got rifles with telescopic sights. Our sister is always scared, trembling like a leaf. We, boys, aren’t at all! Well… Maybe just a little. Father doesn’t want to frighten us, but to keep us safe. We respect him and try to be careful.
Oh, the names!
Mummy’s name’s Flora,
Daddy’s name’s Finn,
Sister’s name’s Fiona,
Brother’s name’s Flynn!
Chapter 2
A friend
It’s a warm summer day I am playing in the field catching butterflies. I am jumping higher and higher, but that is no good! The butterflies flutter from flower to flower and chuckle, because they turn out to be much faster than me. I start dreaming…
I wish I were a butterfly,
That flutters in the air,
And dances in the field
On flowers here and there.
I wish I flew up high,
And soaring touched the sun!
Why do I have no wings?
It would be great fun!
The pollen from the disturbed flowers is in the air everywhere and I start sneezing. Suddenly my nose touches another one. It is black like mine but a bit bigger. After the nose, there appears a black head with pointed ears and a goatee, black front legs, a black body, black hind legs and a short tail, also black. ‘Buds and flowers! A dog!’
I realize.
He smiles and says, ‘Bless you!’ I am a bit scared and don’t answer. I have never seen a dog so close before. Father has warned me not to approach dogs, especially when they bare their teeth.
My new friend looks friendly, his front lowered, tail up, and a broad smile on his face! I am so happy to have company! We play tag, roll in the grass and jump over stones. When we stop to drink from a stream I say, ‘I’m Freddy, by the way. And you?’
‘Rufus! Rufus! Where are you?’ ‘Get over here!’
‘Sorry, must run now! My masters are calling me!’ my new acquaintance says. ‘You might come to visit me one day. I live there, in the village.’ I nod and he runs away. This is how our friendship has begun.
Chapter 3
The one who laughs last laughs best
On coming home, I decide to ask my mum about a chance to become a butterfly one day.
‘Could I ever be a butterfly, Mum?’ Mother shakes her head. ‘Even if I try hard?’
‘I’m sorry, Fred, I don’t think so.’
‘It’s not fair!’ I say and frown.
‘Why do you want that?’
‘Well, they fly everywhere and eat sweet pollen…’ I say dreamily.
‘Would you like to feed on pollen?’ Mother seems puzzled.
‘I’m not sure, but if I turned into a butterfly…’ It appears we aren’t alone. My sister and brother are eavesdropping as usual.
‘One, two, three! Freddy, look at me!’ Fiona turns around and waves her tail as if casting a spell. ‘Orange, red and blue – your dream has come true! Now you are a beautiful butterfly!’
‘Fancy to practice flying now?’ Flynn asks, nudging me with his nose.
‘That’s enough, children! Time for dinner!’ Mother says.
‘Don’t bother feeding Fred, Mum, butterflies don’t eat meat!’ my sister exclaims.
‘Yep! I’ll eat up his share with pleasure!’ my brother adds.
‘Fiona, Flynn, please stop it!’ Mother orders. ‘What will Father say?’
He comes soon and it seems they will stop laughing at me at once, but I am mistaken.
‘Are my red fluffies doing well?’ Father asks.
Fiona gives a wink to Flynn and says, ‘Two of us are great, Dad, but Fred…’
‘What’s up, son?’ he asks, turning to me. ‘And stop laughing, please, I’m tired and want some rest.’ It is clear they won’t. How could they miss a chance to mock me and have fun?
‘Daddy, Fred is leaving us!’ Fiona says tragically.
‘Nonsense!’ Father says wearily. ‘Speak, Freddy, and you two – keep silence!’
‘Well, Dad,’ I start, my eyes sting treacherously. ‘They’ve overheard me telling mum about my dream… to become a butterfly!’
‘See, Daddy, I am right, he is flying aw-a-a-y!’
‘I want to hug you goodbye, bro!’ Flynn says, approaching me.
‘You make me lose my patience, kids! Stop behaving like that or you both aren’t going out tomorrow! Understood?’ It is clear Dad isn’t joking.
‘Yes, Father,’ brother says earnestly. My sister nods and shows, that her mouth is sealed.
I bet you think my siblings have kept their word and stopped teasing me. ‘Ha-ha’ three times! When our parents have fallen asleep, and I toss and turn from side to side, Fiona comes up with new fun. She slips out, finds two maple leaves and performance begins. She dances, waving the leaves like butterflies flap their wings. Flynn grips his mouth so as not to laugh. I make an angry face and show him a fist. It amuses him even more and he starts giggling.
‘Tomorrow you stay at home all day. And no dessert!’ Father says quietly but firmly.
‘It serves you right!’ I sigh happily. ‘I won’t stay in with you, even if you plead me a hundred times! I’ll visit my new friend instead,’ I say to myself and finally fall asleep, thinking about wild strawberries mum gives us for dessert.
Laugh at me or not,
I don’t care at all!
I will become a butterfly
Either big or small!
Giggle, gossip, yell, ‘You’re mad!’
Stomping on the floor,
I will eat sweet pollen,
And soon will fly and soar!
Chapter 4
Morning hours
I’m the second child in our family. When mum is bouncing my sister on her knee and Dad and Flynn are still sleeping after night hunting, I’m free to do what I want. So, every morning I usually do some stretching, have a light breakfast, and then run away to look for adventures.
Our forest is very quiet in the early morning. I like listening to birds that wake me up and watching the sun rising in the east. I like rolling in the grass, wet in dew. I love flowers that smell so tender and sweet. I enjoy watching squirrels running busily up and down the trees and jumping from branch to branch.
I laugh with joy when I see a rainbow or a sunray, piercing the clouds and treetops. Breathing in the smell of the wet ground after a night rain makes me feel excited. I feel like yapping and hopping, and dancing at the same time!
The place I live is not far from the village, where my friends are. I run through the fields, cross a stream on the stepping stones and steal under the bushes and hedges to stay unseen… and… Voilà! I’m in the village!
Luckily, I see Rufus almost every day, and he is always glad to see me! We have so much to do and talk about!
I’m running through the forest,
I’m running through the fields.
The shining sun’s above me
I’m racing down the hills.
I’m smelling morning flowers,
I’m drinking out of streams,
I’m looking for adventures,
And have a lot of dreams!
Chapter 5
Something about Rufus
It’s time to tell you about Rufus. He is a R-R-Riesenschnauzer. This is his kennel. It’s rather spacious and cosy.
Rufus has got a family too. But they aren’t dogs. They are people! These are Rufus’s masters. They are Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher. I know them, but they don’t know about me. Shhh! It’s our secret!
The Fletchers, whose names are Andy and Julia, live alone. Their daughter grew up and left for Australia.
I think Julia misses her a lot, that’s why they took not a grown-up dog to guard the house, but a puppy. Rufus says, when he was little, Andy used to train him and Julia – take him to bed and read bedtime stories.
Now Rufus is a year and a half. He is big and strong. The dog might even seem scary when he growls and bares teeth, but it’s O.K. with me. Can you keep secrets? I hope so. No, you should better forget it as soon as I tell you! Deal?
Rufus loves BATHING!
He lives a happy life. His masters give him all their love and care. Rufus gets his feeding twice a day, bathing once a month and grooming twice a year.
I think he sometimes gets dirty on purpose to have an extra bath with lavender shampoo and an all-over-the-body massage.
Here is he! What is he doing? Let’s see…
‘Where is it?’ he repeats again and again, while digging a new hole. ‘I’ve hidden it here, I might swear! Perhaps it is under a pear tree… No… Nasty moles! How many of you are here…?’
‘Hey, what are you doing?’ I ask.
‘I’m looking for my bone!’ my friend says.
‘So much fuss over an old rubber bone?’ I ask incredulously.
‘It wasn’t old at all!’ the dog answers. ‘Did you ever see it?’
‘Nope. Do you suspect me?’
‘Of course not!’ Suddenly an idea has flashed in his mind, ‘The moles! They must have stolen my bone! G-R-R-R-R-R! I will bury all your molehills!’
‘Stop it, Rufus! You are all in the mud like a wild boar!
‘Ru-fus! Come here, boy!’ Mrs. Fletcher calls.
‘Aha, it has already started… Firstly, Julia is likely to scold him. I know what I’m talking about. Listen!’
‘My goodness, Rufus! What have you been doing? Digging holes in the garden? Look at yourself! What a shame! ANY RESPECTABLE DOG WOULDN’T LET ITSELF GET SO DIRTY! Don’t even dare to hide in the kennel. Get out of there!’
On saying all that, Julia grabs Rufus by the collar and vigorously drags him to the garden to give her dog a big wash! Who’s lucky? Rufus is!
Rubby-dubby-duck,
A dog in a tub!
What a funny sight!
Come up closer,
No fright!
See? A scary dog,
That can rip your pants,
Is soaking like a frog,
And has no other plans!
Chapter 6
Ants
It’s one of the splendid summer afternoons when the four of us: Father, Flynn, Fiona and me are walking in the forest. Dad teaches us to read traces. Then we play hide-and-seek, a leapfrog, and run a race, till we are out of breath and fall with fatigue.
When we walk past an anthill, Father stops and says, ‘What amazing creatures are those ants!’
‘Are they?’ Flynn asks. ‘They are so tiny and fussy running here and there, carrying leaves and pine needles. I don’t find them fascinating at all!’
‘They are, trust me!’ Dad objects. ‘Ants are hardworking and strong. They work nonstop all day long. Each ant can lift 20 times its body weight!’
‘Look, Dad, those aren’t working but fighting!’ I notice, coming up closer to the anthill. ‘Why?’
‘And what? We also fight sometimes. All boys are the same,’ my brother says knowingly, punching me slightly with his fist.
‘It’s evident, those ants are fighting to protect their dwelling from intruders. You know, they are great security guards!’ Father adds.
‘Are they?’ I ask.
‘You shouldn’t judge by their size! Despite being tiny, those insects are so brave that often fight to the death!’
‘Wow!’ Flynn says and his eyes get wide in surprise. ‘I start liking them!’
‘So, do I! They are fearless and fair!’
‘Fair? Well, I wouldn’t say so… Sometimes they enslave other ants and make them work for their colony,’ Father says.
‘Aha! So, they aren’t entirely good and flawless, as others might think!’ our sister remarks, trying to spoil our admiration and delight.
I flinch in surprise, when Fiona shows her interest at last. Then I look at Flynn, who frowns and clenches his teeth.
‘Anything interesting about their families and she-ants?’ sister asks, bending over the anthill. All this is boring for me.’
‘Well… Ants have a queen. She can live for many years and have millions of babies!’
‘Oh, that’s amazing!’ Fiona exclaims and jumps with joy.
‘Hush, you silly! See? You are disturbing them!’ I whisper.
‘Do they hear us, Dad?’ brother asks.
‘Ants don't have ears, kid,’ Father remarks. ‘But Fred is right, we have to get out of here. It’s their territory and we are not welcome.
* * *
I can’t fall asleep, thinking about ants and their ability to communicate without any ears, and ask Flynn, ‘If ants can’t hear, so they don’t talk?’
‘No idea, bro! What do you think?’
‘I think you should better keep silence, because I want to sleep,’ Fiona breaks in.
‘I suppose, they use the antennae they have got on their heads,’ I whisper.
‘Terrific! They move them to talk!’ my brother says miming the action.
‘But what if they want to chat at night?’
‘They sleep at night, stupid head! And SO DO I!’ the sister snaps.
‘I think, we should ask Dad about this, right?’ I offer.
‘We might go there tomorrow and watch them! Flynn suggests.
‘Good idea!’
‘Oh, you might go there right now! I would be awfully happy then! Fiona interrupts angrily, sitting upright.
‘I see, you envy us!’ I say.
‘Me? Why should I?’
‘Because we don’t ask you to join us!’
‘Pf-f-f! Who needs you and your ants?’ she says with contempt.
‘Great! We can do pretty well without you too!’ I exclaim.
‘Do whatever you want and shut up at last!’ Fiona growls.
‘You shut up, cabbage head!’ my brother steps in.
‘A whole day of silence for all of you, for lack of respect to each other,’ Father concludes.
Chapter 7
Gatto
Rufus and I have got a friend. It’s a cat. He’s fat and heavy. We often see him sleeping in or under a tree. He walks and speaks slowly. It irritates sometimes, because you might think, the cat ignores your presence and doesn’t want to talk at all.
When Rufus asked him about his name, typically, the cat’s answer wasn’t quick. Different people gave him different names. One of the old ladies he was living with last summer called him ‘Gatto’ and he liked it.
Rufus and I often think the same way. At that moment we gave each other a nod and started calling him by that name.
‘How old are you, Gatto?’ I ask.
‘Does it matter?’ he says. I don’t know what to answer.
‘If you don’t want to talk, just tell us. No biggie!’
‘You can keep it a secret if you want,’ Rufus says, who doesn’t like any awkward situations.
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