Once upon a time there was a fox called Tamar. She lived in Israel.

Tamar was two years old and did not like her father. However her father liked her even less. One day she was out with her friends playing hide and seek in the sand. It smelled like salty sweat. The skyline was light blue and the sun burnt the sand beneath her paws. Looking around, Tamar realized that her friend, Ido the horse, had nearly counted to 100. Diving forwards, Tamar landed face first into a sand dune. This did not give her a hiding place and only helped her cough up sand. She decided it was the best she could do and lay there, motionless. Silent, she sat for five minutes when all of a sudden the cute fox heard a blood curdling sound.

"Sandstorm!!!" She heard her friend yell repetitively but each time it was getting further away. Tamar stood up and put her elbow in front of her eyes. The storm was picking up and sand was sprayed into her eyes. Sand burst into the air all around her like a tornado. She stumbled around for quite some time when she decided to stop and lay down in a furry ball until the storm died down. After what seemed like days to Tamar the storm stopped. Inspecting her surroundings she realized that she had never been here before. Nervously, she ran around in a circle. Still nothing jump started her memory. As time passed Tamar got more and more worried. She realized that she might be miles away from her home. Paws clenching, throat moaning, she howled. Night was falling and coldness swept around the desert. The sky looked black. All the noise she could hear was the faint rustle of something nearby. Curling herself in a ball, Tamar sat down waiting for sleep to take her. Tamar was sitting there for quite some time when she heard something. Moaning with hunger, she perked up her ears. "Who's there?" She whispered. Tamar had always been a nervous wreck. Being the smallest fox in her village it was not surprising. Her brown coat had barely started to grow and she still spoke in a Childish manor. However her father was a gigantic, fat, pig. Every night he went to the local bar and ordered enough beer to make him vomit. Then he would come home and hurt Tamar for something that she never did. Their relationship only consisted of

cuts and bruises. "Who do you think?" The voice slurred. 'Oh no,' she thought, her body starting to tremble. "Umm shalom father I got trapped in the sandstorm and I did not..." She spoke with remarkable speed but was cut off by her father. "I've been looking for you all night!" her father cut in gruffly. Raising his fist, her father reached out and struck her hard across the face. Spitting blood at her fathers feet, she muttered "Again!" "Okay" he grumbled. Once again he raised his fist and struck her hard across the face. "Again!" She seethed through bloody lips. This time when he hit the poor, little fox she fell to the sand as slowly as a snail. Everything became cold and blackness closed in on her. When she awoke she was in locked in the cellar at her house. Remembering the last time she had been down in the cellar she sat up. She had shouted at her dad for kicking out her mum. It had been the worst day of her life. Until now, she thought. Banging on the door she realized there was a huge commotion outside. Slamming into the door she realized she needed

something heavier. In the corner she spotted a piece of wood. Grunting loudly she maneuvered it to the door. She slammed against it and noticed a small crack in the wood of the door. Twice more she did this until. Now there was a whole big enough for her to get out. Clambering out, she was momentarily blinded by the light. In the center of the courtyard was her father. And next to him was Ido. He was screaming at him. Ido lunged into the air and slammed his hoof into her father. Tamar screamed, "Ido stop!" Ido did not listen and instead barked at her father, "How could you lie to her? Your own daughter!" "Ido stop!" She bellowed again. But all this succeeded in doing was Ido tightening his hooves on her fathers neck. For the third time she screamed, "IDO STOP!!!" This time he listened and backed off. "How did you lie to me, father?" Tamar tested. Ido was about to answer when Tamar continued, "not from you Ido, I want it from my father!" "I may not have been looking for you the whole of last night," her father muttered and stared at the ground ashamed.

"That's right!" Ido jumped in, "I was. You were just lounging at the bar like normal!" There was a moment of awkward silence. "Liar!" Tamar screamed. Turning around, tears springing in her eyes she ran, never looking back. Her father locked himself in the bar for the rest of his days. Tamar met a nice family and lived with them for a long time. Ido searched and searched for Tamar but never succeeded. And that dear reader is how the story ends. Not the happiest but definitely not the saddest.