How Loony the fox came into Smiling Forest

Loony the fox was a refugee in Smiling Forest. He and his family having suffered some strange misfortune in their forest of origin, Loony had abandoned his dying parents and crept stealthily into Smiling Forest in search of greener pastures.

When he managed to slip into the borders of Smiling Forest, Loony had to stay in total hiding. To avoid detection by the ever vigilant immigration police, Loony sometimes covered himself in green leaves and posed like a bush when any animal passed him by. Sometimes he stood erect on his hind legs and froze, posing as a rock to avoid detection. When he felt in real danger of being detected, Loony smeared his entire body with red mud and froze at the slightest movement, pretending to be an anthill.

Ever the shady figure, Loony the fox spent most of those early days slinking on the dark fringes of Smiling Forest. As much as possible, he avoided detection and only went hunting during the nights. During the days, he crept stealthily around or slept under the protective cover of some thick bush.

Elsewhere in Smiling Forest, life went on as usual. Cheku the parrot told his endless tales. Buki the hyena stole other people’s food. Nopa the hare endlessly played his unpleasant tricks on innocent folks and sometimes pretended to be Talkmuch Dolittle. Nice Boy the monkey was always on the look-out for some mischief to make. Saa the snake, ever the celebrated liar, wove fantastic tales of pulp fiction and continued to wreck havoc on the stable relationships of unwary folks. Momba the tortoise, famous for his lackadaisical attitude, was mainly concerned with stuffing his shell with delicious food and sleeping under the cool shades of big trees. Samo the elephant, who was so dull of wit that he often forgot his own name, wandered aimlessly around, going to great pains not to crush tiny animals under his massive feet. For stupid though he was, Samo had a kind heart. Toothy the boar, hardly cleverer than Samo, continued to be a co-victim of the vicious Nopa’s ugly tricks. Skimpy the giraffe, ever-proud of his great height and his magical ability to eat from tree tops, gamboled gaily around, boasting of his height. The banished animals, poor old Spotty the tiger and Blackie the panther, quietly nursed their wounded egos in a remote corner of Smiling Forest. There they laid their plans and waited for an opportunity to pounce on the pompous Talkmuch Dolittle, tear him to pieces and assume leadership of Smiling Forest. Every dog has its day, they often consoled each other. Cheku the parrot kept his busy tongue wagging, trying to throw verbal spanners into the works of whatever worthy projects were going on in Smiling Forest, while Mbota the old frog hopped and croaked dully away.

At the onset of every cold season, when the rains had completely stopped, Talkmuch Dolittle called a general council of all the animals in Smiling Forest. At such a conference, under the wise guidance of Chokie the bushfowl, Talkmuch Dolittle gave a state of the forest address, reviewed developments, highlighted achievements and pointed out failures. It was here too that the animals expressed their opinions and views on burning issues in Smiling Forest. It was here that new arrivals who wanted to be accepted into the Smiling Forest community publicly stated their cases. This was a rather risky business because if Talkmuch Dolittle was not satisfied with an animal’s explanation, that animal was immediately pounced upon and forcefully thrown out of Smiling Forest. It was to this annual conference that Loony the fox came weeping and wailing, limping on all four legs, his long tail sadly drooping, a haggard and mournful look on his gaunt face, totally awash with baleful tears of extreme remorse.

A few meters away from the large gathering of animals, Loony the fox suddenly started weeping and wailing, attracting all eyes towards his direction. All the animals were mighty amazed when they saw the poor stranger dragging himself from behind some bushes and painfully staggering towards them. “Help him, help him!” Cheku the parrot shrieked, not able to hold his tongue at the sorry sight of the staggering stranger. “Give him a hand! Give him a hand!” Cheku loudly shrieked, frantically flapping his wings, swaying this way and that, performing all those concerned antics at which he was a great expert, prompting a few strong animals to run to Loony’s aid and carry him moaning, groaning and wailing into the ring of animals. They gently placed him before the incredulous Talkmuch Dolittle, who repeatedly asked, “Who are you? What’s wrong with you?” Bending over, Chokie the bush fowl whispered something into Talkmuch Dolittle’s ear, while casting a suspicious glance at the moaning and groaning fox, who looked as if he was going to die any moment.