The Farthing Wood Collection III by Colin Dann

Author:Colin Dann
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781448119493
Publisher: RHCB Digital

12

A Royal Stag

THE ANIMALS DISPERSED to follow their own immediate concerns. Chief among these was food. Plucky carried the good news of Badger to Mossy who had been racked by misery ever since he had believed he would never see Badger again. The little mole was so excited he could scarcely wait for the old animal to return to his own home.

‘He’s got to lie low for a bit,’ Plucky told him. ‘Get his strength back. Fox and Vixen are collecting food for him.’

Badger lay for a while in the deserted set without moving. The aches in his body were subsiding and the dominant discomfort he felt was still his sore, parched throat. In the end he had no recourse but to stir himself. He lumbered slowly out of the underground chamber and into the tunnel, and from there very, very slowly towards the set entrance. He knew nothing about Plucky’s clever trick on Trey but he was so desperate for water he no longer cared whether the stag was waiting in ambush for him or not. He sniffed at the night air. He could detect no deer odours. Painfully Badger forced his weak, quivering legs over the short stretch of ground to the Pond. He fell on his face in the cool water and gratefully let it wash over him, gulping it down in great draughts. He lay still for a while. It was bliss in the refreshing water. There was no sound nor sight of the stag and Badger was in no hurry to move. What a lucky escape he had had! If he hadn’t come across the rabbit he would surely be dead by now. As it was, he had come pretty close to it.

He wondered what Whistler had managed to find out about the stream’s danger. Whatever it was, it would be something beyond the scope of mere beasts and birds to rectify. He hauled himself out of the Pond, deliciously wet, and tottered back to his temporary base. Moments later Fox and Vixen returned, carrying roots, tubers and a variety of carrion in their jaws.

‘Eat, my friend, eat,’ said Fox when he had deposited his load on the hard-trodden earth. ‘We want you back with us in our corner of the Park. And your path is clear.’ He told him about Trey’s abrupt departure.

Badger began eagerly to eat. Fox was amused and approving. ‘Badger – the great survivor,’ he joked. He and Vixen were supremely happy at their old friend’s good fortune.

Badger despatched a succulent root with relish. ‘I’ve had an idea,’ he said suddenly as if he had surprised himself. ‘There may be a way we can rid ourselves of the stag’s threat permanently.’

‘We’re all ears,’ Fox told him interestedly.

‘We could make the stream our ally.’

Fox wasn’t sure if he understood Badger’s suggestion correctly. ‘You’re not thinking we should persuade Trey to drink from it, are you?’ he asked.

‘Of course that’s what I’m thinking. He’s not aware of its danger as far as I know.

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