The Terrible Shovels
Down the hole, Mrs. Fox was softly licking the stump of Mr. Fox's tail to stop the bleeding. "It was the finest tail for miles around," she said between licks.
"It hurts," said Mr. Fox.
"I know it does, sweetheart. But it'll soon get better".
"And it will soon grow again, dad," said one of the small foxes.
"It will never grow again," said Mr. Fox. "I shall be tail-less for the rest of my life." He looked very glum .
There was no food for the foxes that night, and soon the children fell asleep. Mr. Fox could not sleep and just sat there and thought.
"What was that?" he turned his head sharply to listen. The noise he heard now was the most frightening noise a fox could ever hear! "Wake up!" he shouted. "They're digging us out!"
Mrs. Fox woke up. "Are you sure?"
"I'm positive listen!" said Mr. Fox.
"They'll kill my children!" cried Mrs. Fox.
"Never!" said Mr. Fox.
They heard the shovels getting closer and closer. Mrs. Fox held the children close to her and began to cry.
Suddenly, there was an especially loud crunch above their heads and the sharp end of the shovel came right through the ceiling. The sight of this awful thing seemed to have an effect on Mr. Fox. He jumped up and shouted. "I've got it! Come on! There's not a moment to lose! Why didn't I think of it before! A fox can dig quicker than a man!" Shouted Mr. Fox." Nobody in the world can dig as quick as a fox!"
The soil began to fly out furiously behind Mr. Fox as he started to dig for dear life with his front feet. Mrs. Fox ran forward to help him and so did the four children.
"Go downwards!" ordered Mr. Fox. "We've got to go deep! As deep as we possibly can!"
The tunnel began to grow deeper and deeper. The family was digging as fast as they could. They began to hear the shovels less and less. After about an hour, Mr. Fox stopped digging. "Hold it!" he said. They all stopped. "Phew!" said Mr. Fox "I think we've done it! They'll never get as deep as this. Well done, everyone!" They all sat down, panting for breath. Mrs. Fox said to her children, "I should like you to know that if it wasn't for your father we should all be dead by now. Your father is a fantastic fox!"