Page 13 - Fables volume 3

Why the Fox Became a Hedgehog

Old Fox had a sedentary but complicated existence, reflected in his
burrow’s many passageways, compartments and entrances. He had an
equally intricate view of life and personal philosophy: he kept an
open mind and took every new experience on face value, with no
expectation that it would necessarily conform in its salient features
with any prior experience. The world might contain nearly as many
categories as objects and events: that possibility seemed entirely
reasonable to Fox.
He continued happily in this situation for many years. Visitors to
his den brought strange and interesting news to him, as well as their
own unique personalities and physiological quirks. Fox tolerantly and
complacently took them all in, these travelers from other parts of the
biosphere, provided them with sustenance and a place to sleep,
listened to their stories and examined the curios they carried with
them.
And then things changed; slowly at first, but then quite rapidly.
Fewer guests came down to take advantage of Fox’s hospitality, and
those that did were seeking protection rather than a warm place to
sleep. They spoke of troubled times beyond the burrow. Many were
uncertain of the future that awaited them at their final destination.
Tales of destruction and evidence of trauma accompanied them now.
Fox himself became worried: what was going on? Had the world
gone mad?
He became less receptive to the sometimes incoherent information
he received. Instead he began questioning his callers more pointedly.
Perhaps from their disparate accounts he could piece together a
clearer picture of this turn for the worse. The dangers were multiple
and unpredictable; enemies lurked in every corner; wanton assault
and looting continued unchecked. He concluded that a negative spiral
of suspicion and distrust had created a climate of fear, a self-
perpetuating and reactively-amplifying cycle of vicious retaliation. It
was the war of all against all.
The pitiful creatures he encountered in his den were increasingly
unable to give any consistent explanation of what was behind the
new era of simultaneous menace and vulnerability. Rather, they

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