DAVID JAMES POISSANT Fox King I ne morning, thegirlswentintothewoods and bylunchtime HH werelost.The girls, whosenameswereIsabelleand Ellie,had long,blondehairand eyeslikemovieswimming pools.The girlswere friends and not twins,thoughpeople mistookthemoftenforsisters. The girlswere finewiththis.Already, theyddone the hardworkof gougingtheirfingers, pressing fleshto flesh, Isabellecrying at thecut, Ellielaughing, sucking herfinger forhourswhenitwasdoneforthetang likea tonguetouchedtoa 9-voltbattery The girlslivedinwhitehouseswithblueshutters on a tree-lined street ina smallcounty atthenorthendofa southern state.Theylived inthemountains, tooktheir waterfrom wells, andinwinter stacked logs on theporchfortheirfires. Sure,therewas electricity, butelectric was expensive andinwinter wentoutoften. These girls, they knewtheirmothers bytheirapronsandtheirfathersbytheblackbootsat thedoorstep, theblackclothesleftinblack pileson theporch, thetinhelmets andthesmalllights thatshonewhen theblackwasrubbedaway. Allaroundthegirls werewoods,and,summers, they wanderedthe woodsoften.Itshouldbe notedthatthewoodsherehada habitofeatingpeople . Giventhis,you maybe temptedto sitethegirls'mothers withnegligence. But, youwhoarenotofthewoods,youwhobuckle your babiesintocarsthatwillcrash, who climbintoelevators thatwilldrop andplanesthatwillfallfrom thesky, youwhobuyfoodyouhaven't prepared , foodwrappedinplastic andpaperandbagged, youofthesuburbs, thecities, youmorethananyoneshouldunderstand thatwhenyou're of thewoods,youtrust thewoods,evenwhenyouknowwhatthewoods cando.And soyouletyourchildren intothem, justasyouletyourhusbandstunnel intothebellyofa mountain thatmight, anymoment, close itsmouth. To liveistowalka ropeofrisk, andsoweletourchildren into hi thewoods.Knowingwhatcouldhappen,knowing fullwell,we letour children intothewoodsagainandagain. Often,Isabelleand Elliehad traveled deep intothewoods.They knewbythesunand theheatofthedaywhenitwas timetoturnback, andalways, itseemed,they emerged from thethicket justasone mother or anothersteppedthrough thedoorto callforthem.The girlswould siptomatosoup,eatsandwiches cutlongways likewings, andwitha nod weredismissed intothewoodsagain,onlytoreturn forsupper. This particular morning, however, thegirlshadwalkedverydeep intothewoods,deeperthaneverbefore. Twice,IsabellehadbeggedEllie to turnback,butthena squirrel had leaptbetweentrees, a birdhad lifted from a branch, and homehadbeenforgotten. Theyfollowedthe animalsuntiltheir belliestwisted beneaththeir shirts andhunger urged themhome. Butwherewas home?Theylookedaround.The woodswereunrecognizable . Every tree, eachrotted logandbendofroot, wasnew.Moss furred theforest floor, andtoadstools hiccuppedfrom themoss,velvety andunbroken, as though noanimalormanhadpassedthrough thispart ofthewoodsbefore. Isabellecried,and Elliehither.Therewere,after all,manythings toeatinthewoods.The woodswouldsustain them.So they foundraspberries andatethem.Theyfounda stream anddrankfrom it.And,followingthestream , they cameupona clearing. The clearing was notwide,itsreachthatoftwo,threegirlslaid on their backs,heeltohead.Itwasa circleoftrampled grasslittered by blacktwigs, a clearing unremarkable in everyrespect, saveone. What wasinteresting aboutthisclearing waswhatitheld,andwhatitheldwas a redfox. Neverbefore, exceptinpicture books,hadthegirlsseena redfox. Theyhad seen thesly, orangevariety. Those poppedup oftenin their county. More thanonce, an orangefoxhad slithered fromIsabelle's mother shenhouse,itsfacea fireworks ofwings. And,once,Elliesfather 112 hadshotanorange foxdancing inthestreet, itsmouth busy withsudslike anoverworked horse. Buta redfoxwasa newandmarvelous thing. Itscoatwasthin, the hairbrittle looking, and itstailwasblackringed , thetipthick, whiteas unskimmed milk.The foxlayon itsback.Itslegs,threeofthem,hung stiff intheair,pawsbentlikethecurledtongues ofcoathangers. Itwas, tothegirls, as though thefoxhadbeenpedaling anupside-down bicycle whensomeonehadpausedthemovieandpulledthebicycle away The fourth legwas thecrookedleg.Itdid nothangintheairbut hugged thegrass. A metallic half-moon gripped theleglikeanenormous pairofsilver dentures. Up thelega ways, a bandofwhitemarked where thefox'sfurand skinappearedto havebeenwhittled away, whittled to thebone. Herewas a curioussituation. Whya foxshouldsleepon itsback, shouldletsomeonetattooitsleginthisway, whyitshouldliewithitsleg betweenteeth?But,ofcourse,thegirls'fathers hunted.Springs, trees bentwiththeweightofbuckstethered and spinning, necksopen over buckets. And so thegirlsrecognizeddeathforwhatitwas,thatother kindofsleep. In theclearing, thegirlsapproachedtheredfox.Theystroked its head,itsblackwhiskers andthewhitestripe ofitsmuzzle.Elliefollowed thestripe downtheneckofthefoxtowhereitwidenedintothewhite oftheanimal'sbelly. There,a surprise. The skinofthefoxrippled . Itwas, to Ellie,aswhenherfather wouldlift theblue,hole-punched lidfrom a plastictubbeforefishing, thefeeling thepinkthings madeon herpalm tunneling through thesoilinside.ItwasjustthatwayThroughthestiff fur, through thecool,tautskin,she feltlife,thetumbleof littleones warminside.She pressedIsabelle'shandto thespot,watchedhereyes widen,and thenall fourhandswereon thebodyfeeling and rubbing, thenfalling still. The girlswerenotold,buttheyknewenough.Theyknewbody parts bytheir names, bothvulgar andproper, andthey knew, whenbodies cametogether, justwherethosepartswent.And though theyhadyetto feelthefirst, hotstirrings intheirabdomens, they hadseenhorses, seen chickens, hadknown, intheseeing, whatwashappening andwhat, done 113 right, couldcomeofthecoupling. Thus,they knewtheripplefor whatit was,knewthat, onewayoranother, thelittle foxesmustcomeout. . ir» fjTm ii.Ti.ln In theirplay, thegirlsoftenimaginedthemselves princesses. The woodswerewhereonewenttobecomeroyalty, tocareforthedenizens ofthekingdom, whilehomewastheplacetowhichone returned when onewishedtobe caredfor. The girls wouldnothavethought toexpress thesituation in suchterms.Nevertheless, thesewerethetermsofthe situation. In thewoods,then,thegirls wereno longerIsabelleand Ellie,but PrincessIsabellaand PrincessElla. In dreams, in games,in thewoods, thegirls wereaccompanied bya staff offriendly animals, rabbit anddeer and squirreland quail,all ofwhomspokeand allowedthemselves to be orderedaroundbytheprincesses. Often,theanimalswerenaughty andneededtobe spanked. The girls werealsoaccompanied bya prince, PrinceSamuel,a boywithredlipsand bright eyes,a boysharedbythe girlsin thewaythatthegirlssharedall things-toys,clothes,thelast cookiepulledfrom thecookiejarand halved.Neverhad itoccurred to thegirlsthattheremight be a princeapiece.One princewas sufficient. Liketheanimals, hetookorders, and,aswiththeanimals, a spanking was sometimes required. Neverbefore hadthegirls seena redfox, andneverbefore hadthe boy-prince appearedtotheminthewoods.Or,tosaythatneverbefore had he appearedwouldbe wrong.Certainly, theprincehad appeared. Today, though, theprinceappeared. His movements werenothazy, imagined .The woods movedto admithim,and thenhe stoodbeforethem. He wastheprinceoftheir imaginations, butreal,really real. Thoughtheboyhadtheprince's eyes, hislips,hewas notdressed as thegirls hadpictured himdressed. The boy-prince woreblueoveralls withcopper-colored buttons. His shirt was thatshadeoftanthatindicatedthematerial hadoncebeenwhite.His...