Scary Stories for Young Foxes

As Mia and Uly get to know one another and begin to collaborate, the differences in how they interact with the world around them and view themselves in relation to it are evident in how they attack the problems they face, either with confidence and determination, in Mia’s case, or anxiety and doubt, in Uly’s case. Like human children, these young foxes are the product of the environments in which they were raised, and both the strengths and the flaws of their respective families become evident in how each kit approaches the challenges of the wide world that surrounds them. Like Mia, some children are more sheltered from pain and suffering and only learn about danger secondhand; they therefore often lack the practical tools to navigate it and can sometimes be more trusting and naïve than others. However, this tendency also lends them more courage because they are unincumbered by endless thoughts of what could go wrong in any given situation. Mia has a certain strength that Uly lacks because of the secure bond she shared with her siblings and the self-confidence that she gained from her mother and Miss Vix; by contrast, Uly gains his own inner strength despite the casual cruelty of his sisters, and his growth stems from testing the bounds of the world around him with the newfound security of a companion who makes him feel safe and protected. Until he meets Mia, Uly’s self-image is a product of his siblings’ negative views of both him and his capabilities; he assumes that his sisters are justified in their contempt for him and expects that Mia will share their views. However, Mia soon introduces Uly to an entirely different way of relating, for despite her anger at Uly when his description of the yellow sickness implies that her siblings are dead, Mia feels loyalty to him because he saved her life and because the importance of looking out for peers has been instilled in her since childhood. Her positive relationship with her siblings has prepared her to develop healthy relationships with others outside her family too. Uly, by contrast, cannot even trust his own siblings, whom he should have been able to rely upon, and he therefore finds it even more difficult to trust someone he does not know. He also has difficulty understanding why someone else is willing to promote mutual survival instead of abandoning the weakest members to become prey. Thus, their relationship rapidly strengthens as they work on Developing Identity and Choosing One’s Own Family, making positive strides in the midst of their predicament.

Uly refuses to be like his sisters, and he makes a conscious declaration of his intention to be otherwise when he realizes that he has the power to reject the hurtful, negative influences that he once was powerless to escape. Making conscious choices, even when it is difficult to do so, is the key to Developing Personal Identity and redefining the self in a healthier way. Mia and Uly, throughout their journey in Scary Stories for Young Foxes, are in a constant state of self-definition and realization, actively embracing those values that resonate with them and rejecting those that do not fit their emerging worldviews. Mia is sensible, rational, and brave, and she finds opportunities to prove this to herself and others as she rises to the challenges they meet. Much of her anger at Uly may be because she knows, at some level, that he is right about her siblings. Mia’s hope is what keeps her moving forward, while Uly’s dread is what causes him to cower. A lesson instilled throughout Scary Stories for Young Foxes is that, as frightening as taking action might be, remaining frozen by inaction is more often the more fatal choice. Forced to act decisively in order to save themselves, Mia and Uly each progress closer to the tenacious, stalwart adults they will later become.