The Fox & The Favor

Long ago there was an ugly orphan who lived in a log. The orphan's name was Olli, but that did not matter as he had no one around to use it. Yes Olli lived alone in his little log, but he was visited daily by the local wildlife. The Deer would drop in to say, “What a ugly boy living alone in a log. You must do something about your disposition my dear boy.” Shake their heads and sonter off. Sometimes the birds would swoop down from the sky to say, “Oh what a sad son dwelling alone in his driftwood. Unlucky indeed but you shall see no sorrow from this swallow.” And back to the skies they fly. It would get so bad that even the earthworms would say, “Oh what a welp, what a waste of a good log.” they'd say to Olli in his little log. So there Olli would reside, thinking to himself, “What an ugly boy I am, ugly, unlucky, and wasting a good log.” These thoughts knotted in his mind until it started to swell and leave Olli brian sick. And brain sick he would stay until one fateful day, a fox came trotting by. 

The fox saw that the log was absolutely leaking with a lonesum loathing and decided to stop on by. Inside the log he found Olli and asked, “Well my my my, it seems as though you are the center of this gloomy mood. That doesn't seem to fit in a log like this.” And Olli looked onto the Fox and sighed. Then the fox did a very odd thing indeed and spoke again, “Ahh I see, I've come across an ugly def boy. Unlucky indeed. I'd loaf in self loathing too if it were I in your shoes.” Says the fox.

“I am many things,'' says the boy’ “But I can hear just fine. I hear as the deer call me ugly, I listen as the birds laugh at my lack of luck. And the earthworm's words are like earwigs in my brain, expressing especially awful things to me. They call me these things and therefore I am what they say. So yes, Mr. Fox, I can hear just fine.”

The Fox felt for Olli as he too had been down on his luck before. So he decided to make a bargain with the boy. “I see now that you plant the words of others in your garden, I too used to make the same mistake.” Said the fox. “I can take away your ugliness, unluck, and with it, your self loathing will come too. All I ask in return is one favor, whenever I wish to use it.”  Olli obviously didn't believe the fox, how could a fox make him any less ugly? “Do we have a deal?” Recanted the fox. And with nothing to lose Olli answered,

“Yes Mr. Fox, I will accept your deal.”

“Then lie down and rest poor boy. In the morning you will taste such privilege.” Said the fox. And Olli listened and layed in his log. The fox kneeled near Olli’s head and started to eat away at his face until it was smooth. Then the fox licked and licked Olli’s head knitting together a new face entirely. When finished, the fox saw that the face shined as if it were lined in gold. Content with his work, the fox whispered “Until next we meet my sweet saviour.” and trotted off through the woods.

When Olli awoke, he found that his log was surrounded by all the wildlife that had shown him nothing but how cold and bitter the world could be. Even stranger he saw that the deer kneeled, the birds bowed, and even the earthworms hung their necks in respect. “Forgive us” they all begged our boy Olli. It was at this moment that Olli realized that the fox had come through on his end of the deal. Why else would this wildlife want his respect? So Olli stated, “I have decided to forgive you for all the wrong you have shown to me. But if I am to do so, you each owe me a favor to be used when I see fit.” And the wildlife found this to be a desired outcome, so they agreed. But Olli was excited to see what this new life had in store for him, so he decided to leave his little log and go on the adventure of a lifetime. The wildlife wished to see him stay, but they understood that he would never want to live by such bullies again. So the deer draped a deep sack round his shoulder for him to hold his belongings, the birds brought him bunches of berries and seeds, and the earthworms brought him beautiful rocks from beneath the earth. Olli thanked them and then started his new life in the only way possible, one step at a time.