The fox cub who kept it all

All autumn long, Scamp the fox cub had been filling his hiding place. Under the roots of the big oak, he had piled up fallen apples, hazelnuts, dried blackberries and even three shiny chestnuts. Every evening, he counted his treasures, his tail swishing. "This way I'll never be hungry this winter," he told himself.

Then the snow came. It fell for three days and three nights and covered the whole forest in a thick white blanket. Not a berry left on the bushes, not an apple in the grass. Snug in his den, Scamp was nibbling a hazelnut when someone knocked at the door, tap tap tap, with a very small paw.

It was Poppy, the young rabbit, with her little brother clinging to her back. The tips of their noses were bright red. "Scamp, would you have a little something to eat? We can't find anything under the snow." Scamp felt his tummy tighten. If he gave away his apples, there would be fewer left for him. And what if there were none left at all? "I haven't got anything," he lied, and he shut the door.

But that evening, his hazelnuts tasted funny. He chewed and chewed and couldn't taste a thing. He kept thinking about the little rabbit's red nose, and the cold wind outside. He felt ashamed, a heavy shame like a stone in his chest. And in his quiet den, sitting next to his big pile of food, he felt very lonely.

So he filled a basket with apples, blackberries and two chestnuts, wrapped his scarf around his neck and went out into the snow. He found Poppy and her brother huddled under a fir tree. "I lied," he said quietly. "I've got loads. Come to my place, it's warm." Poppy's eyes went wide, then she smiled so hard her whiskers trembled. On the way, they passed a blackbird shivering on a branch. He came too.

That night, Scamp's den had never been so full. They roasted the chestnuts by the fire, told each other stories and laughed so much that Poppy's little brother got the hiccups. The pile of food had shrunk a little, but Scamp had forgotten to count it. He fell asleep against Poppy's warm back, the blackbird perched on his ear, while the snow kept falling over the forest.