“What kind of trees are these?” I asked.
“These aren’t trees, they are boards. People use them to make buildings.”
“Buildings?”
Mother smiled. “Yes, Bub. Buildings are like caves. Only instead of finding them in the mountains, people animals make them. They put their caves together in all different sizes. The big ones are sometimes made of rock. They call them buildings. The smaller ones are called cabins and are often made of wood. This is a cabin where people live. They haven’t been in this one for a long time, so the smells are almost gone. Put your nose near the door and sniff.”
I stepped up closer. Ears perked, I cautiously put my nose down near the edge of the wood. A few new smells came to me. They weren’t very strong, but something was different.
“The people will come back when the weather changes some more,” Mother said. “Right now we need to find a place for the night. Tomorrow we will see some people up close.”
I followed Mother into the dense thicket. We nestled together in the lush green plants.
Mother brushed me with her big thick tongue. I closed my eyes. Visions of people floated in my head. Mother said that they were all colors and shapes. They must be small to fit inside the cars and trucks. People were slow, Mother said. People could be dangerous.
I blinked my eyes, then tried to go to sleep. Mother’s breathing was steady and close. I felt safe. Slowly my head drooped and fell to rest on my legs.
• • •
All at once my eyes flashed wide open. Trembling, I staggered to my feet. My legs shook so hard I could barely stand. I had to run! I had to get away!
“Bub! Bub Moose! Wake up!” Mother’s voice was soft and tender.
“Mother! Mother, help me. They are horrible.”
“Bub, wake up. You’re having a bad dream. Open your eyes.”
Mother was lying beside where I stood. The night surrounded us, but we were safe in our bed in the thicket. I took a deep breath and relaxed.
“Are you okay now, baby?” Mother licked my cheek with her big tongue. “Are you awake?”
“Oh, Mother, it was terrible. There were these awful things that looked like bugs. I thought they were people.
“They had enormous red and yellow bodies. Their short fat legs dragged them across the ground. Their mouths would open and shut. Sharp teeth gnashed at my face. Huge orange eyes stared at me.
“The monsters kept getting closer. I tried to run. My legs were moving as fast as they could!”
“It’s okay, little Bub Moose. It was just a bad dream. People are ugly animals, I must admit, but they aren’t as ugly or frightening as they were in your dream. I could feel your legs moving, but you wouldn’t wake up. You’re all right now, Bub Moose. Try to relax and go back to sleep.”
“They were REAL. I could see them. They were right here!” My body was still shaking.
“Don’t think about the people anymore. Think about being back at the pond. Think about Dudley and the other beavers there. Nothing is going to hurt you here.”
I tucked myself into a ball. Mother’s big body was safe around me. There really wasn’t any reason to be afraid. Suddenly I heard a lonely howl from the edge of the forest. I looked up at Mother.
“Wolves, Bub Moose. Remember we heard them at the pond. It’s okay. We are safe.” Mother lay quietly. Her ears were perked, but she didn’t move.
I twitched my ears and listened, too. I heard another solitary call before the forest was quiet again.
• • •
The next time I opened my eyes, streams of sunshine filtered through the tall trees. It was finally morning. I could hardly wait to go see the people.
Chapter 5
Opening my eyes, I stayed very still as I looked around for Mother. She was browsing nearby. I perked my ears and listened for danger. No strange or scary sounds came. Feeling safe, I stretched my legs out in front of me, stood up, then shook the night away. I hurried to her side for breakfast.
When I was finished, I was ready to go see the people. Mother wasn’t ready. Seemed like I always had to wait for Mother. Pestering her wouldn’t help, either, but I did it anyway—not a lot, though. The forest was a good place to explore while I passed the time. Venturing slowly around an open area, I kept my eyes on her. The grass wasn’t very thick, but it was soft and sweet. Leaning down, I took a bite. It wasn’t bad. Each day, as I grew bigger, I found there were more things I could eat. Nothing was as good as Mother’s milk, but she told me I needed to try different foods. I grazed until I saw Mother looking for me. Bouncing to her side, I smiled up at her beautiful face.
“Are you ready, Bub Moose? We will go to the people place now.” Mother nudged me and gave me a sweet kiss with her big tongue.
“I’m ready, Mother.” I perked my ears to show her that I remembered to listen for sounds of danger.
I was so excited, though, that my tail switched back and forth all by itself.
“You’re a good little moose, Bub. Follow me.”
Staying close, I brushed Mother’s leg as we walked along a trail. The safe sounds of the forest were all around us as the birds chirped their morning calls. I watched and remembered the path as we strolled toward the people place.
At last we came to a huge lake. Mother led me into it for a drink.
“We are very close, Bub Moose. While I browse, I want you to rest. You will be able to see where the people are, but you must not go to the cliff until I am ready to take you. Do you understand?” Mother’s big eyes looked straight into mine.
“What’s a cliff?” I asked.
“Follow me, little one.” Mother led me to the edge of the mountain. “This is a cliff.”
My eyes were open as wide as I could get them. In front of me there was nothing. I stretched my neck to see where the hill went, but it wasn’t there. Taking another step forward, there was still nothing. I rocked back, making sure most of my weight was over my hind legs. Then very very slowly, one inch at a time, I leaned to look over.
The hill was really steep. There were no trees or grass, just dirt and rock, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I felt myself relax some as I leaned out a little more.
Up in the high mountain I’d climbed rocks that were steeper than this. One time I climbed up real high while Mother was browsing in the pond.
“This is a cliff, Bub Moose. You must stay back away from it.”
“It’s not that bad,” I said. “It’s not as steep as the big rock near Dudley’s pond.”
Mother’s eyes got tight and she flared her big nose at me. “The dirt is loose and dangerous. Stay away from the edge. I want you to lie down and wait. Do you see the buildings?” Mother looked down into the valley.
“I see them . . . I think. The building things are sort of like mountains, only different. But . . . Mother . . . can you go through the building/cabin thing again? Buildings are big, so big people live in them. Cabins are small, so smaller people live in those. Right? I’m not quite sure which is which.”
Mother lowered her head and gave me a little wink. “I’m not too sure, either, Bub. It is very confusing. When I was not much older than you, I spent a long time watching a people town. The easiest way to remember is that the cabins are usually smaller. The buildings are usually bigger.
“People are pretty much the same size. Since the buildings are larger than the cabins, they have more people inside. The way I figured it out was that they live in the cabins. They get up in the morning and rush to the big buildings. They spend the day there, then rush back to the small cabins to spend the night.” She shook her head and sighed. “Strange animals.”
“I can see the buildings.” I frowned. “And I can see some cabins. But how will I know when I see people?”
“Watch for movement near the buildings. The people will come out of them. You’ll see. I will be browsing in the meadow. You will be safe here.” Mother gave me a goodbye kiss with her long tongue and strolled toward the pond.
&n
bsp; I folded my legs and laid down close to the edge of the cliff—but not too close. I watched Mother until she sloshed into the water, then turned my eyes toward the buildings.
At first I thought they were small mountains. But as I looked at them more closely, I knew that my mother was right. These mountains weren’t natural. The sides were all straight up and down and all the same. Mountains were all different. There was a very big building near the bottom of the cliff. The rocks on it were all red, all the same size, and all stacked one on top of the other. Real rocks were all different shapes and sizes. The top of the biggest building was flat instead of pointy. All along the sides, the square-shaped shiny spots glared back at me. They were bright and glistening like the surface of a pond. But they were stuck on the sides of the buildings. Water couldn’t do that. Water had to stay in a pond or stream. I wondered how many people could be inside the building. Were there lots of people inside? How big were the people?
“Ringggg!” A piercing sound came to my ears. For a second I wanted to jump up and run to Mother. Instead I stayed very still, keeping my eyes on the building where the sound had come from. As I watched, small movements tumbled out of an opening. Squealing noises replaced the ringing sound.
The movement was made by some kind of small animals. They raced across the grass behind the building, like ripples racing across a pond. The little animals scampered everywhere. It was a long way down and hard to see, but even this far off, I could tell that people were really weird. Each one was different. Their front legs didn’t touch the ground. Their hind legs were as long as mine. That’s how they moved, reared up and running on their back legs. Their fur was all different colors—some red like the high mountain sumac, some green like the meadow grass. Others had fur as blue as the beaver pond. A few even had brown fur almost the color of mine. All of them had naked faces. They didn’t have a muzzle, and their noses were so tiny I could barely see them. Without hair, I bet their naked faces got really cold when the sun went behind the mountain. I wanted to get closer to see how they could move around with their front legs in the air.
Mother was coming out of the water. I leaped up and ran to her.
“I saw the people! Can we go closer?” I was bouncing against her.
“Not now, Bub Moose. We will get closer, but we need to stay in the safety of the forest. You can watch a little longer.”
“Can I go down the cliff, just a little way? I’ll be careful.”
“No! Stay away from the cliff!” Mother moved off to nibble some of the green shoots of meadow grass.
I bounded to my spot and lay back down near the edge of the cliff. The people below were jumping and running in the space near the building. Two of the people were bigger than the rest. They must have been the mothers. When they made their mouth noises, the smaller people would run to them. One people clunked another people on the head with his hoof. When the big people made a mouth noise at him, he walked real slow to stand in front of her. She put her front hooves on her sides and leaned down to look at him. When she finished, his head hung low and he turned and went inside the building. These animals were really interesting. Weird—but interesting.
“Ringgg!” The little people suddenly ran toward the building. They stood one behind the other near the two bigger ones. Then slowly they started to disappear inside. I strained my eyes. It was like watching a garter snake disappear into a hollow log. There were other movements in the valley—a few tiny cars, a truck, and a few people animals—but nothing as interesting as the little people.
I twitched my ears and closed my eyes. I was a bit sad that they were gone, but maybe they would be back. A short nap would help the time pass quickly. I was almost asleep, when I heard a new sound.
“Sniff, sniff.” The sound was getting closer. Keeping my body very still, like Mother taught me, I slowly opened my eyes.
Right in my face was the fuzziest thing I had ever seen. The ball of white fur scooted back when I jerked my head up.
“What are you?” I asked.
The thing ran a few steps toward the trees. It stopped suddenly and turned its fleecy face to me. Two blue eyes stared.
“What are your? The thing made bold steps toward me.
When I scrambled to my feet, the white fuzzy thing backed up again.
I stood up as tall as I could. “I am Bub Moose! Now what are you?”
The little thing didn’t look very big in my shadow, but he puffed up his chest and stepped bravely toward me. “Grrr, I am Wolf!”
I remembered Mother telling me that as long as I was little, wolves were dangerous. But I was lots bigger now. This guy didn’t look so tough.
“You’re a wolf? You don’t look very scary to me.” I stretched taller and stepped toward him. This time he didn’t back up.
“Grrr, I am Wolf and you had better look out for me!” He turned his body to the side and glared.
“I’m not afraid of you. I am lots bigger, and I can kick you off this cliff with one big bump. What’s your real name? Dudley helped pick out my name. You must have a real name, too. What is it?” I dropped my head and looked him in the eye.
Wolf’s ears flattened against the sides of his furry face. He scratched his neck with his back leg. “I guess that you can call me Snow. My mother says that I look like snow—whatever that is. She says that soon everything will look just like me . . . Snow.”
The wolf had white shaggy fur and a long bushy tail. He wasn’t beautiful like Mother. His nose was short and pointy with a black spot on the end.
“I’ve never seen a wolf,” I said. “Mother said wolves were big and scary. You’re not big at all. In fact, you’re a lot smaller than I am. Why do you make all those noises at night?”
“That’s not just me. That’s my pack—my mother, father, their brothers and sisters, and the little ones.” Snow took a short bounce toward me. “Hey, want to play tag?”
“What’s tag?” I watched him cautiously.
Suddenly Snow leaped at me and bounced against my leg. “That’s tag! Now you have to touch me back.”
“I’ve never done this before,” I said.
“Hey, it’s fun. My brothers and sisters play it with me all the time. Just touch me.” Snow scooted away, then jumped back at me.
Carefully I moved toward him. He darted away, then stopped.
“Bet you can’t touch me,” he said with a flip of his tail. “Touch me, Bub Moose! Tag me if you can.”
“Okay, here I come!” Leaping forward, I suddenly stumbled and fell right on my nose. It hurt, but not very bad. It just made me feel really dumb. I scrambled to my feet.
“You missed me, Bub. Try it again. You can do it!” His long white tail jerked one way and then the other.
I leaped up, lowered my head, and charged toward him.
“Missed again, Moose. Mother says to concentrate. Look at what you are going to nip at and then aim. You can’t miss.”
I looked at that fluffy tail. I thought about how flippy it was. I darted toward it.
“Yippppp!” Snow fell to the ground and licked his tail. “Ouch, that was pretty good.”
“Thanks. Did I hurt you?” I watched as he jumped back up and started toward me again.
As I lowered my head, I shifted my weight so I could make a quick escape if I needed to. Snow was looking at my hind leg. I tried to flip my back end away from his stare.
“Grrrr, here I come.” Snow dodged one way, then the other as he shot toward my back leg.
Fear suddenly came over me. I glanced toward the pond. I didn’t see Mother. I had to take care of myself. My back leg gave a quick jerk at the wolf. My hoof hit him in the side.
“Yip, yip, yap,” the wolf howled. When Snow quit tumbling, he started licking his side. “Not so hard, Bub Moose. We’re only playing.”
“I’ve never played with anyone but Mother before. I got a little scared. I’m sorry. Are you okay?” I looked at Snow, but I tried to stay alert because I wasn’t sure what he was going to do.
Leaping up, Snow jumped toward me again. “You can’t hurt a wolf. We’re tough.”
“That howl didn’t sound like you were tough. It sounded like you were hurt. Should I call my mother over here?”
“No, let’s just play. Tag, you’re it!” Snow bumped me on the side.
“That’s not fair.” I pouted.
“Anything is fair in tag. Come get me.” Snow’s blue eyes stared straight at me.
I charged at him and missed. Stretching my legs, I pretended to flip my ears at a fly. Instantly I darted toward him. “Got you, Snow!”
“That’s good, Bub! You get better every time.” Snow crouched on the ground with his head low and his ears perked. Blue eyes narrowed as he stared at me.
That’s when I saw them. Looming behind Snow were five huge creatures with their teeth bared. A low-pitched growl came from one of the enormous beasts. I backed up a step, just as Snow leaped at me.
Suddenly we were both falling and sliding at the same time. Tumbling, Snow and I scraped and bumped as we fell over the edge of the cliff.
Chapter 6
Get off me, you big lug!”
Snow’s voice seemed far away. I shook my head and blinked, trying to remember what happened. My legs felt like they had knots in them. Everything was spinning. One minute I was tumbling—rolling over and over—then I stopped. Only trouble, my head didn’t stop. It kept going round and round, and my eyes jerked and jumped and bounced.
“Scoot over, I can’t move!” Something shoved against my back.
“Huh?” I tried to look around.
“I said, scoot over. I can’t move.” Snow’s little paws pushed again.
I tried to kick my legs free, but they were kind of stuck, some place down under me. Snow pulled and wiggled and twisted and shoved. I kept trying to get my legs to work so I could stand. I really needed to get up, look around, and try to figure out what happened.
“You’re smushing my leg,” Snow growled.
“I can’t help it. It’s wrapped around my leg and . . . and this leg, here, is under that leg and . . . and . . . Where’s my other leg? Where’s your tail. We’re stuck!”
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