Short and Sweet

The Fox and the String

Once there was an artist whose drawings came to life, he was lonely for the most part but when he brought a drawing into the world he wasn't lonely anymore. At least not for too long, but every time he would make a creature, it would run away in 3 days. Eventually, the artist painted a little fox. The fox stayed for 5 days instead of the normal 3. But in due time, the fox also left. Soon the artist became so upset with his creatures leaving him, he stopped finishing the paintings.
But only a few weeks after he stopped finishing these paintings, the same little fox that he painted only a month ago came back with a little red string leading into the forest. The fox looked up at the painter  and asked him to follow them into the woods.
The Painter denied, and the fox left only to come back the next day and ask a second time. The painter denied again, and the fox left and came back for the third time. After the third time the painter finally agreed to follow the fox into the woods
As a walk down the path through the forest, They come to a little bridge but rather than going over the bridge the fox went off to the side and went under the bridge. The painter asked the fox "why aren't we going over the bridge?"
The fox simply replied "sometimes the things you were looking for aren't always down the path that you think they might be" and disappeared under the bridge only for the painter to follow quickly after.
But what was under the bridge was not with the painter had expected, Instead of a small river, it was a beautiful meadow just beyond the river bank, only accessible from under the bridge. As a painter looked around the fox told him "this is everything you've created, this is where we go. When we go, we're never really gone. And the little red string will guide you back here"
Finally the painter realized that his creations never really left him, and so he stopped leaving the paintings unfinished and continue to create the valley until he had enough to retire to the meadow. The paint brush was finally back in use and the painter was finally happy.