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THE FOX AND THE GRAPES
Once upon a time, there was a little fox named Felix. Felix was very fast and could jump very high. All of the other animals always thought that he was one of the fastest animals they saw. Whenever anyone needed something
that they could not reach, they would ask Felix, for he could leap higher than even Harry Rabbit! He was known to be the highest jumper of them all in all of Shady Woods, and everyone even said that he could practically fly! He loved it when people would see him and say, “Oh, look! There goes flying Felix! He can jump so high!”
One day, Felix was walking along in the woods. He loved to walk in the woods and bask in the praise of everyone else. He knew that they were all envious that he was so good at jumping because he could get to things that even squirrels could not sometimes. Even the best climbers would take longer to get up to a branch with a tasty treat dangling on it than Felix would take. He would run, run, run, and then jump as hard as he could. He would fly through the air and snatch up anything that was within reach.
As Felix walked through the Shady Woods, he saw all sorts of animals.
“Good morning, Flying Felix!” said a squirrel.
“How’s it going, highflyer?” asked a badger as he walked by.
“Did you catch the moon yet?” asked a young little bunny, who stared up at Felix with wide eyes.
Felix took it all in and grinned. He loved the attention! As he kept on walking, he noticed that there was a crowd of animals gathering. He could see big animals and small animals. Mice, rabbits, and even a bear had gathered! Felix decided that he was very curious. He wanted to know why everyone thought that they needed to crowd up. He sniffed the air and could smell something sweet. So, off Felix went to see what was happening.
“What’s up, everyone?” Felix said as he sauntered into the crowd with his foxy grin. But, Felix was surprised when no one turned to look at him. They were all busy looking up at something. No one said anything to Felix and that made him feel annoyed. Why weren’t they looking at him? They always looked at him! When Felix looked up, he saw exactly why no one was looking at him. They were all looking at a very nice bunch of grapes! They were growing high up on a vine, out of reach from everyone. They were shiny and purple and looked like they would be very nice to eat on such a warm day.
Everyone was very busy talking about the grapes. They all wanted to get the first bunch of summer. Everyone knew that the first bunch of grapes of the summer would be the tastiest, juiciest, most delicious bunch of all and they all wanted to try some!
Felix was very unhappy because no one was looking at him. He frowned and sat down, his long, red tail swishing behind him as he thought. How could he get everyone’s attention again? A light breeze blew behind him and rustled up his fur. It felt like it did when he would jump into the air to grab things from up high!
That’s it! Felix thought. He knew how to get everyone’s attention once and for all.
“I can get those grapes!” he said. But, he was so quiet that no one seemed to notice him. They were all too busy talking to each other about the grapes and how they wanted to get a bite. So, he tried again. “I said… I CAN GET THOSE GRAPES!” This time, Felix practically yelled loudly enough for everyone to hear him over the commotion.
Suddenly, all eyes were on Felix, staring at him. They were all watching him in silence, and then Felix felt afraid. He looked at the vines and how high up they went around a tree. He saw just how high up those grapes were. They were so high that not even Brad the Bear could reach them when he stood on two legs! But, not wanting to embarrass himself, Felix took in a big, deep breath and looked at all of the animals around him. “I can get them!”
All of the animals cheered for Felix! They were very happy to hear that he would be able to get down the grapes for everyone to share. All around him, Felix could hear all sorts of animals talking. “Look! It’s Flying Felix! He can get them down!” called out one voice.
“If anyone can do it, Felix can!” said another.
“I heard that Flying Felix can touch the moon!” squeaked a little voice.
Felix took another big, deep breath. “But, if you want me to get the grapes,” he told everyone around him, “I need lots of space!” And with his request, everyone moved far from the grape vine to give him all of the space that he would need. They knew that Flying Felix needed to run to get up in the air!
So, Felix got ready. “I’m faster than a rabbit,” he told himself. “I’m stronger than bear. I’m smarter than an owl. I can do this!” He looked at the tree and the hanging vines that had wrapped around it, and then at the grapes. Then, he started to run. Faster and faster he went, his little paws pounding against the ground as quickly as he could. He was getting closer and closer, and the wand was all around him. He jumped up high into the air, pushing off with his paws and flew' toward the grapes. He got closer and closer. And then he started to fall. He could not reach the grapes! He wasn’t even close!
When Felix’s paw's touched the ground, there were hushed whispers all around him. Everyone was very surprised to see that Felix had missed the grapes!
“That was just a warmup!” Felix announced, and he turned around to look at the grapes. He shook off one leg at a time and then shook his whole body. “I’m faster than a rabbit and stronger than a bear. I’m smarter than an owl, and I can do this!” he told himself again before he started to run. He ran so fast that he could hear his heart beating in his ears and he felt the wind all around him. Then, he jumped again!
Again, he missed the grapes, and again, everyone was talking about him. They looked very worried that Felix would not be able to get the grapes. Felix felt embarrassed. Then, he saw something. He saw that if he ran and jumped on the tree, he could jump off of the tree trunk, kind of like a ball bouncing off of a wall! Then, maybe he could get it!
So, off Felix went again. He started running and running, as fast as his little muscles could, and he jumped! This time, everyone was surprised, for Felix had jumped at the tree instead of at the grapes! Could he not see what he was doing? But, they did not know what Felix’s plan was. Felix kicked off from the tree and flew toward the grapes. He was going even higher this time, and he was so close to the grapes! He opened up his mouth to catch the bunch of grapes and was so close that the grapes tickled his nose! But, again, Felix fell down, down, down, and away from the grapes. Felix landed on his back with a yelp. Now, Felix was very frustrated. He was very embarrassed. And, his back hurt. Felix was done trying. “Oh, forget it!” he shouted out as he turned around. “I don’t need those silly grapes, anyway!” He looked at all of the other animals that had gathered around him. “Don’t bother with them! They’re all sour anyway!” He frowned and huffed and stormed away from the group of people. He didn’t want grapes that weren’t ready!