In the Wolf Kingdom—or rather, the Forest Kingdom or the Animal Kingdom—the mornings always felt as if they were soaked in honey: warm, cozy, and filled with an indescribable sense of peace.
The first rays of dawn had just crested over the eastern clouds, only to be sliced into golden flecks by the leaves of the sycamore trees. These spots of light fell upon the asphalt path, making it feel like stepping on a ground covered in bright yellow sugar granules.
The air wafted with the scent of freshly baked wheat from Mrs. Bear's Bakery—toast mixed with honey and nuts, blending with the scent of green grass from the distant alfalfa fields. Even the wind became soft; when it brushed past one's cheeks, it carried a slight itch, like being gently swept by a kitten's tail.
The Three Little Pigs lived on the twentieth floor of "Forest Towers."
The building was constructed from thick pine logs, its exterior walls painted in a creamy off-white. Potted plants sat on every windowsill: the Rabbits' window featured flowering clover, while the Squirrels' displayed bamboo baskets filled with drying pinecones.
At this moment, The Three Little Pigs were gathered around the oak dining table in the center of the living room, having polished off the breakfast Mrs. Pig had made. There was rich oatmeal porridge mixed with fresh milk, bacon sandwiches toasted to a perfect crisp on the outside and tenderness on the inside, and roasted pumpkin drizzled with locust honey—just the right amount of sweetness.
Mrs. Pig, wearing a floral apron printed with little pig patterns, was busy stuffing the last piece of sandwich into the side pocket of Pig Third Brother's backpack. Her fingertips brushed against the pink bow embroidered on the bag as she reminded them softly,
"Take it slow on the road. Watch the traffic lights at the intersections. Don't daydream in class, do you hear me?"
"We know, Mommy!"
The Three Little Pigs answered in unison, their voices crisp and sweet, like they were sucking on rock candy.
They put on their backpacks—each emblazoned with the "Forest Elementary" school crest. Pig Eldest Brother's was blue with a large tree; Pig Second Brother's was yellow with a sunflower; and Pig Third Brother's was pink with a round, chubby pig embroidered on it. They followed Mr. Pig toward the elevator.
Mr. Pig wore a crisp grey suit, his tie knotted meticulously—Mrs. Pig had tied it for him specifically the night before.
He carried a dark brown briefcase containing a list of hog feed to be purchased today at the "Green Meadow Feed Factory," along with several customer orders.
"Hurry up, hurry up, the elevator is coming!" he urged, though his tail couldn't help but wag slightly. It was actually still early for his work, but he had been infected by the children's energy and had become hurried himself.
Pig Eldest Brother was the most impatient. Wearing his blue backpack, he hopped around by the elevator doors, the tip of his furry tail curled high as he occasionally stamped his hooves on the floor with light "clack-clack" sounds.
Pig Second Brother was wearing yellow overalls, the cuffs stained with a bit of dust from playing in the mud last night. He followed behind, chattering away, "Brother, do you know how to do the division they taught in math class yesterday? I think it's so hard..."
"Dummy, that problem is easy as pie!"
Pig Eldest Brother looked back and glared at him, his ears twitching.
"For example, if you divide twelve pinecones among three Squirrels, each gets four. Isn't that it?"
"You're the dummy!" Pig Second Brother retorted defiantly. "What if there are thirteen?"
The two of them went back and forth, bickering like two fighting little roosters, their hooves making a "thump-thump" sound on the polished floor.
Only Pig Third Brother remained quiet. He wore a little pink shirt with the collar buttons neatly fastened, and the embroidered pig on his backpack had been rubbed to a shine by his touch.
He held half an unfinished sandwich, nibbling on it in small bites. His ears drooped softly like tufts of gentle cotton. Occasionally, he would look up at his two brothers arguing, a secret smile tugging at the corners of his mouth before he quickly lowered his head, afraid of being caught.
"Ding-dong—" The elevator arrived.
The wooden doors slid open slowly, revealing polished mirrored walls that reflected the furry heads of The Three Little Pigs and Mr. Pig's straight back.
Standing inside the elevator were Mr. Fox and his daughter.
Mr. Fox wore a dark brown leather jacket, zipped halfway to reveal a white T-shirt with a fox pattern underneath.
His tail swayed gently behind him like a fluffy scarf, and he held a small pink backpack with a plush Rabbit charm hanging from it.
His daughter wore a white dress with tiny flowers embroidered on the hem. She carried a Rabbit-shaped backpack. With pointed ears and eyes like two black grapes, she hid timidly behind Mr. Fox, showing only half her face and a small section of her furry tail tip. She looked quite adorable.
The bickering of The Three Little Pigs came to an abrupt halt.
Pig Second Brother reacted the fastest, immediately flashing a smile that revealed two round front teeth, his voice cloyingly sweet.
"Hello, Uncle Fox!"
Mr. Fox nodded quickly, his mouth curving into a gentle arc as his eyes crinkled into slits.
"Hello there! Off to school?"
He turned, wanting his daughter to say hello as well, and nudged her back gently with the tip of his tail. However, he found the little one had buried her face behind his leather jacket, her small hands clutching his hem tightly. Even her ears had drooped like a leaf wilted by rain.
Mr. Fox could only look at Mr. Pig with a bit of embarrassment, spreading his hands with a helpless look as the tip of his tail swept the floor awkwardly.
"This child is just shy around strangers."
Mr. Pig waved it off with a smile, his voice as honest and warm as a freshly baked loaf of bread.
"No worries, no worries. Girls are sensitive; it's normal to be shy. When our youngest was little, he used to hide behind me and refuse to come out, too. See, isn't he much better now?"
As he spoke, he raised a paw and gently patted Pig Third Brother's head, the warmth of his palm transferring through the fur.
Pig Third Brother looked up and gave Mr. Fox and his daughter a bashful smile. A few breadcrumbs still clung to the corner of his mouth like tiny white sesame seeds.
The fox's daughter peeked out from behind her father with one eye. Seeing Pig Third Brother looking at her, she "whooshed" back into hiding, though the tips of her ears turned a quiet red.
The elevator doors slid shut. The mirrored walls reflected several pairs of furry paws and wagging tails—Mr. Pig's tail was thick and short, Mr. Fox's was fluffy, and the little pigs' tails were like small pom-poms.
The elevator was quiet, save for the faint "humming" of its operation, like a little bee flying by one's ear.
The digital screen above glowed red. The red numbers began to count down from "20": "19, 18, 17..." With every jump, they drew a step closer to the ground and a step closer to the bustle below.
"By the way,"
Mr. Fox suddenly spoke, breaking the silence. His voice carried a hint of inquiry, as if he were afraid of disturbing something.
"Mr. Pig, have you heard? They're building a 'Magic Ingredient Market' in the east of the city. They say it's a government-led project with Dr. Owl as a consultant. It'll be convenient for us to buy herbs and special ingredients in the future."
Mr. Pig paused. He ran a hog farm, so he wasn't a stranger to ingredient markets, but "Magic Ingredients" was a first for him.
He listened intently, his ears perking up slightly. "Oh? Magic ingredients? Is it like those glowing potatoes that were popular a while back? We tried them at the farm; they didn't seem to do much for the pigs, except make the pigpens look bright at night."
"Something like that,"
Mr. Fox smiled, the tip of his tail lightly sweeping the floor tiles.
"Supposedly there are even rarer things, like cloud powder that makes cakes fluffier—it has to be collected from the morning clouds—and honey dew that makes juice sweeter, which are the first few drops to congeal when bees make honey... I just don't know about the price. I hope it's not too expensive."
Mr. Pig scratched his ear, his hoof scuffing the floor. He didn't quite understand some parts, but he still said with a smile,
"Whatever the case, it won't be a loss for those of us doing business or just living our lives. Having more new things makes life more exciting."
Mr. Fox laughed as well, the fine lines at the corners of his eyes smoothing out, revealing two sharp canine teeth.
"Isn't that the truth."
He sighed with emotion, turning to look at the reflection of the high-rise buildings in the elevator mirror—the mirror was slightly misted with condensation, making the reflection look fuzzy.
"The changes in this world are truly massive.
I remember when we still lived on the edge of the forest. We had to go hungry when it rained. The winters were so cold we couldn't sleep at night, and even our tails would shiver from the frost.
It hasn't even been that long..."
"Isn't that the truth,"
Mr. Pig nodded in agreement, his tone full of nostalgia as his tail wagged gently.
"Science... It's all science!"
He didn't actually know what "science" was specifically; he had just heard others say that these high-rises, these elevators, and these shining streetlights were all thanks to "science."
Whatever it was, if it made life more comfortable, it was a good thing.
"Ding-dong—" The elevator reached the first floor.
As soon as the doors opened, the bustle outside rushed in like a tide—there were the horns of cars specifically for animals, not a harsh "beep-beep," but imitations of animal roars like "Awoo" and "Baa," loud but not annoying.
There were the cries of street vendors: Uncle Goat was shouting, "Fresh carrots! Just picked from the garden, still with the dirt on them!"
There was also the voice of Grandma Hedgehog: "Freshly ground nut powder! It's the most fragrant thing to mix into a child's porridge!"
And there was the laughter of children running with their backpacks, sounding like a string of silver bells in the ear.
They stepped out of the building to find rows upon rows of skyscrapers made of reinforced wood and glass. The glass curtain walls shimmered in the sun like a silver forest.
Ivy climbed the walls of every building. When the wind blew, the green leaves rustled, adding a touch of softness to the rigid structures.
Traffic flowed like water on the roads, yet it was perfectly orderly.
There were slow-moving Turtle-brand trucks with cargo beds woven from bamboo, carrying vegetables just harvested from the fields.
There were nimble Rabbit-brand sedans with pale pink bodies and anti-slip rubber-wrapped wheels that zipped along.
There was also a yellow school bus carrying a group of chicks, with a hen painted on the front. The sound of the chicks' chirping discussions—likely about today's lessons—drifted from the cabin.
Notably, these cars were all made of wood: the chassis were hard sandalwood, and the bodies were lightweight poplar. They were both environmentally friendly and sturdy, and their exhaust emitted a faint scent of wood and grass.
Beside the traffic booth on the street corner stood a Wolf Officer.
He wore a crisp dark blue police uniform, and the badge on his hat was a silver leaf that glinted in the sun.
His tail stood straight behind him like a flagpole. His gaze was sharp and focused, scanning every car and person at the intersection.
Seeing a Deer-brand bus about to turn, he immediately raised his white-gloved paw with efficient, powerful movements. His wolf-howl-like command rang clearly across the intersection:
"Vehicles on the left, slow down! Pedestrians, watch out!"
His voice was sonorous but not fierce, carrying a convincing authority.
The sunlight hit his badge number, "007," reflecting a dazzling light.
Pig Eldest Brother and Pig Second Brother had already forgotten their argument, standing on tiptoe to stare curiously at the Wolf Officer's movements.
Pig Second Brother even secretly mimicked him by raising a hoof, only to be swatted on the back of the head by Pig Eldest Brother: "Don't cause trouble!"