BOOK 1: GENERAL FALCONIUS FOX AND THE ROMAN INVASION OF BRITAIN ©
( Or how General Falconius Fox invaded Britain with a little help from Julius Caesar)
HISTORICALLY INSPIRED TALES OVER THE CENTURIES TOLD BY THE MOST
AMAZING, MOST INCREDIBLE, MOST FABULOUS AND BRAVE ...........................
SIR FOXLEY- FOX.
FOR CHILDREN AGED 8-108!
PROLOGUE:
It was a typical English, autumnal day in Fox Wood, with a thick mist covering all the trees and bushes and droplets of water dripping lazily down from the uppermost branches and plopping onto the smaller bushes below. The mist was so thick that even the old oak tree, that had stood in that wood for many generations, could only be seen from a few metres away.
Deep in a fox's den, Mr. and Mrs. Fox were sleeping soundly, lying flat on their backs, holding paws.
They both had full stomachs, following a particularly brave and successful raid on the local farmer's chicken coop and were now relaxing after a very tasty meal.
Mr. Fox was wearing a very smart red hunting jacket, taken from a huntsman who fell off his horse into a ditch, a magnificent pair of yellow trousers and a very fetching yellow and black checked waistcoat, with a gold hunter watch and chain inherited from his great, great, great, great, great grandfather, Sir Finlay Fox.
Suddenly there was a mighty flash of lightning, followed very shortly afterwards by an enormous crash of thunder and falling branches, which in its turn were followed by a huge commotion at the mouth of the den as four baby fox cubs came hurtling in.
The first one skidded to a halt right by Mr. Fox's feet, the second one did a somersault and landed on his back on top of the first one, the third one landed head first in a pile on top of the other two, and the last one, after completing a very impressive reverse somersault with tuck, landed flat onto Mr. Fox's enlarged stomach.
"Goodness me" exclaimed Mr. Fox "what was all that about?"
"I was frightened of the lightning" squeaked the oldest one, whose name was Buster
"I was frightened of the thunder " squeaked another, who was called Squealer.
"I was frightened of the tree coming down " squealed the third cub whose name was Squabbler.
"I was frightened of the mist" squealed the smallest cub, a very pretty young vixen called Felicity.
"Well, well," said Mrs. Fox, " It doesn't look as though you will be able to go out and play again today, so why don't you ask Mr. Fox for one of his fabulous stories?"
"Yes, please, Daddy" they all squealed at once, and lined up in a neat row in front of Mr. Fox, clapping their little paws together in excitement and anticipation of another wonderful story from Mr. Fox, who, as you have probably all guessed by now is indeed that very famous story teller, none other than.....
SIR FOXLEY- FOX.
"Well now, children, as you all know we foxes come from a long line of brave and fearless foxes who have lived in Foxwood since time began. The first fox to make a name for himself was General Falconius Fox, who came over with Julius Caesar from Rome 55 years before Jesus was born, in BC 55 and who distinguished himself as one of the first Roman settlers in England.
Then there was the Fearsome Mr. Fox, who fought so bravely at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, when the Normans under King William attacked England. After him there was the Ferocious Mr. Fox, who fought so valiantly with Robin Hood on behalf of King Richard. Let, me see now, then came the Fearless Mr. Fox, who sailed with Captain Drake around the world in 1577, and destroyed the Spanish Armada in 1588 and also sailed only a few years earlier with Captain Raleigh to set up a British colony in America in 1584.
After him came the Firefighting Mr Fox, whose tales of bravery during the Great Fire of London in 1666 are well known.
Of course there are so many brave Mr Foxes, all of whom have shown great courage at critical times in British history, and all of whom have great stories to be told, but I must mention First Officer Fox, who served with Admiral Lord Nelson and was with him at the great Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
So, which tale would you like to hear today, children?"
Three out of the four fox cubs were in favour of hearing about the Roman Invasion of Britain,
so this is the tale told by Sir Foxley-Fox...........................
On a large farm, near a small wood, on a hill near the very large City of Rome, the Capital of the Roman Empire, a well built, good looking young fox lay on his back enjoying the warming rays of the rising sun as it came up over the hills of Rome.
The fox, called Falconius because of his sharp, falcon-like eyes was a very intelligent fox, who had studied the English and French languages, as well as his native Roman, at the nearby FUR ( Fox University of Rome.) Falconius Fox was wearing a pair of bright yellow leather shorts, with a black leather jerkin to keep out the cold of the night, and a white cotton shirt.
His stomach was extremely enlarged! Surrounding him on the ground lay the carcasses of no less than FOUR chickens, which he had gobbled up the previous night and which he had stolen from the large farm.
Unfortunately for him, this large farm belonged to none other than Julius Caesar, who in that year of 59 Before Christ ( B.C.) had been appointed to one of the top government positions in Rome - the post of Consul.
Even more unfortunate for Falconius Fox, there had been a drought that year and the corn crops had failed, so chickens were very important in order for the Romans to survive. Julius Caesar was not happy!
Not only had he been losing a steady stream of chickens for the last few months, but all round Rome, the situation was the same - the foxes were stealing the chickens that belonged to the Romans. The situation had become so bad that Julius Caesar , as Consul, had been asked to take immediate action to stop this menace..........................
www.sirfoxley-fox.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Heroic-Foxes-of-Foxwood/1522846384672387
https://twitter.com/Sirfoxleyfox
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Whilst at school I enjoyed acting, writing poetry and stories and was lucky enough to go to Christ's College at Cambridge University, where I studied French and German both of which I speak fluently.
My career started off in export and I have been fortunate enough to have had adventures in over 70 countries and then, for the last 20 years of my business life, I turned companies round from loss to profit, as Managing Director.
My wife and I retired to Cyprus and after a very serious accident, just 10 months ago, from which I was lucky to escape with my life, I realised that I wanted to do something for future generations, having been given this extra chance.
My favourite books have always been the Wind in the Willows and the Jungle Book, so it was only a short step before Sir Foxley-Fox became a real character in my mind.
The first book, General Falconius Fox and the Roman Invasion of Britain( Or how General Falconius Fox invaded Britain with a little help from Julius Caesar) is more light hearted whilst still being historically accurate, the second book, First Officer Fox and the Battle of Trafalgar ( Or how first Officer Fox won the Battle of Trafalgar, with a little help from Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson ) is historically accurate but rather more serious, as befits the discipline of the Royal Navy!
My aim in writing what will be a series of historically based books, is to show children aged 8-108 how much fun history can be and through exciting descriptive scenes, show them the beauty of the English language, all tied in with larger than life foxy characters who have been responsible for great moments in British history!
Whether I have succeeded or not is up to the reader to decide!