Sleezy the Fox
Story 3: Snoozy Catches Forty Winks
By
William Forde
Published by William Forde
Cover Illustration by Dave Bradbury
Inner Illustrations by Joel Stephen Breeze
Copyright January 2012 by William Forde
Smashwords Edition
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
Thank you for downloading this ebook. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Author's Foreword
‘Sleezy the Fox’ was first published between 1990 and 1992 as single-story publications, with the predominant aim of helping primary schoolchildren identify and cope with emotions that they found difficult to express. The theme overarching all four stories, which can be found together in ‘The Sleezy the Fox Omnibus,’ is one of ‘second chances.’ The ‘Sleezy the Fox’ stories proved so popular with young children that the late Princess Diana used to read them to her young sons, Princes William and Harry.
Each of us shall experience or perpetrate some wrong in our lives. At the critical stage of reconciliation and healing, it is vitally important that we are able to give us and others the benefit of a ‘second chance’. And if you are like I used to be growing up, you may need to receive a ‘second chance’ many times before you eventually get it right.
In Story Three of the four-story series, the theme of ‘second chances’ is reintroduced, along with the setting of the theme for the final story in the series.
In the four stories of ‘Sleezy the Fox’, one of the central characters, Gilbert Grim, is frequently referred to by other story characters as ‘the fat farmer.’ This reference is deliberately included by the author as it naturally helps to introduce the theme of the final story in the sequence which deals with the issue of name calling and bullying.
I rededicate this book to my sons, James and Adam who were the first to hear these stories many years before they were first published. I extend my thanks to artist, Dave Bradbury, for the beautiful book cover his art created.
William Forde, January 2012.
#####
Story Three
Snoozy Catches Forty Winks
Farmer Hans was kind, gentle and wise. He was probably the cleverest fox catcher in the whole wide world. He had been the only farmer in Transylvania clever enough to catch 'Sleezy the Fox' and then five years later, Sleezy's companion, Snoozy.
Once caught, Farmer Hans spared the life of Sleezy and gave him 'a second chance' to reform his wild ways. Sleezy was educated and retrained by Farmer Hans and eventually became 'Sleezy the Sheep Fox.' Then, Farmer Hans caught another wild fox, a cub fox by the name of Snoozy. Like Sleezy before him, all the other farmers wanted to kill this wild fox, but again, Farmer Hans persuaded his angry neighbours to give Snoozy 'a second chance' to reform his wild ways. It was agreed that Farmer Hans would educate and retrain Snoozy by making him apprentice to Sleezy, his faithful and trusted 'Sheep Fox.'
Over the years, Sleezy proved himself to be a superb 'Sheep Fox', but as Sleezy grew older and fatter, he found that he couldn't run as quickly as he once did. Often, some of the younger sheep in the flock, which he protected, would take advantage of his old legs and would refuse to be rounded up and penned at the end of the day. What once took Sleezy five minutes to accomplish, now took over half-an-hour; especially when some of the fastest sheep in the flock decided to run away from him.
"Come back here, you . . . you silly, stupid sheep!” Sleezy would pant as he chased yet another young rebel around the field. Snoozy would simply smile as he watched on.
