London is very beautiful at night. Everybody is already at home, and only a few people hurry along the streets — those who must work at night because of their profession: doctors, conductors, policemen, and so on.
There is not much traffic at night in London. The streets are clean, and everything is very still. Houses look dark against the sky; there are no lights in the windows — everybody is sleeping. But in the center of the city, it is as bright as daytime: the large shop windows turn their lights on and off, and the traffic lights never rest, constantly changing from red to yellow to green, and back to red.
David Lawrence, who worked at one of the London theaters, liked London at night. During the day, he had no time for walks — you know how it is with theater workers — so he left home when other people went to bed. When the conversation turned to his night walks, he usually said to his friends, “You do not know how beautiful London is at night. It’s a pity I cannot paint! There is nothing like London at night!”
David’s usual walk was from his house, along one of the streets in the center, up to the post office, and back home. Sometimes, on his way back, he would sit for a few minutes on a bench in a small garden near a square.
That night, when David turned to the right where his bench was, he saw a policeman on duty. There was something strange about the policeman standing behind a bench and looking at the trees.
“Excuse me, but what are you doing?” he asked.
“Hush! I am watching a fox,” answered the policeman.
“What! Watching a fox?” repeated David. “You don’t say so! A fox in the very center of the city?”
“Yes, a fox,” said the policeman, “a real red-haired fox.”
“How strange!” David exclaimed. “Tell me everything about your fox,” he added. “I love animals very much.”
“She is not my fox,” corrected the policeman. “Well,” he began his story, “I saw a fox for the first time two months ago. Sitting here on a bench, I suddenly saw an animal under a tree. At first I thought it was a dog, but soon I realized it was a fox. The fox stood still for a few minutes, looking at me, then turned and quickly ran away. After that, I saw the fox many times here.”
“And how do you think the fox got here?”
“I think it lived somewhere not far from here and then ran away,” said the policeman.
“And what does it eat?” asked David.
“I am sure it can always get a mouse or sometimes even a bird for dinner.”
“The most interesting thing is,” he went on, “that when I told my friends about the fox, they told me not to sleep while on duty.”
The two men laughed and soon went away because there was no fox in the square that night.
David met the fox for the first time a few days later. The night was as beautiful as usual. Everybody and everything slept: the square, white with snow, the buildings around it, the people who lived there, and a new modern car near a high house. The moon was high in the sky, and David saw the fox in the moonlight. Yes, it was a fox, and there was no mistake about it! It was a wonderful animal, red with small ears and a long beautiful tail. A fox just like the foxes that live in woods or those you can see in children’s books. David had some nice things with him for the fox to eat. He took pieces of bread, meat, and sugar from his pockets.
“Foxie, my dear foxie, come out, don’t be afraid, foxie,” he began to call the fox.
The beautiful animal did not run away, but it did not come up to the man either. It stood there listening to his words, then began to pick up pieces of meat and sugar.
Soon the fox and the man were great friends, and the animal even began to eat out of the man’s hand. David learned what his four-legged friend liked and did not like. Best of all, the fox liked hens’ and fishes’ heads; it ate sugar and meat with pleasure but had no appetite for bread, porridge, or vegetables. It even began to drink milk from a pot that David brought.
David liked to sit on a bench after a long day’s work at the theater and talk with his friend.
Usually a man of few words, David liked to talk to his new friend, who listened so attentively. “You think I am a great talker, don’t you?” he asked the fox. “Well, I am not,” he went on. “Only during the day I am too busy to talk; I’m up to my eyes in work.”
Olivia Lawrence, David’s wife, wanted to meet the fox too, and one day they went to the square together.
“Foxie, foxie, come here!” David called. The fox heard him and jumped out of the dark. But it saw Olivia and immediately ran away.
“I don’t think she will stay away long,” David said to his wife. And indeed, in a few minutes the fox returned and began her usual supper. She took a piece of meat and began to eat. Olivia stood by her husband and watched the fox attentively.
“Oh, David! Look at this!” she cried, pointing to the fox’s neck. “A collar! Don’t you see a collar around its neck?”
Only a keen woman’s eye could see a thin collar under the fox’s thick red coat. The husband and wife began to watch how the fox ate. It took only very small pieces of bread and meat. The collar was too small for it! On their way home, the David and Olivia Lawrence spoke very little but thought hard. They passed the street where another friend of the fox, the policeman, was on duty.
“Too bad, too bad!” said the policeman when they told him about the collar. “If we don’t help the poor animal, she will, of course, die. And there are no two ways about it,” he said. “I’ll give you a hand with this; I’m always ready to help. If you want me for anything, I’ll be on duty the day after tomorrow.”
Turning all this over in their heads, the husband and wife slowly walked home, hand in hand. Their friend, the fox, was in great trouble.
“First of all, we must learn where the fox lived,” said Olivia. “We know neither the name nor the address of the person to whom the fox belonged, but we’ll find out, won’t we, David?”
The husband and wife had a very bad night. They turned from side to side, thinking of the poor animal. Early in the morning they hurried to the section of the city where the fox walked at night. They stopped children, housewives, young people, and elderly people to ask about the fox. Some laughed at the strange question and hurried away, but many listened attentively and wanted to help the poor animal. That day, however, the Lawrences did not learn anything.
One more day passed, but they got nowhere. In the evening, they went to see the fox and give it something to eat. When the fox came very near, David tried to take it by the collar, but it was too quick and ran away. After that, it remained watchful and did not come close.
“Oh, it is a fool to run away; it does not know that we want to help it. What a pity!” said David.
On the third day, an old woman gave them an address and said, “I think this is the place where your fox lived.”
And she was right. The people living in that flat really had a fox some months ago. But one day it ran away, and now they knew nothing of it. Yes, it had a collar around its neck.
Now there were more people who wanted to help the fox. Some more days passed, and one evening, when David began his usual walk, the policeman hurried up to him and said happily, “I am glad to tell you that the fox is already at home. And just in time to take off that collar. You may go and see it if you wish.”
“Yes, we all have had a lot of trouble with it,” said David. “But all is well that ends well.”
The husband and wife often went to see their friend, the fox. The fox was always glad to see them and ate the good things they brought with great appetite.
