This is the short story I composed for Complimentary studies Creative Writing, hope you enjoy it :)
Stanley's perilous journey
Stanley climbed quickly to the top branch,
he could see for miles around him, dense forest below and on every side.
He had lived in this forest since he could
remember, he knew every tree trunk like the back of his paw and had all the
best hiding places on the forest floor for his food in winter, he played almost
everyday with his two best friends Alfie and Evie, running through the forest
and playing tricks on the older squirrels.
One day however all that changed, animals
started disappearing and trees crashed to the forest floor in a cascade of
splintered wood and needles; this was the scene that Stanley looked upon now in
his beloved forest.
Birds scattered as yet another one of his
friends homes collapsed, more fell everyday and the sounds of splintering
trunks were getting closer to Stanley’s Tree. It would only be a matter of time
before he would have to admit that his peaceful forest was being overrun by
some unstoppable monster.
That night Stanley made up his mind. He was
going to get to the root of the problem that was threatening his forest home,
he would pack some supplies and ask a few of his friends if they wanted to help
him. He thought he could do it on his own but it would probably be a lonely
journey and he knew he would miss his friends if he left them behind. He
snuggled down in his cozy nest, thinking of the perilous journey ahead of him
and how he was going to save his forest.
The morning came too soon; Stanley awoke to
find his father preparing a breakfast of nutty oatmeal while his mother was
hanging out the week’s washing on a branch in the corner of the room.
‘Daddy?’ Stanley said as he got out of bed
and made his way to the kitchen table, ‘I’m leaving home today, I want to find
out what is destroying the trees; I don’t think anybody else is going to do it
and I love our tree and our forest’
His father looked at him with eyes full of
concern, ‘if that’s what you need to do, Stan, then I’m not going to stand in
your way, but I will ask that you don’t go alone; the forest is a dangerous
place and you’re only a young squirrel. You have no idea of the dangers that
lie ahead of you.’
Stan’s mother looked up from what she was
doing makingher way over to her son and husband.
‘Give him the map, Gerald; he’ll need it if
he’s to survive out there with his friends.’
His father handed him a rolled up piece of
parchment, yellowed with age, and tied with a small piece of string. ‘This is a
map Stanley, it will lead you to the biggest store of food in this forest. You
will need it, we will need it and the whole forest will need it. It is VERY important
that you find this, I have a feeling things are going to get worse whilst
you’re away.’
Stan packed his things and set off to find
Alfie and Evie. As he had hoped they were very excited to help him on his
adventure. They said their goodbyes to their families and set off on their
adventure.
The first night was the hardest, none of
the little squirrels had been away from home for more than a few hours and they
jumped and squealed at every little movement and noise. As the darkness crept
closer they couldn’t help but imagine what horrors lay in wait behind the trees
and in the shadows. They didn’t have to wait long to find out.
From out of the darkness snuffled a strange
shape.
‘What is it?’ whispered Evie with a slight
tremble to her voice.
Stanley looked harder in midnight gloom,
‘It looks…spikey’ he replied.
From the shadows came a small voice,
‘Please don’t be afraid, I’m just a hedgehog! I come out at night because its
safer for me; animals are usually asleep now and I can find things to eat
without worrying about being eaten myself.’
‘Well you don’t need to worry, we won’t eat
you’, said Alfie.
‘But do you think you could help us? We
could use some help getting through the forest at night, and you seem to know
your way quite well.’
‘Hmm, yes I think I can help, My name is Brillo’
replied the Hedgehog.
They discussed their plan with Brillo,
showing him the map Stanley’s father had given them, and as the night went on
he led them through the forest, avoiding fast running rivers, treacherous cliff
faces and other dangers that threatened to slow their journey.
As the sun began to rise, Brillo stopped
suddenly.
‘Everyone be very quiet and keep very
still’, he whispered urgently.
‘Why?’ Stanley whispered back. ‘What’s
wrong?’
‘Look closely, in that hedge in front of
us… a Snake.’
‘Eeek! What shall we do?’ Evie cried; she
had heard that snakes liked to eat squirrels for breakfast.
‘Don’t worry Evie, I have a cunning plan!’
exclaimed the Hedgehog.
And, just at that moment, Brillo rolled
himself up into a tight spikey ball and hurled himself at the snake!
‘That was brilliant!’ squealed Stanley, the
snake had slithered off, mumbling about an unfair fight. Brillo had rolled into
him over and over again; the brave hedgehog had lost a few prickles but was
otherwise unharmed.
They stopped by a small spring to rest and
have a drink. Stanley took out the map, and Alfie leaned over his shoulder to
get a better look.
‘Wow! I can’t believe how far we’ve
travelled, we’re nearly at the secret nut store!’ Stan’s friend said excitedly.
‘You’re right,’ agreed Brillo, ‘look here,
if we just follow this path round and head up that small hill we should reach
it by the end of the day. We can start heading back to your forest tomorrow!’
‘But…’ Stanley murmured, ‘but we haven’t found
out what’s happening to the forest yet, that was the reason we came here in the
first place!’
‘Oh, I completely forget about that, don’t
worry - I have a few friends who can help with that problem’, Brillo said
confidently.
And with that revelation they continued
their journey.
They reached the top of the hill and looked
out over the forest, below them was a strange sight indeed; some parts of the
forest had completely disappeared. The trees lay on their sides, some had been
chopped up and put in huge piles, others had been taken away leaving a blank
canvas of forest floor.
‘What happened?’ Breathed Evie, ‘Where have
all the animals gone?’
‘That, my dear, is where my plan comes in
for saving the forest’
Brillo went on to explain that every animal
who had lost their home had been gathering on this hill every night to find a
way to bring down the Giant Yellow Monsters that had been taking their trees,
and a few nights ago they found a way.
They gathered on the hill, all different
animals; there were Squirrels; Owls; and Woodpeckers; even some foxes who had
been living under the trees had come along for the meeting.
‘So, this is what we propose to do’,
started Brillo ‘We open this secret
store and when the monsters have gone to sleep we choke them with the nuts we
find inside. They won’t be able to move, and eventually they’ll give up and die,
I’ve seen it with my own eyes, they go a funny brown colour, like the leaves
before winter and then they start to fall apart - it gets even worse when it
rains!’
‘Wait a minute’ said Stanley. ‘What are we
going to take back to my family and all the animals in the forest? We can’t
survive the winter without food!’
‘Yes, Stanley’s right’ agreed Alfie and
Evie together. ‘We have to bring something back’
‘Don’t worry your whiskers about that’,
replied Brillo, ‘I’ve covered that problem already’.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Evie.
‘Have you squirrels ever wondered where all
of these nuts came from in the first place?’ Brillo asked, looking around at
the gathered crowd. ‘Every winter this food store is used to feed all of the
tree dwellers, and every year it magically refills itself. Well I know why;
I’ve lived in this forest for long enough to know about the Donar Oak’.
‘The what oak?’ the animals chanted.
‘The Donar oak’, Brillo repeated. ‘It’s a
magical oak tree, also known as the Tree of Life. It’s constantly in bloom and
when the fruit falls from its branches they roll into special chambers dotted
around the forest; this is just one of those chambers.’
‘Well where are the other chambers?’
Stanley looked around frantically.
‘Oh dear’, sighed Brillo, ‘You really don’t
know do you?’
‘What? Do you know where the other chambers
are?’
‘Please tell us!’ begged Alfie and Evie.
‘We need that food!’
‘Now, now’, said the hedgehog. ‘ Don’t get
your tail in a twist!, Believe it or not there is a chamber of food just behind
your beloved forest; you’ll survive the winter no problem.
A huge cheer went up from the top of the
hill, Everything seemed to be going to plan, and all they had to do was choke
those horrible monsters that were ruining their forest.
Just before dawn, after the animals had
rested and eaten, they gathered together. Each animal had a collection of nuts
and sticks all wrapped up in leaves. They headed towards where the monsters
slept, climbed up to the feeding holes and dropped the twigs, leaves and nuts into
their bellies.
The shouts started a few hours later. The
monsters wouldn’t wake up and the men who had come to ride them were very
angry. Stanley and his friends sat and watched, broad grins spreading across
their faces.
They were even more pleased when they heard
one of the men shout :‘This is ridiculous! This is the last day we’ve got
before we have to close down for winter! We’ll never get this job finished on
time, we’ll just have to pack up and call it a day’.
When the men had left, the animals emerged;
everything had gone according to plan.
‘But what happens when those men come
back?’ One of the animals said. A ripple of worry went through the crowd.
‘Well, we’ll just have to make sure that when
they do we’re ready for them. Brillo said that the chambers are always full,
we’ll just have to do the same every year until they give up and move on.’
They all agreed it was a great idea.
One by one the animals of the forest went
their separate ways. Some went to find a new tree to live in, others went with
friends who had agreed to keep them warm over the coming months.
Stanley and his friends (including Brillo)
headed back to the forest. On their way they met many new creatures who had
lost their homes to the monsters, they took them home with them and arrived at Stanley’s
tree to a huge applause and warm hugs from his family.
Stanley became a hero of the forest, and
the secret chamber turned out to be just under his family’s tree; a special
knot in the wood opened a hatch and revealed a huge room full of food.
They had the most comfortable winter anyone
could remember and it was all thanks to brave friends, courage and the
determination of a small squirrel named Stanley.
