The fox

Fall 2010


It’s evening and we a re looking for a place to overnight. In Israel it’s not so easy to find such a place. Here there are 4 kinds of places – cities, kibuts (which are fenced and guarded), natural parks and military zones. Nowhere is allowed to overnight in your own vehicle. Except for natural parks, where there are campings. But now, it is late and even if we are driving through a natural park, we see no sign of camping. We stop at a parking in park. Because it’s late, there is nobody on parking, so we decide to overnight here.


We follow our standard procedure – saving GPS data of the day, taking out steps to get into camper, opening windows for ventilation, putting chairs and table outside, opening a bottle of wine and enjoing quietness around us. It’s quiet not for long. Somewhere, quite close a mosque is calling its followers. Then an auto with two men in is passing by. They make a round in the parking, looking at us, but say nothing and go away. We suspect it’s Israelian security. Then one more visitor - a fox. It’s not red, but a kind of sandy. Desert color. She’s approaching at three meters to us. I think, she smells the cheese we serve with wine. The fox makes few circles around us. I feel peaty for her and give her some bread with milk.


It’s totally dark, but we do not want to put the lights because of mosquitoes and moths. We hear a swish. It’s like somebody walking on the steps to get into camper. Hmmm. It’s the fox- she is trying to get into the auto, it’s smells nice there. She is a very confident fox and not afraid of people at all.


We go to bed. Next morning I cannot find my sandals, which I left outside. Neither swimming suite is there, which was hanging to dry. Where the hell they disappeared? I look around the parking and find the swimming suite with a big hole in it. And I find one sandal. Also damaged. The fox! She is guilty. She tried to taste from my leather sandals. But the suit was from synthetic material! Ah. It’s such a pity. But what we can do? One – zero in fox favor.