Life at Very Dale village is exciting, with many adventures happening here with the animals. There is a church with a steeple in the village, and an old farmhouse.
Thomas and Barbara Collins own and run the farm with several helpers. The farm hands help to feed and care for the animals here, while Master Thomas, chief farmer, oversees the farm and makes sure everything runs smoothly. And he is informed directly by the farm hands if any creatures become ill. Then the animal doctor, called a vet, is called to treat the animals for their ills.
The creatures that live here are very happy, and all have their certain jobs to do.
Grey Goose is Matron, and her job is to make sure that the animals fall into line and do what they are told. Grey Goose is called Matron Mary and she is very strict. She gabbles at them loudly if they misbehave. If they do misbehave the whole farm knows about it, as Matron Mary has a very loud voice. This means that those who misbehave are snubbed by everyone living on the farm, and this can go on for weeks, or until they apologise to all of the other residents.
Today Matron Mary has had to speak to the Farm Sausage, and his name is Porker.
Porker has been taunting Prince Red Fox, and he, the fox, in turn has been cheeky, and offended others at the farm.
Porker argues with Matron Mary, but everyone in the farm hears what he says, and needless to say he is snubbed by all, because he answers her back and is disrespectful.
Matron Mary has protected Sausage from Prince Red Fox in the past, but now Sausage is being snubbed.
Matron gabbles at him, and tells everyone that because he is disrespectful they must not listen to him when he complains about Prince Red Fox.
Word about this spreads very quickly, and it reaches the ears of the Fox.
Of course Red Fox takes advantage of this, because he is a bully, and so from now on Sausage has to keep looking over his shoulder. Prince Red Fox likes sausages and now Porker is on the menu. Sausage is upset, as he has to keep on hiding in the shadows. Porker sits on a fallen log, crying.
A tiny sparrow flies by and hears Porker weeping. “Oh, you poor little sausage, what’s wrong, and why are you upset?”
“Boo, hoo,” Sausage answers. “I wish to say sorry to Matron Mary for answering her back, but Red Fox follows me, and he chases me. I think he wants to eat me, and I don’t know what to do.”
The sparrow put his thinking cap on. After a short while he advised Porker, “If I were you, I would try to hide your nice pink skin, and change your nice porky smell.”
“Really, sparrow? How can I do that?”
“Mmm, well, you could jump into the compost heap. This will make your skin mucky and you will be able to hide in the shadows better. Also you won’t smell lovely and porky. This will be a good disguise.”
Sausage thanked the sparrow and walked across to the compost heap. Sausage turned his nose up, and he said, “Yuk, poo, this is silly and very smelly, and I don’t want to jump into that heap.”
Sausage felt hot breath on the hairs of his neck, and as he turned he could see Fox wandering towards him. Sausage quickly jumped into the compost heap. Foxy walked straight past him.
“Well, it works, so I’ll keep jumping into the heap. If he can’t see me and smell me, I will be safe.”
Red Fox loves eating sausages, but he hasn’t seen Sausage for a few days now and he is getting very hungry.
Fox chased a frog, but Froggy jumped into the pond. Fox doesn’t like getting wet, and so he chased a rabbit instead. The rabbit is a fast runner and got away from the fox and the rabbit disappeared down a rabbit-hole. Red Fox tried to follow rabbit down his burrow, but he was too big and got stuck. A passing mole helped him to get out. Fox was going to eat Mole, but mole had gone underground.
Fox is getting so hungry he will eat anything to stop hunger pains, and his tummy from rumbling. Then he thought, ‘An egg, I could eat a chicken egg, it will be a nice quick meal. I know, I’ll make my way to the hen house.’
Fox is heading to the hen house and the chickens feel afraid, but Bernie, the Farm Cockerel, forms a plan.
The chickens shivered and huddled together. Bernie the Cockerel stuck his chest out and crowed. Bernie picked up his trumpet, which he keeps in case he gets a sore throat, so that instead of crowing, he can blow the brass trumpet.
“I’ll give the fox a shock that he won’t be expecting,” Bernie says to the hens.
The Chickens all cluck, saying, “Be careful, Bernie, we love you and we don’t want you hurt. We need you to be daddy to our chicks when they hatch.”
Bernie hears Red Fox approaching, because he’s a vain fox, and wears high-heeled boots. Fox likes to frighten creatures by towering over them. Bernie watches from the small vent of the chicken house.
He sees Red Fox knock on the big posh door of his chicken mansion. The chicken house is where all the hens live with the chicks when they hatch. This is where chicks are taught about chicken ways. The mansion is where young cockerels go to be taught how to crow and to be good husbands and protectors. Bernie is horrified as he sees Fox has something shiny in his belt; he gulped when he saw what it was. “Oohh, heck, I’d better do this quickly, and close the wooden vent, before he can use that horrid thing that he’s carrying on me.”
Bernie takes a deep breath and then blows loudly.
Red Fox almost faints with the shock. Fox is suffering from hunger and is weak. Fox feels very giddy and he looks around to find a place to sit down. Fox tumbles down the steps and is too tired to get up, and so he falls asleep.
Sausage gets the news that Red Fox is weak and has taken a fall. Sausage takes a bath in the river to show off his pink skin. “Oh, I smell so lovely, all porky and pink!” Porker hugs himself.
Sausage decides to find Matron Mary and apologise to her and promise he will never answer her back again. On his way to find her he finds some gold coins that have been washed out of the bank in the torrential rain they had two days ago.
He says to himself, “I remember a story about a goose that lays golden eggs. I will take these gold coins to Matron Mary and ask her if she will lay some golden eggs for us all. I must say sorry to Matron first.”
As he walks back he stumbles on Red Fox, who is still asleep. Then Fox’s nose quivers and he drawls, “Sausages. I smell wonderful sausages.” Then Fox opens one eye and jumps up onto his paws. Fox almost falls over again, because he’s losing his balance in the high heels he’s wearing.
Red Fox spots the purse that Sausage is carrying.
Red Fox takes off his hat and says, “I will let you pass if you give me what’s in that purse.”
Sausage isn’t falling for it. He knows Red Fox will change his mind once he has the coins.
An argument takes place between Sausage and Red Fox.
Very farm 4
The argument is serious and Red Fox is very cross because Sausage won’t let him have the purse.
“I gave you a chance to do the right thing,” Fox snarled. “Now I will just have to take it.” Red Fox is getting cross because the smell of the sausage is making his tummy grumble loudly, because he’s so hungry.
Sausage says, “I know what will happen, if I give the purse to you, you’ll break the promise, and go back on your word, because you’re not a very honest fox.”
“So what you’re saying is that I’m a sly fox!” Red fox is really losing his cool.
“Yes, you could say that’s what I’m saying,” Sausage replied.
Cockerel came to the vent in the hen house and warned Sausage about the shiny item that Fox has in his belt.
Red Fox snarled at Sausage and pulled out the shiny blade in his belt.
“Oh no no,” Sausage says, shaking all over, “there’s no need to go that far; we can come to some understanding.” Sausage is in fear of his life.
Some of the farm yard creatures felt sorry for Sausage. They tried to please Red Fox and help Sausage to get away. They brought him a tankard of ale and some mashed potato on a plate with knife and fork.
“Ah, I’ll drink this ale as I’m thirsty,” the Fox said, picking up the tankard. “Now I’ll eat the mashed potato, but it’d be much nicer with a sausage on this plate to go with it.” He looked at Sausage with evil eyes.
He walked toward Sausage but he felt dizzy. The farm animals had mixed cider with the ale. And someone brought Red Fox a pillow. The Fox passed out and fell down the steps, and little Sausage got away. The creatures chained Red Fox up, but hung the keys where he could reach them, so that when he wakes up he can unlock the chain and let himself get free.
Red Fox isn’t getting enough to eat on Very Dale Farm and he’s tired of chasing Sausage. Then one day in the spring Prince, the Red Fox had a lovely surprise as a very beautiful Vixen passed by the farm. They instantly fell in love and decided to move away to have their own home. He and Elvira his wife raised some cubs, and these days Red Fox is training them to be good hunters. Sausage was never cheeky and rude to Matron Mary ever again, and he is polite to everyone on the farm.
Josephine Smith
