Sleezy the Fox: Omnibus Edition

By William Forde

As a growing child, the one thing that I experienced in abundance was ‘second chances.’ In fact, I’d go as far as to say that without having had my fair share of second chances, my life would have taken a much different course. Second chances were my life saver!

Not surprisingly, one of my favourite books was Victor Hugo’s ‘Les Misērables,’ a story that was chiefly responsible for transforming me from ‘Thief’ to that of ‘Probation Officer’ in later life. I was also fascinated by the bible story of Christ telling His followers to ‘turn the other cheek’ in circumstances where it seemed more natural to ‘strike back.’ I eventually came to understand that the instruction of Christ to turn the other cheek wasn’t so that the offender might strike you once more, but to afford him/her ‘a second chance’ not to strike you again.

Wherever the fault lies, whatever the character trait requiring changing happens to be or however the behaviour needs improvement, being provided with ‘a second chance’ is essential to one’s overall sense of well being.

It may be that losing weight is what is required to getting a second chance at life or giving up smoking or abstaining from alcohol or drugs. One may need to address one’s inappropriate behaviour of aggression, distrust, bullying, dishonesty, name calling or anything which adversely affects one’s life and image. Whatever the unhappy state of being, ‘a second chance’ may be what one requires to either give or receive.

‘Sleezy the Fox’ is a book of four stories about the overarching theme of ‘second chances’. On the surface it deals with the immigration of a married couple and their seven children into a strange country, the bullying of neighbours, the ostracizing of offenders from the community as a whole and the alienation that often exists between man and wild beast and beast and wild man!

Each of us shall experience or perpetrate some wrong in our lives. At the critical stage of reconciliation and healing, it is vitally important that we are able to give others and ourselves the benefit of a ‘second chance’. And if you are like I used to be growing up, you may need to receive a ‘second chance’ many times before you eventually get it right.

• Language: English
• Publisher: William Forde
• Release date: Jan 24, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465896391

William Forde

William Forde was born in Ireland and currently lives in Haworth, West Yorkshire with his wife Sheila. He is the father of five children and the author of over 60 published books and two musical plays. Approximately 20 of his books are suitable for the 7-11 year old readers while the remainder are suitable for young persons and adults. Since 2010, all of his new stories have been written for adults under his 'Tales from Portlaw' series of short stories. His website is www.fordefables.co.uk on which all his miscellaneous writings may be freely read. There are also a number of children's audio stories which can be freely heard.He is unique in the field of contemporary children's authors through the challenging emotional issues and story themes he addresses, preferring to focus upon those emotions that children and adults find most difficult to appropriately express.One of West Yorkshire's most popular children's authors, Between 1990 and 2002 his books were publicly read in over 2,000 Yorkshire school assemblies by over 800 famous names and celebrities from the realms of Royalty, Film, Stage, Screen, Politics, Church, Sport, etc. The late Princess Diana used to read his earlier books to her then young children, William and Harry and Nelson Mandela once telephoned him to praise an African story book he had written. Others who have supported his works have included three Princesses, three Prime Ministers, two Presidents and numerous Bishops of the realm. A former Chief Inspector of Schools for OFSTED described his writing to the press as 'High quality literature.' He has also written books which are suitable for adults along with a number of crossover books that are suitable for teenagers and adults.Forever at the forefront of change, at the age of 18 years, William became the youngest Youth Leader and Trade Union Shop Steward in Great Britain. In 1971, He founded Anger Management in Great Britain and freely gave his courses to the world. Within the next two years, Anger Management courses had mushroomed across the English-speaking world. During the mid-70's, he introduced Relaxation Training into H.M. Prisons and between 1970 and 1995, he worked in West Yorkshire as a Probation Officer specialising in Relaxation Training, Anger Management, Stress Management and Assertive Training Group Work.He retired early on the grounds of ill health in 1995 to further his writing career, which witnessed him working with the Minister of Youth and Culture in Jamaica to establish a trans-Atlantic pen-pal project between 32 primary schools in Falmouth, Jamaica and 32 primary schools in Yorkshire.William was awarded the MBE in the New Year's Honours List of 1995 for his services to West Yorkshire. He has never sought to materially profit from the publication of his books and writings and has allowed all profit from their sales (approx £200,000) to be given to charity. Since 2013, he was diagnosed with CLL; a terminal condition for which he is currently receiving treatment.In 2014, William had his very first 'strictly for adult' reader's novel puiblished called‘Rebecca’s Revenge'. This book was first written over twenty years ago and spans the period between the 1950s and the New Millennium. He initially refrained from having it published because of his ‘children’s author credentials and charity work’. He felt that it would have conflicted too adversely with the image which had taken a decade or more to establish with his audience and young person readership. Now, however as he approaches the final years of his life and cares less about his public image, besides no longer writing for children (only short stories for adults since 2010), he feels the time to be appropriate to publish this ‘strictly for adults only’ novel alongside the remainder of his work.In December 2016 he was diagnosed with skin cancer on his face and two weeks later he was diagnosed with High-grade Lymphoma (Richter’s Transformation from CLL). He was successfully treated during the first half of 2017 and is presently enjoying good health albeit with no effective immune system.

Book preview

Sleezy the Fox

Omnibus Edition

By

William Forde

Published by William Forde

Cover Illustration by Dave Bradbury

Inner Illustrations by Joel Stephen Breeze

Copyright October 2014 by William Forde

EBook Edition

Ebook Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Author's Foreword

‘Sleezy the Fox’ was first published between 1990 and 1992 as single-story publications, with the predominant aim of helping primary schoolchildren identify and cope with emotions that they found difficult to express. The theme overarching all four stories, which can be found together in ‘The Sleezy the Fox Omnibus,’ is one of ‘second chances.’ The ‘Sleezy the Fox’ stories proved so popular with young children that the late Princess Diana used to read them to her young sons, Princes William and Harry.

Each of us shall experience or perpetrate some wrong in our lives. At the critical stage of reconciliation and healing, it is vitally important that we are able to give us and others the benefit of a ‘second chance’. And if you are like I used to be growing up, you may need to receive a ‘second chance’ many times before you eventually get it right.

In the four stories of ‘Sleezy the Fox’, one of the central characters, Gilbert Grim, is frequently referred to by other story characters as ‘the fat farmer.’ This reference is deliberately included by the author as it naturally helps to introduce the theme of the final story in the sequence which deals with the issue of name calling and bullying.

I rededicate this book to my sons, James and Adam who were the first to hear these stories many years before they were first published. I extend my thanks to artist, Dave Bradbury, for the beautiful book cover his art created.

William Forde, January 2012.

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‘Sleezy the Fox’

by

William Forde

Book One - ‘Sleezy gets a Second Chance’

Many years ago, in a country called Transylvania, there were a great many angry farmers. The cause of their anger was a very clever fox called Sleezy. At the end of each day when their work was done, the farmers would put their chickens in the coop and their sheep in the pens. Every morning when they went out to start their next day's work, they found that one of their chickens had been stolen or one of their sheep had been killed. The only trace of the intruder was a set of fox's footprints in the ground!

All the farmers tried to catch this clever fox, but each one failed. Whatever kind of trap they set, the fox proved too clever for them. You see, Sleezy was no ordinary fox. He was probably the cleverest fox in the whole wide world!

One farmer dug a deep pit outside the entrance of the chicken coop and covered it up with twigs and leaves. He went to bed that night, convinced that his chickens would be protected as he slept, and that the trap would work if the fox came. The next morning he found the trap undisturbed and another chicken stolen. He was furious! He was angry to have had one of his best chickens stolen, but angrier still to have been outsmarted by a wild fox. I just can't figure out how he did it! the angry farmer exclaimed, as he tried to puzzle out how the fox had managed to get inside the chicken coop without falling down the trap he'd set.

Another farmer decided to hide inside the chicken coop all night long with a shotgun by his side. He'll get no more of my chickens! the farmer vowed. Just let him poke his thieving face inside this chicken coop and I'll . . . . I'll blow his head off!

At the appointed time when the sky had darkened, Sleezy saw the chicken coop in the distance and decided to check it out. He was a bit tired that day and didn’t particularly feel like taking too many risks. All he felt like doing was to get in the coop, grab the fattest chicken and get back home for his supper feast of feathered chicken without the risk of capture. So not wishing to announce his presence, Sleezy crept up on the coop to ‘case the joint’ before he broke in and stole his supper.

As Sleezy got closer to the coop, his nose began to twitch excitedly with the smell of feathered chicken. Then, he sensed a different smell coming from the coop. It was a human smell. Ah...ah! Is that a farmer that I can smell? he asked himself. Sleezy crept up to the coop and peeked inside. Oh, no! Oh no, Buster! he told himself as he saw the concealed sniper with his shotgun at his side, ready to blow his head off as soon as he poked it inside the chicken coop. Oh no, Buster! You’re not going to get Sleezy so easily. You’ll not blow my head off, Mate! You’ll have to get up earlier in the morning to catch me out, Buster!

Sleezy was far too wise for the poor unsuspecting farmer. Sleezy realized that where ‘patience is a virtue,’ the best thing to do where humans are concerned is simply to ‘wait them out’. Unlike animals that spend most of their lives waiting around, humans are infinitely much more impatient. Sleezy knew that humans quickly tire and give up in their efforts.

For many hours the farmer managed to stay awake inside the chicken coop, but eventually as the night went on and on and on, he became so tired waiting for the fox that he fell fast asleep. Sleezy simply waited another 10 minutes after the farmer had fallen asleep and as the farmer’s snoring loudened; the clever fox quietly entered the chicken coop, bopped the fattest chicken on the head and promptly left the scene of the crime with a sumptuous feathered chicken in his mouth.

When he woke up the following