Purple fragrant grasses spread to the horizon, the morning sun shines on green hills beyond green hills.

Fox

The fox stood on the hillside, gazing out at the small woods.

It was only faintly light, and the sun had not yet risen. The woods were still asleep; the leaves did not stir, and not a sound could be heard. The fox had a vague feeling that the woods were leaving him, drifting farther and farther away.

The fox sighed softly, and the tips of his ears twitched.

A figure appeared in the small woods and slowly walked over. The fox widened his eyes to make it out, and from far off caught the scent of many mixed herbs.

"It's Doctor Badger," the fox said quietly to himself.

Doctor Badger walked over slowly, steady and sure with every step, as if only the next step were the most important thing in the world. The tip of the fox's tail swayed gently, and his ears still faced the direction of the woods.

The woods did not stir, as if sleeping deeply. The fox took a deep breath and slowly let it out again.

Badger

Doctor Badger walked up to the fox, sat down, and looked at him.

"Doctor Badger," said the fox. "Thank you for coming to see me off."

Doctor Badger nodded. "Rabbit said he wouldn't come to see you off, to avoid getting sad."

The fox lowered his head.

"Beaver is keeping Rabbit company," said Doctor Badger. "He asked me to see you off on his behalf."

The fox looked at the tip of his own nose and nodded gently.

"Let's go," said Doctor Badger, standing up. "While the sun hasn't risen yet. Today is a good day for setting out."

The sky had already begun to lighten. The strips of cloud in the sky looked like sleeping fish. The fox glanced at the small woods, turned, and followed Doctor Badger, stepping toward the brightest direction in the sky, his tail dragging on the ground.

"You've been here more than half a year, haven't you," said Doctor Badger as they walked.

The fox nodded, then remembered that Doctor Badger might not be able to see his movement, so he added: "Yes. I came last winter."

"Have you been over here before?" asked Doctor Badger.

The fox thought for a moment and shook his head. "No."

"There's a huge field of flowers over here," said Doctor Badger. "They're blooming right now. You can see them once you cross the small hill ahead. They're quite pretty when they bloom."

Fox

The fox nodded.

"Why haven't you been over here before?" asked Doctor Badger.

The fox's ears twitched. "I don't know either," the fox said slowly. "I came from the west. Maybe I felt that going east would take me farther and farther from the small woods."

Doctor Badger nodded. "It felt like you were about to leave?"

"Something like that," said the fox.

"Today you really are leaving." Doctor Badger sighed and paused. "When I was young, I traveled for a very long time too."

The fox looked at Doctor Badger. "I've never heard you mention it."

"Things from when I was young..." Doctor Badger smiled. "There's a saying that when you start to miss your youth, you've already grown old. So I generally don't miss it, to keep from making myself old."

The fox looked at Doctor Badger's glossy slicked-back hair, opened his mouth, and closed it again.

"The world is too big," said Doctor Badger. "When I was young I was ambitious, wanting to see the world, wanting to know everything in the world. Wanting to learn all the medicine in the world."

The fox listened intently.

"And the result?" Doctor Badger sighed. "There are things you can do, and things you can't. One day you'll find your limit right there; you can see it, but you can't get around it. That's what it means to be unable to do something."

The fox nodded.

"You might not understand. You might think you understand." Doctor Badger sighed again. "It's good to be young, afraid of nothing, with countless possibilities. Oh, here we are. Look."

The fox looked up and saw a vast sea of purple flowers, flowing down along the hillside and disappearing behind another slope. A faint morning breeze blew, and clusters of small purple flowers swayed gently. The fox sniffed, and smelled only the scent of green grass.

"Let's

walk along the edge," said Doctor Badger. "Where's the red panda? Aren't you traveling with him?"

"He's waiting for me up ahead," said the fox. "He said he's most afraid of watching farewells."

"It's always like this," said Doctor Badger, nodding. "Gain something, and you lose something. Without parting, where would meeting come from?"

The fox thought for a moment and lowered his head again.

"Meeting times are happy," Doctor Badger continued. "Parting times are unhappy."

The fox didn't know what to say. He just followed Doctor Badger in small steps, walking slowly along the edge of the vast sea of flowers, secretly hoping in his heart that the path would never end.

"This whole stretch is purpletop vervain," said Doctor Badger. "Let's rest here for a bit."

Fox

The fox nodded and sat down. He didn't feel tired, but he very much wanted to rest a while. It would be best if time stopped right here, or even just slowed down a little. The fox thought.

"Look, their stems are square," Doctor Badger pointed out to the fox. "Each flower is a tiny tube shape with five petals, and sometimes you can find one with six petals."

The fox looked carefully at the stems of the purpletop vervain, then looked up at the flowers. The small purple flowers clustered in groups, swaying quietly and gently in the morning breeze.

"This is a kind of vervain," said Doctor Badger. "Vervain can also be used as medicine; it's very good for stopping bleeding from wounds. It used to be called 'the herb of the cross,' a very important medicinal herb. You should learn to recognize it clearly; it may be useful someday."

"Okay," said the fox, nodding.

"It's also called 'Venus's herb,'" said Mole's voice from under their feet. "Venus is the goddess of love and beauty."

"Mole?" the fox cried out.

A mound of earth rose from the ground, and Mole popped out with a grin. "I've been waiting here for you."

The fox wrinkled his nose and picked out a familiar scent from the green grassy fragrance of the purpletop vervain. The fox thought for a moment and smiled.

"I think this is a good place for a farewell," said Mole. "Vervain has other uses too. There was once a legend that it could protect family members."

Fox

The fox looked at Mole, then at the gently swaying purpletop vervain. The sky was growing brighter and brighter, and the sun was about to rise. The dew on the slender leaves of the purpletop vervain brightened too, rolling to the leaf tips and trembling as it hung in the air. Through a single drop of dew, the fox saw a purple sky. The fox felt his eyes stinging a little. Probably from lack of sleep.

Mole broke off a leaf of vervain and handed it to the fox. "There's another saying that if you sleep with vervain under your head, you'll sleep comfortably and peacefully. Take this leaf with you."

The fox nodded, took the leaf, and carefully placed it in his ear. There was a little tickle in his ear, and also a bit of comfort.

"Then we'll see you off here," said Doctor Badger, giving an exaggerated big yawn and rubbing his face. "The sun is about to rise, and I should sleep too. There's no denying old age."

The fox took two quick steps to the nearest purpletop vervain. He searched, carefully broke off a few leaves, and handed them to Doctor Badger and Mole.

"These are for you," said the fox. "These are for Rabbit and Beaver. And Doctor Woodpecker, the pittas' family, Kingfisher, and Squirrel. And Sea Otter too; please send it when Beaver writes a letter. Mole said vervain can protect family members. Let these vervain leaves protect you all."

Mole took the leaves with a grin, turned away, and rubbed his face. When he turned back, his face still wore a smile. "No problem, I'll give them to everyone."

The fox looked at the horizon; the sun had already shown a sliver, burning the clouds at the edge of the sky bright red. "I should go too."

Fox

The fox turned toward the purple sea of flowers, took a deep breath, and carefully smelled the faint familiar scent within it, until he really couldn't hold it any longer and let it out.

"Goodbye," said the fox. "Mole, Doctor Badger, goodbye."

"Goodbye." Mole waved a handful of purpletop vervain leaves, and Doctor Badger nodded, gave a big yawn, and rubbed his face again.

The fox walked a few steps toward the sun, turned back, and shouted loudly at the sea of purpletop vervain flowers: "Goodbye! Goodbye!"

In the morning breeze, the sea of flowers rustled.

The fox turned around and walked toward the sun. He stared hard at the sun until his eyes filled with tears, until the tears dripped from the corners of his eyes.

The fox's figure disappeared on the other side of the hillside. From the purple sea of purpletop vervain flowers, Rabbit and Beaver emerged.

"Goodbye, fox," Rabbit said softly, tear tracks on his cheeks, a vervain leaf clutched tightly in his hand.

To be continued