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.