Our third focus in this outdoor storying challenge!
"Run with the fox
Into the wind on to the dawn of tomorrow
Run with the fox
Into the wild..."
Alan White
Welcome to our 'Fairytrails' challenge! If you would like a quick outline of what this is all about, click here! If you're ready to go - let's do it!
Recognising where foxes have been...
It's not an easy task to find a fox, but you can have a good go at finding where they've been with the following bits of information:
Foxes have a musky, skunk smell that you might be able to detect with a good, deep sniff!
Fox paw prints are narrower that a dogs - take a peek at this to see what I mean.
Foxes dig out dens - known as earths - and in the city these are commonly located under sheds, among tree roots, in bushes or along railway embankments.
When you pop out for your walk and finally find your 'fox haunt' (or even maybe glimpse a fox!), you might be interested to know:
The fox is often the trickster in a story.
Foxes have magic associated with them - did you know that the Finnish fox can conjure the Aurora Borealis when it's fur touches the snow?
In one First Nations tale, the fox once stole fire from the heavens to provide to humankind!
Now's the time for a tale...
We've got two for you today!
Our first story today is told by the superb storyteller Vanessa Woolf-Hoyle aka London Dreamtime! Click here to watch Vanessa's re-telling of Lewis Carroll's tale 'The Three Naughty Foxes'. (Fab for little story lovers!)
Followed by The First Nation Tale of 'The Curing Fox'. Click here for my telling on the Folktrails podcasts (I tell it while I'm out in the woods) or click here to listen to it told by the gorgeously calming Nana Tomova's gentle and evocative telling!
Outdoor storying challenge #3:
Build your very own fox's den! Inside/outside - wherever you fancy! The more ambitious the better! Go Wild, Go West have some fab pictures of their dens here.
Bushcraft, podcasts and other things that might interest you...
Listen to my Folktrails podcast 'Where the Wild Things Are' featuring my own telling of The Curing Fox.
Watch my telling of the Scandinavian folktale East of the Sun, West of the Moon for another fantastic story about a wild animal - a white bear!
Check out Terri Windling's 'Myth and Moor' blog about the fox.
Find out how animals can help you navigate with Tristan Gooley.
Happy outdoor storying y'all! Let us know how you get on!
Pridie, Elva & Adelind :)