--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The creature was very young. He was alone…" description: "\"“The creature was very young. He was alone in a dread universe. I crept on my knees and crouched beside him. It was a small fox pup from a den under th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/anonymous-1_brothers-and-sisters_the-creature-was-very-young-he-was-alone_2603692.jpg" --- # The creature was very young. He was alone in a dread… ![“The creature was very young. He was alone in a dread universe. I crept on my knees and crouched beside him. It was a small fox pup from a den under the timbers who looked up at me. God knows what had become of his brothers and sisters. His parents must not have been home from hunting. He…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/anonymous-1_brothers-and-sisters_the-creature-was-very-young-he-was-alone_2603692.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/anonymous-1_brothers-and-sisters_the-creature-was-very-young-he-was-alone_2603692.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/anonymous-1_brothers-and-sisters_the-creature-was-very-young-he-was-alone_2603692.jpg) > ““The creature was very young. He was alone in a dread universe. I crept on my knees and crouched beside him. It was a small fox pup from a den under the timbers who looked up at me. God knows what had become of his brothers and sisters. His parents must not have been home from hunting. He innocently selected what I think was a chicken bone from an untidy pile of splintered rubbish and shook it at me invitingly... the universe was swinging in some fantastic fashion around to present its face and the face was so small that the universe itself was laughing. It was not a time for human dignity. It was a time only for the careful observance of amenities written behind the stars. Gravely I arranged my forepaws while the puppy whimpered with ill-concealed excitement. I drew the breath of a fox's den into my nostrils. On impulse, I picked up clumsily a whiter bone and shook it in teeth that had not entirely forgotten their original purpose. Round and round we tumbled and for just one ecstatic moment I held the universe at bay by the simple expedient of sitting on my haunches before a fox den and tumbling about with a chicken bone. It is the gravest, most meaningful act I shall ever accomplish, but, as Thoreau once remarked of some peculiar errand of his own, there is no use reporting it to the Royal Society.”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A fleeting, absurd encounter with a fox pup becomes a profound, personal moment of joy and meaning, beyond scientific reporting **In simple terms:** A brief, playful moment with a fox feels deeply meaningful Key Takeaway Cherish simple, spontaneous joys Themes joy meaning absurdity nature solitude Mood playful reflective whimsical Type personal philosophical literary When to use this quote - walking in woods - observing wildlife - personal reflection - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism mindfulness playfulness Questions to Reflect On - What small moments have you dismissed as insignificant? - How can playfulness reveal deeper truths? A Different Perspective The experience may be seen as self‑indulgent or trivial to others ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brothers and sisters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers-and-sisters/) [Creature Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creature-young-1967356/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [God knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-knows/) [Human dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-dignity/) [John-dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/john-dunn/) [Puppy Whimpered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puppy-whimpered-1967358/) [Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoreau/) [Thoreau Remarked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoreau-remarked-1967355/) [Universe Crept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-crept-1967357/) ## Related quotes > [“The moment I stepped out the front door I was faced again with Manhattan. There it was, oh splendid ship of concrete and steel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-moment-i-stepped-out-the-front-door-i-was-faced-again-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If somewhere beneath the blood, the past must beat in me to make a rhythm of survival for itself - to go on as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-somewhere-beneath-the-blood-the-past-must-beat-in-me-to-make-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Men believe the cure for war is war as the curandero prescribes the serpent's flesh for its bite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/men-believe-the-cure-for-war-is-war-as-the-curandero-prescribes-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Yes. Because they were human men. They were trying to write down the heart's truth out of the heart's driving complexity, for all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/yes-because-they-were-human-men-they-were-trying-to-write-down-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He picks up speed and seems to lose his gangliness, the slouchy funk of hormones and unbelonging and all the stammering things that seal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo-underworld/he-picks-up-speed-and-seems-to-lose-his-gangliness-the-slouchy-funk/) [Don Delillo Underworld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo-underworld/) > [“The charged atmosphere made every little thing stand out as a performance, a movement distinct and vastly important. It was one of those hypersensitive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler-the-long-goodbye/the-charged-atmosphere-made-every-little-thing-stand-out-as-a/) [Raymond Chandler "The Long Goodbye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler-the-long-goodbye/) > [“The cactus of the high desert is a small grubby, obscure and humble vegetable associated with cattle dung and overgrazing, interesting only when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey-desert-solitaire/the-cactus-of-the-high-desert-is-a-small-grubby-obscure-and-humble/) [Edward Abbey "Desert Solitaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey-desert-solitaire/) > [“A weird, lovely, fantastic object out of nature like Delicate Arch has the curious ability to remind us - like rock and sunlight and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey-desert-solitaire/a-weird-lovely-fantastic-object-out-of-nature-like-delicate-arch-has/) [Edward Abbey "Desert Solitaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey-desert-solitaire/) > [“The mornings came hard, and our caddie master, Dick Millweed, had a temper that could make a hangover seem like a seismic fracture. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dunn/the-mornings-came-hard-and-our-caddie-master-dick-millweed-had-a/) [John Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dunn/) > [“Seattle rain smells different from New Orleans rain... New Orleans rain smells of sulfur and hibiscus, trumpet metal, thunder and sweat. Seattle rain, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins-jitterbug-perfume/seattle-rain-smells-different-from-new-orleans-rain-new-orleans-rain/) [Tom Robbins "Jitterbug Perfume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins-jitterbug-perfume/) > [“Even when you're keeping score, golf is all about focusing on the shot at hand, the total score being a sum of those shots.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dunn/even-when-you-re-keeping-score-golf-is-all-about-focusing-on-the-shot/) [John Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dunn/) > [“Full circle from the tomb of the womb to the womb of the tomb we come, an ambiguous, enigmatical incursion into a world of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell-hero-with-a-1000-faces/full-circle-from-the-tomb-of-the-womb-to-the-womb-of-the-tomb-we-come/) [Joseph Campbell Hero with a 1000 Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell-hero-with-a-1000-faces/) > [“The storm front towered above them and the wind was cool on their sweating faces. They slumped bleary-eyed in their saddles and looked at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-storm-front-towered-above-them-and-the-wind-was-cool-on-their/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“Big production, no story, as they say around the movie lots. I guess Sylvia is happy enough, though not necessarily with me. In our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler-the-long-goodbye/big-production-no-story-as-they-say-around-the-movie-lots-i-guess/) [Raymond Chandler "The Long Goodbye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler-the-long-goodbye/) > [I like the story about Henry David Thoreau, who, when he was on his death bed, his family sent for a minister. The minister…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/i-like-the-story-about-henry-david-thoreau-who-when-he-was-on-his/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Brothers and sisters quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [There's no publicist, no advertisements, and no one's pushing us. If people are buying our records, it's because big brothers and sisters or friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-moody/there-s-no-publicist-no-advertisements-and-no-one-s-pushing-us-if/) [Spencer Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-moody/) > [Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/brothers-and-sisters-i-bid-you-beware-of-giving-your-heart-to-a-dog/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Mr. Peabody is this genetic anomaly. He does have brothers and sisters, all of them non-speaking, not super-smart dogs. He's an outcast, but has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-minkoff/mr-peabody-is-this-genetic-anomaly-he-does-have-brothers-and-sisters/) [Rob Minkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-minkoff/) > [Jeremiah Wright is one of the greatest prophetic preachers that black America has produced. What I find striking is that many white brothers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/jeremiah-wright-is-one-of-the-greatest-prophetic-preachers-that-black/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [ What are you for? It may be, to a degree, consoling that white brothers and sisters did not vote for \[Donald\] Trump, and do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/what-are-you-for-it-may-be-to-a-degree-consoling-that-white-brothers/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [How many years has it taken people to realize that we are all brothers and sisters and human beings in the human race? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-p-johnson/how-many-years-has-it-taken-people-to-realize-that-we-are-all/) [Marsha P. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-p-johnson/) > [I have 10 brothers and sisters. My mother raised us because my father died when I was 8.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/i-have-10-brothers-and-sisters-my-mother-raised-us-because-my-father/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [We have forgotten to be our brothers and sisters keepers. And we have forgotten that the Number 1 goal is to love one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-richards/we-have-forgotten-to-be-our-brothers-and-sisters-keepers-and-we-have/) [Ann Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-richards/) > [The only siblings I have are half-siblings. My nuclear family would have been an extra-suffocating threesome. Instead, I have an interesting brother and sister,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/the-only-siblings-i-have-are-half-siblings-my-nuclear-family-would/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [Brothers and sisters, white people will come in to chastise us. But since we are no longer forsaken, and are the people of God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/brothers-and-sisters-white-people-will-come-in-to-chastise-us-but/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-father-may-turn-his-back-on-his-child-brothers-and-sisters-may/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [With a basic understanding of all humans as brothers and sisters, we can appreciate the usefulness of different systems and ideologies that can accommodate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/with-a-basic-understanding-of-all-humans-as-brothers-and-sisters-we/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [God helping me, I will help my brothers and sisters in Christ, because they are my brothers and sisters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-barber-lightfoot/god-helping-me-i-will-help-my-brothers-and-sisters-in-christ-because/) [Joseph Barber Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-barber-lightfoot/) [Browse all 956 Brothers and sisters quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers-and-sisters/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The creature was very young. He was alone in a dread universe. I crept on my knees and crouched beside him. It was a small fox pup from a den under the timbers who looked up at me. God knows what had become of his brothers and sisters. His parents must not have been home from hunting. He innocently selected what I think was a chicken bone from an untidy pile of splintered rubbish and shook it at me invitingly... the universe was swinging in some fantastic fashion around to present its face and the face was so small that the universe itself was laughing. It was not a time for human dignity. It was a time only for the careful observance of amenities written behind the stars. Gravely I arranged my forepaws while the puppy whimpered with ill-concealed excitement. I drew the breath of a fox's den into my nostrils. On impulse, I picked up clumsily a whiter bone and shook it in teeth that had not entirely forgotten their original purpose. Round and round we tumbled and for just one ecstatic moment I held the universe at bay by the simple expedient of sitting on my haunches before a fox den and tumbling about with a chicken bone. It is the gravest, most meaningful act I shall ever accomplish, but, as Thoreau once remarked of some peculiar errand of his own, there is no use reporting it to the Royal Society.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-creature-was-very-young-he-was-alone-in-a-dread-universe-i-crept/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brothers and sisters" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-creature-was-very-young-he-was-alone-in-a-dread-universe-i-crept/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/anonymous-1_brothers-and-sisters_the-creature-was-very-young-he-was-alone_2603692.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/anonymous-1_brothers-and-sisters_the-creature-was-very-young-he-was-alone_2603692.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/anonymous-1_brothers-and-sisters_the-creature-was-very-young-he-was-alone_2603692.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The creature was very young. He was alone in a dread universe. I crept on my knees and crouched beside him…” — Anonymous", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The creature was very young. He...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-creature-was-very-young-he-was-alone-in-a-dread-universe-i-crept/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-creature-was-very-young-he-was-alone-in-a-dread-universe-i-crept/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```