Notes - Faces of the Forest

Faces of the Forest was written for children transitioning between read-aloud to red-for themselves books. These children's stories follow the adventures of three woodland friends; Nathaniel Fox, Gus Gator, and Booey Skunk. These stories are for children ages 5-9.

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On Mended Fences

Early the next morning, sunlight broke through the clouds in thin rays and streams, struggling to keep the rain away. Steam rose from the surface of Beaver Pond. The lily pads swayed with the gentle current stirred by both the Otters and Muskrats. Beyond that though, the pond was silent.
Some stayed and some went, but everyone who enjoyed Kit Fox's grilled cheesy-worm sandwiches and tomato soup ended up spending a good part of the night sleeping it off.
Booey and Gus had stayed at the Fox house for a sleepover. As usual, Booey was the first to wake up. He was also the first to venture outside the Fox house. The grove was covered in small pieces of tomato. It was a terrible mess that someone would have to clean up.
Booey looked around, picked up some tomatoes, then set them in a small pile. As he cleaned up the pieces of tomato from trees and plants and off the ground around him, he realized cleaning up the tomatoes was not a one-skunk-job. He went back to the Fox house and gently grabbed Kit by the paw.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"You'll see," she said.
He led her out in front of the house and down past the creek. Trees and bushes and vines were splattered with bits and pieces of red tomato.
"Oh dear, what a terrible mess," she said.
Booey began picking up more tomatoes, but Kit stopped him.
"You'll never do this all by yourself."
"We could do it together," he said.
"That is an excellent idea, Booey. We will do it together. Since everyone helped to make the mess, they can pitch in and clean it up."
"I think that is a good idea."
"Why thank you Booey, but it was your idea."
"I guess it was," said Booey.
Booey and Kit started by gathering volunteers at the Fox house.
"Good morning, good morning, good morning," Kit Fox announced to the living room as she opened the front door. Her voice was quite loud.
"Mornmuff schmurfalth," Gus mumbled in his sleep.
"You promised me, Gus. Now rise and shine and let us clean up the forest."
Gus rolled around and laid there for a few moments. Kit went over to Nate and poked him in the side. He also turned away from her. She moved in closer and touched her cold snout to his cheek.
"Mother! You're making me cold!" he cried out.
"It's time to get up," she said.
So Nate got up and bathed himself in the tide pool. The cold water sent a chill through him. Quickly, he was wide awake. He always loved the way a rinse in the stream would stir him to life.
Inside the Fox house however, Augustus Nottagator was busy doing everything in his power to get a few more minutes of warm and cozy sleep.
Nate returned from the stream and shook himself dry. That gave Kit Fox an idea. A devilish gleam crossed her face as she whispered the wake-up plan to the boys.
They all snuck out to the stream and got their fur good and wet. They returned and on the count of three, they all shook the excess water off their bodies. Water sprayed throughout the entire living room. The cold, cold water startled Gus from his slumber. He quickly rose to his feet and tried to escape his surprise shower. It was too late. He had been awakened.
"Good," said Kit, "Now that waking up Gus is taken care of we can eat some breakfast and round up some more volunteers to help with the clean up."
Kit fed the children a breakfast of blueberries and trout. The children gobbled up everything on their plates. Now they were almost ready to clean up the forest.
Kit led Gus and Booey and Nate on a hike to Albatross’ house. When they arrived at the Hickory tree where Albatross lived, Kit gently prodded Gus towards the front door. Gus knocked on the hollow trunk of Albatross' tree. A loud rustling of feathers and squawking noises came from high in the tree. Feet pounded down through the hollow trunk. Finally, Albatross' head popped out to greet them.
"What do you want?" he asked Gus.
"I just wanted to apologize."
"Thank you for apologizing, but you could have saved us both a great deal of time and trouble by not knocking at all."
"No, I was apologizing for messing up your garden."
"So it was you! I should have figured!"
"I am very sorry."
"Squawk! That’s all I ever hear! I'm sorry! I won't do it again! Squawk! Eventually you kids will have apologized for everything you've ever done and what will you have then?"
Gus stared blankly at Albatross.
"Nothing. You will be out of troubles to make. You will have made them all!"
"Albatross, please, He said he was sorry. We will clean it all up," said Kit Fox.
"I think he's done enough already."
"Please?" she asked again. Kit Fox always had a way of making sure Albatross’ temper did not get away from him.
"Alright, I accept your apology, Gus."
Gus nodded to Albatross and then stuck out a paw for Albatross to shake. Albatross stuck out a wing and they shook on it. Kit smiled and thanked Albatross again. Albatross closed his front door and settled back into his nest for a little nap.
"Okay boys, we have some work to do," said Kit.
"We need volunteers," said Booey.
"We do, and I know exactly where to start," said Kit. She led the boys through the woods to the Otter house at the far side of the pond. She barked a few times. One of the otters popped his head out, followed by several others.
"Rise and shine," she said. The otter pups simply stared at Kit Fox.
"It’s time to clean up after yourselves," said Kit. The curious otters looked at Kit and the others, but didn’t respond to her otherwise. Finally, the oldest otter came out and greeted Kit. She told him that something would have to be done with the mess in the grove. Otter led his pups to the grove and they began to clean up the mess they had made. As everyone else cleaned, Kit took Gus to fetch the Opossum twins. They were busy fighting over a tin can.
"Wouldja handit over tah me?" Opaula hissed. Opaul scampered into a tree with the tin can, where Opaula followed.
"Hello?" said Kit. The opossums quickly grabbed onto a branch with their tails and closed their eyes. In a split second, they died right before Kit and Gus’ eyes.
"I know you’re playing dead," said Kit. The twins remained motionless. Gus reached up and gently grabbed Opaul by his nose and gave it a pinch in his teeth.
"Whatcha tryin tah do tah me?" yipped Opaul. "Cantcha see I’m dead here?"
"You don’t look dead," said Gus.
"Well, I am."
"Me too. I’m dead," said Opaula. Her eyes remained closed as she swung back and forth from the tree branch.
"I’ve fixed quite a meal," said Kit. The opossums swung back and forth on the tree branch, still playing dead.
"Trout and frog leg chowder…rotten apple and lettuce salad…"
Opaul opened one eye and snuck a peek at Mother Fox.
"Butternut squash…walnuts…arrowroot soup…"
"I took all I could take, I can take it no more!" shouted Opaul.
He hopped down from the branch and hobbled off toward the tomato mess. Opaul and Opaula joined in and in no time at all, it was as if there had not been a single tomato thrown.
They had even gathered the tomatoes which had not been squashed and piled them in front of Albatross’ door. Kit knocked on Albatross’ door and when he opened it, he was happy to see some of his tomatoes still intact.
"Now there you go," said Kit.
"Why thank you all so very much."
Albatross smiled as he gathered up his fresh, unspoiled tomatoes."Thank you everyone," said Albatross as he wiped a single tear from his eye. It was the best gift he had ever received.

On the Great Tomato War

As sister winter moved into the grove, the vines in Albatross' garden were heavy and ready for the autumn harvest. The cook, brisk air was only the first sign of a hard winter to come, and it was nearly time for Albatross to enjoy the fruits (or rather vegetables) of a hard summer's labor.
"Ah, I love the smell of autumn in the morning," he sighed as he picked a ripe squash and brought it up to his nose. He plopped it into his basket, followed by a beet, and then a tomato and then a few potatoes for good luck. After he filled his basket, he took it inside and dumped the contents into the wash basin. He looked down into the basin and then back towards the garden.
Even thought it was still early in the morning, he decided it was time for lunch. He put the basket aside and started rinsing the vegetables. He cut them up and threw them into a large stockpot. He carefully rinsed the vegetables and chopped them into tiny bits. He then added the crawdad he had taken away from Nate Fox, who had been fooling around in the stream. It was only right that little Fox be reprimanded for his foolish behavior.
Soon, the stockpot was filled to the rim with all sorts of vegetables and crawdads. He then poured in a few cups of water and set the pot on the fire. He sat himself down and waited for dinner to cook. Having left his chores unfinished this late into the year was surely going to cost Albatross. He figured he could always finish his chores later tomorrow. He sat and watched the large stockpot. As he did, his eyes grew heavy and he nodded off to sleep.
Outside, however, the day's activities were just beginning. Gus Nottagator was traipsing about, trying to figure out something to do with his day. He passed by Albatross' garden and gave it a good look. That was the exact moment inspiration hit him. Cucumbers and Squash and corn and tomatoes and all kinds of other assorted vegetables. Surely, this was an adventure waiting to happen.
Augustus Nottagator made his way through Albatross' garden and looked around. Tomatoes hung off the thick green vines, ready for picking. August tugged gently on a ripe tomato and it fell into his hand. It was round and firm. Another tomato sat on the ground next to the vine. It was brown and squishy. Gus set down the firm, round tomato and picked up the brown, squishy one. Gus picked it up and tossed it from one paw to the other. As he did, it became even squishier. Finally, he took it into his left paw and reared back. He flung it into the sky as hard as he could. It came down, hitting the ground with a huge KER-SPLOOP! Tomato guts splattered all over his feet.
"Oh yeah!" he shouted. He picked several more tomatoes until both of his arms were full. He ran off to Booey's house and immediately tossed one high into the tree. It splattered on the trunk right beneath Booey's kitchen window. Booey poked his head out only to find another tomato squishing against the side of his house above him. Bits of tomato rained down on his head.
"Eww! Gross!"
Gus flung another tomato at Skunk. Skunk quickly snapped his shutters closed in the nick of time. The third tomato splattered against the shutters with a loud bang.
"Alright, you had better stop!" Skunk shouted from inside the tree. THUD! THUD! THUD! Three more tomatoes hit the trunk of the tree.
"I mean it!" he cried.
"Why don't you make me?" shouted Gus.
But Skunk had already decided on a plan of attack. He sneaked through the hollow part of the tree and out the trunk at the base. He circled around behind Gus. Gus stood there with a good dozen or so tomatoes at his feet. Skunk slowly inched towards Gus and the tomatoes.
"Take that!" shouted Gus as he heaved yet another tomato up at Booey's house. The tomato swooshed through the air, missing the tree completely.
Then it happened. The thing to end all things. The deed to end all deeds. And the beginning of the tomato war to end all tomato wars. Skunk bent down and grabbed a tomato. He took the tomato and threw it directly at Gus. It made a deep thud as it exploded all over his back. Chunks of tomato goop and bits of seed spat out in all directions. Gus stopped and turned around to face Booey.
"You!" he shouted. Gus reached for another tomato and hurled it at Booey, who had already began running away from Gus Nottagator's next tomato bomb. It whizzed by Booey's ear as he cut into the woods. As Booey sped off, tomatoes continued to fly by him. They got closer with each throw, but none hit Booey as he ran away from Gus.
Just ahead sat the oak tree where the Fox family lived. Without a knock or a proper introduction, Booey flung open the front door of the Fox house. He let himself inside, quickly closed the door behind him, and fastened it shut. THUD! THUD! THUD! Three tomatoes knocked on the Fox's front door.
"What on earth is going on?" asked Kit.
"Gus is chasing me!"
Then another thud came at the front door, followed by a series of loud knocks. It was Gus pounding on the front door.
"Let me in!" he screamed.
Kit peeked out the kitchen window to see Gus standing in a "here comes a tomato pie right in your eye" pose. She spoke up.
"You are not coming in here until you drop every last tomato, Augustus."
"But I…."
"No buts. Drop every last one."
"Okay, now you can come in," she said.
"A-ha!" he shouted as he barged in the front door and squashed a big brown tomato squarely on the top of Booey's head.
"Sweet revenge!" he proclaimed.
"Augustus Gator! Come here this instant!" scolded Kit Fox.
She wagged a finger angrily at Gus. "If you ever do that again, you will never ever be allowed to set foot in my house. This means no games of fiddlesticks and foxglove, marbles or couch wrestling. It also means no cheese and broccoli casserole and no baked trout."
Gus' lower lip began trembling. "No baked trout?"
That was probably the worst thing Kit Fox could have said to Gus. He loved baked trout more than life itself. He quickly turned and apologized to Booey, then he apologized to Kit Fox. Before Kit or Booey could accept his apology, his mind wandered again. He daydreamed about Albatross' wonderful garden and the ripe red tomatoes that squished in his mouth when he bit down on them. He also thought about how they squished against the side of Booey's treehouse. He smiled.
"We have got to go back and get some more tomatoes," said Gator.
"No you don't. You're going to fetch those tomatoes and bring them in here. I don't want them going to waste. I will make some homemade tomato soup."
Nate licked his lips, then darted out the door, rounding up the tomatoes that had rolled this way and that.
"But those are my war tomatoes," cried Gator.
"Actually, they are Albatross' tomatoes. I also want you to go over to his house and apologize to him. After that, tell him we are making soup and he is invited."
Gus sighed then started helping Nate gather up the tomatoes. He returned with two handfuls, dropping them on the kitchen table.
"I'll be back," sighed Gus.
"Also, tell Albatross that you are to be his waiter tonight."
"But…."
"No buts, Gus. Go tell him."
Gus sighed and then nodded his head.
"The two of you go with him and see if Albatross needs anything else," she added.
"But mother, I didn't do anything," pleaded Nate.
"You help Albatross because you can, not because you are being punished."
Gus, Nate, and Booey went out to Albatross' house, only to find it empty. The garden was a mess, with squashed vegetables strewn everywhere. As they investigated the garden, they saw some of the Otters stealing tomatoes. Nate shouted at them and they scampered off with several tomatoes.
Gus chased them along the creek while Nate went to the garden and grabbed some tomatoes and threw them high into the air. He figured the otters could use a good tomato bombing.
KER-SPLAT! The first one splashed against the ground just in front of Gus and the otters. Quickly, Booey joined in the fun, while Gus continued chasing the otters around the stream bank.
"Garp!" said Gus as a tomato thrown by Booey hit Gus right in the snout. He began chasing Booey around the grove. As they ran around, Nate had two targets to shoot at, not to mention the two Otter pups that were bounding around in the weeds near the stream bank. He threw tomatoes at anything that passed, as if he was at a shooting gallery.
Meanwhile, it was time for the Opossum twins to tend to their morning grooming. They had started to pull bugs and burrs and mud out of each other's fur. It wasn't long before all the noise attracted Opaul and Opaula's attention, too. With all the noise, they couldn't resist the chance to join in on the fun.
Before too long, the rest of the Otters joined in and it became the Otters versus everyone else. That is, until the Badger pups joined in. It was a thunderous sound in the grove. Yelps, chatters, twitters, barks, growls, and hisses filled the forest air.
Only Kit Fox was not involved.
"Look at me!" screamed Gator from atop a large rock pile, "I am the King of the Forest! Can you believe it?"
All arms stopped launching tomatoes. All yelps and barks quieted for a moment, looking at August Nottagator doing a dance atop the rock pile.
"Get him!" shouted Nate. As if he was the general of a great forest army, everyone began lobbing tomatoes of all shapes, sizes, colors, and squishiness at Gus. That was the shortest time for a King the forest had ever seen. King Gus darted for cover.
He ran toward the old oak tree, screaming all the way.
"Somebody please help me!"
Kit opened the door to see Gus running toward her house again.
"Oh no you don't!" commanded Kit.
"You can't leave me out here," begged Gus. Several tomatoes began flying toward the Fox house in general and Gus Nottagator in specific.
"Everyone is chasing me!" he shouted. He hid behind Kit.
Kit Fox looked around at the flying tomatoes and held out a single outstretched paw, commanding the entire band of creatures to stop. Sure enough, the tomatoes stopped flying.
Gator peered innocently around her body, using her as a shield.
"Everyone, it is time to quit throwing tomatoes at Gus."
Opaul Opossum stepped out of the greenery to state his case for throwing tomatoes at Gus. "But you can't go and do that, you don't even know what he did done tah us up dere on dah cliff. He told us he could take us all on. It's his fault, Wuddenja knowed it?"
"Is that so, August?" Kit asked him.
Gus didn't even have to open his mouth. The look on his sorry little face said it all.
"Well, I guess it is just time to let bygones be bygones."
I agree completely," said Gus.
Except for one thing," added Kit.
"what's that?" asked Gus.
"You still have to get Albatross and bring him back for dinner. Then you have to apologize for all the messes you have made and for all the vegetables you have ruined."
Gus let out a grown.
"You made your mess, now you have to clean it up."
"But…."
"No buts."
"Okay," he sighed.
"Gus, there's just one more thing."
"What's that?" he asked.
Kit bent down and picked a tomato up from the ground. She raised her tomato-clenched paw high over her head. With one quick swoop, she squished it over his head.
"That's for getting me pelted with tomatoes my dear. Now you can go."
All of the animals cheered Kit Fox. Gus stood there as the tomato dripped down his face and over his body. He trotted off towards Albatross' house without any further argument. He apologized to the old bird and then they returned to the Fox house, where everyone was cleaning up the grove and having fun. Kit was cooking up soup.
All shapes and sizes of forest creature were gathered at the Fox house, inside and out. There were more dinner guests than there was room. Some ate in the living room, some in the kitchen, but most ate outside. They ate grilled cheesy-worm sandwiches faster than Kit could make them. They also helped themselves to large bowls of tomato soup. All was good in the grove once again.

On Rainy Days

As Nate awoke from his slumber, he could hear and smell his mother's goings on in the kitchen. Wisps of fried Robin's eggs rose through the air and caught little fox in the nose. As Nate took in the smell of breakfast, he also noticed another smell. The smell of fresh, moist earth overtook the pleasant smell that pulled him from his slumber. He peered up at the ceiling from under his blanket.
Plop! A large drop of rain fell and hit him smack in the nose.
"Aw, jeez," sighed Nate as he shook the water from his snout and wiped himself dry with his paws. He looked up again. Plop! Another large drop of rain came down from above.
Nate jumped from bed and looked out his window. The wind was beating the trees around and the rain was beating the earth. A small stream rolled in front of the Fox house.
Nate hopped out of his bed and went to the next room, where his mother was fixing some robin eggs for breakfast.
"Mom! It’s raining outside!" he shouted.
"I know dear," she answered.
"Oh," answered Nate. He bounded into the kitchen and sat at the table, ready for a hearty breakfast. Kit brought him some raw robin’s eggs and some fresh fish. He quickly gobbled up all of the fish and eggs, and then jumped from his chair.
"Oh no you don't, Nate Fox. You're not going anywhere until you clean up your mess," she scolded him. Nate slunk back to the table and picked up his plate and put it into the sink.
"That's better dear. If you're going out today, you'd better put on your galoshes and a coat."
"Aw, mom," whined Nate.
"Nathaniel J. Fox," she scolded.
"Yes, mother," he said as he put on his galoshes and overcoat.
His mother fastened all of the buckles and made sure his coat was straight. Nate waited patiently for her to finish up so he could finally go outside. With her approval, he was quickly out the door.
Nate paused as he took a step out the front door. Rivers of muddy water were flowing this way and that. The streams in front of the Fox house were so bad that Nate Fox had trouble even standing still. He put out his left foot, paused a second to catch his balance, put out his right foot and paused a moment to catch his balance again.
He continued on this way for several minutes until he looked back to see how far he had traveled. When he looked back, he noticed his mother watching him through the kitchen window. He had only walked fifteen feet from the front door. If he didn't start moving a little faster, his mother would surely tell him to come in from the rain. He turned back around and started walking away from the house, this time a little faster than before.
As he bravely went away from home, something started happening to the earth below him. Nate tried to stop, but it was too late. He was slipping along the trail from his house down to the creek’s edge.
"Whoa!" ordered Nate, but unfortunately his feet and the ground beneath him ignored his command.
He began picking up speed as he slid through the forest. "Whoa! Whoa!" screamed Nate, but it was too late. He was a fox swishing through the forest, taking out everything in his way.
Nate became frightened as he sped through the forest. He knew he had to do something quick, so he sat down. As he did, he started to slow down, but he was still speeding along the forest floor. His momentum toppled him onto his back. All he could see was the sky and the trees moving around above him. He wished he was back home in his mother's arms, or at least there was something to make this all stop.
THUD!
"What was that?" thought Nate. Whatever it was, it brought Nate to a complete stop. Nate got up and looked around behind him. Gus was lying in a tall patch of thistles, face up.
"Gus!" called out Nate. There was no answer.
"Gus!" he called again. Still there was no answer.
He scampered over to Gus, avoiding the prickly thistle bushes in his way. "Gus, are you okay?"
Gus laid motionless in the middle of the thistle patch for a few moments. Nate looked at Gus and asked again, "Gus, are you okay?"
Gus Nottagator was coming out of a daze when Nate asked him. All he could see was fuzzy, twinkling stars and two, maybe three foxes whirling above him.
"Of course I'm not okay. What happened?"
"I accidentally hit you as I slid downhill."
"That explains these bumps on my skin," said Gus.
"Gus, those aren’t bumps. Those are your scales."
"You mean I’m a fish?" asked Gus.
"Heaven’s no, you’re a crocodile."
"I’m a whatodile?"
"A crocodile."
"A crocodile? I can’t be a crocodile. I’m an alligator."
"No. You’re a crocodile."
"When did that happen?"
"You’ve always been a crocodile, Gus."
"Oh, yes. Of course, I’m a crocodile. I remember now."
"Gus, do you even know where you are?"
"I’m sitting in a thistle patch with you."
"Of course," replied Nate.
Gus attempted to stand up, but fell back onto the ground, too dizzy to move.
"Gus, you just need to rest for a few moments," said Nate.
"That sounds like a good idea."
They rested for a few seconds, and then Gus decided to ask Nate a question.
"Is Albatross still in the grove?"
"Of course Albatross is still in the grove. Why do you want to know?"
"Oh darn. I thought this was all just a bad dream."
Nate Fox laughed for a moment and then decided he had better go and get some help for Gus.
"Don't go anywhere, okay? I'm going to get Skunk." Nate raced off to Skunk's burrow. When he arrived, he poked his head down what he thought was Skunk's front door.
"Booey, come quick," Nate shouted into the darkness.
Skunk's tiny body popped out from another hole a few feet away.
"Hello!" spouted Skunk, who was always anxious for visitors. Nate's head whacked the inside edge of the hole as Skunk's voice startled him.
"Ouch!" groaned Nate, "the reason I came over was to tell you Gus has been hurt."
"Oh dear," exclaimed Skunk, "What are we going to do?"
"Well, that's why I came over here, I thought you might have an idea."
"I'm not sure exactly what to do. Let's go see how bad he's hurt first," said Booey.
So that's what they did. They ran up, down, and across the hills of the thicket to where Augustus had been before. Nate stopped in the middle of the thistle patch and looked around.
"What’s the matter?" asked Booey.
"Gus was right here when I left him," said Nate.
"Are you sure he was right here?" asked Skunk.
"I'm sure of it," said Nate, rubbing his head, "he was right here just a few moments ago."
They searched around in the thistle patch, but there was no sign of Gus.
Off in a spot not too far from where he once got a knock on the noggin, Gus was walking around in a daze, staring at the pretty trees and pretty flowers. Gus didn’t have a care in the world. The wallop he had gotten from Nate Fox made him very dizzy. It was as if he was floating on air.
Meanwhile, Booey and Nate stood in the thistle patch, trying to figure out where their friend, Gus Gator had disappeared. They took turns calling out for Gus as Nate searched uphill while Booey searched downhill. Gus was too woozy to hear his friends calling, but Albatross could hear their call as he tended to his Azaleas. As always, Albatross couldn’t resist the chance to find out what was going on with other’s in the grove.
Albatross had finished his personal chores early and decided to follow the sound of Nate and Booey’s voices. He walked up the sandy ridge and down through the thistles until he found Booey and Nate.
"Albatross, have you seen Gus?"
"For once, I can say he has not run into me or my azaleas today," said Albatross.
"Gus," said Booey, "
Just then, Gus came wandering by, still in a daze.
"Gus!" Booey called out. Gus turned toward the funny little mammals and smiled, then turned back toward his own happy world.
"I don't think he knows who we are," said Nate.
"Finally," said Albatross, "something goes right for once!"
Booey frowned at Albatross and then hurried over to help his lost friend.
Gus smiled a happy smile once again.
"Is anybody in there?" Booey asked Gus. The former Gator just smiled happily for a moment or two then began giggling to himself.
"Am I in here? Hold on, let me check? Gus, are you in here?"
Gus paused for a few seconds.
"Yes, here I am," he said in a faint, far-away voice."
"Yep, Gus is here. Is anybody out there?" he asked in a small voice again. Gus broke out into an uncontrollable giggling fit.
"Yes, I am out here, but I'm still not too sure if you're in there," said an exasperated little Skunk. Gus began to lie down again, but Nate Fox quickly ran over and grabbed at him.
"No! Don’t let him fall asleep!" said Nate.
"Why not?" asked Booey.
"Do you want to be the one to carry him to Madger Badger’s place? He’s already heavier than a big old hickory stump," said Nate.
Booey grabbed Gus by one arm while Nate tugged on the other. They were in no way equipped to lift the crocodile formerly known as Gator off of the ground. They tugged and tugged as hard as they could, but only Gus's arms shoulders were budging.
"Come on Gus!" begged Nate.
"But I’m so woozy," said Gus.
"Just help us get to Madger Badger’s house and then you can sleep all you want."
They stumbled this way and that as Gus did his best to get from one place to the other. The cold, wet ground didn’t do much to help either. Nate and Booey slipped in the mud, trying to keep Gus upright.

On Getting Lost

An average autumn day in the grove always seems to start with sun and two bored animals in the middle of a field. By coincidence, this was indeed an average autumn day.
They were walking through the swampy part of Beaver Pond, looking for Gus Nottagator.
"Maybe he’s not here," said Booey.
"He has to be somewhere," said Nate.
"All this swamp goo is icky and I really don’t think he’s here. Let’s go do something else."
"Let’s play swing through the branches in the pine forest,"
"Okay, that sounds fun," said Nate.
As they made their way out of the swamp, their feet gooped and gooshed with each footprint they left in the mud. After some bit of effort, they made their way to the edge of pond, where they cleaned the swamp mud off their feet.
The pine forest was up over the bluff and across the grassy field. Out in the grassy field, Gus was basking himself in the warmth of the late autumn sun. He sat perfectly still, letting the sun beat down on his scaly green skin.
Booey and Nate climbed up the ridge and made their way across the grassy field. Gus had been half-asleep, but as Nate and Booey neared, he heard their chatter and opened his eyes to see what was going on.
"I love the pine forest," said Nate.
"Me, too," said Booey.
"I bet I can climb higher than you today."
"Cannot,"
"Can, too."
As they chattered about climbing trees, they had forgotten to watch where they were going. Just then, Gus leapt up on his hind feet and let out a loud bellow. Booey and Nate stumbled over, falling down in the grass. They were startled that Gus had been right under their feet. Gus chuckled as Booey and Nate got up and shook the dirt off their fur.
As Booey cleaned himself off, growled at Gus. "Oh jeez! What did you do that for?"
"You should have been more careful," said Gus.
"You shouldn’t have scared us like that."
"I’m sorry, but it was worth seeing you two jump backwards a few feet."
"I guess," said Booey.
"What are you up to?"
"We’re going to the pine forest, what about you?"
"I’m just warming myself in the sun."
"Do you want to go play with us?" asked Booey.
"I’m not really a tree climber," answered Gus.
"How about we go on a quest?" suggested Booey.
"A quest?" said Gus, as he gave Skunk a puzzled look.
"Yeah," Skunk smiled, "A quest."
"For what?" asked Gus.
Booey propped his left elbow in his right paw then propped his head in his left paw and gave a thoughtful look around him.
"I got it!" interrupted Booey. We are the knights of Beaver Pond, on a noble quest for the magical stone of birds, as decreed by Albatross Albatross."
"The magical stone of birds?" sighed Gus Nottagator.
"Yeah, the magical stone of birds."
"Sometimes you amaze me, fur-ball."
"No, wait, I think he's on to something," said Nate.
Booey continued to describe the quest, including how the Prince of Birdmen had sent them to the far side of Beaver Pond in search of this great magical stone. Even doubtful Gus seemed allured by Skunk's mystic imagination, and at this point, anything was better than staring into a hot September sky.
So now our favorite trio of animals were looking for something, and that something was a rock.
They circled the pond, passing the Beaver lodge, the dam, and a small thicket of nettles. They swung their sword-sticks back and forth, making a small path that was free of stinging nettles. The path traveled under a patch of Hawthorne trees, over a fallen log, and through the Pine Forest.
Rains from the previous night had not yet burned away, and the rising steam from the swamp made Booey and Nate hot and sweaty. For Gus, the hot, steamy swamp was a perfect temperature. They continued on a bit further, until they reached a large pile of boulders bordering the northwest corner of the pond. They climbed over and around the boulders until they reached a strip of mud along the pond's edge.
Booey picked up a handful of flat stones and began skipping them. Gus looked around for a moment, then spoke.
"Booey, are we ever going to find this rock?"
"It's not a rock, Gus, it's a magical stone."
"Magical schmagical, when are we going to find it?"
"We'll know when we do, that is all I can say."
Gus looked around at the ground beneath his feet. He reached down and picked up the first rock he could find. He held a small dirty black stone in his hand. "Here it is!" he proclaimed halfheartedly, raising the stone high in the air, "Now, let's go home."
Booey frowned. Gus frowned. Even Nate (who usually sided with Gus on these things) frowned. Quickly, Gus dropped the rock at his side and they all continued hiking on, looking for the Magic Stone of the Birdmen!
A giant log sat in the way of their path, keeping them from going any further. Booey stood there and investigated the fallen log.
"What do we do now?" asked Nate.
Gus grabbed Nate and lifted him over the log. He then did the same for Booey.
"We keep going," said Gus. He jumped over the log and stepped directly on a nest of wasps.
"Omigosh! Bees!" shouted Booey.
"Not bees, wasps!" said Gus.
They waved their arms frantically as they hopped and galloped away from the wasp’s nest. After they arrived at a safe place far from the wasps, they picked the stingers out of their skin.
"Booey, this is no longer fun," said Nate.
"But we’re almost there," said Booey.
"Alright, but we’d better find it soon," said Nate.
"I’m getting hungry," said Gus.
"Just a little while longer," Booey begged his friends.
The sun slowly lowered in the sky as they circled the far edge of the pond. Nate looked around at his strange, new surroundings. A smaller pond, just on the other side of Beaver Pond, caught his eye. It was more swamp-like than even the murkiest parts of Beaver Pond. Tiny green flowers floated across the surface of the small pond. Nate had never been on this side of Beaver Pond before. He knew he was far from home.
"The trees look like shaggy old green monsters," said Nate.
"It looks like home to me," said Gus.
"Yeah, but it’s just different," said Booey.
Nate Fox thought he heard his mother calling them for dinner.
"Booey," said Nate.
"Yes?"
"It's getting awfully late."
"Wait just a second," said Skunk as he dug a small trench at the edge of the pond. As fast as he could scoop the water away, it rushed back in to take its rightful place. He heaved on a small corner of brown, grunting and groaning. Booey saw what he was up to, and quickly joined in, digging a stone out of the ground.
They tugged on the rock and quickly realized it was bigger that either one of them had previously thought.
"Can you help us here?" Booey Skunk grunted.
"I could..." teased Gus.
"Now?" growled Skunk.
"Alright, alright." and he reached over, gave a tug, quickly freeing the rock. It popped out and landed atop Skunk.
"Oooph!" gasped Booey. The stone was nearly one-fourth his size. He wriggled his way from under the rock and quickly ran his hands across the smooth brown surface, rinsing the mud away.
"Wow!" exclaimed Booey, "This is it! This is it!"
Gus snatched the rock in his claw and gave it a once over. "It looks just like the rock I found earlier."
It's nothing like that one," said Skunk, "look at these tiny blue speckles, they are beautiful."
Gus twisted it slowly in his hand, and it sparkled in the dimming sunlight.
"The gods command thee!" exclaimed Gus, then with a swift toss, the rock went into the middle of the pond.
Kerplunk! The pond said in a deep swallow. Booey growled at Gus and immediately smacked him in the back of the head.
"What was that for?" asked Gus.
"For you being you, now go get that rock."
"The gods made me do it," insisted Gus
Booey folded his arms and looked at Gus, then pointed to the center of the pond.
Suddenly ashamed of himself, Gus swam out into the center of the pond and retrieved Skunk's rock.
"Better?" Gus asked Skunk.
A tiny smile leaked from Booey's mouth as he quickly nodded his head up and down.
Booey looked at Fox, then at Gus. "Better," he said.
Nate agreed, looking around for a moment. It was very late and it would be dark soon.
"We'd better get home," said Nate.
Unfortunately, no one really knew where home was from where they stood. Not even Nate, who confidently strode off into the wood.
It wasn't long before their shadows lengthened and then the three friends became shadows themselves.
"I can hardly see my hand in front of my face."
"Me, either."
They continued on for a short while longer, before they thought they had crossed their own path again.
"Well, what do we do now?" asked Gus.
"I dunno," said Booey.
"Well, we keep looking," said Nate.
"It seems like we've been looking forever," cried Gus.
"Well, if we sit down (which is exactly what Gus was busy doing) we will never find home," said Skunk to Crocodile.
Well, have you got any bright ideas, stink pot?"
Booey snorted at Gus, then quickly strode off, leaving the other three behind. Booey ran after him, followed closely by Nate.
Gus sat there, and folded his arms for a moment, then listened to the darkness. It was no longer just the sound of the stream. It was the sound of night. And it scared Gus. He quickly got off his tuckus and ran after his friends.
Obviously he hadn't been watching where he was running, since his nose whacked into the side of a Huge White Tree.
When he looked up from where he had fallen, A bird stood over him, shaking his mighty head.
"Squawk!" The old bird called out. "You, you kids, sometimes, I think the world is coming to the end and I look at you kids and I know it's true." He squawked again, this time louder, it sent a chill racing through his spine.
As Gus slowly rose to his feet, he looked around, only to see his friends trudging toward him, their heads hung low. It suddenly became obvious to Gus something was wrong.
"Squawk! Your mother is looking for you, Little Fox. And the rest of you better scoot on home, too" said Albatross.
The good thing was their being not that far from home. The bad thing was running into Albatross before they realized it. They dashed off, collapsing on the ground when they finally arrived in front of The Fox House.
Gus's breath was still heavy from trying to keep up with his quick little friends. He let out a huff, then laughed.
"What's so funny?" asked Booey.
"Squawk! You kids this, you kids that. Squawk!"
"Yeah," laughed Booey, "Squawk! Children! Squawk! Horrible! Squawk! I'm King of the Forest! Squawk! Squawk! Squawk!"
They all started laughing as they imitated the old bird. Laughing until their sides hurt.
Kit peered out her window, then opened the door. Her face was both stern and relieved at the same time. She scolded Nate, but only briefly, then hugged him and reminded him that curfew was still at sunset and he'd get his chore list lengthened tomorrow morning.
The boys sat down and helped themselves to a bowl of corn chowder, and then another, and then went home.

On Self-Identity

Nathaniel Fox, Booey Skunk and Augustus Gator had spent a good part of the day up to this point wearing themselves (and Albatross, too) out in some unusual ways. Kit had sent the children off to Albatross’ house to help him do some gardening. Nate attempted to help by pulling weeds out of the flower garden. He ended up mistakenly pulling some of Albatross’ favorite flowers out of the dirt and leaving the weeds behind. Gus was inside doing dishes, but he could not clean them enough to suit Albatross. Booey was stuck in the wild onion patch with Albatross. Booey was having a terrible sneezing fit. The stink of onions was too much to handle.
Albatross rushed this way and that, picking up after everyone else. Finally, he decided they had helped enough.
"Alright! Nate, I think I hear your mother calling you for dinner."
"I didn’t hear anything," answered Booey.
"No, no, no…I definitely heard her calling," said Albatross.
"Dinnertime? We just ate lunch a short while ago," answered Nate.
"Anytime is time for food," added Gus.
Nate put away the last of his dishes and then decided it might be time to go home. There was nothing worse than missing a meal.
"Okay, I guess we’re finished here," said Nate.
"Thank you very much."
"Is there anything else we could do?" asked Booey.
"You’ve done plenty," answered Albatross.
"Alrighty then," answered Booey.
The trio went to the Nate’s house in search of dinner. As they neared the old Oak tree, Nate sniffed the air.
"Do you smell that?" asked Nate.
"Smell what?"
"I smell turkey," said Nate.
"Really? I don’t smell anything," said Booey.
"I don’t smell it either, but if Nate says there’s turkey cooking, then I believe him. I love turkey," said Gus.
As they entered the old Oak tree, Kit was busy tending the stovetop.
"Before we eat, I'd like you gentlemen to wash your paws in the stream." They washed their hands and then quickly returned. They sat patiently in their chairs, waiting for their plates to be filled with dinnertime goodies.
She pulled three ready-made turkey sandwiches out of the middle cupboard and served them to the group, along with small bowls of soup.
"I knew it!" said Nate. The trio began to eat their dinners. Booey stopped and looked over at Mother Fox. He frowned. "Don't you want any?" he asked her.
"No thank you, but you are such a darling for thinking of me."
Booey blushed for a moment as she smiled at him, then returned to his chicken sandwich.
"So what have the three of you been up to today?" she asked.
"We pulled weeds and helped Albatross," said Booey.
"Well, that sounds like fun," Kit said as she combed a few of Skunk's twisted hairs back into place. "It's amazing to me how the three of you can be so different, yet be so alike."
"How do you mean, Mother Fox?" asked Booey.
"Well, Skunk is little and he loves fruits and nuts, while Nate will eat about anything. Last but not least, Gus likes the mud and loves eating frogs and fish."
"Fish, fish, tons of fish," said Gus, "but chicken isn't anything to pass up."
Booey and Nate nodded in agreement as they ate their meals. The children slurped and gulped their food as Kit watched.
Booey placed his spoon on the table and thought for a second, "Why do you think we’re all so different?"
Kit rubbed her nose with one of her paws. "That's a good question. It's because we have different needs. You are small and furry and that makes you more of a woodsy type, while Gus is hard and scaly, and that makes him more suited for the swamp, like all alligators and crocodiles.
They continued their silence (except for munching and chewing) until Booey seemed to be struck in the head by another thought.
"Crocodiles?" he asked.
"Yes, crocodiles. They are just like Gus, but they are different."
"How are they different?" asked Booey.
Kit did not know. "Gus, do you know how alligators and crocodiles are different?"
Augustus Gator had not been listening to the conversation at all. As the room grew silent he knew Kit had just asked him a question and everyone else was waiting for an answer.
"Umm, could you repeat the question?" he said.
"How are alligators and crocodiles different?"
Gator looked around the room, hoping to find an answer. Gus didn’t know what a crocodile looked like. He wasn't even sure he had met one.
As luck would have it, Albatross had been strolling through the woods, making his usual stop by the Fox home. His beak poked through the window.
"Hello neighbors," he stated, "I see you are enjoying some dinner. I seem to have forgotten to eat."
"I don't have any sandwiches left, but I do have some soup. Would you like some?"
"What kind of soup do you have?"
"Arrowroot," answered Kit.
"What a coincidence! I was just thinking about Arrowroot soup." With that, the old bird came inside, keeping his head lowered, so it would not hit the ceiling.
He pulled up a chair between Gus and Nate.
"So, what's the hot topic of the afternoon?"
"We were trying to figure out the difference between alligators and crocodiles."
Albatross leaned far back in his chair and reached his feathered arms behind his head.
"Gus," he started, "I think, is different from alligators in that..."
"Um, excuse me," interrupted Gus, "but, I am an alligator."
"Yes, yes. As I was saying, Gus is different from crocodiles in that he is green and scaly and they are not..."
As Albatross looked around the room, he noticed everyone shaking their heads.
"What I meant to say was ‘they have beady eyes and…’"
Soon, it became clear Albatross didn’t know anything more than anyone else. In fact, little Nate fox was getting the idea Albatross Albatross had never seen a crocodile before. Nate even wondered if Albatross knew the difference between alligators and albatrosses.
"Just how many crocodiles do you know?" Nate asked the old bird.
"I know plenty of crocodiles," answered Albatross.
"Name one," said Nate.
"Stop it, Nate," scolded his mother.
"I just do," said Albatross.
"Harumph!" said Nate.
Kit stepped on Nate’s foot, gently reminding Nate to respect his elders.
"Nate, why don't you run along now?"
Nate looked at his mom, who was looking at him in a very unsettling way.
Gator quickly grabbed him by the arm and tugged him out the door. "Don’t worry about him. He’s always talking when he should be silent," said Gator.
"But it is quite a controversy," said Skunk as he rubbed his chin and struck a thoughtful pose.
"Controversy Schmontroversy," said Gus.
"Do you know what the difference is?" Booey asked him.
Gator did not know the differences, but he really did want to find out.
"I know, let's go ask Madger Badger," said Booey.
So they hiked through the woods in search of Madger Badger. And it wasn't very long at all before they ran into him. He was digging around at the top of the ridge leading down towards Beaver Pond.
"What are you looking for, Mister Badger?" asked Booey.
"A little bit of this, a little bit of that," he answered, not stopping to pull his head out from the ground to see who was talking to him.
"Can we ask you a question?" asked Booey.
"You already have, but go ahead and ask another," he said.
"Could you tell us the difference between alligators and crocodiles?"
"Yes, I can," said Madger Badger. He continued to dig while the children waited patiently for his answer.
Gus finally interrupted busy Madger Badger, "Well?"
"Well what?"
"Well, what is the difference between alligators and crocodiles?"
"You are still worried about that?"
Gator nodded his head.
"Oh, yes, that's right isn't it?" He looked at the children who stared blankly, and then he nodded to himself, "yes, that is right."
"It’s very easy, actually. Alligator starts with A. Crocodile starts with C."
The children stood there, waiting for more, but Madger told them all he was going to tell them at this point. He had holes to dig and grub worms to eat. "Run along now. It's always this way with things, a little information is never enough."
"But wouldn’t you want to know where you came from and what made you what you are?" asked Gus.
Madger Badger stood upright and looked at Gus Gator.
"Well, that is quite a question indeed," he said.
Madger stood next to Gus, looking him up and down. He poked Gus here and he poked Gus there, investigating the small green reptile.
"Close your mouth for me," asked Madger. Gus snapped his jaw shut.
"Uh-hum. Yes. I see," said Madger as he continued looking Gus over. He tapped on Gus’ teeth. "When an alligator closes his mouth, you can’t see his teeth, like we can see yours. Also, alligators have short, round snouts."
"But Gus’ nose is long and narrow," said Booey.
"Yes it is," said Nate.
"Also, alligators have longer legs than you do. Also, they have wider bodies."
"So I am bigger than the average alligator?" he asked.
"Most crocodiles are," answered Madger.
"So you're trying to say I am a crocodile?" asked Augustus Alligator.
"I'm not trying to say that you’re a crocodile. I am saying it. You’re a crocodile."
"I’m a what?"
"A crocodile."
"How do you know?"
"How do you know you're not?"
Now Gus was a bit perplexed. He didn't know if he was a crockogator or an allodile. Worse yet, he might even be an allicrockogatodile. He felt a bit queasy at the thought of it.
"But Albatross said..." argued Gus.
"Albatross has said many things. I wouldn’t count on many of them being correct. Albatross’ beak moves faster than his brain."
All three children had to agree with him on that; Albatross didn't seem to know much about alligators or crocodiles.
So it had been settled and Augustus Gator was no Gator at all.
"Should we call you Augustus Crocodile now?" asked Booey.
"Maybe you should change your name. How about Cornelius Crocodile?" suggested Nate.
"How about we just let it go for a moment, shall we?" Cornelius Crocodile...er um...Augustus Crocodile said to Booey.
Finally, they were done asking questions of Madger Badger, and Madger Badger went on his way while the children went on their own.
"Hey Corny?" Booey asked Gus.
"If you don't quit now Stinkpot, I am going to hop up and down on you until you can't breathe."
"If you try to hop up and down on me Corny, I'll squirt you with perfume until you can't breathe."
Gus Gator reaffirmed who was going to tell who what to do by giving a firm punch in the arm to the much smaller Booey Skunk.
"Ouch!" yelped Booey.
"That was a baby tap," said Gus.
"That's some baby tap," said Nate.
"If you don't watch it, you'll get a baby tap of your own," growled Gus.
"Jeez, can't even take a joke."
"No, I can't," said Gus Gator, er, Crocodile, er Gus Nottagator, who was probably never going to be called anything but Gus Gator by Booey and Nate from now on, if they knew what was good for them.
With that said, the three friends parted ways as night fell over the forest and their tired bodies demanded some quiet time. At least until tomorrow, that is.

On a Fool's Moon

A harvest moon, bright and amber, hung low and gentle in the early autumn sky. Opaul and Opaula opossum trotted side-by-side, looking for a late night snack.
They hiked to the far side of Beaver pond to find some frogs. The far side of Beaver Pond was the place where frogs were said to be the stupidest. They hiked through the mud and muck and started to dig around, hoping to stir up some trouble.
Opaul hissed as something jumped out at him. It was a mud puppy. Mud puppies looked like fat brown snakes with four legs. Mud puppies were also known for having an evil temper and mean bites to go along with that temper. Opaul grabbed the mud puppy in his teeth and shook it fiercely.
The mud puppy wriggled in his mouth, trying to get free. Opaul tossed it over his back, where it landed on the shore. The mud puppy got up and ran straight back at Opaul.
He turned to face the little snake, but three more joined from the right side.
Opaul fell to the ground and played dead. The mud puppies began biting him all over. Mud puppies didn’t understand that when Opaul played dead, they were supposed to leave him alone.
"Help me! Help me!" he cried out. Opaula was waiting for the right moment to hop in and help her brother. Opaul quickly galloped away from the brood of mud puppies, trying to escape.
Opaula was already twenty strides ahead of him.
Opaul caught up to his sister, who had circled around to a spot far from the mud puppies.
"Why didja go and do that for?" Opaul asked his sister.
"I didn't wancha gettin’ too hurt," she said.
"You didn't want me to get hurt so ya ran away from me and all those snake thingies? Some help you are."
"Yes, if I had stayed put, they mighta hurt ya even more."
Opaul shook his head in disbelief. "Well, I'm going to get back at him for what he did. Wouldja look at what he did done there?" he showed his sister a badly nibbled right arm.
"Wow," she said.
"Wow is right. We are going to give that thing some payback."
"Whatcha think you're gointa do?" she asked him.
"We're gonna hit him on the head with a thinking stick."
"A thinking stick?"
"Yes. If we hit him with it a few times on his head, he will be thinking about never bothering us again."
"Ah! I see!" nodded Opaula. So, they rummaged around the forest floor, looking high and low for thinking sticks. First, they picked a pair of old ironwood branches and tested them against the trunk of a tree. Both splintered and flew off into separate directions.
"That won't do," said Opaul.
Opaula picked up another stick, this one came from an old hickory tree. She twisted it gently in her hands, then reached back and let it fly into the trunk of the old tree. It made a loud WHACK and Opaul's eyes lit up in amazement.
"Eureka!" he shouted triumphantly.
They marched down to the streambed where the mud puppies were waiting and stopped in the clearing at the top of a small hill. They ducked into a patch of jewelweed and crept towards the streambed. The mud puppies were still there, sound asleep. It looked like this was the opossums’ golden opportunity.
"Okay, so who is going to hit them with the thinking stick?" asked Opaula.
"You are."
"Why me?" she asked.
"It’s your turn."
"My turn? How is it my turn?"
"Look at me, I’m all chewed up."
"That’s your fault. How about we play a game of stone, leaf, and sticks to see who will go hit them with the thinking stick?"
"Okay."
They counted in unison: "One, Two, Three!" Opaula stuck out a pair of fingers while her brother held out a flat hand.
"Woo Hoo! Sticks cut leaf!" I win! I win!" exclaimed Opaula as she did a little victory dance around her brother.
Opaul tiptoed over to the sleeping mud puppies and reached back with the stick. He brought it down with one quick swing. It smacked against the mud, missing all six sleeping mud puppies. Opaul began to draw it back, but the stick was stuck. With all this commotion, the mud puppies began to waken. They saw the intruder next to their den and it was time to protect their home.
First one pup, then another bit into Opaul's soft and tender flesh. He barked in pain, hoping his sister would help him this time. She maneuvered around, looking for just the right moment to jump in.
"Now, Opaula, now!" he screamed, as his arms flailed about helplessly.
"Okay, take this!" she told the mud puppies as she closed her eyes and brought the thinking stick down fiercely. She struck one of them in the head as she heard an 'owww!' She opened her eyes to see the damage she had done.
Opaul was now lying in the mud, just knocked out by his very own sister.
"Omigosh," she exclaimed, then rushed in to help him. Mud puppies stopped biting him and started going for her. She was too busy tending to her brother to mind that, though. She grabbed him by an arm and threw him over her shoulder and lifted him out of harm's way.
Opaula struggled to carry her brother up the hill and away from the mud puppies. As she reached the top of the hill, she threw him down on the bank, exhausted. She collapsed beside him and looked up into the bleak gray sky.
Opaul sat up, a little dazed and confused. He rubbed his head where it hurt.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I saved ya from dem mud puppies down dere," she said.
"Really?"
"Yawp. You woulda been a goner had I not rescued you."
"Thank you,"
"Notta problem," she answered.
"But sis, what's this knot on the back of my head?"
"They musta grabbed up a thinking stick and hit ya with it. Lucky you I got him back."
"Well, didja knock him on the noggin, too?" he asked.
"I think so, Opaul, I really think so."
"Didja knock 'em all in the noggin a time or two?"
"No."
Opaul still thought the mud puppies should be taught a think or two, but he decided that he and his sister should stop beating himself senseless trying to teach them lessons. He came up with a new idea to get back at the mud puppies. He figured that Madger Badger should help them, because Madger Badger could probably come up with a plan that involved less getting hit on the head.
So, they trundled off to Madger Badger, hip-hopping down the curvy trail that led to his den. He was busy when they shouted down at him.
"Hello! Is anybody in there?"
A big striped nose poked out at them, followed by its owner, Madger Badger.
"Why yes, there is someone in here," he answered.
Opaul gave Madger Badger a strange look then glanced over at his sister and then back at Madger again.
"What do you need?" Madger interrupted Opaul. Madger was afraid that Opaul might explode from all of this thinking.
"We need a plan," said Opaul. Opaula nodded in agreement.
"It seems we all need a plan. What sort of plan do you need today?"
"We need to get revenge on some mud puppies."
"You do, do you?"
"Yes."
"And just what did they do to stir you up?"
"They bit Opaul," said Opaula.
"Yea, look at this wouldja?" Opaul bent over and showed Madger Badger exactly where the trouble began.
"Well, that is some nastiness you ran into this afternoon. Why don't you just let them be and they will let you be?"
"We can’t leave them alone because they bit me, too," answered Opaula. She showed Madger Badger the nasty chunk bitten out of her leg.
"They bit you, too?
"Yessir, they sure did. Opaul was getting ready to whack the big daddy with a thinking stick when the big daddy bit him."
"He was going to hit them with a what-kind-of-stick?"
"A thinking stick. You know, one hit with this stick and they will be thinking about..."
Madger Badger quickly cut Opaul off, "Yes, a thinking stick. I see now. I see where the name came from. It looks like it worked."
"It didn't work as much as we woulda liked, yanno," said Opaul.
I can see that."
"We thought you could help us learn them a lesson."
Madger gave a thoughtful look at Opaul and Opaula then nodded his head. "Yes, learn them a lesson. Let me think about that for a few moments."
The opossum twins smiled and waited for his reply. Madger hunkered over in the dirt and drew up a map of the mud puppy den. It was not a good drawing, but it was good enough for the opossums.
"What you really needs is the element of surprise."
The whatzit of whoozer?" asked Opaul.
You gotta catch them when they ain't looking."
"Of course! But how do we keep them from looking?"
Madger Badger drew up a grand plan for surprising the mud puppies. The only problem was that the plan relied on Opaul and Opaula Opossum to see it through.
The plan began with several lengths of grapevine, some sticks and stones, and two opossums ready to get revenge on a half-dozen sleeping mud puppies.
Opaula strung a piece of grapevine between three trees. Opaul made several slipknots in other pieces of grapevine. He then attached his loops onto Opaula's grapevine. The trap now began looking like a trap, able to catch every last one of the mud puppies.
"Now whaddya we spost tah do with dem twigs and tings?" asked Opaul.
"We’re gonna make us some camel flodge for dah trap. Den dose mud puppies won't know what done hit dem."
They covered the trap with sticks and stones. They added mud and bark until the trap looked like a large triangular bush.
"Wouldja lookat dat?" said Opaula triumphantly.
"Dat dere is dah best mud puppy trap I have every seen," said Opaul.
"Dat is dah only mud puppy trap you have ever seen."
"Dat is still dah best."
They admired their trap for several more moments until some of the mud puppies began to stir in their den.
"Omigosh! We gotta get outta here," said Opaul. As they searched for an escape route, they found they had surrounded themselves with a tall grapevine and hickory branch trap.
The mother mud puppy came out of the den first. She growled angrily at the twins.
Opaul ran one way and Opaula ran the other. Both were caught in snare loops, unable to escape.
"Omigosh! Whaddya gonna did now?" screamed Opaula.
"I am gonna get dis grapevine off dis here leg. Den I am gonna get away from dem dere mud puppies is what I am gonna did."
As the twins tried to escape from Madger Badger's Magnificent mud puppy Trap, the mother barked at them, rousing her children from sleep. The children rose from their beds to see what was going on.
Meanwhile, two opossums swung back and forth above the den. The mud puppies immediately attacked the twins.
At just about the same time, Madger Badger decided to check on the Opossums and his Magnificent mud puppy Trap. He came down the trail to see that the trappers had become the high-flying trappees. The trappees had become quite angry trappers.
Madger Badger hurried to their aid, plucking mud puppies off the twins. As the mud puppies attacked Madger, they met up with his ferocious bite. With each bite, another mud puppy scampered away. Finally, it was just Madger Badger standing alone in the mud pit. Above him, two partially nibbled Opossums swung back and forth in the breeze.
Get down here," said Madger. He unfastened Opaul and Opaula. Each thudded to the ground as Madger loosened the snares. Opaul huffed as he got up and dusted himself off.
"Dem mud puppies are really gonna get it now!" he screamed.
"Don't you think you've had enough for one day?" asked Madger.
"But we…"
"Just leave them alone and they will leave you alone, too.
Madger shooed the twins away from the mud pit. He hoped that in time their wounds would heal and they would remember what today had taught them. Or at least, he hoped they would learn that trying to get revenge on mud puppies is easier said than done.

On Goat's Foot Soup

As always, dust eventually settled on everything in the grove, no matter how great or small. Albatross had been cured of his cold, Kit had been relieved of her nursing duties and Madger Badger was already beginning preparations for the colder autumn and winter months.
Summer was coming to an end and for Madger Badger, getting ready for a long winter started when October started. Plants would wither away soon and there would be little left to eat. Madger Badger began his preparations by cooking up some Goat's Foot Soup.
It all began with the gathering of the kindle-sticks to make the fire. Madger Badger fathered small sticks to start the fire, medium-sized twigs to keep the fire going, and thick branches to make the fire large enough to cook upon. He gathered the sticks into three separate piles then began to light the fire. He rubbed one stick against the other. He rubbed and rubbed until the two sticks smoldered and smoked. Then, there was a spark followed by fire. "Whew!" exclaimed Madger, as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
He rolled a large soup pot down the hill and placed it atop the fire. Bunches of kindle-sticks were piled around the bottom of the pot, waiting to catch fire.
Madger added water to the pot and stood there for a moment, looking at his accomplishment. He realized that if he didn’t gather up things to put into the soup pot, it would only be a water pot. He scampered about, looking for things to add to the water to change it into soup.
Goat’s foot soup was really an easy recipe. A helping of goat’s foot, a serving of cattail, some pinches of lamb’s quarter, some bergamot, and some dandelion greens for good measure.
Madger wondered if the best part of goat’s foot soup was the making or the eating. As he gathered up weeds and flowers and plants, he found himself getting hungrier and hungrier. "Eating goat’s foot soup is definitely the best part," he said to himself as he stopped to catch his breath. In fact, Madger Badger could find himself eating Goat's Foot Soup until he could roll down the hill, plop into the stream and float away.
Of course, all this activity was bound to attract the attention of Albatross Albatross. He never missed a thing that went on in the grove. Whenever anything happened, Albatross was sure to know about it and if he didn’t know about it, he would soon enough.
Albatross flew high above the grove, looking for field mice and worms to eat when he smelled something cooking far below.
He circled down through the treetops and landed on a high branch, far above the fire and smoke.
Albatross quietly sat there, watching Madger Badger run back and forth through the forest. Madger was carrying things towards the soup pot and tossing them into it. He then scurried back into the woods to gather more things to throw into the pot. Albatross watched as Madger Badger worked at a quick pace. Whatever Madger Badger was making, it smelled very good. So good that Albatross would have to get closer to get a better smell (and maybe even a chance to taste this wondrous thing Madger Badger was cooking up).
Albatross swooped down and landed on a pad of dirt next to Madger Badger and his soup.
"Squawk! What are we creating today, Madger?" he asked.
"Well, I am creating some soup."
"Can I have a taste?" asked Albatross.
"It’s not quite ready, but sure. Give it a try."
Albatross took a spoon from Madger and dipped into the soup pot. He blew on it to cool it off then took a sip.
"It’s simply extra-ordinary, Madger. What’s in it?"
"Right now, it’s just boiling water with some goat’s foot and wild asparagus, but I’m going to add some lamb's quarter and cattails."
Albatross choked on his spoonful of goat's foot soup as Madger read off his grocery list.
"How dreadful!" cried Albatross Albatross.
"I know what you're thinking..." interrupted Madger Badger as he laughed at the silly old bird, "goat's foot, cat tail, lamb's quarter."
Before Madger Badger could stop him, Albatross flew off to Kit Fox’s house to tell her of Madger Badger’s dreadful soup.
"Sqwuak! Sqwuak! Kit, it’s perfectly terrible what Madger Badger is doing."
"What’s going on?" asked Kit.
"He’s making Goat’s Foot soup!"
"Oh, that sounds delicious. I love goat’s foot soup," answered Kit.
"Delicious? How can that be delicious?"
"Albatross, goat’s foot is just the name of a weed. Don’t be so silly."
"A weed?"
Kit chuckled to herself as she nodded her head at the old bird. Albatross scratched his head and stood there for a moment. He suddenly realized that lamb’s quarter and cattails were names for plants, too. He let out a sigh of relief.
"Well, I’ll have to investigate this for myself," said Albatross. He turned about and went back to visit Madger Badger’s soup pot.
When Albatross arrived back at Madger Badger’s soup pot, another visitor had found Madger Badger’s soup It was little Nate Fox.
"Mmmm, it’s so yummy," said Nate. He slurped down a bowl full of the broth and dipped in for another. Albatross quickly made his way to the soup bowl and looked to Madger.
"What is it, Albatross?" barked Madger.
"Well…can I…?"
"You’re not going to throw a fit again, are you?"
"No, no. That was just a misunderstanding. I would like another try, please," asked Albatross.
"Go ahead," said Madger. He handed a bowl to Albatross, who dumped a ladle into the pot and filled up his bowl with goat’s foot soup.
"It smells good," said Albatross.
"Go on, give it a taste," said Madger.
"Mmmm," said Albatross.
"I think it needs something. What do you think?" asked Madger.
"Well, it does need something, but I’m not sure what."
"I was thinking of adding some foxtail."
"Hmmm. That’s a possibility."
"I don’t think so!" exclaimed Nate.
Madger reached down and grabbed a few stalks of yellow foxtail and broke them into tiny pieces. He threw the foxtail into the soup and stirred it up.
"Oh," said Nate as he sighed in relief. They all finished off the rest of their soup bowl before requesting another. Unfortunately, they were eating it faster than Madger Badger could make the soup.
"I'm sorry, I can't give you any more until we get more vegetables."
"Do you want us to help you?" asked Nate.
"That would be splendid if you both helped me."
Albatross didn't really want to help, but he was hungry and Nate Fox had already volunteered him for soup patrol. If he didn’t gather food, they wouldn’t have anything to make soup.
"First thing we need are some wild onions and goat’s foot."
"I know where to find the wild onions. There’s a patch of them behind my house," said Albatross.
"Terrific! I’ll take Nate down to Beaver Pond and show him where we can find the cattails."
So they went on their separate ways, Madger and Nate out into the swampy part of Beaver Pond. Albatross hiked out to the onion patch just behind his hickory tree in the deep part of the woods.
On their way to gather cattails, Madger Badger and Nate Fox found some sawgrass and spearmint and dandelion greens to add to the soup. As their arms filled with weeds and things, it was time to return to the soup pot and fill it with what they had gathered.
In no time at all, Albatross had also gathered a great supply of onion stalks. He plucked the green tops out of the ground and bundled them beneath his wings.
Booey and Gus came up on Albatross’ little onion gathering party.
"What 'cha doin'?" Booey asked Albatross.
"Madger Badger is making some soup and I’m gathering some wild onions."
"Omigosh! It stinks!" exclaimed Booey. The smell of all the onions being picked was terrible for Booey. Gus agreed, the stink was awful.
"What stinks? I think the smell of an onion patch is one of the best smells in the world. Next to azaleas, of course," he added.
Soon enough, they finished gathering wild onions from the onion patch behind the hickory tree and returned to the soup pot. Nate was stirring the pot while Madger was making sure the fire was blazing hot. Kit had also joined them, bringing along some asparagus and arrowroot to add to the soup.
"You’ll have to pile those onions over there. We don’t have any more room to add anything else to this soup," said Madger.
They dumped the wild onions in a pile next to the other vegetables that hadn’t made it into the pot. Nate began fixing bowls of soup and handing them out. Everyone ate to their stomach’s content and they made a second pot of soup and then a third.
They all ate so much soup they could roll down a hill. Instead of rolling down hills, they each went their own ways and slept a good sleep. As the moon crossed the nighttime sky, Booey and Gus dreamt about stinky onions. Madger and Nate dreamt of muddy swamps and collecting cattails. Kit dreamt of digging around in the stream to gather arrowroot bulbs. Albatross dreamt of goat’s foot and lamb’s quarter and how lovely Madger Badger’s soup had been. They all dreamt of tasty bowls of soup that now filled their stomach and kept them warm and happy throughout the long, cold night.

On Home Spun Cure-Alls

Amidst the silence of trees gently swaying in the breeze and mother birds feeding baby birds high over head, there was quite a stir within the old Oak tree. Madger Badger and Booey Skunk and Nate Fox and Gus Gator were running to and fro, tending to both Kit and Albatross.
"The first thing I think I need is a spoon," said Madger Badger.
Madger turned to Nate, but Nate was already fetching a spoon from the silver drawer, then Madger motioned for him.
"I'll take that in myself," said Madger. He went into Nate's room, followed by the children.
Albatross was still asleep, so Madger pulled up a stool and sat beside him. He stared at the old bird intently for a few moments, looking for any signs of trouble. Albatross was sleeping like a baby. Madger set his medical bag at the foot of the bed and opened it up. He pulled out an instrument and flipped a small switch. A light came from the top. He poked it into Albatross' ear and looked around. "I think I see some carrots growing in there," he said.
The children giggled. While Madger continued to prod around, Gus began poking around in the medical bag. There were bandages, instruments, tape, gauze, and all sorts of other doctor stuff.
Madger sat back for a moment, scratched his head, and then adjusted his bifocals on his nose. He went back in for another look. Albatross began to come out of his sleep, because he was having this strange dream where Gus was kissing him on the ear and everyone else in the grove was watching. For Albatross, that was quite a frightening dream indeed.
"Ha...ha...what's going on?" he said.
"That is what I am trying to find out," answered Madger, who was still peering into Albatross' ears.
"Do me a favor," demanded Madger, as he rummaged through his pockets for a tongue depressor, "open up and say 'artichokes,' please."
Albatross shifted about uncomfortably, trying to squirm out of an exam.
"Just open up," repeated Madger.
"Yea, just open up," said Skunk, "it won't hurt ya."
At that moment, Augustus Gator found something of interest in the doctor's bag. It was a small hammer. He looked it up and looked it down, then popped it on Albatross' right knee. "Umm...artich...YOWCH!" shouted Albatross.
The old bird sat upright in bed and let out a scream. As he did, Madger jammed one of his tongue depressors into his mouth.
"Can you hold still for a moment?" Madger asked Albatross.
The old bird wheezed uneasily, then gasped again for another breath. Madger looked at him and let out a sigh of his own. Madger sat there for a moment and rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he looked at the old bird.
"Just as I thought," he said. Then he leaned over and whispered something in Nate Fox's ear. Nate's eyes opened wide and then he whispered in Booey's ear. A frightened look came over Booey’s face as well. He leaned over and whispered into Gator's ear.
Gator sat there for a moment, looking at Albatross thoughtfully and rubbing his chin in the same manner as Madger Badger. Gator then said, "Mmmm-hmmm, that was exactly what I was thinking."
The children filed out quickly, and Madger placed a paw on top of the old bird's chest and asked him to take another breath, then repeat. Kit came in with a few garlic cloves and a cup of warm Gingerroot tea.
"Thank you," said Madger, who then put a clove of garlic in each of Albatross' ears. Before Albatross could say anything, Madger gave him a cup of tea to drink. Madger tipped the cup forward, forcing Albatross to drink it all down in a single gulp.
"What's wrong with me?" asked the flustered old bird.
"I think a better question would be, ‘What isn’t wrong with you?’" answered Madger Badger.
Albatross' jaw dropped wide open.
"What can I do?" he asked.
"Well, for starters, you MUST keep those garlic cloves in your ears for the next three days to reduce the pressure on the ear drum," he told the old bird, then Madger stuffed a pillow under each wing.
"And, you have to keep your wings absolutely still, too."
Madger stepped back and looked at Albatross for a moment. "You must also hold these pillows under your wings to reduce wing-fatigue. There, that ought to do, are you feeling better?"
Before Albatross could answer, the old doctor shoved a bunch of pebbles into Albatross' mouth. "I also suggest holding as many pebbles under your tongue as possible until you feel better."
"Ith there anythiff elth??" Albatross said gloomily.
"I almost forgot, but now that you've mentioned it," added Madger, "you need to get yourself into higher altitudes. No intelligent Albatross would find himself so close to the ground. You might catch some horrible disease like botherus verymuchum, which can cause loss of hearing. Have you been having trouble with your hearing lately?"
"Welk, now thaff you menthon it, I doo..."
"Yes, yes, just as I thought. There’s just one more thing," said Madger Badger.
"Yeth?" asked Albatross. The look on the poor bird’s face was almost enough to make Gus feel sorry for Albatross.
"You need to go home right away. You also need to leave Kit alone," ordered Madger.
"Buth I…"
"Now you don’t want Kit coming down with the flu, too, do you?"
As Albatross shook his head no, the stones in his mouth rattled. It sounded as if something had gotten loose inside his head and was rattling around.
Madger quickly motioned for Kit to gather up the kids to escort Albatross back to his roost in the hickory tree.
"Wonth they cath the, um, the terribulthith calculuth?"
"Luckily for us, creatures under two feet tall aren't able to catch it."
"Well, whath abouth you?" asked the old bird.
"Please, don't worry about me. I can see you're getting delirious. Children, hurry up and get him home, before it gets worse."
With that said, the children rushed off, with Nate and Booey on either side and Gator tagging along behind, his arms loaded with all the necessary wares to fight off the germs and viruses that might attack.
"Don't you worry yourself, Albatross," Madger called after them, "I will be up to visit you tomorrow evening. Until then, get rest and try not to move."
Albatross tried to answer, but he was having trouble holding the pebbles in his mouth. He was beginning to feel awful. He couldn't wait to get over his cold.
"Madger, you are absolutely awful," laughed Kit.
"Kit, when you've dealt with him as long as I have, you realize the only remedies are the ones that are sure-fire methods of making a person realize how miserable it is to be sick. Doctors don't have time to mess with an old bird’s imaginary cold."
Kit chuckled as she watched Albatross head home, with a trio of kids in tow.
"Well, all's well that end's well, I guess. How much do I owe you?" asked Kit
"You don't owe me a thing, Kit. Just get yourself some rest so I don't have to wait on you hand and foot like you had to wait on Albatross, and we will be even."
"Will do," she answered.
Madger Badger quickly followed after Albatross and Nate and Booey and Gus. As the good old doctor disappeared through the woods, Kit retreated to the tide pool behind the old Oak tree and soaked her tired, aching body.
"Stoth it!" cried Albatross as Nate tugged on one wing and Booey tugged on the other.
"But we need to get you home as quickly as possible!" said Booey.
"Ow! You’re hurting my wings. Madger said to keep my wings as still as possible," cried Albatross. Gator pushed while Nate pulled, leading the old bird over the bluff and down through the gingerroot patch to Albatross’ house.
"We’d better grab some of these so we can make some more tea," said Nate. He snatched up a handful of gingerroot and brought it along.
They arrived at Albatross’ house and led him inside. They put him in bed and started working on getting him better. Nate brewed up some tea and Gus fetched a new batch of pebbles to replace the old ones in Albatross’ mouth. Meanwhile, Madger Badger was scurrying along, trying to catch up to his assistants.
"Stay still, Albatross!" said Booey as he pushed the pillows under Albatross’ wings and propped his feet up on a stool.
"Wait a second, maybe I shouldn’t prop up your feet," said Booey. He removed the stool and Albatross’ feet fell to the floor with a thud. Albatross felt that he was getting further and further away from being well.
"Alright! I’ve had enough! Would you please let me alone! I am sick and all this attention is making me sicker!" pleaded Albatross. Just then, Madger came in the front door.
"Yes children, maybe you should hurry home. I think I can take care of Albatross from here."
The children obeyed Madger and went out to the tall-grass field and played tag and pirates for pretend until it was time for dinner. Madger took the tea off the stove and sat the tea kettle next to Albatross. He adjusted the pillows just right and settled the old bird down for a nap. As Albatross nodded off, Madger closed the window shutters and quietly made his way out of Albatross’ house and on his way back home. Tomorrow would be a new day with new patients and new illnesses. And tomorrow would come all too quick for everyone as they recovered from Albatross’ illness.

On Sickness and Wellness

"Ahhhhh-chooo!"
Kit went to her front door to see what all the commotion was about, only to find a miserable old bird, his feathers sopping wet and his eyes red and swollen.
"I neeth to know ith I can thleep on your couth tonithe?" asked the bird, his nose clogged and stuffy.
Kit gave him a puzzled look. She hadn't learned any new languages lately, and his postnasal dialect wasn’t helping her any.
"I'm thick!" he exclaimed.
"I can see that," answered Kit. She quickly ushered him inside, while the children watched.
"OH NO!" sighed Nate.
"What?" whispered Gus.
"This means I have to put up with Albatross complaining about you until he recovers from his cold."
"Complain about me?" asked Gator.
"Yeah you."
"Why would he complain about me?"
"You’re his favorite thing to complain about. Gus did this. Gus did that. He never stops telling stories to my mother about how you are always up to some sort of trouble." Gus knew he was trouble for Albatross and that meant Albatross was trouble for Nate. When Augustus Gator got on Albatross’ last nerve, Kit Fox was always the first to hear about it. That meant Nate Fox was the second to hear about it.
"Oh dear!" exclaimed Kit as she ran to the front closet and pulled out a quilt.
"Albatross, you can lie here, and I'll make you some cuttlefish chowder."
"You know how muth I lovth Cuthellfith Thowder. Oh thank you, Kith," he replied as he settled into the couch.
She tucked a quilt around his neck, and went to the low cabinet to get a hot water bottle.
"Ohh, man," exclaimed Gator from just outside. "This is the worst thing I think that has ever happened. I cannot tell you how sorry I am Nate"
"Don’t worry about it. There’s nothing we can do about it now."
Nate and Gus went inside to investigate the situation. Albatross was snorting and sniffing and getting bird germs all over Nate Fox’s favorite quilt.
"You poor dear," said Kit, "How did this happen?" Nate's eyes grew wide as he waited for Albatross to tell her about balloons and azaleas and trees.
"I guess some flu bug bit me today while I was in my garden."
Gus and Nate exchanged looks of pure relief.
"Well, you can never tell when the flu is going to hit you." Albatross nodded. "It dropped from the clear blue sky."
Nate could not believe it. Albatross was letting them off the hook. He wondered what Albatross had in store for them.
"Nate," Kit called, "Go to my room and pull some sheets out of the closet, you need to make yourself a bed on the floor of your room."
Nate sighed. He didn’t want Albatross to share a bedroom with Nate. Nate went into his room and laid some blankets and pillows on the ground for Albatross to rest on. Then he returned to the living room.
"You will be sleeping on the floor. Albatross can use your bed until he gets better. Nate became upset when he heard Albatross would get the comfy bed while he slept on the cold, hard ground. Now Albatross would be spreading bird germs in Nate’s bed, too. He could hardly believe it. Before he snapped at his mother, Gus caught him by the arm and whispered in his ear, "You’d better be careful. If she finds out who made him sick, you might be sleeping outside instead of in your bedroom."
A frightened look came over Little Fox's face. He quickly went to his mother's room and retrieved some more sheets and pillows to place on the floor. He piled them beside his bed and left them there until bedtime.
"Mom, I think I'm gonna go play a bit," said Nate, as he headed for the door. They played in the creek, then Mother Fox called them in as it began to get dark outside.
As they walked through the front door, a pile of half-eaten onions and wadded tissues greeted them. Albatross was sprawled out on the couch, unable to move. His head felt like a big bag of rocks, and when he talked, hith voith thounded like thith. That may have been the worst part of his cold. As far as Little Fox was concerned, the half-eaten onions were the worst part. And as far as Kit Fox was concerned, her tired, aching feet were the worst part of his cold.
"COUGH! COUGH!" he coughed, and Kit let loose of a heavy sigh. Her hospitality was being extended beyond common courtesy.
"Nate, I have been too busy this afternoon. Can you make a peanut-butter sandwich for you and August," sighed Kit.
"Yes, mother," he said.
Peanut butter sandwiches were Nate’s specialty. He spread orange marmalade on one piece of bread, then spread peanut butter on the other. He sliced bananas and arranged them carefully on both pieces of bread and jammed the two halves together. Nate then took his knife and cut the sandwich diagonally, giving one half to Gus. They quickly gobbled up their sandwiches and then made another and they gobbled it up, too. Gus thought it was the best peanut butter sandwich he had ever eaten.
"Nate, can you and Gus clean up after yourselves? I'm awfully tired," called Kit Fox.
"Yes, Mother," said Little Fox.
They cleaned up the breadcrumbs and then washed the knife and put everything back in its proper place.
"Nate?' she called.
"Yes?"
"Can you fold Albatross' clean clothes and set them on top of your dresser for me?"
"Yes mother," he sighed. With Gus’ help, he folded clothes and stacked them on the dresser. Then they sat in the living room for a bit and played a game of stone, leaf, and stick (which was Nate’s very own version of rock, paper, and scissors). As they did, Albatross coughed loudly and then coughed again, even louder.
"Nate, I need you and Gus to come in and help clean up the bedroom," she called again.
"Yes mother," he said.
Nate went into his room and began picking up the onion rinds, tissues, and emptied glasses, putting each in their rightful place.
Just as Little Fox had reached the sink, Kit Fox called for him again.
"Yes, Mother?"
"Can you wash the dirty glasses for me?"
"Yes, Mother," he groaned.
As Gus and Nate finished up the last bit of dishes, Booey came up to the window and peeked in.
"Can you come outside and play kickball?" whispered Booey.
"Ab-so-lute-leee!" said Gator, who immediately made for the door.
Just as Gus Gator reached the front door, someone knocked from the outside. It was none other than Booey Skunk.
"I've got it!" shouted Gus.
"Hold on one second there, Augustus," said Mother Fox.
"Yes, Ma'am?" he asked.
"Just where do you think you're going?"
"Well, I," he stuttered.
"Yes?"
"I um, I have to work on Albatross’ garden. I promised him I would."
"Okay, run along then," she answered him.
"But Nate promised, too," added Gator.
"Well, let us check on Albatross and see what he wants you to do."
She went into Nate's room to talk to Albatross. He was sound asleep.
"Well, I guess that means we have to go," said Nate Fox
"You're not going anywhere, mister. Everyone else can leave. You have to stay and help me clean up after Albatross Albatross."
"But, Mother," whined Nate.
"No buts about it. You're staying here and that is final."
Gus and Booey began to head out, but Booey stopped as he saw that Nate was being left behind.
"I feel bad just leaving Nate like this."
"Better him than me," said Gus.
"We should stay and help. We can't just leave him in there alone with Albatross."
"I can," said Gator, "just watch me."
Gator proudly trotted away from Skunk, while Skunk stood his ground. It wasn't long until Gator slowed his pace, waiting for Skunk to join, but Skunk wouldn’t join him. Gator stopped and turned around. Skunk had his hands upon his hips and his foot was tapping in anticipation of Gator's return.
Sure enough, Gus returned to Booey’s side.
"I'm only doing this for Nate's sake, not because I think you're right or anything," said Gus.
Booey smiled brightly. "I know."
Now that Albatross had three attendants, he could get his juice faster. He could also have someone rub his temples whenever they hurt. Best of all, someone could replace the cold water in his bath. Even with all this help, Albatross was keeping everyone very busy.
Finally, Kit sent Gus and Booey out to fetch Madger Badger. Hopefully, Madger Badger could find out what was wrong with Albatross.
"Okay, you two run along and see if the good doctor can come and visit with Albatross. We need to get him better, and we need it quick."
"Yes, Ma'am," said Booey.
"You can count on us," said Gus. Booey just looked at silly Gus Gator and shook his head.
"I know I can count on you two," said Kit as she patted Gus on the head, then looked at Booey, then winked. Booey smiled back at her; then he led Gator into the woods, searching for Madger Badger.
Luckily, Madger was at home, even though his waiting room was occupied with some "waiters." Among them were a frog with cramped jumpers and a duck with a broken quacker. Madger had seen these types of things many times before. The remedies were quick and simple. He told the frog to rest and nibble on plenty of milkweed and he fed some Hawthorne berries to the duck and his quack was as good as new.
"Sir, we need your help," said Booey.
"What is it?" he said.
"It's Albatross Albatross. He has a cold."
Madger sighed and shook his head, then asked where Albatross was. Booey told him he was at the Fox house, resting in Nate's bed. Madger knew Albatross would be in good hands with Kit Fox. He also knew how Albatross was usually sick more often than not. Madger knew he had better hurry over to the Fox house and save Kit as soon as possible.
Madger Badger gathered up his stethoscope and his medical bag, and put on his bifocals then set off for Kit’s house with Booey and Gus.
Madger led Booey and Gus across the ravine and up over the bluff. From the bluff, a spiral of smoke could be seen coming from the canopy of trees. Kit was cooking dinner. Soon, they were back in the woods and soon after that, at the doorstep of the Fox house.
As Nate heard Booey knocking on the door, he rushed to let them in. He cranked on the doorknob, then showed Madger Badger inside, along with Booey and Gus. Kit did indeed have her hands full and anyone could plainly see that. Her hair was out of place and her apron was smeared with cuttlefish chowder.
"Oh my!" exclaimed Madger, "let us get you off your feet."
"But I need to get a spoon for Albatross."
"What you need to do is sit down and rest. I think I have just the cure for Albatross."
So Kit Fox laid down on the couch and let Madger Badger and the children handle the rest.