Christmas in Bluebell Wood Options

[Guest_Nina_*]

Writing a humorous and uplifting story is definitely foreign territory for me but I gave it a try and I hope you enjoy the story.


Christmas in Bluebell Wood

Snow had been falling all night in Bluebell wood, cloaking the bare branches and frozen earth in a thick white mask.  The heavy clouds had now passed over and a weak winter sun was shining in a cloudless, blue sky, its rays reflecting off the crystal snowflakes.

Deep in the forest, sleepy animals were stirring.  A tiny wooden door, at the base of an aged oak tree, creaked open a little.  A tiny black nose peeked out.

Brrrr, thought Sammy, a small grey squirrel with a long bushy tail.  He was very tempted to shut his door again and snuggle back into the warmth of his straw-lined bed but he’d promised to visit his friend Rikki .  As he pulled the door open wide a shower of powdery snow fell, landing on his head with a plop. Momentarily blinded, he tripped, tumbling headfirst into the deep snow.  Right, That’s it!  Next Christmas, I’m off to Australia to visit cousin Tufty.  Slipping and sliding, he got back to his feet and dusted the snow off his fur. He trekked through the forest towards Rikki’s burrow, leaving a trail of tiny footprints in the pristine snow.  As he reached his destination, a volley of snowballs hit him.  Sammy fell backwards landing with a soft bump on the ground:  slightly winded.  His friends, Rikki, a long-eared grey rabbit and Holly, a prickly but sweet natured hedgehog, were standing by the burrow, laughing merrily.

Still chuckling, they came over to help Sammy up.  “Merry Christmas, Sammy,” they said in unison.
“Come into my burrow and warm up, “laughed Rikki “I have prepared a banquet for us.”  
The three friends clambered eagerly over the gnarled roots of an ancient oak tree and slipped through the hidden entrance to Rikki’s home.  Sammy could sense the different scents wafting up from the main chamber:  sweet pine needles, mingled with damp earth, fresh nuts, berries and holly. His tummy rumbled loudly.  They sat round Rikki’s  wooden table, admiring the feast in front of them:  chestnuts, acorns, cobnuts, small blood red berries, apples, leaf crisps, cups of blackberry juice and right in the centre of the table a huge decorated fruit and nut cake.
“Wow!  This looks amazing” gasped Holly, “quick!  Lets open our presents then we can eat. I’m starving.”  They oohed and aahed excitedly over the little gifts they’d bought each other, then tucked into the sumptuous feast in front of them.

Unknown to the three friends, someone had seen their arrival, heard their laughter and had watched hungrily as they slipped into the concealed rabbit hole.  Felix, a lean, young fox with powerful muscles rippling under his thick golden fur, waited, concealed behind the vast oak tree.  He was in no hurry. He could smell them close by.  Sooner or later the prey would re-appear, then he would spring.  He rubbed his tummy and licked his lips gleefully in anticipation of a tasty meal.

Feeling contentedly full, Rikki stretched, belched, then said “Hey, let’s go skating on the lake.”  He jumped up eagerly, dragging the other two to their feet. “Come on you lazy lumps, it’ll be fun.  Move yourselves! ”
“A great idea,” agreed Sammy, “I love skating.”
“But I’m too stuffed and sleepy, I don’t want to move.” moaned Holly, half-heartedly.
“Well you can stay here on your own then, we’re going.” Sammy retorted, “see you later.”
“No, wait!  I don’t want to stay here alone.  All right, I’ll come with you. It’s just…it’s just….I can’t  skate.”
“Don’t worry Holly, we’ll teach you.  It’s dead easy once you get your balance.  You’ll soon be skimming round like a professional. Come on then,” said Sammy heading up the slope to the surface.
“Not that way Sammy,” chuckled Rikki,  “that’s the entrance. We never go out that way.  Over here’s the exit.”

Rikki led the way as they scrabbled up the slightly muddy, slope, which led to a hole on the other side of the massive oak.  Just before the summit he signalled to the others to keep quiet and still.  Cautiously he popped his head out of the hole and looked around, sniffing.  Outlined against the white snow was a splash of gingery gold.  Rikki quickly ducked down again, whispering to his friends, “there is a fox up there, we’ll have to be careful.  I could only see his tail and hindquarters but he must have his nose close to the entry hole, ready to catch us.”

Holly paled, her paws shaking.  “I’m n-n-not g-g-going anywhere.  That f-f-fox nearly caught me last week.  I’m only standing here now because my prickles saved me.”
“Don’t worry,” Rikki reassured her, “I have a plan.”  He whispered to the other two, who nodded in agreement.  It was risky but would hopefully work.  Sammy hurried back down the slope to the table.  Lying among the debris of their meal was a long length of white string.  Carefully he made it into a loop and returned to the exit hole.  Rikki poked his head out and laid the loop all the way round, leaving a length dangling inside.  Next he called out very loudly,  “Hey, Felix! Over here!  You can’t catch us Fishface! Nah, nah ne nah nah!”

Felix turned round, surprised to see a rabbit shouting at him.  He salivated, thinking what a fool the rabbit was.  Quick as a flash he sprang.  Rikki was quicker and leapt back down, leaving the fox with his mouth snapping cold air.  
“Now!” whispered Rikki. He and Sammy pulled hard on the length of string.  The noose tightened around Felix’s jaw.  Deftly they wound the string several more times round his mouth, ignoring the muffled groans. Felix kicked out, shook his head madly, angry at having been tricked.  Eventually, tail mournfully between his legs, he skulked back to his den, hoping his sister could rid him of his humiliation.  

Rikki, Sammy and Holly cheered, doing a short celebratory dance before heading down to the lake. They spent an invigorating afternoon skating on the ice, laughing and playing.  By the end of the day even Holly was speeding round confidently.

Tired but happy they went home, agreeing that it had been the best Christmas ever.

© Nina  2005


Nina

[Guest_Jox_*]

Hi Nina,

Very light and jolly from you - well done.

Reminded me rather of the SETTing for "Wind In The Willows" (not the story about flatulant cricketers - the other one). Now, why have I not seen all this in my bluebell woods?

Thanks for the read, J.

[Guest_Nina_*]

Hi J

>J>Very light and jolly from you - well done.

thanks.  I know light and jolly, not like me at all  :jester:

>J>Reminded me rather of the SETTing for "Wind In The Willows" (not the story about flatulant cricketers - the other one).

ROFL.  Now why didn't I think of writing a story about flatulant cricketers.  Now that would have been very airy.  You could float up to the clouds on all that gas.

Seriously though I suppose it is a bit like WITW except no one drove a motorcar or broke out of prison dressed like a woman.

>J>Now, why have I not seen all this in my bluebell woods?

well keep your eyes open next time it snows on Christmas day and you never know what you might see.  Just beware of low flying snowballs.

thanks for popping in and reading.

Nina

[Cleo_Serapis]

Thank you for your Holiday entry!  :holly:

Best of luck to you!  :dove:

May the 'classic' holiday spirit be shared in your heart throughout the season!  :blueorn:

~ Mosaic Musings Staff  :knight:  :pharoah:  :viking:  :vic:  :troy:  :roman:  :cali:  :tut:  :knight:

[AMETHYST]

Hi Nina,

I am impressed with the craft and skill of this story. The story is inventive and upbeat, a pleasure to read.. I love so much of this and wanted to thank you for allowing me a much needed point of pleasure in a very hectic day.

Hugs, Liz

[Guest_Nina_*]

Hi Liz

Thank you so much for your lovely words.  I'm really chuffed you enjoyed it and even happier that it gave you an injection of well needed pleasure on a hectic day.    :grinning:

Thanks for reading

Nina

[Cybele]

Hi Nina,  :sun:

Writing a humorous and uplifting story is definitely foreign territory for me but I gave it a try and I hope you enjoy the story.

Foreign or not my girl, you made a wonderful job of this. Definitely one to read to the children on Christmas Eve. Absolutely enchanting!

Good luck with the competition Nina.  :hsdance:

[Guest_Nina_*]

Hi Grace

Foreign or not my girl, you made a wonderful job of this.

Thanks very much.  I'm pleased you enjoyed it and I hope children will as well.

Nina

[Guest_Cathy_*]

Hi Nina,

Such a pleasant story!  I read it to Blaise and she got a kick out
of it.  She decided then and there that we had to go back to the
park so she could visit squirrels!  lol

Good luck with the competition!

Cathy

[Peterpan]

Gosh Nina, such a lovely story.......I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I am intrigued that you used the word 'trekked' I thought it was a South African word! From Dutch or Afrikaans - to trek is to move or migrate. How interesting that you used it?

Good luck with the competition!

PP

[Guest_Nina_*]

Hi Cathy

I'm so thrilled that Blaise got a kick out of the story.  The true test of a story like this one, is not how well or not it does in a competition but whether it captures a child's imagination.  So I'm really chuffed that Blaise was inspired by it.

I tried it out on my 12 year old unfortunately she has reached that cynical stage and her only comment was that I'd given animals human characteristics (apparently she'd been doing this at school).

Thanks very much

Nina

[Guest_Nina_*]

Hi Bev

>B>Gosh Nina, such a lovely story.......I enjoyed it thoroughly.

thank you, I'm pleased you enjoyed it so much.  

>B>I am intrigued that you used the word 'trekked' I thought it was a South African word! From Dutch or Afrikaans - to trek is to move or migrate. How interesting that you used it?

I had no idea it was a South African word, but looking it up on dictionary.com

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?db=*&q=trek
the British adopted the word when they took control of South Africa after the Boer war and brought it back to UK.  Fascinating thanks.

Nina

[Blank_Canvas]

Nina,
   As a youngster, I read all the animal stories in my school library. Have always been drawn to animals and the horse and animal stories touched me with empathy for the creatures of the earth. I read " Wind in the Willows", the " Little Bear" series, "Call of the Wild", " The Black Stallion" series, and the list goes on and on....
   I loved this....so whimsical. Approaching the holidays from an animal's point of view was fun and you did a wonderful job of crafting this. Best of luck in the competition.
                           Marcia

[Guest_Nina_*]

Hi Marcia

I'm pleased you enjoyed this story.  I loved "Little Bear" so did my children.

thanks for reading

Nina

[Nefertiti]

Hi Nina!

What a charming little tale!  So old fashioned!  Quite adorable!  I kept expecting a little faerie to be peeking out, too!  A perfect children's story.

Hugs,
B.

[Guest_Nina_*]

Hi Nef

I'm glad you enjoyed it.  I never thought of little faeries peeking out but perhaps they were secretly weaving their magic out of sight.

Nina