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by Edna Yaghi
- Once upon a midnight dreary in a far
far away place, there lived a kindly red fox by the name of Ben.
E. Volent. Ben was the leader of his skulk in a remote sort of
jungle-like area found on few maps but renowned in the animal
kingdom as the Land of Pandemonium.
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- Anyway, Benny had taken great pains
to become the leader of his skulk There were countless scars on
his furry red coat to testify to the battles that he had fought to
become the dominant one in his skulk, not to mention portions of
his territory that he had ceded to those nightmarish geeks, the
jackals just so he could keep the best of the food supply for him
and his mate and keep the scraps for the rest of the foxes he
ruled over. It was funny he mused, how the rest of the skulk could
be so appreciative for nearly nothing. But then, after all, he was
the leader! It was important that he never go hungry no matter how
many other foxes might feel the pangs of starvation eat away at
the linings of their bellies.
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- He had fought foxes from other
skulks long and hard for his mate. She was the most beautiful
vulpine he had ever seen and he loved her name. Before they shared
the same den he would howl her name to the moon, calling endless
times, "De Base, De Base, De Baseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
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- Benny had so many foxes to serve him
and his mate De. They would hunt for him and his mate all sorts of
mammals, birds insects and fish. They would also bring for him and
De, fruits, berries and carrion. And always, before his fox
servants left their leader they would say, "Is there anything
else you desire, Sire?"
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- Of course, sire was not greedy and
easily satisfied. Since he had the best of the food supply, what
more could he ask? He grew plump and so did De. Every day he
padded quietly across the sparse grass of his Pandemonium and
gloated at his gains. If only the jackals would stay away, then
everything would be perfect he thought one damp humid evening as
he paced back and forth in front of his den.
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- He knew that he might be able to
bribe them with the gift of a sick or old fox every now and then
as a source of nourishment for he knew too, that jackals would eat
anything, even a sickly or old fox.
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- So it was arranged that every month,
he would secretly hand over a sick or old fox as a kind of
Dane-geld. Payment of a Dane-geld would ensure that the jackals
acknowledge Ben’s jurisdiction and stay out of his Pandemonium.
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- But one day, when Benny was lying
down and sunning his shiny red coat of fur, the leader of the pack
of jackals sauntered over to him. Benny jumped up. The head jackal
howled a long piercing howl that shattered the quiet of the hot
summer day and made the hair on the back of Benny’s neck stand
straight up. Other Jackals in the distance howled back as if to
show that they were giving their leader the support he wanted.
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- Benny lowered his tail, flattened
his ears and slunk himself closer to the head jackal. In reply,
the jackal snarled and displayed yellow sharp fangs and said,
"Well, Ben E. Volent, how are you doing today and how is your
beautiful mate De Base?"
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- Ben’s ears pricked up a bit and
with a glint of hope in his sharp eyes, replied, "Why your
Graciousness, so kind of you to ask! De is fine and soon to
deliver some pups to our skulk. What brings you here your
Graciousness and my good friend?"
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- Still showing his fangs, the head
jackal snarled again, "Our food supply is running low. We
need to take some of Pandemonium hunting grounds so that we can
replenish our dwindling supply of mammals.
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- "Furthermore," he
continued with a hiss and a rasp, "one sick or old fox each
month is not nearly enough. My pack is hungry and as you know,
scavengers that we are, we eat anything and everything!"
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- Our hero Benny gulped. He hung his
tail lower. What a dilemma! How could he give up more of his
treasured Pandemonium? And how could he continue to sacrifice more
than one fox each month? But as necessity is the mother of
invention, it suddenly dawned on him. Low down in the cunning
depth of his benevolent mind, he thought of a way to survive, for
he was best at survival. His father had always taught him that in
the jungle, survival of the fittest rules.
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- "I can understand your problem
Your Graciousness," he said to the head jackal. "Your
requests shall be met, have no fear. Each month you shall have two
foxes to feast on and I will cede to you some more of the best
hunting grounds of Pandemonium!"
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- Satisfied, the head jackal smugly
displayed his yellow fangs once more and with a warning, left with
the snarl, "Be sure you meet my demands. We will show no
mercy to you and your skulk if you don’t and the first to go
will be you and after that your precious De and then your pups!
You are fat and we will feast on your carcass."
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- A shiver rattled Ben’s bones as he
imagined himself the feast for the jackals.
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- Before the jackal left, the fox
sniffed the air and muttered to himself, "Sheez! That dog has
a bad case of halitosis! He should see a good vet!"
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- Ben should have been concerned to
say the least, ...nay, he should have panicked. But he was not
concerned and he did not panic. As soon as the head jackal
disappeared, the fox’s ears sharpened when he noticed a slight
sound. He heard an earthworm bristling through the grass.
Pinpointing the movement of the worm, Ben poised and then plunged
his muzzle into the grass to grab it. The worm tried to resist Ben’s
tug, but the fox pulled it taut until he freed it and in one
swallow, Ben did away with this small appetizer. He then yawned
and stretched out once again in the hot sun remembering that his
skulk would soon provide him and De with succulent tasty morsels
to dine on and that he really had nothing at all to worry about.
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- So it passed. Ben kept his word. He
gave the jackals some of Pandemonium’s best hunting grounds and
each month supplied them with two old or sick foxes, whatever the
case might be. Remember that Ben E. Volent was cunning and one
that knew how to survive in his jungle so in order to appease the
members of his skulk, he benevolently donated one of his many dens
for the homeless. Little understood was that the homeless would
one by one become meals for the pack of jackals and that the
caretakers of the den would convince the rest of the homeless
tenants that those who suddenly disappeared each month had been
relocated to a new housing complex where they would live
comfortably ever after.
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- Ben’s plan was sure to succeed
because one fine day when the jungle smelled especially fragrant
and almost like heaven, he decided to call all members of his
skulk to his podium where he gave the most eloquent speech he had
ever given. He was an expert at equivocating and none could exceed
him when it came to expatiation.
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- At last when it looked like all the
skulk was bored to tears or falling asleep, he ended his length
speech with, "And so my fine fellow foxes, we all must
sacrifice so that we can all survive in our beautiful Pandemonium.
However in order for us to survive, I encourage all of you to have
as many pups as you can. We will gain strength in number!"
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- His skulk was overjoyed at his
speech. They clapped their padded feet and stamped about in the
jungle. Truly, their leader was the greatest of all foxes and they
would do anything to ensure his well-being and safety. And look
how generous he was to supply the homeless foxes with one of his
elaborate dens Ben heard each whisper to the other. And how wise
he was to suggest that all foxes have as many pups as possible!
Little did they realize that our kind hero Ben wanted to increase
the fox population in order to be able to feed the ever-hungry
jackals. It really did not matter if the foxes to be donated were
old or sick. With a renewed supply of pups, any fox would do. What
really mattered was that Ben and his family flourish and become
fatter and fatter.
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Source:
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- by courtesy & ©
2000 Edna Yaghi
