by Colin Dann
‘I don’t know if you’ll ever get the chance, as I personally advised them to spend as much of their time as they could in the centre of the pond,’ Toad told him with some irony.
Adder again showed no trace of his feelings. He merely slid away from the pond’s edge, and asked them to what he owed this unexpected pleasure.
‘The whole party is meeting again tomorrow night,’ said Fox. ‘Will you come?’
‘Certainly I’ll come,’ replied Adder, ‘if you’re sure my presence will be desired?’
‘Of course it will,’ Fox assured him. ‘I’m sure the animals haven’t forgotten that our success in reaching the Park is owed, to a large extent, to a certain action on your part.’
Adder, typically, was not inclined to acknowledge the compliment. ‘Where do we meet?’ he asked.
‘In the Hollow,’ answered Fox.
‘I shall be there,’ said Adder.
Fox and Vixen were the first to enter the Hollow on the next night, and they recalled how it had been the animals’ first resting-place after their arrival in White Deer Park.
Their friends arrived at intervals. Tawny Owl came first, and very soon Badger and Mole joined them. The squirrels turned up with Kestrel, whom they had awakened from his roost. He was still yawning.
Then there was a flurry of activity, as most of the animals yet to come arrived together – the voles, the fieldmice, the hedgehogs and the rabbits. While greetings all round were still being exchanged, Weasel, accompanied by the hare family, joined the gathering.
Shortly afterwards, with a slightly bashful air, Whistler stepped carefully into the Hollow, attended by another heron who looked round shyly.
‘I hope you don’t mind,’ Whistler said apologetically as he introduced her to everyone, ‘but my young friend here and I have lately become . . . well, almost inseparable.’
‘We’re delighted,’ said Vixen. ‘And how attractive she is.’
Whistler beamed, and the female heron coyly murmured something polite.
‘A very interesting arrangement,’ Tawny Owl said sarcastically, parodying Whistler’s remarks during the final stages of their journey.
‘There you are, Owl. It’s not too late for you to follow suit,’ Vixen replied with an impish grin, turning the tables on the other bird.
‘Humph!’ snorted Tawny Owl, ruffling his feathers in a rather disconcerted manner, and trying very hard to appear indifferent.
Fortunately the arrival of Adder diverted the party’s attention and Tawny Owl was able to regain his composure.
‘You’re quite a stranger these days,’ Badger remarked to the snake good-humouredly when it was his turn to greet him. ‘Can we blame your seclusion on the wiles of a charming young female?’
‘There’s no need to blame my seclusion on anything except my choice in not visiting anybody,’ Adder replied. ‘However, if I should happen to come across a creature of the sort you describe, I suppose I shall be seen even less.’ His sharp words were belied by a very deliberate grin which caused Badger to broaden his smile.
Some moments elapsed before the animals realized that the only member of the party who had not shown up was Toad. They all went to look out for him.
‘ Very strange,’ Fox murmured. ‘He can’t have forgotten?’
‘I hope he’s all right,’ said Mole, looking concerned.
‘Oh, he’ll be along in a minute, I’m sure,’ said Badger. ‘Don’t worry.’
It was Tawny Owl who spotted Toad’s approach first. ‘I can see him,’ he announced coolly. ‘He seems to be taking his time.’
Soon afterwards most of the others could see him too.
‘Whatever’s he doing?’ asked Weasel. ‘It doesn’t look as if he knows the right direction.’
‘He’s certainly not coming by a very direct route,’ remarked Squirrel. ‘He’s meandering all over the place.’
They watched the solitary Toad in fascination. He was swerving from left to right and then back again. Then for a while he came steadily on, on a straight course, only to veer away at a tangent quite abruptly, for no apparent reason.
Tawny Owl lost his patience. ‘Come on, Toad!’ he called irritably. ‘We are all waiting for you.’
At the sound of Owl’s voice, Toad stopped dead. He seemed to notice the presence of his friends for the first time.
‘Hallo!’ he called, and followed the salutation by a strange noise – something like a cross between a croak and a hiccup. He then began excitedly hopping towards them, his final hop sending him head-first into the Hollow.
While he righted himself, the animals exchanged puzzled glances.
‘How wonderful to see everyone again,’ he said in a loud voice. ‘I’m sorry I’m late, but I was diverted out of my way. I fell into a puddle! Tee-hee-hee!’ Toad collapsed into a fit of giggles, and then hiccupped loudly several times.
‘Toad, whatever is the matter with you?’ asked Fox.
‘He’s drunk,’ drawled Adder. ‘I’ve seen humans act the same way.’
‘I am drunk,’ Toad shouted. ‘And it’s marvellous!’
‘Now calm down and tell us what happened,’ said Fox.
‘I had been down at the pond, you see,’ Toad explained, ‘and on my way here I came past the Warden’s lodge. I suddenly became aware of a delicious smell – a strong smell: sort of tangy and sour. I was looking round to see if I could find what was making it, and I blundered into a little pool of golden-brown liquid. Immediately the wonderful aroma was all round me, and I couldn’t help tasting just a little drop. It was absolutely delicious. I had another drop . . .’ Toad paused and looked round with a wide smile for effect.
‘The rest of the story is, I think, predictable,’ Fox commented wryly.
‘Well, really, I only had a mouthful . . . or two,’ Toad said mischievously. ‘More of the liquid was trickling down into the pool from a big wooden container that was lying on its side just inside the Warden’s fence,’ Toad explained. ‘It must have been seeping through a crack.’
‘What did it taste like?’ Mole asked excitedly.
‘Something like the smell. Only sweeter. And . . . well, almost a musty flavour.’
Mole looked towards Fox, but did not dare ask what was in his mind.
Fox, however, had no trouble in reading his thoughts. ‘No, no, Mole, I couldn’t allow it,’ he said emphatically. ‘It wouldn’t do.’
Quite unexpectedly, however, Badger for once took an opposite view.
‘Oh, I don’t know, Fox, really,’ he said reasonably. ‘The stuff’s probably harmless enough. After all, Toad seems to be quite all right.’
Fox divined there was some self-interest behind Badger’s attitude. ‘Well, it’s up to you, Badger.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s your responsibility.’
Immediately all of the party, except Vixen, began to mill around Badger. Toad’s face brightened even more, if that were possible.
‘We’ll just drink each other’s health,’ Badger said, trying to moderate the animals’ excitement. He turned round. ‘Well, Toad, will you show us the way?’
‘Gladly,’ cried Toad.
The little band of animals moved off full of anticipation, Fox and Vixen following in their wake reluctantly.
‘Do you think it might be possible for us to move at least part of the way in a straight line?’ Adder asked drily, after a while. But Toad did not hear.
Eventually they arrived at the famous puddle and, once Badger was assured that the youngsters in the group were safely under the control of their mothers, he allowed the male animals forward to sample the liquid.
One by one they lowered their muzzles, snouts and beaks to taste. Toad stood on one side, watching for their reactions with immense interest.
It had genuinely been Badger’s intention to allow Mole and the other animals to satisfy their curiosity only, but he had not reckoned with the persuasive properties of the brew. He himself was the last to drink, and as he stepped back smacking his lips to get the
full benefit of the flavour, he felt a warm glow begin to spread through his body.
He looked at his friends, who were all smiling at each other, and he smiled himself, knowing they were experiencing the same beneficial feeling as he.
Gradually, in ones and twos, the animals went forward for a second taste of the liquid that made them feel so good.
‘Toad was right!’ piped up Mole. ‘It is delicious.’
‘Fox, do try some,’ said Badger.
‘Yes, go on, dearest,’ Vixen urged him in a low voice, not wishing that he should be the odd one out. ‘I shan’t mind,’ she added.
Fox walked forward with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. He lowered his head. Then he looked up again at his friends. ‘I drink the health of each and every one of you,’ he said warmly, and drank from the pool. He raised his head and smiled. ‘It is very good,’ he admitted.
There was now a rush as all the animals scrambled forward to drink Fox’s health, and then Vixen’s, and then each others’. Even Toad joined in.
‘I propose a toast to all the creatures of White Deer Park,’ said Toad noisily.
‘Particularly one creature,’ added Whistler, throwing his head back so that the liquid in his bill ran down his throat, while the young creature in question looked on smilingly.
‘Let’s drink to all the female animals from Farthing Wood,’ said Hare gallantly, thinking affectionately of his own mate.
The animals’ heads went down again.
By now the full effect of the warming properties of the liquid had made itself felt, and the animals began to laugh at each others’ glowing faces and sparkling eyes. Fox sensibly rejoined Vixen.
The rabbits gambolled off in sheer high spirits, running rings round each other. This was a spur to Hare, who raced after them and, getting on his hind legs, pretended to box each one of them.
The squirrels shinned up and down the Warden’s fence, flicking their tails like quicksilver, while the hedgehogs looped themselves in and out of the palings as if they were trying to knit them together with their prickles.
Tawny Owl went and hung himself upside down by one foot from a tree inside the Warden’s garden. Then he swung backwards and forwards, making hooting noises.
Adder, whose capacity for strong drink seemed to exceed everyone else’s, continued to imbibe from the pool, completely heedless of the voles and fieldmice who frolicked round him in their new-found courage.
Suddenly, Badger sat down heavily and burst into song, and Mole, recognizing the refrain as the one of Badger’s own composition, joined in heartily.
Weasel, who was lying comfortably on his back, took up the tune, and Kestrel, perching on top of the fence, screeched his own unmusical accompaniment. Soon all the animals who knew the words of Badger’s song joined in, while those who did not hummed, and Tawny Owl continued to hoot as his contribution.
So the story of their journey from Farthing Wood was retold – not to an audience, but for their own amusement and enjoyment. And as they sang, they relived their adventures, the hazards and the excitement of that long march. Even Adder paused in his drinking and lent his lisping voice to the concert, and the animals found themselves unconsciously drawing together into one group as the priceless feelings of friendship and loyalty entered again, and for ever, into each heart.
The voices reached a crescendo as the song ended with their arrival at their new home and then Fox, without a word, led the column of animals and birds quietly back to the Hollow where they quickly fell into the most peaceful and undisturbed sleep.
So the creatures from Farthing Wood began their new life, and as the months passed their first winter in the park approached.
One day Toad met Adder near the pond. ‘Well, it looks as if your waterside vigils will soon have to be curtailed,’ he said to the snake. ‘My friends the frogs tell me the mud is nice and thick at the bottom of the pond, and it’s almost time they settled there.’
Adder’s self-possession was, as usual, unaffected. ‘There are a few days yet before the ice forms,’ he replied enigmatically. ‘Those frogs will have the pleasure of my company a little longer.’
But he never did succeed in catching any.
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Table of Contents
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication
Contents
Part One Escape from Danger
1 Drought
2 The assembly
3 Toad’s story
4 Preparations
5 Farewell to Farthing Wood
6 The long drink
7 Two narrow escapes
8 First camp
9 Fire!
10 Confrontation
11 The storm
12 Trapped!
13 Pursued
14 The copse
15 The river
16 A new leader
17 Which way?
18 The butcher bird
Part Two Journey to White Deer Park
19 Fox alone
20 The vixen
21 Vixen decides
22 The hunt
23 Fox to the rescue
24 Reunited
25 The celebration
26 The motorway
27 Some comforting words
28 The deathly hush
29 The naturalist
30 The church
31 The final lap
Epilogue In the park
