It was early in the morning, the sky was clear and the birds were chirping. As a fox, I went out in search of food. But nothing prepared me for what was going to happen next.

There was a group of campers in the middle of a meadow. The squirrels, rabbits, deer, and others were nowhere to be found. I knew they were hiding and I probably should have to. But I’ve seen this people before; they’re not really an issue. They were eating and making noise, around a bright moving light…a fire. I hated the sight of fire; it’s an uncontrollable beast that loves to roam the earth. I stayed close to the ground, as if I were stalking, staring at the flame.

All of a sudden the humans got up and just started running away. The fire started crawling across the grass, using its claws to grab and continue to go. Before long, the trees were falling apart and ashes were flowing through the sky. I ran for my life leaving everything behind, including the others. When I reached the top of a hill I looked back. Half the forest was covered in this glowing light. Huge birds with metal wings came and began to drop gallons of water. I’ve never seen anything like it before. This lasted throughout the night.

I returned a few days later horrified of what I saw… nothing. Trees where black and lifeless, there wasn’t grass. No sound, no birds, no life. My home was destroyed and everything I loved was gone. I stayed in the dark, dungeon of a place world for a few weeks, alone. On one of my little adventures, looking for others, I found something, life. In the ground there were little sprouts of grass life growing. A new beginning was about to start.

First came little flies, then birds, curious of the new life. Years pass by and every year more animals come. The plant life continues to grow like a flowing river. The essence of life was coming back into my home.

It’s been years since that horrible accident, now I’m an elderly fox enjoying everything life has to offer. Now I tell my grandchildren all about the forest. About the wonderful green creature that returned to the forest. That without him, they wouldn’t have the birds chirping or the meadows. They’ll understand one day, about the beauty of life.