It seems like the hardest part was now over. Unfortunately, the fox was still terrified. The fox did not want to be touched by any of the fishermen and was still very anxious. Two of them decided to try to dry the fox off. They started to try to keep the fox warm by drying its fur with towels, but the fox did not want to be touched and continued to back away from the friends.
They did not want to make the fox feel threatened, so they stopped right in their tracks. They were worried that the fox would try jumping back into the water or even attack them despite their efforts to save him. Both of these outcomes were something they did not want to have to deal with.
Something Changed
The fishermen were at a loss. They had been trying so hard for so long to get the fox on board their boat, but it felt like nothing was going to work. All of a sudden something changed. The fox stopped backing up and started to look at them with less fear in his eyes. They began to think the fox was deciding if it should come with them or not.
After what felt like an eternity, but was really only a few minutes, the fox took that first crucial step. The fox started to come closer towards the boat. The three fishermen could not believe their eyes! Their patience and persistence had worked!
Slow And Steady
They had absolutely no clue what they had done to make the fox decide to come close to them after being so scared for so long. They did not ask questions though, the fox continued to move towards the boat. The fox was now a mere couple of inches away from them. They decided to try food once again, Allan held out his hand and tried to feed the fox a snack.
The fox was clearly exhausted. It did not want to eat the food, but they could tell the fox trusted them now. Without hesitation, Allan reached out and grabbed the fox, he carried it right on board the boat. They had done it!
Returning To The Water
Bad luck struck once again, and the fox jumped back into the water. They did not know precisely what happened, but something must have scared the fox, and he jumped. The fox was trying to make his way back to the iceberg.
Since the water was absolutely freezing the fishermen were not able to jump into the water to save the poor fox. They had to act quickly. Thankfully the fox was extremely tired and unable to swim fast. This allowed Allan to reach into the water and catch the fox once again. He brought it back on the boat, and the fox sat down, defeated. He knew he was not going to be getting back to his iceberg.
Too Weak
They felt a sense of relief now since they got the fox back to safety. They knew that they had to do something to ensure that the fox was not going to escape again. They also knew that since the fox was so exhausted, it was not going to try to attack them or run away. They decided the best thing to do would be to corner the fox.
They were smart. They waited for the fox to get calm once again before trying to go near it. The poor fox was still freezing cold and wet once again. But they had to remember that they saved it, it was not on top of the iceberg anymore or swimming in the water.