|
Chapter One
The Village near the forest
Hidden in the valley, close to the forest where all the animals
lived, lay a small village. The red brick houses with their thatched
roofs and black shutters were built in neat little rows. They lined
the cobblestone streets like little soldiers at attention. Some
of the houses had small stone walls built around the gardens.
Others had thick, green hedges where mice and hedgehogs lived.
You could imagine what the gardens looked like in the summer with
their colourful flowers, buzzing bees, lively birds, and butterflies
fluttering from branch to branch.
Now, in the winter, the flowers had withered and the leaves had
fallen from the trees. The birds and bees were sleeping and snow
covered the ground, hedges, trees, and rooftops. Little snowdrifts
piled up against the windowsills. Puffs of smoke wafted from the
chimneys as icicles hung from the rooftops.
The village square stood right in the middle of the village. There
were benches scattered throughout the square. The cobblestones
that paved the square were now covered with a light dusting of
soft, white snow. A grocery store, a bakery, a butcher shop, and a
post office lined the square.
It was a cold and cloudy afternoon. The villagers, bundled in
warm coats and woollen hats, hurried from one store to another to
buy gifts for their families and friends. They were preparing for the
approaching winter solstice celebrations. Colourful decorations
were displayed in the windows next to all the shiny, new gifts.
The church, built with grey stone walls and stained glass windows,
stood to the left of the square, proud and tall. A few children
sat on the church steps laughing and playing. They were dressed in
brightly coloured winter jackets and warm fleece hats and scarves.
If you stood at the top of the church steps and looked down the
main road, you could see the treetops of the forest in the distance.
The village's main road led directly past fields and meadows to
the forest. The forest was a beautiful and peaceful place. The
villagers and their children often visited the forest on a Sunday
afternoon, escaping the hustle and bustle of day to day life in the
village.
In the distance, Miya, a young girl who lived in the village, skipped
along the icy road that led to the forest. She was dressed in a
bright blue winter jacket and wore a white woollen hat on top of
her curly, brown hair. She had a cozy scarf wrapped around her
neck to keep her warm. Her cheeks were rosy-red and her eyes
shone brightly, because she was very excited to be going to feed the
animals in the forest. Miya dug her hands deep into her big pockets
to keep them warm from the blustery wind. As she walked along the
lane, she clutched a small bundle under her arm.
While she skipped along, she whistled a happy tune and looked around.
The grey, wintry sky looked cheerless. It seemed that the trees,
bare meadows, and frozen ditches were waiting for warmer times. A
cold gust of wind blew across the fields. Miya shivered as she got
closer and closer to the forest that protected the bleak and frosty
meadows.
Miya's mother had taught her how to respect animals and the
environment. This morning, she had given Miya a few old loaves of
bread and some stale biscuits to put out for the animals, so that
they would not go hungry. Her mother had told Miya to look after
the animals and help them in times of need. She had also told Miya
that sometimes in the winter food was scarce for the animals,
and it was kind to help them. Miya had taken her own lunch too,
because she wanted to spend some time exploring the forest. Maybe
she would see some of the animals. She loved animals, and she
always dreamed of meeting them someday.
Anxiously, Miya looked up to the sky and noticed that the clouds
were dark. In a threatening manner, they hung low over the
deserted fields and trees. Snow would fall any minute. She quickly
marched towards the forest before it started to snow.
Miya slowly entered the big forest, overwhelmed by the tall fir
trees. She felt protected as the trees closed around her. There
was an icy mist among the trees, and Miya shivered. As Miya looked
up at the treetops, a single snowflake fell on her upturned face.
She giggled. That was cold!
It was eerily quiet, but occasionally a bird cried out to tell her
she was not alone. She quickly scattered bread and biscuits across
a small clearing. Every time she put more food out, she noticed
that the old bread was gone, and she knew that the animals had
found it. Miya smiled. This made her very happy, because she knew
the animals would not be hungry.
Not obeying her mother who had told her to come straight home,
she wandered deeper and deeper into the forest. She was very
curious about the animals. After a while, Miya could hear her belly
growling. She was hungry and tired. She sat on the frozen ground.
it was covered with pine needles. Miya opened the package she had
brought from home, pulled out a sandwich, and ate it. When she
had finished her lunch, she lay back, snuggled into her warm jacket,
and stared dreamily up towards the sky.
After a few minutes, Miya felt she wasn't alone. Slowly, she
turned her head and jumped up in surprise. In front of her sat a
squirrel. His paws were crossed in front of his chest, and he had
a frown on his furry face. The little animal glared at Miya. She
stared back, a little astonished.
"What are you doing here?" asked the squirrel angrily.
"Well, I ... I ..." stammered Miya, stunned. The animal was talking.
He swished his bushy tail, and he yelled furiously, "Leave our
forest! Now!" With those unfriendly words, he ran off, into the
bushes.
Miya watched in amazement as the squirrel ran away. She sighed.
For a moment she just stood there, not sure of what to do. She
had just spoken to a squirrel. Rather, he had spoken to her. This
was a significant experience. The squirrel had told her to leave
immediately. Miya had to decide what to do. She wanted to be
friends with the animals and didn't want to make them angry. But
she also wanted to explore the forest. Of course, this was their
place, and if she wasn't welcome, well, she should leave quietly.
With a shrug of her shoulders, Miya decided it would be better to
listen to the squirrel and go home. She picked up her belongings.
Being careful she didn't leave any garbage behind, she turned to
walk to the edge of the forest. Thinking about the experience with
the squirrel, Miya walked and walked.
After a few minutes, Miya stopped and looked around. Nothing
seemed familiar. She wasn't sure which way to go. She turned right,
took a few steps, then paused and started walking in the opposite
direction. Miya did not recognize where she was. With a sigh, she
miserably sank onto an old tree stump and groaned. "All the trees
look alike. I think I'm lost."
Miya sat there for a few moments and wondered what to do next,
when she heard a commotion. Her face brightened. It seemed that
there were more people from the village visiting the forest. She
wasn't alone. Miya jumped up and started running towards the
direction of the voices.
Chapter Two
Miya meets the animals
Boy, how she ran! She leapt over the fallen trees, crashing
through the bushes, and she fell. She scrambled up again, scraping
her hands and knees. Once in a while, she stopped to listen for the
voices. Ignoring her bruised hands and scraped knees, Miya continued
to run until she reached a clearing in the woods. Here she stumbled
upon all sorts of animals. Standing there, eye to eye, she was as
surprised as they were.
The squirrel, whom she had met before, stepped forward. He
was moody and did not like the humans. His cousin, who lived
in the village, had told him stories about the villagers and
the other humans in the city. They were all bad stories. It
seemed that they did not think about the consequences of their
actions. The girl was one of them!
The squirrel moved forward and said angrily, "Hey! Why are you
here? Didn't I tell you to leave?"
"Well, yes ... yes you did," stammered Miya. "But, but ... I got lost."
She burst into tears.
"Oh, little girl, ne'er mind 'im," spoke a crackly, old voice.
Miya looked up and blinked. Through her tears, she saw a big black
crow with shiny feathers standing right next to her. With his dark,
friendly eyes, he looked her up and down. His enormous yellow beak
pointed towards the squirrel. The crow seemed to be a gentle and
kind old bird.
"That squirrel," the crow said. "Well, he's just a grumpy old guy."
"Humph," said the squirrel, turning his back to Miya and the crow.
He stomped towards a clump of bushes, where he sat brooding.
Miya nodded, her brown curls bouncing up and down. She sniffed
and wiped her tears on the sleeve of her blue coat. She pulled her
white hat tightly over her head. Then she looked around curiously.
There was a cluster of old tree stumps that stood to one side,
covered with a sprinkling of soft, white snow. Right beside the
tree stumps was a hollow tree trunk with a layer of velvety, green
moss. In one corner, near an old, gnarly oak tree, a few of the
smaller animals huddled together nervously. They shifted from one
foot to the other. They stuck their sensitive, little, black noses in
the air to smell if the girl was a good human or a bad one.
Miya's arrival in the clearing had disturbed a meeting. The owl was
the chairperson, and she was very angry. She puffed out her chest
and ruffled her feathers to show her fury. This was unacceptable!
It was her meeting. She was the important one here, not this little
human. She paced back and forth, frowning and blinking.
She stormed at them, "My fellow animals, this meeting has been
interrupted! I will not have that!"
"I know, I know. This human seems to be more interesting than
I am, and you forgot about me and the meeting," continued the
owl grumpily. "And it's her fault!" She waved her right wing
threateningly at Miya. "This is intolerable. I am holding a
meeting!"
Miya felt guilty and ashamed. She hung her head. This was
obviously an important meeting for the animals.
"Now waita minute," defended the crow. He gently patted Miya on
the back. "She can't help being here-she got lost!" He waved his
wings about, yelling.
"She is a human. You know we don't like humans to come here. She
trespassed into our forest. This is our place!" replied the squirrel.
Outraged, he swished his bushy tail.
The crow turned to face the squirrel. "We can share this forest
with the humans. I see them all the time. They don't do anythin'
wrong. They like to sit under the trees in the shade when it is hot.
I don't see why we can't share."
"Share? With those humans?! They just leave garbage and break
things!" called out the squirrel. He was so angry, he could spit!
"Humans are awful! I know this for sure. My cousin told me. Did
you know that in the city, the people put poisonous chemicals on
the grass?" asked the squirrel angrily.
The little animals gasped in horror.
"And," continued the squirrel, "they spray the trees with poison as
well!"
"Oh no!" called out the chipmunk and the fawn.
"And those cars." said the squirrel. "Well, they smell. And they
keep driving even if our cousins run into the street. They get run
over!"
"That is bad," mumbled the little bear cub and the young fox.
"Really inconsiderate." They glared at Miya.
"I know, I know," the crow shushed his friends. "Not all humans
are mean. Look at the people in the village. They give us bread and
cookies in the winter. They worry about us. They make sure that we
aren't hungry in the winter."
"The factories where they work have chimneys that spit dirty
smoke into the air," continued the squirrel, as if he hadn't heard
any of the other animals. "My other cousin who lives in the city
has breathing problems. It is because of the poisons in the air. The
humans call it asthma. My cousin has a human illness."
"Yeah," chimed a small bird. She wiped tears from her little eyes.
"A friend of a friend of a friend of mine and her brother got caught
in an oil spill. It was so sad. His beautiful white feathers got all
stinky and dirty."
"Do you also know that other humans helped the birds get cleaned
up again?" asked the crow. "See what I mean-the humans aren't
all bad."
"But an oil spill should not happen in the first place!" yelled
the squirrel from where he sat. "Like I said before, and I'll say it
again- Humans don't see the consequences of their actions."
"I agree with the squirrel," said the owl gruffly. "The humans are
trouble. She is one of them. The owl pointed to Miya. "We don't
like her!"
"If you don't watch what you are saying, I'll ... I'll ..." said the
crow. He lifted his fists and waved them around. The smaller
animals gasped in surprise. The crow was usually very calm and
gentle, and he didn't get angry.
But this topic, about how the humans treated the environment,
seemed to get all the animals troubled and upset.
"Oh, please don't argue," said Miya. "I realize that you don't like
humans. I know we do things to hurt the environment. But not
everyone is like that." She looked over at the squirrel with big
eyes. "I'm not like the other humans. I respect nature, and I love
animals," said Miya. "Besides, there are lots of humans that think
like me."
"Yeah, right," grumbled the squirrel, crossing his arms and turning
away.
"Humph," sniffed the owl, puffing out her chest.
"I didn't mean to interrupt your meeting," continued Miya. "I really
am lost and just want to go home." She looked at the crow and
asked, "Will you show me the way to the edge of the forest?"
"O' course m' girl, o' course," said the crow standing beside her. He
gently nudged Miya's shoulder.
"Not until after my meeting!" hooted the owl, as she stomped up
and down angrily. "Not until after my meeting!"
The crow shrugged his enormous shoulders. "Whatever!"
He turned to Miya and said, "You can sit. We ain't leavin' yet."
(Continues...)
|