By T.
Albert
Illustrated by: maaillustrations.com
Published by Monkey Pen Ltd
The sun shone brightly over the meadow as Class 1
o f Sunny Meadows Woodland School
set o f f f o r their first t rip t o the Shadow Woods.
Everyone was excited t o be going on the adventure
t h a t they had been talking about f o r weeks. Their
teacher, Miss Squirrel, had promised a t rip t o
remember and the whole class now skipped excitedly
through the meadow. Well, nearly all o f the class;
alone at the back o f the group waddled Hank. Hank
was a hedgehog who found i t difficult t o make
friends. He always f e l t like the outsider. The others in
the class, especially Matilda Mouse, kept away from
Hank because they thought him odd.
Yes, Hank was not really looking forward t o the day.
The journey t o the Shadow Woods was longer than
expected because M r . Mole’s tunnel train was
broken. Indeed M r . Mole was there waving them
o f f before he got back t o work. This just made
Miss Squirrel happier though, as she could talk t o
the children about all the wonderful flowers t hat
filled Sunny Meadow. There was color everywhere.
I t looked as i f a rainbow had crashed into the field.
However, at the edge o f the meadow, not everyone
was looking at the flowers…
Soon though, the Shadow Woods were upon them
and something t h a t looked small from far away
suddenly grew very large before them. Each member
o f the class gave a slow gulp-Matilda Mouse,
Rachel Rabbit, Wendy Weasel and Ralph Racoon.
The biggest gulp came from Hank. He was nervous
enough before they got t o the woods and didn’t
have a friend t o hold on to. Matilda pretended t o
be brave, however, and ran on ahead compelling her
friends t o join her.
Miss Squirrel was not happy about t h a t and so she
shouted f o r Matilda t o come back. Then o f f she
chased af t er her. Soon the whole class followed and
before they knew it, they were right in the middle
o f the woods. Now instead o f bright sunshine, only
shadows scattered before them.
The class stopped, their little mouths open in awe
and wonder. Miss Squirrel was still chasing Matilda
though and did not notice t h a t she had l e f t the little
ones behind. Rachel Rabbit, Wendy Weasel and Ralph
Racoon all held paws as they looked around them.
Three very small friends.And Hank.The only noise
now in the woods was silence.
Suddenly, everyone got a f right as behind them
Matilda mouse jumped from behind a berry-bush and
shouted “BOO!” as loudly as she could. A f t e r they all
had stopped shaking, her friends laughed.All except
Hank. “Silly Hank,” said Matilda.
“You are just no fun!”
However, before Hank could reply, another noise
made everyone t u r n around. This time though there
was no Boo! o f surprise and no laughter afterwards
because there before the class was a very large
and very hungry snake. His magical eyes twinkling
with delight as his tongue spiked forward. “Mmmm!!
Lunchtime.” said the snake.
I t was at this point t h a t the class realised t h a t Miss
Squirrel had not returned from chasing Matilda. The
class was alone. Squeaks o f f r ight squeezed o u t o f
the little animals’ mouths. Matilda and her friends all
hugged each other fearing t h a t this was the end.
Suddenly though, Hank was scared no more. He
found a way t o save the class. He knew just what
he had t o do. “Quick everyone- down this hole.” he
shouted as he pointed t o a hole under a hanging
chestnut Tree. The animals stared at him and then
jumped down the hole. Hank followed only t o be
stopped by Matilda who looked very angry.
“Hank, we are trapped now- you foolish hog.” But
before she could add t o her insult, Hank jumped
up and flipped himself into a ball. Next, he rolled
towards the mouth o f the hole and blocked i t with
his pointy sharp spikes. There would be no lunch f o r
the snake today!
Later, back at school, Miss Squirrel was telling the
head teacher, M r Owl, about what had happened
and how the snake had fled Hank’s pointy spikes.
A f t e r the snake had slithered away, the class had
quickly returned t o school and each one had thanked
their new friend Hank.
Matilda gave him a big hug and apologised f o r what
she had called him before. Hank was not odd, he was
a hero and her new best friend. Hank, who was still
unused t o lots o f attention, turned pink and popped
into a ball as all his new friends
cheered him.
