Context:

A is a sophomore at USC studying Screenwriting. A was born in Canada but moved to the United States when A was 10. The below text is a legend at A’s elementary school and, according to A, was the origin of how the school is decorated.

Text:

A’s elementary school has a fox as a mascot and they circulated a story about how they had gotten a fox as a mascot. “Why did they choose Rosie the Fox? This is why, this is the story we heard from teachers and friends but it was never confirmed by the school.” Basically, decades before, while a teacher was taking her kids out for recess, they found an injured fox lying in a ditch near campus. The kids all pleaded with the teacher to treat the fox, and they ended up taking it to school (principal or nurse’s office). They gave the fox a splint and eventually nursed it back to health (A did specify that the fox did not bite). Over the course of days, all the students got super attached tot he fox and named it Rosie, after the school’s name.

It got to the point where the fox was very tame. When the leg healed, they released it and all the kids were super sad about it. But, after that point, the fox would always come back. At recess, kids would see it standing on the side of the woods watching them play at recess. Eventually, obviously, the fox died and the school ended up naming the mascot after the fox in order to carry on the legacy of Rosie. A’s elementary now has a lot of culture surrounding Rosie. During A’s time there, they even had a whole festival or day surrounding Rosie.

Analysis:

The above narrative is a story that is highly probable, so much so that the school themselves indulge in it as if it was truth even though it has never been proven legitimately. A specifies that it has not been proven historically, and perhaps there may never be a way to prove it, but here is an example of folk history secluded to a school. The contemporary setting of the narrative makes the story an urban legend, however the deep belief with which the school puts in Rose the Fox makes the truth of her existence inconsequential. In my opinion, even if the school did find out Rosie wasn’t actually real, it wouldn’t matter. She became a legend ingrained as almost fact for the school, therefore what they think happened matters more than the unknown of what actually happened. Furthermore, being good to nature, kind to all creatures, and community are values upheld and respected in schools. Not only is Rosie the fox a heartwarming story to tell young students, but an example of how to behave at school. Rosie’s story provides an almost-forbidden rule broken by the school itself; letting an injured fox’s leg heal. It almost gives the audience room to make mistakes, using something as sutble as a fox to encourage breaking rules for kindness. Here is another reason why it doesn’t matter if the legend of Rosie is true or not.