Mr Dog and the Faraway Fox

by Ben Fogle

  Woofing a warning, Mr Dog timed his dash with split-second skill. He dashed straight across the road and nipped Ferdy on the bottom! With a yelp, the fox flew forward with Mr Dog hot on his heels. The coach barely missed them! It thundered past with a rush of wind that almost knocked the animals over.

  ‘That was a reckless thing to do, Ferdy!’ cried Mr Dog. ‘You must ALWAYS take special care around roads.’

  Ferdy looked shaken. ‘Why didn’t anyone stop for us?’

  ‘They weren’t expecting you to run out in front of them like that,’ Mr Dog explained. ‘You could have caused a terrible accident.’ He softened his voice. ‘Even so. I do hope I didn’t hurt your bottom too badly.’

  ‘I’ll live,’ said Ferdy with a sheepish smile. ‘Thanks to you, Mr Dog.’

  ‘Missed-a-Coach might be a better name right now,’ said Mr Dog with a big doggy grin of relief.

  He waited for a safe break in the traffic before leading Ferdy carefully across to the other side of the Road of Doom. Ferdy sneezed and snorted to clear his snout of traffic fumes, then led the way once more through the city’s maze of streets.

  ‘I’ve got Ryan’s scent!’ Ferdy said, his tail flicking about with excitement. He scampered across a small square park with play equipment, surrounded by houses on all sides. ‘He’s around here somewhere…’

  ‘Not so fast,’ came a low growl behind them.

  Mr Dog turned to find another fox skulking out from behind a slide. She was bigger than Ferdy, with a grey belly, and had one fang missing. He gulped. This new arrival did not look like a fox who enjoyed a pleasant chat.

  Menacingly, she stalked towards Ferdy and Mr Dog…

  Chapter Seven

  A LONG WAY TO SAY GOODBYE

  ‘My name’s Vix,’ the tough fox told Ferdy with a sniff. ‘This is my patch. What are you doing out with a soppy pet dog?’

  ‘I’m not a pet!’ Mr Dog protested. ‘I’m a dog of the road.’

  ‘The Road of Doom,’ Ferdy added proudly. ‘He helped me to cross it.’

  ‘A dog that helps foxes, eh?’ Vix looked Mr Dog up and down. ‘You must want something badly if you crossed the Road of Doom for it.’

  ‘We’re looking for a human called Ryan,’ said Mr Dog. ‘A friend to foxes.’

  ‘Aha! The human guy Old Foxy Loxie was asking about?’ Vix narrowed her eyes. ‘Well, I know this Ryan character. But he’s not very friendly.’

  ‘He’ll be friendly to me,’ said Ferdy. ‘Can you show us where he lives?’

  ‘Maybe,’ said Vix. She walked up to Ferdy. ‘Say, “Please, great Vix.”’

  ‘Please, Vix grates!’ said Mr Dog slyly. ‘Er, is that close enough?’

  Vix narrowed her eyes.

  ‘If you tell us where Ryan is, I’ll think you’re really great.’ Ferdy gave her a playful nip on the muzzle. ‘C’mon. Tell Ferdy!’

  Vix stared at Ferdy for a few seconds. Mr Dog held his breath.

  Finally, she smiled and pointed a paw. ‘Ryan lives in that box of bricks over there. Red door.’

  ‘Ooh! Yes! Ooh! I see his van parked outside.’ Ferdy gave her an excited lick on the ear. ‘Thanks, Vix. Come on, Mr Dog!’

  Mr Dog bowed his head politely to Vix, and followed Ferdy. The brash fox had gone bounding up to the red door. He scratched at it, snuffling and yapping. ‘Ryan! Ryan, are you there?’

  Mr Dog held back by the bushes at the front of the house, watching. A light came on behind the door. Ferdy pranced about impatiently. Then the door opened a little.

  ‘No way! I don’t believe it,’ came a man’s voice from behind the door. ‘It’s that fox again!’

  ‘Who?’ came a woman’s voice from inside the house.

  ‘The fox I used to feed,’ said Ryan. ‘I told you about him, remember? I don’t believe it… he’s come back!’

  ‘That’s right, Ryan!’ said Ferdy happily. ‘I knew you didn’t mean to lose me so far away!’

  ‘What?’ Mr Dog gasped. ‘It was Ryan who took you far away?’

  ‘Well, yes. He took me in his van.’ Ferdy looked sad. ‘I’m sure it was just a game. He didn’t mean to lose me… and now I’ve found my way back.’

  The door opened. Ferdy beamed with happiness as a man stepped out on to the doorstep. ‘Ryan!’

  Of course, Ryan couldn’t understand a word that Ferdy was saying – and it seemed he didn’t want to. ‘Go away!’ he hissed, and clapped his hands in the Ferdy’s face. ‘Scram, fox. Get out of here!’

  Ferdy jumped and scurried back a few paces. ‘I… I don’t understand. Ryan… ?’

  ‘You’ve got me into enough trouble,’ Ryan said, shooing Ferdy away. ‘Leave me alone!’

  Mr Dog watched in confusion. The man clearly knew Ferdy, so why was he acting so unkindly?

  The woman that Ryan had called came to the door. ‘What are you doing? Oh!’ She dropped her voice to a whisper as she saw Ferdy. ‘Isn’t he lovely?’

  Ferdy stared back at her, a hopeful look in his eyes.

  ‘You really used to feed this fox by hand?’ the woman went on.

  ‘Yes.’ Ryan looked unhappy. ‘I encouraged him to come to me. Fed him. Even let him sit on my sofa. Problem was, he expected the same treatment from my neighbours. He’d run up to them, leave a mess in their gardens, yowl outside half the night…’ He sighed. ‘The neighbours said they’d get rid of him. For his own sake I had to take him away. So I lured him into the van and drove off with him.’

  ‘Poor Ferdy,’ murmured Mr Dog.

  ‘I drove for seventy miles, took him to some woods and set him free,’ Ryan went on. ‘I know foxes have an amazing sense of direction, but I never expected he’d find his way back here.’

  ‘You were my friend,’ Ferdy said softly.

  The woman looked at Ryan. ‘Is that why you moved away?’ she asked. ‘In case he came back?’

  ‘No! After I got that fox out of the way, other foxes took over his territory. The neighbours blamed me. They wanted me to pay for garden repairs and stuff… so I shifted over here.’

  The woman laughed. ‘And now he’s found you anyway.’

  ‘Well, he can un-find me again,’ said Ryan firmly. ‘I’m not encouraging foxes any more. Go on, shoo.’ He waved his arms again. ‘Find someone else to feed you. Go!’

  Ferdy turned, lowered his head and stalked away. Mr Dog went after him. Behind them, the red front door quietly closed.

  ‘Ferdy!’ Mr Dog called. ‘Wait. I’m sorry you came such a long way just to say goodbye.’

  ‘It’s not your fault,’ said Ferdy. ‘I didn’t know I was being a pest. Maybe I should have stayed far away after all…’ He sighed. ‘Trouble was, I didn’t like the woods. Everything was too quiet and wide open.’

  ‘That’s because you’re a city fox!’ Vix emerged from behind a nearby wheelie bin. ‘You belong here, little guy.’

  ‘I don’t think I belong anywhere,’ said Ferdy sadly. ‘Not here or far away.’ He looked at Mr Dog. ‘Thanks for coming with me. I’m sorry it was a waste of time. I’ll walk back with you and I’ll push the boards back against your flap in the door, so you don’t get into trouble.’

  Mr Dog hesitated. He wasn’t sure it was wise for Ferdy to show his foxy face in Minnah’s neighbourhood again. But he didn’t want to say no to the poor fox after what he’d just been through.

  ‘I would enjoy your company,’ Mr Dog said grandly.

  Vix smiled, showing her single fang. ‘Enjoy your road trip, dogs.’

  ‘There’ll be no more trips across the Road of Doom,’ said Mr Dog firmly. ‘This time we will find a footbridge!’

  Chapter Eight

  THE CULPRIT REVEALED!

  Mr Dog and Ferdy found a footbridge for a much safer crossing. They walked in silence across the city, kept company by the rumble of traffic and the cries of gulls overhead.

  Finally, Mr Dog reached the quiet dark lane that stretched past the back gardens on Minnah’s street. On one side, a row of old garages bac
ked on to the lane. On the other side stood wooden fences guarding the gardens. Narrow alleyways ran between the houses, connecting the lane to the main road.

  ‘Here we are, then,’ said Mr Dog. He smiled at Ferdy. ‘Thanks for walking me back.’

  ‘I’ll leave now.’ Ferdy traipsed sadly away along the lane. ‘I know you don’t want me messing things up for you.’

  ‘It’s not that!’ said Mr Dog, going after him. ‘I’m only worried that you’ll be in danger if you stay here.’

  ‘Sure.’ Ferdy hung his head. ‘Bye.’ He turned into the next alleyway, heading for the main road.

  ‘Wait!’ Mr Dog followed him into the alley and scampered past him, blocking the way. ‘Ferdy, I know it’s not easy being a fox in the city. But you can’t just give up.’

  ‘What else can I do?’ said Ferdy. ‘I’m going to go far, far away. No one will ever see me again—!’

  Suddenly, the bloodcurdling hiss of an angry cat came from the alleyway.

  MIAOWWWWWWWW!

  Mr Dog’s hackles rose and he gasped as a large white cat came racing out of the darkness, clearly terrified. It ran past Mr Dog and Ferdy, and turned left down the lane, vanishing into the night.

  Ferdy stared, wide-eyed. ‘What spooked that cat?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  Mr Dog edged deeper into the alleyway to investigate…

  Once again, something fierce and fast-moving burst out of the darkness and came clattering towards him!

  Mr Dog’s jaw dropped in surprise as his attacker was revealed in the orange glow of a streetlamp.

  It was a bird! A bird that was almost as big as he was.

  Her head and belly were white while her wings were grey, and her tail feathers striped with black. Her beak was like a curved yellow hook.

  ‘She’s a gull!’ barked Mr Dog. ‘An enormous herring gull!’

  The gull burst into angry flight again. She brought up her orange claws and thudded into Mr Dog’s side. Poor Mr Dog was bowled over sideways.

  The gull shrieked, ready to attack again. But Ferdy darted towards the gull, blocking its way and baring his teeth. The gull squawked and retreated back into the alley shadows, hopping over Mr Dog.

  Why doesn’t she just fly away? Mr Dog wondered. Then he saw that one of the gull’s wings was sticking out at a strange angle.

  ‘Her wing is broken!’ Mr Dog realised. ‘That’s why she was so low to the ground when she flew at me. She’s injured.’

  Ferdy frowned. ‘If she’s broken her wing, why would she risk attacking healthy animals?’

  ‘No idea,’ Mr Dog admitted. ‘You would think she’d want to stay out of trouble…’

  The light outside the house went on as its owner came to investigate the noise. In the sharp white light, Mr Dog could see the large gull huddling now against the long line of garages. Tucked into a hole in the brickwork near the top of the wall was a mess of sticks and straw. Mr Dog saw a small downy head pop up into sight.

  ‘This gull has a chick in her nest!’ Mr Dog realised. ‘So that’s why she was being so aggressive. She knocked over bins to get food because she couldn’t catch her own. The poor thing is only trying to protect her young!’

  The alleyway grew brighter still as the back door swung open. Mr Dog recognised the old woman who’d been so cross about foxes before. She looked at Ferdy. ‘You! Fox!’ she gasped. ‘Just you stay there…’

  With that, she ran back into the house.

  Mr Dog frowned for a moment – and then gasped as he remembered the gathering of neighbours after the bin had been knocked over the day before. When the old lady had said she didn’t like foxes, the bald man had answered: ‘If you see it again, call me. I’ll be right round to deal with it!’

  ‘Ferdy,’ said Mr Dog urgently. ‘You must go, right now.’ He tried to nudge Ferdy along the alley, but the fox dodged and scampered past him, getting closer to the gull. She screeched and picked something up from the gutter with her beak. The next moment, she flapped her good wing enough to leave the ground and tossed whatever she was holding at them. Something bounced off the concrete; something yellow and black and shaped like a semicircle.

  Mr Dog gasped. It was a tortoise!

  ‘Mr Dog?’ A familiar scaly head peeped out from inside. ‘Sir Dog! Help me, please!’

  ‘Shelly?’ Mr Dog couldn’t believe his eyes. ‘First Crawly was taken, now you?’

  ‘That gull stole me from the garden!’ Shelly cried. ‘She must be the one who took Crawly too. When she lost him, she came back to the garden looking for him – and took me instead!’

  ‘Well, I’ll be…’ Mr Dog gave Ferdy his biggest, doggiest grin. ‘The neighbours have got it all backwards. You really did just find Crawly the other night! You took him from that gull and saved him from becoming bird food.’

  ‘I told you I found him,’ said Ferdy.

  ‘Uh-oh,’ said Mr Dog as the bald man suddenly came puffing into sight from a few doors down in his dressing gown. ‘Convincing this person might prove more difficult.’

  ‘There you are, you wild menace!’ The bald man ran into the alleyway and pulled an air pistol from his dressing-gown pocket. ‘Hold still, fox…’

  He aimed the gun.

  Chapter Nine

  HAPPY ENDINGS?

  ‘NO!’ Mr Dog barked his scariest bark and hurled himself at the bald man. The man staggered back, dropped the pistol and fell over on to his bottom. Mr Dog jumped over Shelly, picked up the pistol and threw it away with a flick of his head. The pistol went skittering towards the gull and gave it a fright. It took off into awkward flight again, screeching.

  ‘That gull’s a monster!’ cried the bald man.

  The old lady had opened the back door again. She saw all the kerfuffle in the alleyway and gasped as the huge gull tried to pick up the tortoise from the ground once more. But Ferdy ran up to her, barking and yowling, doing his best to defend Shelly. The gull screeched and pecked at him, but Ferdy stood his ground, yapping and yipping.

  ‘He’s trying to help!’ The old lady realised. ‘Maybe the fox isn’t so bad after all.’

  ‘There’s no “maybe” about it,’ said Mr Dog proudly. He jumped up and gave his scariest growl. Between the two of them, the dog and the fox frightened the gull away.

  She backed off, puffing up her feathers. Finally, with a screech, she turned and hopped nearer to the nest. The chick was still bobbing its fluffy head about.

  The mother gull glared at her audience, as if daring them to come any closer to her offspring.

  Now Mr Dog turned to the fallen tortoise and nudged him towards the bald man.

  The bald man scooped up Shelly from the ground and squinted in the glare from the outside light. ‘She looks all right. I don’t think she’s been hurt.’

  ‘I tucked everything in,’ Shelly said proudly.

  ‘Well done, Shelly!’ Mr Dog woofed. ‘And well done, Ferdy too.’

  Ferdy looked nervous. ‘Should I run away now? Are the humans going to try to get me again?’ The sound of footsteps made him nudge closer to Mr Dog. ‘Someone else is coming…’

  ‘It’s all right,’ said Mr Dog, wagging his tail. ‘She’s a friend.’

  ‘What a lot of noise,’ cried Minnah. ‘It woke me up!’ She had arrived in her pyjamas with a coat over the top, and her frown deepened at the sight of Mr Dog. ‘I thought I heard your woofing. How on earth did you get out this time… ?’

  Mr Dog beat his tail even harder and woofed again, turning in a circle while Minnah took in the astonishing scene.

  ‘A gull with a bad wing!’ Minnah exclaimed. ‘A very tame fox… And is that Shelly the tortoise?’

  ‘What a night!’ The old lady smiled from her doorstep. ‘I reckon we could all use a cup of tea.’

  ‘You can come to mine.’ Minnah took Shelly from the bald man and smiled at Ferdy. ‘All of you can.’

  Soon Minnah’s kettle was boiling in the kitchen while she spoke to the vet on the telephone. Shelly
was shaken but snug in a carry-case, munching on lettuce.

  ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ asked Mr Dog.

  ‘I’m better than okay,’ Shelly said. ‘Crawly’s been going on and on about his adventures… and now I can go on about my adventures too!’

  ‘Adventures are quite marvellous things,’ Mr Dog agreed. ‘Provided they have a happy ending of course.’

  He smiled as he padded through to the lounge. Beyond the patio doors he could see Ferdy in the garden, curled up beside a tree. He had dozed off after his busy night.

  ‘Just because this fox didn’t knock over those bins doesn’t mean another one won’t,’ the bald man said, ‘and foxes do steal tortoises. Same as they kill chickens.’

  ‘They’re hunting animals. They don’t understand our rules.’ Minnah had come in and passed the bald man a mug of tea. ‘Foxes get confused by human behaviour. They don’t know what’s okay and what’s not because different people react differently to them. And small wonder, since so many myths have been made up about them.’

  ‘That’s a terrible myth-take,’ joked Mr Dog, and was rewarded with a tortoise giggle from the carry-case.

  The bald man said nothing, but the old lady was nodding her head. ‘I suppose it’s easy to forget that animals are just like us,’ she said. ‘Take that gull, for instance. If your child was hungry, wouldn’t you do anything you could to feed it? If you were hurt and couldn’t get help, wouldn’t you be in a bad mood too?’

  The bald man shrugged. ‘I suppose so.’

  Minnah nodded and looked out at Ferdy. ‘We all have to share this city. And we should share it kindly with the animals that call it home.’

  ‘Woof!’

  Mr Dog agreed.

  ‘Ha! You’re funny, boy.’ Minnah smiled at him. ‘It’s almost like you understand us!’

  Mr Dog wagged his tail innocently.

  ‘Well, anyway,’ said Minnah. ‘The vet is on her way over again. I don’t think she’s delighted with yet another early house call! But she said she would report that poor gull to a wildlife rescue charity. They’ll be able to give her and her chick the help they need.’