White Fox by Chen Jiatong

Author:Chen Jiatong
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction
Publisher: Chicken House
Published: 2019-09-12T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 6

The Iron Hooves of Kvik Valley

When night fell, Dilah laid the moonstone on a soft patch of grass and opened the parcel. Ankel watched with great interest. The golden crescent in the middle of the moonstone spun, whirling round and round until it stopped at last, pointing the way forward.

‘Wow, it’s amazing!’ Ankel couldn’t believe his eyes. He studied the glowing crescent moon, its golden light beaming on to his face. ‘It’s like a compass,’ he said.

‘Compass?’

‘A tool invented by humans. The needle always points north. If you have one, you’ll never get lost,’ Ankel explained.

‘Humans are so smart! I’ve never seen a compass. Maybe it’s the same thing as the moonstone.’

‘No, this is definitely different.’ Ankel’s eyes sparkled in the light of the moonstone.

‘It’s taken me a lot of work to figure out how to use it!’

‘Wait – is this the poem you told me about earlier?’ Ankel had noticed the script written on the leather.

He picked it up. In the faint moonlight, he carefully studied the verse, mumbling to himself, poring over each and every word. ‘When you’re lost, let the sky lead the way,’ he murmured at last.

‘How can you understand that?’ Dilah stared at Ankel in shock, his jaw hanging open. He remembered Grandpa Turtle saying that most of the animals who could read the characters were extinct.

‘You mean Classical Animalese?’ He chuckled. ‘My grandpa taught it to me when I was small. He has a knack for languages.’

‘Wow! Did he teach you other stuff about animal history?’

Ankel’s ears perked up at Dilah’s interest. ‘Of course! He told me that animal civilizations developed millions of years ago, earlier than human civilizations. Animals have their own cultures and lifestyles – we all know that. But in the past, our ancestors used pictures and symbols to record their civilizations, just like humans did.’

‘Where did they record these things?’ Dilah asked.

‘On the walls of caves, or on rocks on the seabed – though when humans discovered these strange symbols, they assumed it was the work of other humans . . . or even aliens!’

‘But what happened? Why don’t we use writing any more?’

‘According to Grandpa, humans plundered natural resources and enslaved and killed animals to further their interests, which quickly advanced human civilizations . . . but destroyed animal civilizations. Gradually, the written language stopped being used – and the spoken language evolved into what we speak now: Modern Animalese.’

Dilah was lost in thought. If he became human, even if he was a good human, would he hurt and kill animals? If human civilization was founded on enslaving and killing animals, how could he avoid it? He shivered.

‘Ankel,’ he said at last, ‘if we really become human, we must do something to help the animals.’

The next morning, golden rays of sun streamed between the clouds on to the emerald grass, the leaves glistening with dew. Mist drifted over the hills. Dilah and Ankel continued on their way, the scent of wildflowers wafting on the breeze. All colours of petals bloomed in the meadows as far as the eye could see, trailing all the way up to the hills.

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