Reynard Todd

You Tricked Us written by Tar

When you are five years old, visiting your cousins is a complete nightmare.

At home, Jackson would include Reynard in everything. Jackson would share his crayons and they would draw fuzzy monsters together; Jackson and Reynard would play with their toy soldiers; Jackson would let Reynard handle the controls for his little toy car.

But at Aunt Eleanor's large house in the country, Jackson would forget all about Reynard and run off to play with their cousins instead. Don't bother me, go away, go back to Mummy - Jackson would scoff, and he would adopt their cousins' swagger and their way of rolling up their sleeves and slouching with their hands in their pockets. And Reynard would be left all alone, kicking his heels on the sofa watching cartoons and listening to the shouts and laughter of Jackson and the others kicking ball and climbing trees out in the merry sunshine.

No matter how much Reynard pleaded, though, his parents would never let him stay at home all alone. And of course the whole family had to go down to celebrate Grandma's birthday, what would she think if her youngest grandson refused to visit? Reynard's mother waggled her eyebrows at this, her voice taking on the inflection grownups used when they asked a question that wasn't really a question.

So there Reynard was, curled up in an armchair, wrapping the oversized sleeves of Jackson's old hoodie around himself and feeling absolutely miserable. And even then, it appeared things could in fact get worse - his aunt insisted he get out and "play with all the other boys outside, I know you kids love to do that".

With a sigh, Reynard found himself wandering around the vast property. He had tried lurking at the fringes of the other boys' game - they were playing some kind of tag - but Jackson had yelled at him for being in the way. So Reynard went off instead to the wooded area, where at least the trees would welcome him into their homely shade. But even then, things got worse again - he was so absorbed in his lonely thoughts that he tripped over an oversized root and tumbled to the dirt, grazing his palms.

Reynard was too miserable to even cry. He just stared dumbly at the spots of blood on his palm, decided they didn't hurt more than a slight scratch, and picked himself up. The trees probably didn't want him around either, he decided. Nonetheless, he had nowhere else to go and so he continued walking, keeping an intent eye on the ground lest the trees attempt to chase him away again.

That was how he came to notice the little fox kit. It was a tiny ball of orange-and-white fur, curled up on the ground. At first, Reynard wondered if it was a stuffed animal, and reached out his hand. Its eyes blinked open at his touch, and Reynard withdrew his hand as quickly as his heart leapt to his mouth. It was then that he noticed the fox was injured, and some of its blood was now smeared over the cuts on his palm. The little fox mewled plaintively at him.

Reynard thought fast and hard, or rather he attempted to. No good idea came to his mind. He thought of bringing it back to the house, but what if Jackson or the others bullied it? What would his parents say? And what if the fox's parents were actually out there trying to find their baby?

Not knowing how else to help, he shrugged off his hoodie and placed it over the fox instead, to keep it warm. That way, he decided. it could survive until its parents came to find it.

"Goodbye," he said out loud. "I hope your parents find you."

The fox and the trees were silent, but he felt somehow as if the fox understood him.

He turned to walk back to the house, partly because it was starting to get late and partly because he was cold without his hoodie. He walked away from the woods and back to the field where Jackson and his cousins were now playing frisbee. He found that he didn't care much about joining them anymore, for somehow the bout of loneliness that he had suffered all day was now gone. He couldn't explain it, but it felt as if he had a friend with him, somehow, even though he was still all alone.

Still, that didn't stop the rest from taking the chance to taunt him.

"You're in for it now, what will Mum say when you come back without your hoodie?"

"Ha! Little kiddie winkie is so dumb he can even lose the clothes that he wears!"

"Wait till he loses his shirt and his trousers too, then he will end up butt naked! Reyrey is dumb as a butt!"

Reynard glared at them and balled his little fists. If the other kids in his kindergarten class laughed at him, he would have gotten into a scrap. But his brother and cousins were all at least a good three years older than him.

"I'm not dumb!"

But even as he said it, Reynard could sense how ineffectual his declaration was. The other boys all laughed.

"I'm not too," he lifted his chin higher. "I gave my hoodie away to an injured fox in the woods. I bet none of you have even seen a fox. Well I have, so that's too bad."

"Liar liar pants on fire!" They didn't believe him, at first. But as he stood his ground, the jeers slowly morphed into questions - where was the fox, where exactly did he walk to, what did it look like? And then they took off into the woods to see the fox for themselves.

After they left, Reynard felt a distinct pang of regret. What if they abused the poor little fox? He crossed his fingers and hoped that the fox kit managed to return to its parents before the other boys got there. He sat on the porch and resolved to wait until they got back.

Reynard's mother was surprised to find him sitting there, alone.

"Where have the rest all gotten to?"

The boy merely shrugged. He gave no answer, again, when his aunt and his father asked the same question an hour later. It started to get dark and Reynard went inside the warm house while his aunt fretted.

It was a good two hours before the others returned, white-faced. Reynard's aunt had a murderous look on her face, and her children quailed before her.

"We got lost, Ma..."

"I think we ended up going in circles..."

"We didn't mean it!"

"We just went to see the fox but Reynard is a liar because there wasn't any fox. It's his fault!"

"Now, I don't know what game you boys are playing, but Rey has been here for the whole evening. The only one of you lot back before dark! Now all of you are going to be grounded for the entire weekend, you hear me? And you will be going to bed early tonight. Now, shoo! I don't want to hear any more excuses. You boys have absolutely no sense of responsibility."

The boys presented faces of guilt and shame to the irate Aunt Eleanor, but darted venomous looks at Reynard. Reynard felt his heart starting to thrum with happiness, and his mouth instinctively curled into a grin. He could get used to this, he thought. He had won, in the end. He didn't need them to include him in their lousy games. He didn't need them, he was above them.

Jackson gave him the angriest glare of all, as he shuffled away. "You tricked us," he hissed. "You tricked us."

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