White Fox in the Forest by Chen Jiatong

Author:Chen Jiatong
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Dilah felt something drift past him and brush against his ears. He opened his bleary eyes, blinking. How much time had passed? At his side, Ankel, Little Bean, and Tyrone were all sweetly dreaming.

A ray of blue moonlight shone through the skylight overhead, and the arched cave seemed empty and silent. But, half squinting, Dilah saw a red fox standing at the mouth of the cave, glowing. His eyes widened. The red fox had big, bright eyes; long eyelashes; a pointed nose; slender limbs; and a large, gorgeously curved tail.

Who is she?

Dilah struggled to his feet. He ached everywhere. The red fox walked out of the cave, a few steps into the next one, turning back to gaze at Dilah, her eyes sparkling. Dilah followed.

The glowing red fox was like a lantern leading him through the intricate cave system. She turned left then right, then led Dilah down a twisting passage. She glanced back every now and then as if to check he was following, but she always kept her distance.

At last, they arrived in a huge arched cavern, the largest in the complex so far. On the floor of the cave, a glistening spring emitted a faint rainbow light that reflected onto the steep, uneven walls. The waters rippled, tiny bubbles emerging one after the other from the mouth of the spring. Half a stone bridge stretched from where Dilah stood.

At the end of the half bridge, the red fox turned around. Barely able to contain his excitement, Dilah stepped forward, but her image began to fade, and in seconds, she disappeared like mist.

Dilah’s heart ached with fresh grief. How could an actual flesh-and-blood fox have evaporated in an instant? He studied the cave, wary of any danger, then carefully walked out onto the stone bridge, to the spot where the red fox had disappeared.

Peering at the cave walls, he realized they were covered in a series of red murals. A story, he thought wonderingly as he started to decipher the images. A fox hid in the trees, spying on a human. A fox and a human walked together. A fox sat in front of a magnificent palace. A fox stood atop a snowy peak searching for something, then gripped a stone in their mouth and walked over to a human cloaked in a cape and hood. A man picked up a stone, creating a glowing ring high in the air. A fox put on the ring of light and, as though breaking out of a cocoon, gradually transformed into a young human woman … The murals extended all over the stone walls. Dilah kept turning to take everything in until he glanced up and noticed a line of gilded script:

I was formed in the Arctic.

I bring hope and guide the way.

I’m filled with sky and moon,

on behalf of the northern night.

It all began with a love affair—a fox fell in love with a human being.

It was a sad and beautiful love, one that touched even the patron saint of the Arctic foxes.

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