Lottie barked and barked as loud as she could but her weak puppy voice got lost in the branches of the tall forest trees. It had been fun rolling in the cool gold and brown leaves that lay on the grouAnd earlier in the day but that had been before the darkness had fallen down on her. Now she saw shadows behind every tree.
She heard a rustle in the undergrowth near her. Sniffing the air she tried to make out what it was. She hoped it wasn’t something that would bite her. She began to scratch and sniff at the ground. Something furry ran over her paws. She jumped back in fright. Too late she remembered her mother’s warning about sticking her nose into things that didn’t concern her. She remembered how much it had hurt when she stuck her nose into the bees nest. The bees had swarmed out and clung to her ears and neck.
This time she was glad it was just a small cross looking mouse. It stared at her for a while before scurrying into the leaves that lay beneath the trees.” It would have been nice to have a friend in this dark forest. If I had a friend I wouldn’t be afraid,” Lottie sighed.
It was too dark to see the path now. Lottie’s little legs felt very heavy as she stumbled along in the dark. I’ve been walking a long time, she thought. An owl swooped down and hooted. Its eerie call was very loud and very near. Ears pinned back Lottie ran as fast and as she could. Branches reached out their long spiked fingers to catch her but she ran on and on. Sharp bushes pull at her soft fur and the rough ground cut into her paws. “I want to go home; away from all the strange noises and all these scary things,” she yelped.
Finally, too tired to run any more she fell down and crawled on her belly under a tree. Her breath coming in small gasps she looked up into its branches. A bright shining light shone out from between the tall branches of the tree. Forgetting her tired legs Lottie leaped to her feet and ran round and round in excited circles. “I’m here. I’m here,” she barked. The light moved behind a cloud and Lottie realised it was only the moon. Giving a lonely howl, she lay down, covered her eyes with her paws and cried.
As the night grew quieter the forest sounds seemed to get louder. The wind made a soft whistling noise as it blew the leaves of the trees onto the ground. Trees creaked and moaned as if tired after a long day holding out their arms. Somewhere nearby, water rushed along as if in a hurry to get home. Lottie’s was hungry and thirsty. She wanted to get a drink but she was too afraid to move.
She heard the cry of a fox. She could hear her mother saying, “Foxes eat hens and pups too if they catch them out by themselves at night.” Lottie’s little body shivered in fright. ”Oh how I wish I’d never wished for an adventure,” she said letting out a small lonely yelp. “It no fun being lost. It’s too scary. I want to go home.”
Just then, she thought she heard a whispering sound. Was it the wind rustling the leaves? “Up here, up here,” a soft voice whispered loudly. Looking up, Zoë saw the swish of a furry tail disappearing into the thick branches of the tree. Shaking with fear she pressed closer to the ground. Her heart raced and her fur quivered. Mama had warned her about tricks. “People and other bigger animals, may pretend to be your friend. But once they have you in their grasp…” She heard soft scratching sounds. Too terrified to move she peeped out from behind her paws.
A large brown squirrel seemed to be showing her how to climb up the trunk of the tree. “Mama never said anything about squirrels. Anyway, even I am bigger than a squirrel,” she said bravely.
Digging her paws into the soft bark of the tree she started to climb. It was fun, at first. Lottie thought how she’d tell the other pups how she climbed the tallest tree in the forest. She stopped and looked around her. The ground seemed a long way down and the higher branches of the tree seemed a long way up. “Don’t look down,” Brown Squirrel ordered. “Keep climbing. Keep looking up towards me.”
Clinging on tightly, Lottie took a deep breathe; up and up she climbed until she thought she was nearly at the sky. She could feel the sharp bark of the tree piercing her belly and it sticky sap sticking to her fur. Finally, she flopped down into a small hollow
“Just in time,” Brown Squirrel breathed. She pointed to the foot of the tree. Lottie saw the glint of a fox’s eyes in the moonlight. He was sniffing where Lottie had been sitting just a short time ago. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to thank Brown Squirrel for saving her. She was nowhere to be seen.
Lottie scraped at the loose twigs and leaves that carpeted the floor of the soft hollow and curled up in a ball. After a while, tired from her adventure she fell into a deep sleep and dreamt she was at home in her own basket.
She woke with a start. “Oh, that was a scary dream,” she yawned.” I dreamt I was lost in the forest and a fox almost ate me for his supper.” She stretched her neck and found herself staring down at the ground far below. “It wasn’t a dream. I really am lost. I’ll never get home again. No one will ever think to look for me up here,” she sobbed.
A bird came and perched on a branch near her. Its round beady eyes staring curiously at her. After a while it got bored and flew away. “I wish I had wings. I’d fly down to the ground and find my way home to my nice warm basket.” Lottie yelped
A family of small insects walked slowly in a straight line down the tree trunk as if they were going out for a picnic. Watching them gave Lottie an idea. Closing her eyes, she put one of her front paw out over the edge and then the other one. Opening her eyes she glanced down and quickly pulled them back in.” That’s no good,” she scolded herself. “You’ll never get down that way. You’ll break your head on the ground. She turned around and around. Her tail got caught in her mouth. “No playing today, tail. I have to find my way down from this tree and then find my way home,” Lottie scolded.
“Try sliding down backwards,” Brown Squirrel’s voice said making Lottie yelp out in fear. “Go on. Do it.,” she ordered.
Clinging fearfully to the bark of the tree Lottie carefully put one back paw and then the other over the edge. Losing her grip, she was .skidding down the slippery tree trunk; whooshing past branches. She landed with a thud on the ground.” Lucky for me all those soft brown and gold leaves were there. They broke my fall,” she panted her tongue lolling out of her mouth.
Far away behind the trees the sun was beginning to rise. Lottie heard the swish of a bat’s wings and the cry of a small mouse as the bat found its breakfast. She hoped it wasn’t the cross looking mouse she had seen yesterday.
Sniffing the air she thought she smelled food. Her tummy rumbled. She raced along the path. The smell of cooking was getting stronger. She skidded to a stop in a small clearing. A man and a boy were cooking breakfast. Lottie’s mouth watered at the sight of the fat sausages sizzling on the campfire. “Where did you come from,” the man said stroking Lottie’s muddy fur.
“It’s only a pup, Dad,”
Lottie licked the boy’s face as he fed her some of his breakfast.
“There’s a number on her collar,” his dad said, holding out a fat sausage to Lottie. “She’s too young for hunting. She must be lost.”
“Can we try and find her owner? We can’t leave her here, all alone in the forest?” Lottie licked the boy’s face to thank him for his kindness.
Sinking happily into her own basket Lottie was glad her adventure was at an end and she promised herself she would stay at home from now on.
Gemma Hill Writeyou Writeme 