The Fox in the dandelion sea

Part V

"Why must you learn human speech?"
On one occasion I asked the little fox this question.
He answered cheerfully in my language:
"So that I can befriend humans, of course!"
"Why would you want to befriend the humans?"
This seemed to make him sad, and he dropped his gaze.
"I saw a boy in the distant forest."
"He was dressed in gray. He looked and had eyes like a wolf, " he added.
"I had just finished learning my magic then, so I was eagerly running on my hind legs. Running in the grass was fun! But sadly, due to height differences, foxes cannot see or smell the same things that humans do."
"I'm sure you can guess what happened next, teacher! Suddenly, I realized a horrible truth – I was lost."
There was pain in his voice as he relayed the events of that day.
He had just wandered to some faraway woods and encountered vicious monsters.
Just when he thought he was done for, that gray lupine boy suddenly leaped out of the forest and chased away the monsters. Without a word, he turned around and vanished into the woods.
"If I could morph into a human and speak their language, I could track him down and make friends with him!"
He said gleefully.
I couldn't help but ask when I heard his reply:
"Am I not your friend?"
The little fox answered sincerely in the common tongue:
"Mommy told me that since you're my teacher, I can only be your student, not your friend. But that seems like a hurtful thing to say to you..." He said.
He tilted his head in befuddlement. His fluffy tail patted the surrounding dandelions as he pondered over this difficult issue.
"I know!"
He burst out.
"If I know something that you don't, that would make me your teacher."
"If we are both teachers, that would make us equals – then we can be friends!"
Still unfamiliar with the common language, he did his best to put his thoughts into complete sentences as he spoke at pace.
"Teacher, please allow me to teach you magic tricks that only I know."