Tales of Raincliffe Woods

Steven Brown

Description

When Mr Hare’s home is destroyed, the animals of Raincliffe Woods gather to help him find a new home. But the sly Mr Fox is on hand to tempt Mr Hare over to the dark and dangerous Forge Valley. As Mr Hare vanishes, it is up to Mr Hedgehog, Miss Dormouse and Red, the Squirrel, to rescue Mr Hare. On their journey into the terrifying Forge Valley, they encounter predators looking for their next meal.

Sujets

• 6-12 ans
• Toute la fiction jeunesse
• Jeunesse Animaux
• Animals
• Raincliffe Woods
• Forge Valley
• Juvenilee Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: AuthorHouse UK
• Date de parution: 29 décembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665597159
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

TALES OF RAINCLIFFE WOODS

AN UNEXPECTED STORM







STEVEN BROWN



© 2022 Steven Brown. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

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ISBN: 978-1-6655-9716-6 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-9715-9 (e)



Published by AuthorHouse 12/29/2022

















CONTENTS
An Unexpected Storm
Mr Hare’s Home
Cunning Mr Fox
The Council
The Other Side
Old Mr Hare
Spring Awakening



AN UNEXPECTED STORM
It all began with a drop of rain. A cold, wet, unexpected drop of rain. Drip. Drop. Drip. Drop. More and more droplets of rain fell from the blue sky.
Drip, drop, drip, drop, drip, drop . Just as unexpected as the first drop was, the rain continued and continued.
Mrs Mallard quacked and squawked as she sheltered her chicks under her brown wings before running for cover under a fallen tree.
CRASH! Thunder echoed around the forest. The rain got heavier and faster and faster and faster until every inch of Raincliffe Woods was sodden and soaked.
The mere seemed to be the only thing enjoying the heavy, unexpected downpour of rain. The spring had been dry and was long overdue a rainstorm.
CRASH ! The thunder grew louder.
Squirrel had darted back into her little hole in the oak tree she called home.
Mr Magpie struggled in the gushing wind before landing on a thick tree branch that was somewhat sheltered from the storm.
The majestic Stag shivered in the cold wind.
The lightning illuminated the forest. Cunning Fox cried out in his little den. He was scared of the rain and the lightning.
The flash of light beamed all around. Mrs Mallard was now with her husband, and the two sheltered their chicks from the storm. CRASH!
Just as the storm arrived, it was gone. The world was back to the way it was.
The storm was nothing more than an April shower, a “ heavy April shower”, Mrs Mallard was heard quacking as she waddled back to the mere with her chicks.
Squirrel wiped her wet, red, pointy ears and crept back out of her hole in the oak tree and stood on a soaking, slippery, slimy branch. Staring around, she nodded with contentment. The forest looked alive.
“The world is back as it should be. It has been an awfully dry spring,” Squirrel chuckled and patted down her red fur.
It was then she heard a noise. A not-so-very-good noise. She listened intently. Ooouuuaaar. Squirrel sat still and silent. She glanced around the forest. She knew who was making the strange sound and where it was coming from—but why were they making the strange sound?
Squirrel jumped from branch to branch swiftly making her way towards the sound. Oooouuuaaarr ! It grew louder as she made a long leap to a far-off branch. She rested to catch her breath. She was close. She knew where she was going, but the forest was wet now and she had to be careful.
The cry came out again, louder than she had heard. It was just down below her. Squirrel scurried down the bark of the large tree in her customary circular movement and reached the bottom within seconds.

The small squirrel stepped on to the wet, muddy forest floor. She hated getting her paws dirty, but she had to find out why the noise was being made. OOOUUUUAAARRR! The loud cry scared her. She stepped forward and timidly called out, “Hullo? Hullo!”
“Red! Is that you?” A voice emerged from a pile of debris left by the storm.
“Hare! Where the devil are you?”
“I’m under here.” Hare’s voice was slightly deeper than Squirrel. “You must help me out!”
Squirrel, or Red as her friends called her, crawled through the fallen branches, the dripping, dirty leaves, and the oozing mud. She was small and able to make her way through easily enough, despite her discontentment about her now-dirty fur.
She pushed through one tiny hole and saw Hare lying on his stomach. His right leg had become trapped under the storm debris.
“Oh my!” Red called out. “Are you hurt, Mr Hare?”
“Red, how wonderful to see a sight as beautiful as yours! I am not hurt but, alas, I do require some assistance!” Mr Hare’s long ears flopped over instead of as usual up. His brown fur was dirty and muddy, and one of his long, pointy teeth had been chipped.
“Oh my! Oh my!” The small squirrel edged passed her trapped friend and tried to push the twigs, acorns, bark and sodden leaves off Hare. “I cannot … I cannot push this off!”
Mr Hare struggled underneath the rubble. “You need to find some assistance, my dear sweet Red. Please!”
Red nodded and scurried out the way she had squeezed through. “Think, think” She thought out loud. “Who can help? Think! Think!” She ran through the forest floor. All the inhabitants of Raincliffe Woods seemed to be hiding or were nowhere to be seen.
Red continued to run through the forest. The white at the ends of her pointy, red ears were now brown and covered in mud. But she did not have the time to clean. Her friend needed help.
“Why are you in such a rush, little Red?” Mr Magpie flew down from a tree branch and startled the small squirrel.
“Oh! Mr Magpie! It’s Hare. He is trapped. I cannot move him,” she breathed out in exasperation.
“Oh my! Show me where, and I will try and help.”
Red took Magpie to where she left her friend. Red gasped when she saw an array of animals gathered around the pile of rubble. Mr Mallard was quacking about the storm. Lady Adder was coiled around a tree, hissing during intervals of silence. Hedgehog was silent. He did not like large groups. Doe stood elegant as always with her fawn close by. And Dormouse stood next to Hedgehog and remained as silent as her friend. Rabbit sat scratching and moving her nose and whiskers.
“Hullo everyone!” Red shouted when she saw the crowd of animals. “We need to help Mr Hare. Somehow!”
“How doessss one do that, Ssssqquirrel?” Lady Adder hissed from her branch.
“Quite correct, Lady Adder,” Mr Mallard quacked loudly. “We are not strong enough to move this.”
“The only one strong enough to move it is Doe,” Magpie said as he flew down to the ground to examine the situation. Doe remained silent and looked down at them from the sloping ground, maintaining her elegance as the Queen of the Forest.
“We … we could all work together,” Little Dormouse tried to shout as loud as she could, but no one heard her. Hedgehog nudged her to speak louder.
“What about Owl? He will know what to do!” Rabbit shouted.
“No.” Doe’s voice was strong, dominant but kind and gentle. “The sun is still shining. Owl will not be awake to assist. We must think of something.” She paused and looked down towards Dormouse and smiled. “Together.” The timid Dormouse smiled and shied away behind Hedgehog.
Together the animals nodded in agreement, and those with paws all grabbed a side of the pile and lifted as hard as they could. Magpie and Mr Mallard flew up and pulled from the sky. Lady Adder hissed and looked on—she would not help. Doe and her fawn moved down from the slope, knelt, and lifted. The pile of fallen forest slowly rose.
“Mr Hare! Can you get out?” Red grunted as she lifted a twig.
“Almost!” Mr Hare shouted back.
“One big push, everybody,” Doe exclaimed. With a big push and a heave and a lot of grunting, Mr Hare’s ears flopped out, and he scurried out as fast as he could. All the animals then slowly lowered the pile back to the ground. Then Doe stood and shook her body and stared around. She breathed heavily.
“Is everybody all right?” Her calm voice disturbed the silence. “Mr Hare, are you hurt?”
Mr Hare shook his head and smiled before making his way around the animals, thanking them for their help.
Doe and Fawn were the first to leave the group and elegantly made their way up through the thick forest where everybody knew Stag lived. Hedgehog and Dormouse both timidly left the other animals. Rabbit scratched her brown ears and hopped away. Lady Adder was already gone. Whether she slithered away before or after Mr Hare’s rescue, no one quite knew. Mr Mallard made a comment to the remaining animals and waddled back to the mere and to his wife. It was only Red, Hare, and Magpie left.
“Thank goodness you are OK, Mr Hare. You gave me an awful fright.” Red smiled as she hugged her friend.
“It is I who should be thanking you, my dear Red.”
Mr Magpie bade them farewell and fluttered up into the sky and out of dense forest into the sunlight.
Mr Hare breathed and relaxed. His right leg was scratched, but there was no pain as he hopped back and forth.
“It is splendid to be back on my legs again. Thank you again, Red!” The young squirrel rubbed down her fur. The rescue mission had left her muddied and covered in dirt. She hated getting dirty.
“How about a walk through the forest, Red? The storm was unexpected, but the forest is alive. What say you?”
“What a splendid idea, Mr Hare!”
The two friends then marched deeper into