Fantastic Mr. Fox — Chapter 12

About This Passage

Dahl sets Mr Fox's dreamy description of the waiting feast directly against Badger's desperate cry — a two-beat that captures exactly how good news lands on a starving listener. Mr Fox lingers on 'delicious' and 'plump juicy chickens' because he WANTS Badger to feel it before he believes it; Badger responds not with doubt but with pain, because the images are unbearable to a hungry animal who thinks they cannot be real.

Narration Prompt

Retell Chapter 12 in your own words. Where does Badger come from and how is he feeling when he drops into the tunnel? What news does Badger bring about what is happening to Mole, Rabbit, Weasel, and their families on the hill? Why does Mr Fox say 'this mess is all my fault'? What invitation does Mr Fox give, and why does Badger have trouble believing it? How does the chapter end?

Discussion Questions

1. Before Badger arrives, the Small Foxes 'churgle with laughter' every time they think about eating Boggis's chickens. Dahl invents the word 'churgle.' What does this invented word tell us about the kind of happiness the foxes feel while the farmers still think they are winning?
2. Badger says 'I know it's your fault!' in an angry voice, but also sits down and puts a paw around his small son when he says 'We're done for.' What does the combination of Badger's anger AND his tenderness toward his son tell us about who Badger is as a father?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide