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NATIVE AMERICAN SHORT STORIES

By Jim Red Fox

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Jim Red Fox
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4772-0195-4

Contents

1. My Encounter with the Red Fox..........................12. My Second Encounter with a Red Fox.....................53. Second Chance..........................................74. Little Rabbit Speaks Up................................95. The Right Thing to Do..................................116. Twelve Arrows..........................................157. A Good Life............................................198. The Meaning of True Love...............................239. The Dugout Canoe.......................................2510. The White Buffalo.....................................2911. How the Raccoon Got His Face Mask.....................3312. Why Wolves Howl at the Moon...........................3513. Grandpa's Pony........................................3914. You are What You are..................................4315. How the Black Bear Lost His Tail......................4516. The Walking Stick.....................................4917. White Stallion........................................5318. Legend of the Talking Stick...........................5519. The Prairie Dog Mound.................................5920. The Black Pony........................................6121. The Littlest Eagle....................................6322. The Forked Lake Tribe.................................6723. Never Give Up Your Dream..............................6924. The Little Leaf.......................................7325. Singing Bird..........................................7726. Wild Flowers..........................................8127. Native Thanksgiving...................................8328. Making Friends........................................8529. The Apple Core........................................8930. Baby Bear Cubs........................................9331. Millicent Mouse.......................................9532. Little Doe Deer.......................................9733. Becky Bear............................................99

Chapter One

MY ENCOUNTER WITH THE RED FOX

Based on a true story by Jim Red Fox

I remember the summer of 1996 as being very warm. My family and I loved to go camping, but as my two daughters grew older, their interest seemed to dwindle. My wife's lack of enthusiasm soon followed. Eventually, I found myself going camping alone on the weekends.

One of my favorite places to camp was, Beaver Kill Campground; located just north of my home town of Livingston Manor, New York. When I was younger, I worked there as a life guard.

In July of 1996, I decided to spend the weekend camping at this particular camp ground. I had asked my family to go but, as usual, there were no takers.

I had a new 25 foot travel trailer that was fully equipped. Most of the time, however, I would cook outside on an open campfire. The site I set up on (#56) was next to the famous Beaver Kill River, known for some of the best trout fishing in the state. I remember there were no other campers on either side of me. It was so clear, I could look up and see all the stars in the sky. The air was so still; not even a breeze to rustle the leaves. The only sound was of the constant flowing river.

I loved sitting in front of the fire, feeling safe and secure. I thought, as long as I kept a good fire going, no wild animals would dare come close. I soon would discover how wrong I was. I think it was around midnight that I found myself falling in and out of sleep by the fire. I don't remember what awakened me; but out of the corner of my left eye, I saw a dark animal moving slowly, straight toward me. I blinked my eyes a few times, thinking I was seeing things, but it didn't work. The figure continued to move forward, not veering from it's course. Chills ran up and down my spine. I could feel the hairs on my arms standing on end. My mind knew exactly what was about to happen. My first reaction was to defend myself. Most of the time I had one of my hand guns with me. I was in law enforcement at the time and usually carried one. How mad I was for leaving it home. I saw my camp axe leaning against the fire place, just beyond my reach. I slowly turned my head back and looked toward the dark figure. It now stood five to six feet away, just staring at me. The glow from the fire shown on it's fur. The animal I thought was a vicious wolf was one of the most beautiful animals I had ever seen. It was a full grown red fox.

We must have stared at each other for two to three minutes. When he realized that I meant him no harm, he came over to my chair. I couldn't believe what he did next. That fox sat down next to me on his haunches, facing the fire. I didn't know what to do, but sit there in utter shock. I never, no, never had a wild animal act like this. After a while, I spoke to him, like one would speak his pet dog. Whenever I said something, he would look up at me and acted like he understood everything I said. When I stopped talking, he would turn his head back toward the fire. I soon found myself feeling very comfortable in his presence. When the fire began to go out, I put a log or two on it. He would just sit there observing me. A car came down the road, causing him to get up. He moved into the woods and I moved into my trailer for the night.

The next day, Saturday, was another very beautiful day. I thought about telling the staff what had happened when I realized, who would believer me? I kept that wonderful event to myself.

That night I cooked a few hot dogs over the camp fire. I made sure to keep one by me just in case my new friend came back. It was about midnight when I noticed a figure walking toward me from the woods. I knew it was him, even before he got to my camp site. This time he did not stop but came straight to my chair. He sat down in the same spot and stared into the fire. I could see now, he was getting used to me. I grabbed the hot dog and held it out to him. He took one bite, chewed it and then took another until it was all gone. I would talk, he would listen, while looking at me. When I stopped, he would stare back into the fire.

The next part of the story is always very emotional for me. I had a feeling that he was trying to tell me something but what, I didn't know. He sat there for about an hour then turned his face toward mine. He stared into my eyes and I found myself staring back into his. I then realized that the eyes I was staring at, were not the eyes of a normal wild animal. I felt those eyes hypnotizing me, trying to pull me into his world. It felt like nothing around me mattered any more. I knew at any moment, he was going to pass on to me some wisdom he wanted me to know. The lights of a car, broke our concentration. He stood up and started walking back into the woods. He stopped once, turned his head toward me, as if to say good-bye. I never saw him again, after that night.

The next year, 1997, I camped in the same camp ground. I was talking to one of the staff members one day when he told me something that I was not prepared to hear. He told me that some of the campers thought they saw a red fox sitting in front of a fire place on an empty camp site, # 56.

Many people, after hearing this story, give me their opinion as to what the red fox really was. Others, try and guess just what he wanted to tell me. Some say he was pure evil, while others say he was a good spirit. I have been told that he might even have been a dead family member trying to make contact.

I have wondered many, many times what he was or what he wanted to tell me....