I walked toward the sword. I grabbed it with both hands and dragged it across the floor to this piece of meat.

  Standing right in front of it, my lips instinctively formed a thin line. After all, this had once been a real animal. Just like me or the fox, for example. She had simply killed it. After all, in this life, the strong rule, and the weak either grovel or die.

  My gaze was riveted on this piece. My hands trembled slightly from the weight, or from excitement or pain, I don't know. My breathing quickened, and every beat of my heart pounded in my chest like a bell.

  I wanted to be as beautiful as that girl, I wanted to wield a sword as powerful as the fox's dagger, and I wanted to perform all those incredible tricks like both of them. But... I'm just afraid... Even such an easy task presented me with difficulty, and this thing wasn't even alive, it was dead.

  Finally collecting my thoughts, I swung my sword and casually struck the piece of meat, cutting it roughly halfway through. My strike was crooked, coming at a sharp angle rather than perfectly parallel to the floor.

  I swung the sword again, this time putting all my strength into the blow. This time, I just missed the piece, but I missed the previous cut. A cross was etched into the meat. I decided to simply cut the remaining portion to the end.

  The meat split into two uneven pieces. The fox looked at me and pointed at the meat again. I took her cue and raised my arms again to strike. Only this time, I struck half the meat and cut it in half. My arms ached with fatigue, but I had to strike again...

  Resolved to end this torture, my arms rose and struck. This time, I couldn't cut it and had to finish the cut. Having finished cutting the meat, my eyes fell on the fox.

  She approached the stove, opened the door with her teeth, looked at the fire, nodded, closed it, and went to the front door of the house. Opening it, I saw a white kingdom. A huge amount of something white lay across the entire horizon. I couldn't take my eyes off this glittering thing. The sun's rays played with the snow, making it almost blinding. The trees seemed to be asleep, covered in a blanket of snow, and solitary birds sang a beautiful song, perfectly complementing the scene. The fox quickly walked out the door, closed it, and disappeared from sight.

  A few moments later, I saw her again, only this time she was carrying wood. She quickly walked to the stove and threw fresh fuel into the fire. I watched as the beautiful flames began to envelop the new fuel. It was so captivating; it was a shame the fox quickly closed the door.

  She came up to me and grabbed two pieces of meat with her teeth, pointing to the other two as if to say they were mine. I took them and carried them after her. The sword now simply lay where I'd cut it.

  By the stove, the fox placed the meat where I'd slept, and I followed her. I wondered what all this fuss was about?

  After what seemed like an eternity, the fox turned it over, and instead of the blood-red color, I saw a beautifully browned crust of meat. It had become more flesh-colored and looked very appetizing. And the smell emanating from this work of art was simply intoxicating.

  I tried to imitate her, and... While turning the second piece of meat, I burned my right thumb. I started shaking my hand to cool it a little. The fox saw it. Something flashed in her eyes, and a little frost appeared on my finger, but it quickly evaporated. I felt better, but the pain wasn't... that bad.

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  After a few moments of agony, I finally managed to turn over the second piece of meat and began awaiting the fox's next instructions.

  Meanwhile, she stared at the meat with hungry eyes, her tongue licking her nose frequently. I found it a little funny.

  And finally, the fox took the meat from the stove with her teeth and began to devour it greedily. I tried to imitate her, but I only burned my mouth and hands. Having experienced a small thrill from the pain, I wanted to eat as quickly as possible. Turning my head from side to side, my gaze fell on the cabinets, where I saw a multitude of strange objects.

  I walked up to them and opened them. I needed something to put this meat on, and perhaps something to eat it with.

  A few cabinets later, I found a nearly unbroken plate, along with a small thing with four sharp points on the end. Returning to the stove, I grabbed a fork and casually started poking at the meat, trying to pierce it and place it on a plate. And to my surprise, I succeeded quite quickly.

  I grabbed all my new utensils and went to the table. I placed my plate there and sat down, then poked the meat and brought it to my mouth.

  The smell reached my nose. And all I can say is, it was simply incredible! Even the forest didn't smell as good as this rotten piece of meat. In fact, most of the smell came from the fact that I'd overcooked it while I was getting all the necessary tools. But that didn't stop me from savoring the incredible aroma of this "dish."

  As I raised the meat to my lips, I felt a slight heat and a bit of its juices. The taste was clearly of burnt meat, but to me, it was very tasty, strange as it may seem. It was meat I'd cooked myself, and, in fact, it was the first I'd ever eaten. For me, it was like a celebration.

  And so the first bite and the first piece hit my tongue. A sharp bitterness and dryness were the only taste I could detect, but either hunger or the fact that this was my first proper meal since birth in this world made the taste of the meat wonderful. This taste is firmly ingrained in my memory as my first experience with such delicious, real food.

  I wish I could eat this every day... Stop! No, no, no... Not again. I just want to have this kind of meal more often. Although I think I will... After all, what else am I supposed to eat? The fox and I have nothing else...

  Okay, that's excitement for the future me; right now, I need to enjoy the moment. I took another bite of the meat, relishing its taste and soaking up every drop of juice in this burnt, dry, unseasoned meat.

  Having finished the first piece, I continued to feast on the second piece, which was exactly the same as the first, just as dry and tasteless, but now it tasted like the most elite and delicious meat to me.

  After finishing everything, I wiped my face with my shirt and got up from the table, leaving the plate on it. I walked over to the bed and watched the fox, who, after checking the heat in the stove, opened the front door to the house, looked at me, and licked her nose. She turned in an unknown direction and left.

  Leaning back on the bed, I looked at the floor next to where the meat had been cut. The ice the fox made when he first cut the meat turned to water, which gave me an idea.

  If I could melt ice, would water appear? But what if I melted snow, what would happen? This thought haunted me, as I was still thirsty, and it was impossible to get enough from this meat.

  Returning to the cupboards, I found a half-broken saucepan. Even though it was broken, it was the best I had. I walked with it to the front door and reached for the doorknob.

  After some thought, I finally made up my mind and opened it. A cool wind blew in my face... No! Not cool, just freezing. My whole body immediately began to shake, and my nose turned pink. Without wasting any time, I stepped away from the door with the saucepan and scooped up some clean snow. As I scooped it into the saucepan, I saw a wolf in the corner of my left eye! Only this one, unlike the others I'd seen, seemed frozen in time, with snow firmly encased around it.

  Looking in its direction, I saw many more of the same ice sculptures.

  It must have been a fox's doing, I thought.

  Scooping up some snow, I quickly walked back into the house.