Animals

What a lot of disturbance and noise he was making There is a special place in the old Kingdom of Nepal where the plains meet forests that goes on up to the Himalayan Mountains until the tree line stops and it is very cold, where the daphne bird, the rhino, and the tiger are close to grazing cows. Gopa was a beautiful cow with kind bright eyes who lived in this amazing place. She spent her time grazing in the grass and occasionally wandering into the forest to explore new types of grass to eat or new views of the forest to gaze at. Gopa loved spending time wandering through the forest, gazing up at the trees and searching for new flavors to nibble on. Sometimes Gopa would just stare out into the distance at the peaks of the Himalayas, just admiring their height. One day Gopa was wandering around in the forest when she heard the sound of stamping feet. To see where the sound was coming from, Gopa went out to look. Quickly, she walked into a clearing and saw a rhino with its horn stuck in a tree, stamping his legs behind him, trying to free himself. What a lot of disturbance and noise he was making. Nearby birds screeched and monkeys made howling noises, making fun of him. The rhino yanked and pulled in a great panic as hard as he could, trying to get his horn out of the trunk of the big tree. “Dear Rhino, please calm down,” Gopa said. “If we both pull at the same time the horn will come out.” The rhino thought it was worth a try so Gopa and Rhino both pulled as hard as they could. Gopa pulled Rhino by his tail in her mouth as hard as she could. With little effort the horn slipped out of the tree trunk. “Dhanyavad,” said the relieved rhino. “Without you I would be stuck there all day, and would feel hungry too.” “You’re welcome,” Gopa replied. “I was happy to help.” Exhausted, Gopa returned home to her barn. Feeling good that she helped the rhino, she fell quickly to sleep. The next day Gopa went out and grazed in the field. When she was full she wandered into the forest. After a while of just walking around she heard a daphne cry. Gopa went and looked and saw a daphne on the ground with a branch on top of his wing. The daphne told Gopa that he was looking for food when the big branch fell from a tree and landed on his wing, pinning him to the ground. Gopa comforted and assured the daphne that he could roll the branch off and the daphne’s beautiful wings would be fine. But he was still worried. Gopa was determined to help Daphne. Gently, Gopa nudged the branch off of the daphne’s wing. “Dhanyavad,” Daphne cried, while thinking to himself that Gopa is not bad for a cow. “Thank you again,” he said as he tried to spread his wings to fly home. But when the daphne tried to get up and fly he got into the air and then spiraled back down like an airplane with a broken engine. He was caught by Gopa. “Gopa,” Daphne chirped, “what will I do? I need to rest before I can fly. Would you please take me to my nest?” “OK,” replied Gopa. So Gopa walked till they found the nest of the daphne, where she gently placed him back into his home. “Gopa, would you kindly wait nearby for a little bit?” chirped Daphne. Gopa waited near the nest as Daphne asked. Daphne went inside and when he came out, he had a leaf wrapped around his wing like a bandage. Daphne flew around to show off his new wing. After that, Gopa went home to the barn and went to sleep. That night Gopa dreamed a very strange dream. She dreamed that an invisible force with a tiger’s tail was pulling her out of her barn into the forest clearing. Then the Holy Cow came into the clearing and said that Gopa was going to be eaten. Gopa woke up with a stir and then the dream went blank. When Gopa woke again it was early morning and she was being dragged into the forest. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!” Gopa screamed. ‘‘Who are you and how did I get here?” “I am the Tiger King of the Forest,” roared the tiger. “While you were asleep I dragged you out of your barn and into the forest. Now I will eat you!!!!!!!” “Help!!!!!” Gopa screamed. “Gopa, would you kindly wait nearby for a little bit?” chirped Daphne Just then, Rhino happened to walk by and heard Gopa scream. He remembered how Gopa had saved him. He was determined to help Gopa in return, even though he was very scared of the tiger. Just at that moment Daphne was passing overhead and saw what was happening to Gopa. He remembered how Gopa had saved him. He thought to himself, What can I do to help Gopa? I am just a bird! He was also afraid of the tiger. But he joined the rhino. Together they were determined to help Gopa. Rhino charged at the tiger while Daphne swooped around and pecked at the tiger. Tiger dodged Rhino’s horn and swatted Daphne. Rhino skidded to a stop, turned around, and charged again, grazing the tiger’s shoulder and creating a cut. At the sight of his own blood, Tiger darted away into the depths of the forest, followed by his long tail. Rhino and Daphne led Gopa out of the forest and back to her barn. “Dhanyavad,” Gopa said, “for saving me from the Tiger King.” “No problem,” Daphne and Rhino replied. “You helped us, and we helped you.” Arjun Pillai Hausner, 12New Delhi, India Libby Marrs, 12Albuquerque, New Mexico

She put the blanket into the basket and set them next to Fern Mom gently shook me. “Honey, your father is home.” “What? Oh! Yay!” I cried, already out of bed. “Dad, how did your hunting trip go? Was Fern good?” “Fabulous!” my tall father said. “She treed this one!” He held up a large silver coon. “You trained her well.” “Thanks, Dad.” I looked up at him. “But where is Fern now?” “She ran off. Probably chasing after a deer. You know that nose of hers. She’ll come back, she always does,” Mom said, laying a cool hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure?” I asked her. “Ninety-nine-point-nine,” Mom said. “Now go back to bed. It’s six o’clock in the morning.” “Aw, Mom.” I hurried away. “Wake me up if she comes back.” I woke up at eight and clattered downstairs. In the living room, Mom and Dad were already sipping coffee. I glanced at their quiet faces. “Mom?” I asked. “Dad? Did Fern come back yet?” Dad nodded. “Well, is she OK?’’ “Shyla, Fern was attacked by something, we don’t know what,” Mom said softly. “Well, is she going to be all right? When did she come home? Why didn’t you wake me up?” I didn’t know what to think. “She came home about an hour ago. We didn’t think we should wake you.” I noticed they didn’t answer my first question. “Well, is she…” “She’s alive, but, well, it could go either way,” Mom said. I looked at her, horrified. My dear sweet Fern, named after the girl in Charlotte’s Web, just two years old. She couldn’t die. I wouldn’t let her. Slowly, as if I were dreaming, I walked outdoors and over to Fern’s doghouse. Sure enough, a small figure lay prostrate on the floor of her tiny house. “Hey Ferny, girl,” I said. My little redbone’s tail thumped so softly I could hardly hear it. I kept my voice as calm as I could. “You’re going to get better, you hear? You’re a tough li’l girl and, if I know you, you’ll pull through. Get some rest now, OK?” Feeling better, I walked away. Inside, I poured myself a bowl of cereal and sat down at our homemade table to eat it. “Shyla,” came a sleepy voice from behind me. My brother, Michael, was awake. “Yeah,” I muttered. “I heard you guys talking,” Michael said sheepishly. “Then you’re a nasty little snoop,” I said. I felt bad about Fern and didn’t want to talk to a barely seven-year-old about it. “I’m not kidding. You weren’t supposed to listen.” “That’s too bad,” Michael said stubbornly. “How’s Ferny?” “Better than ever.” I dumped my bowl in the sink. “That’s not true. You know that’s not true.” Michael stood sleepy-eyed in the middle of the room, but I wasn’t about to fight with him. “Goodbye, Michael.” I walked away. Mom was fixing a bowl of venison that we had canned last winter. She handed it to me with a spoon. “Feed this to Fern.” “Will this make her better?” I asked doubtfully, stirring the tender chunks of meat. “Hopefully, yes,” Mom said. She ladled some warm broth over the meat. “She needs the energy, and the protein.” “OK,” I said, almost smiling. “Are we going to take her to the vet?” “No, honey, vets cost too much. Your dad’s been out of work, there’s no extra.” “I’d pay,” I whined as I walked away, knowing full well I didn’t have enough. Outside, I walked to Fern’s house and knelt beside her. Thump-thump. A knot rose in my throat. I swallowed and gently fed the warm meat to Ferny. “See, little girl, that’s not so bad. Looks so good I could eat it myself.” I stroked her head. After two spoonfuls, Fern refused to eat. I ran back to the house. “Mom, she ate a couple of spoonfuls. Is that good?” “Well, I’d have liked her to eat a little more,” Mom sighed, “but I suppose whatever she eats is good.” “Well, I think she’ll get better.” I crossed my arms stubbornly. “I certainly hope so.” Mom smiled affectionately at me. Looking down, I realized I was still wearing my pajamas. I ran to my room and changed into a green T-shirt with a white butterfly on it, and a pink skort. Then I ran outside barefooted. Fern hadn’t moved an inch and, except for her thumping tail, she looked dead. Suddenly, tears filled my eyes. This was too hard. I loved her so much and she was dying and I couldn’t do anything! I ran away into the woods. I could hear the thumping of her tail as I ran off. “Sssshhhhyyyyllllaaaa!” Michael called. “Hhhellppp! Commme quicckk.” Fearing the worst, I ran back to Fern’s house again. There I found my sweet dog collapsed on the grass with Michael standing helpless beside her. “Sh-sh-shshyla,” he sobbed. “She got up, and she’s bleeding everywhere.” “Calm, Michael.” Mom appeared next to us. “Shyla, honey, go get my laundry basket and that old yellow baby blanket of yours.” I ran back to the house and grabbed the materials. I handed them to Mom and she put the blanket into the basket and set them next to Fern. “We probably shouldn’t lift her. I think she’ll get in it.” Mom laid a hand on Michael and my shoulders. And she did. Dad came over and carried her into the house as gently as he could and then he set her down in my room and left. I read Charlotte’s Web to her and she looked up every time I said Fern. And I sang to her, songs that had words that weren’t words, tunes that weren’t tunes that rose and fell but stayed soft. Then I lay down on my bed and closed my eyes and fell into a dark world where no light or dreams ever enter. When I woke up, Fern had peed on my floor. I cleaned it