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    “You know,” said Nick to the crowd of young rabbits, “The history of foxes and bunnies stretches way back. It’s an old story, but every fox kit learns it growing up.” Judy’s nieces and nephews were packed tightly into the family room, and all eyes were on the fox seated in the armchair by the brightly lit Christmas tree. He shot a look at Judy, who was lounging with a book on the sofa. “Isn’t that right?”

 

    “Oh, of course. It’s how foxes learned to burrow.” Judy barely glanced up from her novel, but she couldn’t suppress a smile. If Nick’s rapt audience was any indication, she had been wrong to worry about bringing him home to meet her family for Christmas.

 

    “Exactly,” said Nick with a nod. “How the Prince of Foxes learned the secret of the burrow.” He leaned down toward the wide-eyed children sitting at his feet. “It all began back when the world was still wild, back when the land was nothing but untamed forest.” He paused for dramatic effect, and a hush fell over the audience. “Back when foxes and bunnies were still bitter enemies.

 

    “Now, the Prince of Foxes was the slyest creature in the Wild Wood. He knew the name, face, and voice of every creature in his domain. He could recognize trees like you and I recognize each other. He could hide in an open field at midday and you’d never find him, even if you had a hundred mammals looking. He was very handsome too. Naturally, everyone knew that to match wits with him was just about the dumbest thing a mammal could do. Though foxes are natural loners, the other wisest foxes of the forest would always seek his council whenever trouble found them.

 

    “But one chilly autumn night, the Prince of Foxes looked up at the stars and consulted his charts, and he saw something that worried him deeply. A great freezing wind was on its way, and with it would come the coldest, harshest winter the Wood had ever seen. He’d never misread the stars before, so he immediately called together the Council of Wise Foxes to make a plan to prepare for the hard times ahead.

   

    “They debated for hours, but they eventually came up with a plan: They would learn the secret method of the rabbits. Now, that was easier said than done. As I said, this was back when foxes and bunnies were natural enemies. So, they sent the Prince of the the domain of the Rabbit Queen to tell her of the Great Winter and discover the secret of where rabbits hid in the winter.

 

    “The council sent word to the Queen’s court, and she met the Prince at the border of her domain with an army of rabbit guards. She didn’t trust the fox, for she knew he was cunning above all other mammals. But she also knew that the Wise Foxes wouldn’t request an audience so suddenly without an important reason. He was blindfolded and bound and taken to the Royal Burrow. There, he laid out his star charts and explained his predictions about the Great Winter. The Queen’s advisors conferred and agreed that the Prince’s reasoning was sound. A deep, frigid winter was sure to come. The fox asked for the Queen to share with him the art of burrow-making, but the Queen’s heart was as cold and cruel as the coming snow.”

 

    Judy set her book down and narrowed her eyes at Nick, but he was too involved in his story to notice.

 

    “She declared that this was some fox trick, and that foxes would use this knowledge to find the vulnerabilities in their homes. And besides, it was too late. If what he said was true, the winter would be upon them before the foxes would have time to learn to build burrows of their own. The Prince objected, but she cast him out.”

 

    Judy couldn’t help but interject. “Okay, wait a minute. That’s not how--”

 

    “Please save all comments and questions for after the story,” said Nick, holding up a hand to silence her. The crowd of bunnies looked up at her, then back at Nick. “Where was I?”

 

    A small bunny in oversized flannel pajamas raised his hand. “The Rabbit Queen was cruel.”

 

    Nick smiled. “Ah, yes. She was very cruel indeed. The Wise Foxes were very troubled by the news. Without a warm home to wait out the winter, this would surely be their end. But the Prince of Foxes was too clever to despair. He hatched a plan so cunning that the Wise Foxes were delighted and agreed to do exactly as he said.

 

    “The next morning, the Prince and a legion of foxes tread deep into the forest, carrying pickaxes and shovels and all manner of tools. A group of guards followed them, warning anyone and everyone to keep away. The forest was greatly puzzled by all the commotion. That is, until the next day when the Prince and his guards rode back with a cart piled high with gold. Gold that the Prince had gathered from every fox in the forest for his scheme. But that’s not the rumor that spread. Instead, the Wood was buzzing with stories about the secret fox gold mines.

 

    “When word of the gold reached the gigantic ears of the greedy Queen, she immediately sent her spies to follow the Prince and his followers. Sure enough, they found the foxes digging at the base of a hill deep within the forest. When the foxes went home for the night, she sent her teams of expert burrowers. They dug so quickly and efficiently you would’ve thought they had worked for a year instead of a night, but they found no gold.

 

    “When the foxes returned that morning, they made a show of snarling and grumbling and rattling their swords at the invading rabbits, but the rabbit guards accompanying the burrowers threatened them with long, fierce spears. The foxes retreated, laughing to themselves the whole way home. After a week, the rabbits had dug miles of tunnels and hollowed out the entire hill, but still found no gold. Disappointed and fearful of the wicked Queen’s displeasure, they returned home with drooping ears.

 

    “The first frost of winter had just fallen when the Prince returned to his mine and discovered the rabbits’ work. In little more than a week, those bunnies had dug enough burrows for every fox in the forest to have their own home with room to spare. Ever the gentleman, the Prince sent the Rabbit Queen a lovely letter thanking the rabbits for their new homes. Sealed, of course, with a gold leaf stamp, so the Queen could share in the riches of the secret fox ‘mine’.”

 

    The audience of young rabbits applauded enthusiastically as Nick took a small bow.

 

    “Okay, wait a second,” said Judy from the other side of the room. “That’s not how the story goes at all!” The crowd pivoted to face her.

 

    “Oh, you must’ve heard the biased rabbit version,” said Nick with a grin.

 

    “Biased rabbit--what?” Judy was incredulous. “The story of the Fox Prince and the Rabbit Queen is about how the rabbits saved the foxes from the Great Winter.” She turned her eyes to her nieces and nephews. “First of all, it was the Rabbit Queen who predicted the winter, not the fox. The Queen wasn’t cruel! She was the wisest, kindest mammal in the forest. She tried to warn them, but foxes always suspect a trick and didn’t trust her.”

 

    “Carrots, that doesn’t make any sense.”

 

    “Yes, it does! The foxes thought the rabbits were using it as a trick to invade their lands, so the rabbits, fearing for the foxes’ lives, dug tunnels to the home of the foxes and built burrows in secret. When the first frost fell, the Prince returned to beg for aid, and the Queen revealed that help had already come. They saved the foxes from their own stubbornness.”

 

    Nick crossed his arms. “That’s the worst story I’ve ever heard. It completely misses the point.”

 

    “Misses the point?” Judy was on her feet. “It’s a story about the dangers of pride and the importance of planning ahead. That’s the whole point! Your story doesn’t even have a moral.”

 

    “It does has a moral, thank you.” Their audience was pivoting between two with each exchange, their heads practically on swivels. “Sometimes you have to get creative to solve your problems.”

 

    “Oh, ‘get creative,’” she groused, her exasperation clear. “It’s just another hustling story. And what was that gigantic ears comment?” She turned her attention to their audience and gave them an ingratiating smile. “Okay, who wants to hear Aunt Judy tell the real story?”

 

    “Ooooooor,” drawled Nick as he roused himself, “you can get some hot cocoa with your Uncle Nick!” The horde of young bunnies turned back to him, murmuring excitedly. “C’mon, let’s head to the kitchen.”

 

    Judy’s protests went ignored. Nick led his pajama-clad army of bunnies out the door, and he shot Judy an apologetic smile just before disappearing into the hall. “Gigantic ear, really,” she murmured to herself as the last few kits filtered out. Still, she couldn’t suppress a chuckle. She paused in the doorframe, glanced back at the strands of colorful lights, and followed.