The meaning of travel lies in the journey itself, and so does happiness.

"Wow

, what a huge patch of flowers!" Little Panda jumped over to Fox's side. "Right over there!"

"You're up this early..." Fox rubbed his eyes, rolled over, and covered his ears with his tail. "Aren't you sleepy..."

"On such a nice day, we can't waste it." Little Panda held a flower up to Fox's nose. "Smell it. Does it smell nice?"

Fox stretched out the tip of his nose and sniffed. "...Not fragrant."

"Hmm." Little Panda scratched his ear. "It really isn't fragrant. But it's quite pretty."

Fox opened one eye and studied the flower in front of him. Petal after petal piled together, white petals edged in pale blue. It was like scooping up a handful of white clouds and blue sky and kneading them together. Sniffing carefully, it carried the scent of a clear day.

Fox closed his eyes, then opened them again. The sky was pale blue too, with big white clouds drifting back and forth. The sunlight had warmed the grass, yet it didn't feel hot on his body. The weather was slowly turning cooler.

"It is quite pretty." Fox gave a big stretch and stood up. "A patch of flowers like this must be spectacular."

"There are all kinds." Little Panda shook his ears. "Right over there! Let's go!"

Fox flicked his ears and slowly climbed the hill after Little Panda.

"Wow..." Fox's mouth fell open.

A whole valley of flowers swayed gently in the wind. Pink, white and purple flowers mingled together, and some even had the same edging as the flower Little Panda had brought. So many colors mixed together, yet it didn't look messy at all. Instead it was full of life. Strange, it looked very orderly, Fox thought.

"What

kind of flowers are these?" Fox asked.

"They're all one kind of flower." Little Panda's eyes narrowed smugly into crescent moons.

"One kind of flower?" Fox widened his eyes and looked carefully. Indeed, the neat sense of order probably came from this. They were all about the same height, and although the flowers were all different, the stems and leaves were the same.

"If they're all one kind of flower," Fox scratched his ear, "why are there so many shapes and colors?"

"Cultivation." Little Panda said. "These are all Eustoma."

"Eus...toma..." Fox fell silent, and a giant canine tooth, broken halfway, surfaced in his mind.

"Although it's also called 'Jiegeng', it's not the same kind as that Jiegeng." Little Panda reached out and gently touched the petals. "They're very far apart."

Fox nodded and said nothing.

"This kind of flower comes in so many shapes and colors." Little Panda continued. "I've heard there are many colors, and some are single-petaled while others are double-petaled. Anyway, there are just a lot of kinds. These here are only a small portion of the varieties."

Fox nodded gently.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Little Panda waved a hand in front of Fox's eyes. "Spacing out?"

"Mm..." Fox blinked. "I remembered an old wolf I met before."

"Oh oh. Huh? Why are you thinking about a wolf?"

"When

I met him, the Jiegeng flowers were just blooming." Fox sat on the hillside and let the wind blow over his whole body. "That was last year. I wonder if he made it through last winter."

Little Panda nodded and said nothing.

"When I met him last year, he was already very old. He told me about Jiegeng flowers... and he said that what I wanted to find was my own happiness. Not Woof Planet or Meow Planet." Fox smiled. "I'd almost forgotten."

"Woof Planet or Meow Planet? What does that mean?"

"I started traveling because I met an Iberian lynx. He said he was an explorer from Meow Planet, and that he was about to go back to Meow Planet. He said Meow Planet has all kinds of cats, living together, all happy." Fox flicked his ears and laughed sheepishly. "Then I thought, if there's a Meow Planet, maybe there's a Woof Planet too? Maybe there, everyone also lives happily together? So I set out to look for it."

"And in the end you found Rabbit and Beaver, right?" Little Panda blinked.

"Haha, yeah." Fox lowered his head, a little embarrassed. "But along the way I met many animals, and my thinking slowly changed. Meow Planet, Woof Planet and all that became unimportant too. When I met that old wolf, he told me that what I wanted to find wasn't Meow Planet or Woof Planet, but my own happiness. A place where I could live happily."

"That makes a lot of sense." Little Panda nodded.

"Yeah." Fox nodded. "Later I arrived at the little woods. Last winter was quite happy..."

Fox fell silent.

"But

...?" Little Panda asked tentatively.

"Yeah. But is this the happiness I wanted to find?" Fox shook his head. "I don't know either."

"Then..." Little Panda touched the tip of his nose. "Traveling together with me, do you feel happy?"

"I feel quite happy." Fox nodded. "Eating passion fruit was happy. When I saw you make fire, I was a little scared, but thinking back on it later, that felt quite happy too."

Little Panda giggled.

"So... I've been confused all along..." Fox's voice dropped. "What exactly is the happiness I want to find?"

Little Panda slowly lay down and gave a soft sigh.

Fox was silent for a while. "But you know, later, whenever I thought of Jiegeng, I would think of happiness." Fox's voice grew louder. "This is the gift that old wolf left me."

Little Panda slowly nodded and hid his nose in the grass.

Fox wrapped his big tail around his feet and gazed at that patch of Eustoma. All kinds of flowers swayed gently in the wind, and the clouds in the sky changed shape. The sky was still pale blue, and it had never changed.

"Have you seen Jiegeng flowers?" Fox asked.

Little Panda nodded.

"It's a little blue ball that splits open into five petals when it blooms." Fox said. "Not like Eustoma, which has so many... so many..."

Fox suddenly stopped.

A

dead silence, with only the chirping of insects and the soft sound of the wind.

"Huh? Fox?" Little Panda raised his head and looked at Fox. "Fox? What's wrong?"

Fox sat in the grass, eyes fixed straight on the vast patch of Eustoma before him, every muscle in his body tensed, ears and tail utterly still.

"Fox?" Little Panda jumped up and shook Fox's shoulder. "Fox, what's wrong?"

"I..." Fox blinked. "I'm fine..."

Little Panda let out a long breath. "You scared me. What on earth is wrong with you!"

"I was just thinking about Jiegeng..." Fox said quietly. "Maybe I've been wrong all along. Happiness might not be some one thing..."

"Huh?" Little Panda frowned.

"I used to think happiness was a certain kind of thing..." Fox smiled sheepishly. "That there would be a single happiness, and I would go find it. But seeing so many kinds of Eustoma, I think I was wrong."

"Happiness isn't singular. Happiness should come in many forms, and there should be all kinds of happiness." Fox said. "Just like Eustoma has all kinds of petals and all kinds of colors. I always wanted to find happiness, but actually I shouldn't have."

"In

the little woods, living with Rabbit, Beaver and Mole was happy, and traveling with you is happy too. Actually, looking back, even when I traveled by myself, I was mostly happy. But I always felt there should be a happier life, so I kept searching, and I didn't know if I could find it."

"Happiness was never something you had to go looking for in the first place..." Little Panda pouted.

"Yeah. But I only understand that now." Fox flicked his ears, a little embarrassed. "Seeing so many Eustoma, I finally understand. Happiness isn't something to go find, and it won't have only one appearance. I understood a little late, but it should still be in time, right?"

"Of course it's in time." Little Panda smiled. "It's never too late. No need to search especially for it, just discover it at any moment."

"I think now I understand what you said." Fox smiled too. "The meaning of travel lies in the journey, and so on. Happiness is the same."

"Yes!" Little Panda jumped up and ran toward the flower field. "Let's go, let's see if there are even prettier flowers! I'll weave you a flower wreath to wear around your neck, to celebrate!"

"Okay!" Fox answered loudly.

To be continued