The winter days passed like a second and the sun melted the last snow long ago. Its rays warmed up more and more and woke up all the animals that slept through the winter. And those that hadn’t slept ran out into the sun to warm their bodies. The birds tuned their spring notes and sang like never before. Spring has come again.
We should celebrate it, the forest animals thought.
“But how shall we do it? Who’s going to prepare it?” asked the hare.
“Everyone must contribute to make the celebration perfect,” replied the wise owl.
And so the animals ran to all corners of the forest to find something to bring to the party.
The hare pulled carrots and brought them to the clearing where the squirrels were already spreading green moss on a large stump. They brought a few nuts themselves. The deer and the fawn brought water so that all the animals would have something to drink. The bees brought a little honey and the lizards brought tiny daisy and snowdrop flowers to decorate the place nicely.
The bear took care of the entertainment. He brought a bunch of different things – binoculars, a cell phone, pencil and papers, gloves, keys and a green hat. The animals were looking forward to seeing what they are going to do with all of those things.
“Where did you get that, bear?” wondered the fox, who hadn’t brought anything yet.
“Over there by the stinger. The huntsman left his pack there. He saw a doe, ran after it, and left the pack there. So I borrowed it,” said the bear.
When the animals had their food, drink and decorations ready, they all gathered in the clearing. Even the birds arrived and decided to take care of the music in exchange for a few grains. And so they took turns singing their beautiful spring songs. A fox came to the party. She wanted a taste of the feast, but the owl said: “You, fox, have contributed nothing. You have brought nothing, you didn’t help us with the preparations, so you cannot feast with us.”
“But I have nothing, and I know nothing,” said the fox sadly.
“I’m sure you know something that the others don’t,” said the owl.
“I know lots of funny stories about foxes,” smiled the fox.
“Well, you see. Why don’t you tell us some? After all, a celebration includes not only food but also laughter.”
And so the party continued. All the animals were merry. It was a very beautiful celebration, because every animal had a part in it, every animal helped to make it better in some way. Someone with food, someone with water, the bear with fun things, and the fox brought laughter in the form of his stories.
I’m going to tell you a bit of the story that the fox told the animals. It was about an old fox who went to sleep in a grandmother’s cottage over the winter.
“Every time he came there,” the fox told the story, “Grandma would pet him and put food in his bowl. The fox liked it quite a bit, but eventually he stopped coming there. He didn’t like it when Grandma called him Kitty.”
The animals were lying on the floor laughing. But that wasn’t the end of the story.
“The fox then went to stay with a hunter for the winter. He couldn’t see very well, and he kept forgetting his glasses, so it wasn’t much better. The hunter called him Rex and put him in the doghouse because he mistook him for his dog.”
At this the hare came forward.
“May I give you a riddle?”
“Sure, Bunny,” the owl beckoned him with his wing to speak.
“Do you know when rabbits get dirty and smelly?”
No one knew. The bunny had to tell them.
“Well, when a bear runs out of toilet paper.”
And so the party ended on a happy note. The animals cleaned up the clearing after themselves and were happy to live in such a beautiful forest where everyone helps each other and enjoys life together.
