Sunday, March 20, 2016

The Fox and the Laundry - A Modern Day Fable


Thank you Two Writing Teachers for creating this space for me to share my corner of the world.

Once there was a fox who lived in the meadow with Mrs. Fox and their children Kit and Kat.  Mr. Fox left his den every day to work deep in the woods.  Mrs. Fox was left to care for the children, fix the meals, and clean the den.

Photo by Flickr
One day Mr. Fox came home and told his family, "I think I am getting too old to work, so I am going to stay home with all of you."

The family cheered, and they had wonderful days of playing and romping in the meadow.

One day Mr. Fox felt like he needed to start helping around the den, so he began helping with the household chores, especially the laundry.

But Mr. Fox didn't do the laundry the same way as Mrs. Fox.  He washed everything together, and their clothing faded.  He mixed Kit's shirts with Kat's shirts, and they could never find the right ones.  He never matched the socks correctly, and he never folded the clothes the way Mrs. Fox did.

"Momma, will you please make Papa quit doing the laundry?  He can't do it right." Kit and Kat whined.

Momma said, "Papa just wants to feel like he is helping out."  Mrs. Fox was feeling the same frustration, but she was tired of arguing with Mr. Fox.  She knew he wanted to feel useful, but she needed to find a way to solve this problem.

One day Mrs. Fox did a load of laundry a day early.  She usually kept it as a weekend chore.  The whites and the darks were washed separately.  Kit and Kat's shirts did not get mixed up.  All the clothes were folded the way everyone liked, and all the socks were matched.  Everyone was happy.

Mrs. Fox realized that if she kept up the laundry during the week and didn't wait for the weekend, then Mr. Fox wouldn't have any laundry to do.  And all would be dandy in the den.
Moral of the story:  If you want to outfox a fox, 
stay one step ahead of him.

9 comments:

  1. Your tale made me laugh because I totally understand. And it gave me an opportunity to use my inferencing skills! I guess we know what you will be doing on Fridays. Great slice!

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  2. I love this! We want help. We appreciate help. But, if they would only help the right way! My mother once told me that my father made their bed once. She criticized something about the way he did it - he never made the bed again. I like your way - outfox the fox!

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  3. What a great way to tell a family story. Did you share this with Mr. Fox?

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  4. ha! have you somehow looked into my life? great slice, and I love that you told it as a fable.

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  5. Bahahaha! This is so true! When I was a teen, and all my clothes had to be washed in cold water on the gentle cycle so they wouldn't shrink (being cheap, teen-aged clothes), my dad tried to get helpful and washed ALL MY FAVORITE SHIRTS in hot water. They were Barbie clothes at the end--I was devastated!!

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  6. But then there might be a Mr. Fox in the world who reads labels on clothes and researches certain stains. That Mr. Fox is very OCD and he might live in my house. I won't complain because he cleans the house too. In fact, he washed all the windows inside and out yesterday. Yes, there is a Mr. Fox like this, and no, he can't come live at your house. :-)

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  7. Oh I LOVE this!!! I have to say, this is crazy true. We now do our own laundry in our household! My husband and I both don't like the way each other does laundry!!! Love the fable spin! :)

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  8. Got a real chuckle. Why is it "foxes" can't separate the laundry. Is it done so they won't have to continue?

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  9. Wonder if there's a little truth to this tale? This is a delightful slice. Laundry even torments the Fox family!!!

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