Floating Grease Chronicles: Chapter of the Fox

Foxes are the wisest of creatures, as they know how to harvest Earth's gifts. The sulfur by hot springs, the saltpeter in bird droppings. The wisest creatures bathe in mud pits, so their fiery fur won't ignite the powder. The heavenly fire scorches the nameless shore, on a night not too long ago. When meteor showers fleeted across the dark sky, only foxes knew they were fragments of fallen whales. The wisest creatures search the tidal flats, for amber, ambergris, and star-lined glass from sunken ships. Pearls are nothing rare here, where periodic clams open their long mouths wide, and lanthanides and actinides hide in their mantles. Clay cauldrons nurture alchemical spells, since the world has too many tears, and what's scarce is true wealth. In those moonless years, the starry sky only reflects the foxes' cunning smiles.