Little Foxes by Michael Morpurgo Read Free Book Online Page A

he was living his dream, and that his dream was not a dream at all. Billy sat up at once and looked at the canal to see if the other part of his dream was true; but there was no swan, only the white moon still staring at him from the water. ‘You’re the only one, then?’ said Billy looking around him. ‘You’re the only one that got away, and I bet I know which one you are. You’re the biggest one, aren’t you? You heard them coming, didn’t you? Knew it wasn’t me, didn’t you? Bet you told the others to follow you and they didn’t. Where you been hiding all this time?’ The fox seemed to welcome his caresses, rolling on to his back as Billy’s hand ran through his fur. The fur was wet to the touch. ‘Not raining is it? Oh, so that’s it. You swam the canal, didn’t you? No other way you could have got wet all over like this is there? Foxed them, didn’t you? Foxed them good and proper. Now I’ve got to get you out of here. Aunty May said they’d be back. Can’t leave you here. There’s nowhere else to go but home. I’ll work something out, don’t know what, but something.’ He knelt up and put his arms around the fox and hugged him close. ‘I’m never going to let them get you. Never. But you’ll have to do as I tell you. First you’ll have to walk on a lead, so that I can get you home. You got to learn, and learn fast. Only got my belt. It’s a bit short but it’ll have to do.’
    Billy slipped the belt over the fox’s head, pulled it tight so that it fitted snugly around his neck, and then gently lifted the fox to his feet. There was some resistance at first, a shaking of the head, a few attempts to gnaw at the belt, but a turn or two around the graveyard and the fox seemed happy to be led, just so long as Billy did not jerk the lead too sharply. As they passed the vixen’s grave, Billy wanted to tell her what had happened but he could not find the words. He had let her down and he could not bring himself to confess it.
    The estate was just waking up when Billy came out of the Wilderness with the fox. The milk float was humming through the streets and the lights were on in the paper shop on the corner. The only car he saw was a police car cruising slowly around the estate. Billy dared not run too fast for fear of pulling too hard on the lead and upsetting the fox; so he trotted gently, keeping the lead slack. Every few paces though, the fox would stop and look about him. Billy had to talk him on, calming his fears, stroking his head and ears until he was happy to go on again.
    The journey seemed interminably long to Billy, but they reached the door to the flats without being spotted. Nothing would persuade the fox to follow Billy through the doors no matter how hard Billy tried to make him. In the end he was forced to pick him up and climb the echoing stairway to the tenth floor. Aunty May never woke up until the alarm went at eight, so he felt quite safe as he stole into the flat and closed the front door behind him. But even as he put his hand onto his bedroom door to push it open, he felt someone watching him from the kitchen.
    The light went on and Aunty May was there, standing by the kitchen table, her face pasty white and drawn without its make-up. Billy kept his back to her, one arm holding the fox tightly to his chest. ‘Billy, Billy,’ Aunty May was crying; Billy was not sure if she was crying with fury or with relief. ‘Where’ve you been, Billy? All night I’ve been up, all night. The police are out looking for you, have been ever since midnight, when I found your bed empty. Now what am I going to say to them, Billy? It’s too much, Billy, too much.’ She came towards him, gathering her dressing-gown around her. ‘What’s that you’re hiding there, Billy? Show me, show me at once.’ And she took Billy by the shoulder and swung him round to face her. Billy expected her to scream but she did not. Her mouth gaped in horror as she backed away from him, knocking over the