The Hollowed Tree

by R. K. Johnstone

  "If one agrees with Squirrel's preposterous hypothesis, that the lost boy has found the Hollowed Tree," the lion said, "I confess, frankly, to not knowing what we should do, Bear. I, for one, would be most reluctant to place a wager supporting the likelihood of that proposition, based on the evidence at hand, at any rate." He cast a pointed look in the direction of the squirrel. "No, I'm in no great hurry to go running all over creation looking for the Hollowed Tree. Why, I've spent a good part of my life up until now trying to avoid the darned thing! No, without some proof, I'm not going looking for nothing."

  "It's our only choice," the bear said, looking up solemnly at the other two animals. He assumed a tone of authority: "You don't have anything better to offer, Lion–as usual. Now what we have to do is figure out how do we find the Hollowed Tree. Squirrel, I don't think that you will have much luck looking over the canopy without a good search plan. The Hollowed Tree is likely to top out just below the green tops of all the rest of the jungle, and you'll miss it. And anyway, I don't think your eyesight is all that good. What we need is an efficient search plan. Then you can narrow your search area down and focus it. Lion and I will follow along on the ground, looking for indications just above the root line. Don't forget, either," he said, swelling a bit with pride, "I can climb a tree if need be."

  "Hah!" the lion said, suppressing a burst of laughter. "That I'd like to see."

  The bear frowned with displeasure. "Maybe you will," he said. "But in the meantime we had better get started or we'll never reach the end of it."

  "These observations are all perceptive insights," the squirrel said with thinly veiled irony. "Truly, I am awestruck by such profundity. However, I think that we need somewhat more in the way of planning than this."

  The bear sighed wearily and shook his great head from side to side. The squirrel certainly could be tiresome. "Okay, okay, knock it off Squirrel," he said. He was not about to let the squirrel adopt such a patronizing tone without a challenge. “What are you thinking? You obviously have something in mind. Let it out. And you can dispense with all of your disrespectful comments."

  "First," the squirrel said, getting up a little on his hind legs and raising a paw pedantically into the air, "We must research the problem. Before we run off willy nilly into the jungle, we must have some idea of the most likely locations. Otherwise, we have as good a chance of finding the Hollowed Tree as we do of winning the lottery in the South Savannah."

  "Hah!" the lion grumbled. "According to him, then, it’s all a game of chance."

  "Now,” the squirrel said rising to his feet and starting to pace in front of the others from one end of the stump to the other, “the best way to research this problem is to consult the experts. Yes, we must consult the experts."

  "Pshaw," the bear protested mildly. "We know as much as anybody about the Hollowed Tree, Squirrel. There aren't any experts."

  "I would disagree. There is an expert–at least one who, from an official standpoint, would be considered an expert. "The squirrel paused, arching his eyebrows and looking at the bear with an air of expectation.

  "Well, okay," the bear said with impatience. "Who?"

  "Owl."

  "Oh no, no, no, no," Lion protested in disbelief. "Oh no. Owl? Oh goodness gracious, Squirrel. We're going to go and find Owl and ask him to tell us where the Hollowed Tree is? The blind will really be leading the blind if we do that!"

  "Not so fast," the bear said. "It never hurts to find out what others know. You can save a lot of time and effort that way. Owl may know something we don't. He lives in partially hollowed trees himself. It stands to reason that someone who lives in one himself is likely to know something useful about the whereabouts of the mother of them all." Turning to the squirrel, the bear assumed a more skeptical tone. "Even so, though, I really do doubt that he'll know much more than we do about the Hollowed Tree. And tell me this: Is Owl even on duty these days, or has he retired like he said he was going to the last time I talked to him six months ago?"

  "He is in semi-retirement," the squirrel said. "It seems that his plans for retirement haven't gone quite as he'd expected. The usual story, didn't know what to do with himself. To take up some of the slack, Owl is back on partial duty. He patrols the precincts as far as the border with the South Savannah and, to the North, the Muted Mountains. Occasionally, he even adjudicates minor cases."

  "He does?" Lion's ears pricked up. "And who authorized him to hear cases after retirement?"

  "He doesn't need authorization. He retains the authority even in retirement. It's in the charter," the squirrel sniffed.

  "Sounds like a kangaroo court to me!" the lion said suspiciously. He was always sensitive to anything that appeared to be making inroads on his authority, and the idea of the owl conducting court whenever he pleased did not sound like the lion had much control. "Maybe we need to re-visit that issue."

  "What issue?" the bear said with exasperation. "It's always been that way! If you ever took the time to read your own charter, you'd know it, Lion. Don't get sidetracked. We'll never get anywhere if you keep getting off of the subject."

  The lion sat back on his haunches, sulking. From this time on he exhibited no further interest in the goings on at the meeting of the stump. He was content to allow the bear and the squirrel to take care of the rest, even though he secretly conceded the importance of these deliberations and was as concerned as anyone with finding the lost boy.

  "All right, Squirrel," the bear said. "Let's go and find Owl. Lion, you can come or not."

  And with that, the squirrel hopped from the stump to a nearby tree and scurried up in the branches. "I know very well where Owl's home is. Undoubtedly he is fast asleep at this hour. We should get there just as he arises. Follow me," he called down to the bear.

  The bear, who had stood up from the stump to stretch and sniff the air, dropped down now on all fours and lumbered off in the direction the squirrel had taken. The lion remained sitting, as if disinterested in these proceedings, alone at the stump.

  3. The Trek to Visit Owl

  Bear knew the way to Owl's tree as well as anyone, and, frankly, it rankled a bit to have to listen to Squirrel speak as if he were the only one who could find it. For the sake of getting on with it, however, he had let the squirrel's presumption pass without comment. He lumbered along beneath the great trees of the forest, following his own instincts and memories of the way to the bird's nest, disregarding entirely the importunate cries and admonitions which the squirrel shouted down upon his head from the tree tops.

  Although it had been some time since Bear had come this way, several months at least, the scents and signs of the forest guided him on his way as surely as the signs along a highway. The great willow tree hanging over the bank of a small pond that they came to aroused in his mind the remembrances of many events from his past, indeed some of them reaching all the way back to the days when he was a young bear cub. He paused and, half rising on his hind legs for a moment, raised his nose into the air to sniff the scents. Nothing new there, he thought, and proceeded on his way.

  Squirrel, meanwhile, every few minutes came racing back through the tree tops, scowling and chattering angrily to himself when he found that the bear was following his own way through the forest, disregarding his lead. Jumping from tree to tree, sometimes barely catching himself on the end of a flimsy branch, he would lift his head on his stretched out neck, straining to catch sight of his friend, only to discover that the bear had diverted far off the track he had set him. Then Squirrel would scamper over to where he had glimpsed the great brown mass of fur lumbering heavily through the underbrush.

  "Hey," he yelled hotly after just catching himself from a breaking tree limb, "Where're you going? It's over this way. Pay attention, please!" Then he scampered off again to assume the lead.

  Bear, of course, ignored these sallies entirely. He picked his way expertly along animal paths and trails which to the untrained eye would have been indiscernible. After proceeding for some ti
me in this fashion, the squirrel's lead became shorter and shorter, and he turned his head more frequently to the rear to sight through the leaves on the huge brown form moving deliberately on the ground. Finally, in exasperation he kicked a cone loose from a large pine beneath which the bear was passing at the time. The cone fell right in front of the bear, bringing him to an abrupt halt.

  He sat back on his hind legs and peered up through the branches. All that was visible was Squirrel's scowling little face with its beady eyes glaring angrily from the midst of a mass of pine needles. "Now what in the heck was that for?" he said in offended surprise.

  "That," the squirrel sputtered hotly, "was for failing to pay attention. I can't keep running all over the tops of these trees, risking breaking my neck to get you back on track!"

  "Aw hogwash, Squirrel. I know the way to Owl's house better than you know the way to your own nest."

  "Hah! I wouldn't be so sure about that. Without the advantage of elevation you wouldn't be the first ground animal who lost his way in the forest!"

  "Don't be ridiculous. I could find my way through the forest with my eyes closed. Settle down and quit worrying about trying to impress somebody. I know better. You're not going to fool me."

  "Ahem," a deep voice concurred from Bear's backside. Lion had emerged soundlessly from a cane break. He came up now and sat down on the forest floor beside the bear. He had been following all along out of sight. The bear, who had known he was back there the whole time, expressed no surprise now at his appearance and hardly deigned even to glance to the side as he sat down beside him.

  The bear was silent for a moment, examining through the tree tops the sun, which had moved directly overhead. He squinted his eyes and frowned.

  "It's almost noon. I guess a nap's out of the question today," he sighed regretfully. "We haven't too far to go now as I remember, but we can't afford to dawdle."

  The squirrel twittered from the tree tops.

  The bear lowered his gaze and surveyed the surrounding forest with narrowed eyes. He mumbled something to himself and stood up on all fours.

  "What's that you're mumbling?" the lion said with irritation. He always hated it when the bear mumbled.

  "I was just looking for a bee tree. There used to be quite a few good ones in this area." He looked at the lion and for the first time in several weeks grinned broadly, showing all his white teeth clenched between the black lips after the manner of a rare, bear smile. "I'm going to get me some honey before we get to Owl's!" he said, breaking into a deep chuckle.

  The lion considered this for a moment, then lifted one of his great paws and examined closely a single extended, damaged claw. "Hmm," he grunted thoughtfully as if to himself, "I'd like a nice antelope or deer shank myself. I haven't had a good meal in a couple of days now."

  The bear, whose demeanor had returned quickly to its normal, dignified and somber cast, spoke with authority:

  "Squirrel, you had best leave off expecting me–Or Lion–“he nodded his head at Lion, "to follow along behind you. We know the way to Owl's, and we're going to get there the best way possible--but on the ground," he said with emphasis. "I would strongly recommend that you take the point, however, and keep us advised of any approaching difficulties."

  In all actuality this arrangement pleased the squirrel immensely. He stood up and stretched his neck looking far into the distance in the direction of Owl's abode.

  "Well," he said in a reluctant, put-upon tone of voice which belied his eagerness to assume the role of scout, "I guess that I can do that for you, if you need me to." But he was loath to let the others see how pleased he was, so he added disdainfully: "Lion, you keep a sharp lookout to the rear. If I see anything I will report back immediately. We will expect you to do the same."

  The lion smiled cynically and looked at Bear, who rolled his eyes. The two shared a moment of incredulity at the irony of the squirrel's presumption to authority. Shaking their heads in unison, they moved off into the forest.

  "That remark doesn't bear comment," the lion said.

  Now the three moved more or less as a team through the forest, always tending in the direction of the owl's home but executing a fair number of diversions along the way as Bear spotted a possible bee swarm around an old oak tree or Lion thought that he had caught sight of a deer's coat flashing through the undergrowth. Under the influence of their common endeavor, the lion and the bear lapsed into the familiar and friendly rapport of two travelers, exchanging stories evoked from their childhoods by the familiar but long unseen landmarks that they passed (Lion hadn't been this way in quite some time either, since he considered it generally beneath his dignity to range--as if on patrol--throughout the jungle. He kept for the most part to several familiar, favorite haunts, thus maintaining from his subjects the proper, regal distance and preserving about his self a quality of inaccessibility) or else they discussed seriously the various problems and issues at the forefront of current events in the jungle. They argued forcefully, but respectfully, various points of politics and administration and even ranged to philosophy, all after the manner of constructive, intellectual debate.

  Squirrel performed exceedingly well as scout. He would range far ahead through the canopy of tree tops, come up and sweep the horizon with his beady gaze and then drop down a level and peer through the branches for activity on the forest floor. Then he would fly back to the bear and the lion, who were moving along at their slower, more leisurely, deliberate pace, and give a concise report of all that he had seen. And when they neared the owl's estate some time later, it was Squirrel who brought them the good news.

  "I just reached the outer approaches to Owl's estate," he reported in a military manner, thrusting his head through the canopy. He scampered down the trunk of the tree and stood, as if at attention, on a low branch at approximately the same height as Bear's and Lion's eyes. "The River of Judgment marks the western boundary. It's right up ahead. Owl's oak was still too far away for me to tell for sure. I saw no signs of life. The door was in place."

  "Asleep, probably," the bear said, and a hint of his usual fretful anxiety reappeared in his expression. "He'll be awake soon, though." He looked up at the sky. The sun had descended well down, almost to the tree tops, and the light in the woods was diminishing rapidly. He stood up on his hind legs, rising to his full height, and peered shrewdly into the surrounding jungle.

  "Gents," he said, still peering intently about him and without looking at the other two as he spoke. "You go on ahead. I'll be up directly."

  At this juncture the lion and the squirrel looked at each other and raised their eyebrows in surprise. Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, the lion moved off.

  "Whatever," he said.

  The squirrel turned and followed the lion, leaving the bear alone in the forest.

  4. Hardwood Haven, the Estate of Honorashious Owl

  Soon after leaving the bear, Lion and Squirrel arrived upon the banks of the River of Judgment. The two animals surveyed the river in both directions, hoping to find a shallow spot to ford it.

  "Down there," Lion nodded down the river. A hundred yards or so away the water foamed and swirled over some rocks, which seemed to stretch from one side to the other. "Come on. We can get across on those rocks."

  When they arrived at the edge of the water, the squirrel frowned. He had climbed up a nearby tree and was sitting on a branch, one paw lifted to shade his eyes, surveying the string of rocks.

  "No way, Lion. I can't cross that," he said firmly.

  The lion snorted in disgust. "I guess that means you want me to carry you," he growled. "I should have expected something like this would happen if we left Bear behind. Now I have to put a Squirrel on my back!" he said peevishly and sat down on his haunches, sulking. After a moment he shook his great head, saying almost with anguish:

  "I won't do it!"

  "For crying out loud, Lion," whined Squirrel with a barely perceptible smile of delight playing around his mouth. "Nobody's even around to see.
It's only for a little ways."

  With a scowl on his face, the lion examined the jungle-clad bank on the opposite side of the river. Obviously, the squirrel was enjoying his discomfiture. The idea that the king of the jungle would deign to carry a squirrel on his back was highly amusing.

  Suddenly, however, the lion's sulky countenance cleared. Narrowing his discerning gaze, he said with interest: "Isn't that Owl's tree rising up above the forest? I've never seen it before, but from what I've heard about it, that must be it."

  "That's it," the squirrel confirmed.

  "What a spread he must have," he said with admiration. Then he looked at the squirrel and frowned as he remembered that he would have to put him on his back. "Well, come on then, if it's the only way." Then he added sternly, "But I expect strict confidentiality."

  "No problem," the squirrel twittered. He smirked as he dropped from the branch onto Lion's back and said gleefully: "Your secret is safe with me!"

  "There is no secret, Squirrel!" Lion growled with extreme annoyance as he stepped into the river and began picking his way carefully from rock to rock. "I ought to just leave you here and let Bear carry you across is what I ought to do!"

  The river was generally very shallow in this area except for the few places where it rushed swiftly between the large rocks. These the lion leaped effortlessly across, Squirrel clinging merrily to his back. When they reached the other side, he shook his heavy coat as if to dislodge his passenger. Squirrel sprang from his back, scampered up the river bank and ascended a great oak which stood nearby.

  On this side of the river the undergrowth had largely been removed, giving the area something of the appearance of manicured grounds. The majority of the trees were mature hardwoods with many great oaks, and only here and there were interspersed smaller, younger trees. Perhaps a hundred yards up the river from where Lion and Squirrel stood surveying the grounds, a tree-lined avenue led in the direction of the great oak which Lion had identified previously as most likely belonging to Owl. The two animals walked slowly across the grounds and entered this avenue.