The Animals of Farthing Wood

by Colin Dann

  Whistler apologized again. ‘I’m so sorry,’ he said, ‘I’ve been keeping you in the dark – very wrong of me. They’re all waiting for us . . . er . . . under a holly bush, actually. It’s not too far now.’

  ‘So the party’s complete?’ asked Toad.

  ‘Yes, when we’ve arrived,’ said Whistler. ‘We’re very lucky.’

  The smaller creatures, who felt they had been quite inconspicuous before, felt considerably ill at ease while Whistler, dwarfing them all, continued to step slowly along at their side. They all felt sure he could not have directed more attention to them if he had been a notice board, but none of them, not even Adder, liked to ask him to go further off, when he had come back specially to look for them.

  In fact, Whistler was so absorbed with his thoughts about ‘the interesting creature in the Park’ that he might meet, that he was not even aware that he was on the ground instead of in the air, and the idea that his noticeable size might attract unwanted attention to the little group completely escaped him.

  However, within the half-hour they all arrived safely at the holly bush, and the whole company began to feel very merry, congratulating each other and joking, and beginning to talk about the things they were going to do when they reached the Park.

  ‘I shall eat a huge meal, and then sleep for a week,’ declared Tawny Owl, who had had more than his fair share just recently of sleeping and waking at the wrong times.

  ‘I shall look round at once for a suitable spot to construct a new set,’ said Badger. He sighed. ‘How nice it will be to sleep underground again, without fear of being disturbed – all on my own again, too. How peaceful!’

  ‘Oh, there’s nothing like an underground home,’ agreed Mole. ‘I shall build the finest network of tunnels any mole has ever dreamed of,’ he boasted.

  ‘I’m looking forward to living a normal life up a tree,’ said Squirrel. ‘Ever since we left Farthing Wood, we squirrels have lived what is for us a completely unnatural existence. We’ve walked great distances over land, and we’ve slept at ground level. So just to race up and down some good solid oak trunks, and to enjoy the springy feeling of branches and twigs under our feet will be our reward for all that.’

  ‘To be able to run free, with my family, in any direction, is my dream,’ Hare told them.

  ‘To be able to nibble at leisure,’ remarked Rabbit.

  ‘To swim when I want to!’ cried Toad.

  ‘To go foraging in the moonlight,’ said Hedgehog.

  ‘And to feel free from the constant necessity of hiding oneself,’ said Weasel.

  ‘To have the time to look for the best berries,’ murmured Fieldmouse.

  ‘And seeds,’ added Vole.

  ‘To meet someone of one’s own kind again,’ sighed Whistler, ‘er . . . that is, of particular interest.’

  The animals looked towards Fox. ‘What about you?’ they asked him.

  Fox looked lovingly at Vixen. ‘There’s my answer,’ he smiled.

  Vixen smiled back.

  ‘To be, above all,’ said Kestrel, ‘safe from interfering hands, and to know our home is safe from encroachment.’

  ‘And,’ drawled Adder, ‘for this everlasting trek to come to an end.’

  The animals laughed heartily, and as they fell silent, found themselves all beaming at one another afresh.

  ‘Well, everyone, what do you say?’ asked Fox brightly, catching the mood of the moment. ‘Shall we go on now, or wait until tonight?’

  ‘Now!’ cried the majority of the animals immediately.

  ‘Any dissenters?’ asked Fox.

  ‘I think I speak for all of the fieldmice, and us voles, when I say we would find it more comfortable to travel later,’ Vole announced. But he had miscalculated. A good number of the tiny creatures contradicted him, by declaring themselves as ready as anyone to leave at once.

  ‘Good, that’s settled,’ said Fox promptly. ‘I’m afraid you’re very much in the minority, Vole. Everyone is eager to go.’

  ‘And why not?’ Kestrel wanted to know. ‘The weather is fine and clear; it’s the time when most humans are indoors eating; and we can all be inside the Park in an hour or so,’ he added persuasively. ‘Wouldn’t you say so, Fox?’

  ‘Er . . . probably. Toad, what would you say?’

  ‘I should say, now that Kestrel has put us back on the shortest route, two hours at the most,’ Toad calculated. ‘I can feel the nearness of the Park, but we might be just a little slower than usual, because . . . well, if you’ve no objection, I’d rather like to walk the final stretch myself.’

  ‘Yes! Yes! And me!’ cried Mole predictably.

  ‘Very commendable of you, Mole,’ remarked Badger, raising an eyebrow, ‘but are you quite sure? You know . . . er . . . we don’t want to be held up at the last minute?’

  ‘I shan’t hold anyone up,’ Mole said hotly. ‘I’ve just walked all the way from the church, and I’m not a bit tired.’

  ‘Good chap, good chap,’ Badger muttered consolingly. ‘I’ll walk with you.’

  ‘Right.’ Fox got up. ‘Toad, you must head the column and lead us in.’

  ‘Very appropriate,’ Kestrel agreed. ‘Just what I’d hoped for.’

  This allusion to some arrangement or idea of his own carried no significance for any of the party, and Kestrel’s plan retained its secrecy.

  Then, with Toad proudly walking in front, his skin glistening with moisture and his beautiful eyes glowing like twin jewels in the sunlight, the animals set off across the rain-spangled ground on the very last stage of their journey.

  No more than a thousand yards away, the inhabitants of White Deer Park were grouping at an agreed point a short distance from where the heroic band from Farthing Wood were expected to enter the Reserve. At the instigation of Kestrel, who had paid a visit early that morning, the assorted birds and beasts were preparing a jubilant welcome for the creatures whose exploits they were all now familiar with.

  Carried for the most part by the winged population of that part of the country, word had spread of the approach of the Farthing Wood community, although precious little had actually been seen of them because of the extreme caution they had exercised all along their route; something that they had gradually developed into a fine art. But sufficient glimpses of one or more members of the party had been caught, particularly during the Hunt and at the motorway, for their expectant hosts at White Deer Park to feel impatient for their arrival as creatures from the real Wild. The fact that the travels and adventures of Fox and Badger, Mole and Toad, Kestrel and Tawny Owl and Adder, and all their other companions, were already something of a legend, served to heighten the impatience of the indigenous fauna of the Nature Reserve.

  The Edible Frogs were the inhabitants most inspired by the Farthing Wood odyssey, because they recognized in the animals’ guide the very Toad whose acquaintance they had made four seasons ago, and who had spoken to them of the old home to which he must return. They were additionally excited because he alone of the already famous group of animals had made the perilous journey twice, once on his own, and now, retracing his steps in triumph, as the trusted guide of a wonderful brotherhood of wildlife.

  So when Kestrel had actually flown into the Park on that morning and spoken to the old White Stag, the doyen of the deer-herd and acknowledged overlord of the Park, news had spread like wildfire of the approaching event that all had been waiting for, friend and foe alike. Natural enmity and rivalry were forgotten as the entire population massed to welcome their new neighbours.

  Through his various lieutenants and subjects, the old Stag arranged the various groups of creatures by an ancient oak-stump, a focal point of the Reserve that was known to everyone. There were badgers and foxes and stoats, rabbits, moles, squirrels, hedgehogs, dormice, fieldmice and voles. There were weasels and shrews, toads and frogs, lizards, slow-worms, snakes and newts. There were rooks, crows, jays and jackdaws, pheasants and owls, nuthatches, tits and warblers. There were nightingales and hawk
s, pigeons, finches and woodpeckers, and there was one very interesting female heron. This magnificent assemblage of Nature spread like a moving tapestry of colour over the glistening grass, and was enhanced by the superb herd of white deer, mustering two hundred head, all of whom stood behind the massive form of the great Stag.

  All through the afternoon they waited, every eye turned on the broken piece of fencing where Kestrel had promised he and his friends would enter their new home. At last the moment came.

  The old Stag visibly stiffened as his weaker eyesight made out what the creatures all round him were already talking about. He held himself straight and erect, looking every inch a lord of the wild, as he prepared himself for his welcoming address.

  Kestrel had alighted on a fence-post, indicating that the party of travellers was about to appear. Sure enough, a few minutes afterwards, the column of animals came into sight, led by the faithful Toad. As they reached the fence, the animals stopped, looking in bewilderment at the vast array of creatures gathered to welcome them.

  ‘Go on, Toad,’ Kestrel said affectionately. ‘You ought to go first.’

  Kestrel’s lack of hesitancy was enough to tell his friends that the welcoming party was no surprise to him. He smiled at their quizzical expressions.

  ‘Don’t keep them waiting,’ he said. ‘They’ve been expecting you for a long time.’

  Toad looked from Kestrel to the reception and back again with some nervousness, but finally, with the urging of the other animals jostling behind him, he gave himself a little shake and passed through the gap.

  The old Stag watched them come. Toad, whose speckled breast began to puff with pride as he advanced, was followed by Fox and Vixen, Weasel, the hares and rabbits; then came the hedgehogs and squirrels, the fieldmice and voles, and after them Mole, Badger and Adder. Finally, in the very rear, the three birds, Tawny Owl, Kestrel and Whistler, actually walked the last few yards.

  The old Stag remained motionless until it was clear that the last of the party had entered White Deer Park. Then he lowered his great an tiered head, and at once a tumultuous sound of cheers broke over the newcomers. There were shrieks and cackles, roars, squeaks, barks and croaks – in fact, welcoming shouts in every conceivable register of voice.

  The old Stag walked forward to meet them and, beginning with the delighted Toad, greeted everyone personally, down to the very smallest and youngest fieldmice.

  After this ceremony had been performed, the mass of cheering creatures flocked forward and surrounded the weary heroes, congratulating them anew with the utmost enthusiasm. Then, as if at a signal, they fell back as they divined that the great Stag was about to speak.

  ‘We have all looked forward to this day,’ he said, speaking for all the inhabitants of the Park, ‘ever since we first heard from our feathered friends of your journey. Nothing I can say can add to the tremendous greeting you have already so deservedly received, except by summarizing everyone’s feelings here today. On behalf of all the inhabitants of White Deer Park, may I say, quite simply, welcome.’

  ‘Thank you most sincerely,’ said Fox, ‘for a welcome as heart-warming as it was unexpected. We had no idea our journey was of such interest to you.’

  ‘Oh, my friend, you’re all celebrities, you know,’ returned the Stag. ‘We all want to hear about your adventures, and there’s no one more eager than myself. But I know you must be tired, and we’ve no wish to exhaust you. Fox, if you’ll bring your friends this way, we’ve prepared a spot where you can all rest without fear of disturbance for as long as you wish.’

  ‘What wonderful kindness,’ Fox responded on behalf of all.

  The animals, after again exchanging many personal greetings with their new neighbours, followed the old Stag and his escort of young hinds to a soft, ferny hollow, surrounded by whispering birch trees, and strewn with dry grass specially cropped by the finest teeth of the herd. None of them was long in availing himself of this luxury. In reply to the Stag’s kind enquiry as to when he might return, Fox said that by dusk they would all be completely refreshed, and would welcome his company and that of all his friends.

  ‘What a marvellous reception,’ Mole said when they were alone.

  ‘I think I know whom we have to thank for the arrangements,’ said Tawny Owl drily. But Kestrel just winked.

  When the animals awoke, the ground had dried and the moon was gleaming, pouring its silver light through the leaves of the birch trees. Beyond the trees, it shone on the white coats of the assembled deer, giving them a ghost-like appearance.

  Seeing signs of life in the hollow, the deer moved forward, and behind them, around them, above them, and intermingling with them, the other creatures of White Deer Park came to hear the story of the journey from Farthing Wood.

  This pleasant duty was, of course, assigned to Badger who had finished composing the song that he had sung to his friends in the quarry.

  Just before he began, the old Stag signed for everyone to be silent as, along a makeshift path behind the hollow, stepped a dark human figure.

  ‘It’s the warden on his rounds,’ explained the deer. ‘Nothing to fear from him.’

  An excited cry from Vixen arrested every creature’s attention. ‘It’s our Naturalist!’ she cried. ‘Look!’

  And sure enough, now divested of his various accoutrements, the long-travelled band of animals was still able to recognize their friend from the cattle pasture, who had been so enthralled by their appearance.

  ‘A cheerful ending indeed to our journey,’ Badger remarked and, smiling happily at his audience, began his song.

  Epilogue: In the park

  Now that the animals had at last reached their journey’s end, they all found themselves so busy for the first week or so, establishing new homes and adapting themselves to a new life, that they scarcely caught a glimpse of each other.

  For all of them the wide spaces of the Reserve were theirs to explore, without fear of hindrance or any human intervention. Unaccustomed to such peace, after weeks of stealth and caution on their journey, the animals spent whole days selecting and then rejecting sites for their new abodes, determined to settle only in areas that were the perfection of their individual ideas.

  But eventually each animal was content, and then the bonds of mutual sympathy and comradeship that had been forged during their travels began to tug at every one of them.

  There was a day when Mole, who had constructed a network of tunnels close to Badger’s new set, dug his way into one of Badger’s chambers, just as he had done in Farthing Wood.

  As it was only early in the evening, Badger was still dozing. He grunted, and looked up. ‘Oh, hullo, Mole,’ he said drowsily. ‘Well, this is a surprise.’

  ‘A pleasant one, I hope?’ Mole asked, a little hesitantly.

  ‘Of course it is,’ Badger replied quickly. ‘Where have you been hiding yourself ?’

  ‘Oh, I’ve been busy making myself comfortable,’ replied the little creature, wiping some stray specks of soil off his nose. ‘So have you, no doubt.’

  ‘Yes, indeed,’ Badger nodded. ‘But it’s all done now.’ He got up and shook himself. ‘I haven’t seen any of the others recently, have you? At least, not to talk to.’

  ‘No,’ said Mole. ‘I only saw Weasel one evening, when I had to surface for a drink. I was thinking how nice it would be to see them all again.’

  ‘Yes,’ said Badger. ‘We really ought to arrange something. I know where Fox and Vixen have settled. We could go and pay them a visit later on, if you like.’

  ‘That would be nice,’ agreed Mole.

  The two animals continued talking while the evening wore on, exchanging views about their new home and neighbours, and about how quiet everything seemed. When they sensed that it was quite dark outside, Badger led his friend to one of the exits and, after he had thoroughly tested the air for strange scents, they emerged together.

  They found Vixen at home who told them Fox was out foraging, but he presently returned, accompa
nied by Tawny Owl.

  All the creatures expressed great delight in seeing each other again, and Fox remarked that the need for companionship seemed to be making itself felt at about the same time in many of the Farthing Wood party, for on the previous day he had encountered Toad and Hare who had both suggested that they all meet in the Hollow.

  It appeared, when they began to compare notes, that all of them had seen at least one of their old friends in the last day or two. Tawny Owl had been sought out by Kestrel, and the hawk had also spotted several of the voles and rabbits while he had been flying over the Park. Eventually, it transpired that the only one nobody had seen or, at least, heard of was Adder.

  ‘He was never the most gregarious of fellows,’ remarked Tawny Owl.

  ‘Oh, Adder’s all right when you get used to his strange ways,’ said Badger. ‘You’ve got to learn to take him with a pinch of salt.’

  ‘At any rate we couldn’t agree to meet up and leave him out,’ said Mole loyally.

  ‘I think I know where I might be able to find him,’ said Fox.

  The others looked at him, but he would not be drawn.

  ‘Leave Adder to me,’ he said. ‘I’ll get Toad to help me locate him. The rest of you can round up the others tomorrow, and we’ll meet in the Hollow the next night.’

  His friends agreed enthusiastically with this arrangement, and they parted happily.

  The next day Fox found Toad, and mentioned his idea of Adder’s whereabouts to him.

  ‘The pond?’ echoed Toad. ‘Oh yes, he’s been there watching the frogs every evening.’

  Fox nodded. ‘I thought as much,’ he said. ‘Let’s go and see him.’

  So Toad and Fox made their way to the pond, and there, by the water’s edge, they found Adder slyly watching the antics of the plump green frogs with a greedy eye. He evinced not the slightest embarrassment at the arrival of the two beasts. ‘Good evening,’ he said calmly. ‘I’ve been trying for some time to introduce myself to our new neighbours here, the Edible Frogs.’