The Fox and the Goose

In the green forest where the river winds like a silver ribbon, Greta the goose lives a cheerful life paddling the water and greeting her neighbours. When a sudden storm swells the river and floods her meadow, she finds herself stranded on a small patch of grass with water rising around her webbed feet. Help arrives from an unexpected direction: Finn the fox, whose warm voice and patient manner persuade the frightened goose to trust him. Step by step he leads her through the shallow water to a dry hill, and in the days that follow he returns with grass, seeds and dry leaves, showing her safe paths and standing guard while she rests.

Not every animal in the forest approves. Pip the sparrow is delighted and spreads the news, but Barnaby the badger grumbles that foxes and geese are not meant to be friends and watches from a distance, waiting to see what Finn is really after. The story follows Greta as her cautious heart slowly opens, and Barnaby as he begins to question what he has always assumed about others. This gentle tale by Jane MEADOW explores trust, kindness and the courage it takes to accept help from someone others warn you about. It invites children to look at a character's actions rather than the old stories told about them, and to notice how friendship can grow between the most unlikely neighbours. Parents and teachers looking for a calm, readable story about first impressions and generosity will find it on Kids Tale Book.