Last night, around 21:00 or 22:00, I saw a small red fox in the suburbs of Edinburgh. It was on an ordinary residential street, with lots of walled gardens along, and there were others around with cellphones or cigarettes, preoccupied by those vices and taking no notice of the fox. Or perhaps foxes are commonplace here?

I know it's a fox because its tail was too bushy to be a cat, and it was too red and too pretty to be a possum.

This fox was only slightly bigger than a cat, which I can easily judge as it had a cat friend following closely behind. The fox made better time over land than the cat, and I was able to overtake the cat myself, even while stealthily slinking after the fox.

I always thought foxes were big, like big dogs, and ruthless, but no, I see they're dainty and sleeker than imagined. I see now why doe foxes need axes. (Ay.)

Whether twas vixen or tod, I know not.