fox stories for kids: The Fox’s Phone Booth
At the foot of the mountain, there was an old phone booth.
Every time the sun set,
a small light would turn on inside the booth.
This solitary little light,
on a path rarely traveled by people,
seemed to always be waiting for a visitor.
Deep in the mountains lived a mother fox and her child, Little Fox.
Not long after Little Fox was born, his father fell ill and passed away.
But Mother Fox did not feel lonely,
because Little Fox grew bigger each day and became more lovable.
“Mom, look at me!”
One day, Little Fox wrapped his arms around Mother Fox’s neck
and leaped onto her back. With a whoosh, he spun around.
“Wow! I did it! I’m so happy!”
“Wow! Amazing! Mom is happy too.”
“Huh? Are you happy too, Mom?”
“Yes, as long as you are happy, Mom is happy too.”
“Then, if I learn magic, would you be even happier? Don’t all foxes know magic?”
“Hehehe, that’s not always the case.
Look, no matter how much Mom chants spells,
I still can’t make any magic happen.”
“Oh no, that’s so disappointing!”
To Mother Fox, the sight of her adorable Little Fox sparkled like a ray of light.
Before long, bone-chilling cold enveloped the earth.
Little Fox seemed a bit off,
not as lively as usual.
“What’s wrong? Are you hungry? Or does something hurt?”
“No, I’m just feeling a bit cold…”
Mother Fox held the shivering Little Fox tightly day and night,
warming him with her body.
However, one morning,
Little Fox’s small body curled up, his whole body turning cold.
“My child! My child!”
No matter how much Mother Fox called out, Little Fox never responded again.
Mother Fox wept bitterly every day,
crying so much that it seemed her body might melt into tears.
When she was too tired to cry, she would fall silent, unmoving.
Days went by, and one evening,
Mother Fox finally lifted her head.
She saw the light of the phone booth flickering faintly in the distance.
Weak and exhausted, Mother Fox walked toward the light.
This solitary little light
quietly warmed her heart.
Suddenly, the phone booth door shook.
“Mom!”
In the stillness of the night,
a loud shout echoed down the road.
“Ah, how cute. If my child were a human,
he would be about this age.”
Mother Fox squinted her eyes.
“Well then, Mom, see you tomorrow.”
After saying this, the boy skipped away,
eventually disappearing from sight.
Mother Fox was startled;
it seemed like there was a tail swaying behind the boy.
The next morning, Mother Fox hurried down the mountain.
“I wish I could see that child again…”
She waited in the bushes, hoping and longing.
She waited for who knows how long, but the boy still didn’t appear.
As the sky turned a purple deeper than the bellflowers,
a small light turned on in the phone booth.
Just as if they had made an appointment, as the light turned on,
faint footsteps could be heard approaching.
Sure enough, it was the same boy from yesterday.
Mother Fox was overjoyed and pricked up her ears to listen.
“Mom, I miss you so much…”
The boy suddenly said, sounding like he was being coquettish.
Mother Fox felt as if Little Fox had returned,
speaking these words to her.
“Yes, Mom misses you too.”
Mother Fox wanted to hold the boy tightly,
to lick him affectionately.
What would happen if she did that?
The boy would surely be frightened and run away!
Mother Fox curled her tail and tried to restrain herself.
And so, every time the light in the phone booth turned on,
Mother Fox would go down the mountain, waiting for the boy to appear.
“Mom, today I went to the station with Grandpa.”
“Wow, that’s great.”
“And I had ice cream. I ate all of Grandpa’s ice cream too.”
“What? You didn’t get a stomach ache, did you?”
Without realizing it, Mother Fox was replying to the boy’s words.
Originally, the boy and his grandpa lived together,
while his mom seemed to be in a hospital in a distant town.
“Mom, in the future, we’re going to the seaside together.
For now, we can just talk on the phone,
and as long as I can talk to Mom, I’m happy.”
“Yes, Mom is happy too…”
“As long as I’m happy, Mom is happy, right?”
“Yes, that’s right, not a bit wrong.”
Mother Fox nodded.
Before long, the icy wind blew through the mountains.
One evening,
as Mother Fox came down the mountain as usual, she froze in place.
The light in the phone booth was not on,
and a car was driving from afar.
“Hey, this phone booth is broken.
It says here: too old, so it needs to be removed.”
Mother Fox heard a man’s voice from the car.
“What? It’s going to be removed?”
Mother Fox was shocked,
and at that moment, she heard the familiar sound of small footsteps again in the distance.
“It must be that child coming.
What should I do… if he finds out the phone booth is broken,
how disappointed he would be!”
Mother Fox mumbled worriedly.
“Poor child, if only there was another phone booth… Oh, if only I could become a phone booth…”
Unwilling to give up, Mother Fox stomped her feet repeatedly.
“Ah!” Mother Fox suddenly cried out,
and slowly, she stood upright, stepping back.
Bit by bit,
she turned into a phone booth.
“Huh? Why are there two phone booths?”
The boy seemed startled
and then stepped into the fox phone booth.
His hand holding the receiver looked like a large cosmos flower,
radiating warmth.
“Hello! Mom!” A sweet scent filled the air.
“Mom, can you hear me?”
“Yes, yes, I can hear you…”
Mother Fox’s heart pounded as she replied.
“Mom, I want to tell you…”
“I know, you went to the station with Grandpa, right?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then I know, you ate ice cream. Was it delicious?
But Mom seems to remember you wanted to eat walnut rice cakes together.”
Mother Fox was so happy she couldn’t help but ramble on.
The boy laughed.
“No, that’s not it.
We’re moving soon to the town where Mom is staying,
so we won’t need to call anymore.
Because I’ll be able to see Mom every day,
ah, I can’t wait to see Mom.”
Mother Fox suddenly felt dizzy.
Does this mean she would never see the boy again?
When she regained her senses, it felt like she had been dreaming,
sitting there dazed.
She could still feel the warmth of the boy on her chest,
and the sweet smell of his cheeks lingered in the air.
“Whoo—whoo—”
Suddenly, a cold wind blew,
and Mother Fox quickly slipped into the phone booth.
Unexpectedly, the light that had been off flickered a few times,
slowly brightening.
“Ah…” Mother Fox was instantly enveloped in warmth,
as if someone were holding her tightly,
her heart filled with gentle calm.
“That’s good; that child will finally get to see his mom…
Thanks to him,
I was able to relive those beautiful memories with Little Fox.”
Mother Fox gently picked up the receiver.
On this night, when it seemed she could reach out and pluck the stars,
perhaps Little Fox could hear her voice.
“Hello, hello, child… I want to tell you,
Mom can do magic now, really!”
On the other end of the line, it was quiet—there was no sound.
But Mother Fox felt herself gradually regaining her strength.
“Yes, Little Fox is always in my arms,
always together. Mom will no longer be sad…”
Mother Fox never realized that,
for her sake, the phone booth used its last bit of energy to light up its lamp,
also silently reigniting the light that was about to go out in her heart.
Under the light of the phone booth,
a look of indescribable happiness spread across Mother Fox’s face.
The author uses a delicate narrative and warm language to convey two themes: first, love is the greatest magic. Mother Fox, who didn’t know magic, unknowingly transformed because of her deep love for Little Fox. Second, giving is the greatest gain. When suffering comes, dwelling in it is like soaking in ice water—it only gets colder. One must give and extend warmth, and what is received in return is warmth itself. Only then can one face the greatest misfortunes in life.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
