Bub Moose

by Carol Wallace

  “Beep . . . beep . . . beep . . . beep,” he said as he started after Snow and me once more.

  The white hair raised up on a ridge down Snow’s back. “We’re not garbage,” he snarled. “Quit chasing us!”

  “This guy’s serious,” I warned my friend. “He’s really hungry. We’d better get out of here.”

  Ahead, the walls of the buildings were tall and steep. There was no space to hide or turn around. No way to slip past and go back the way we had come. Farther down the long, dim, narrow path, I could see light. There was even a green tree.

  “This way, Snow. Hurry!”

  My friend followed for a ways, then managed to pass me. All of a sudden he stopped. I stopped, too. Only my hard hooves skidded on the black path. I slid right into the back of him. Legs stretched out in front, trying to stop myself, my hooves went under his rump. We sort of crunched together—Snow slid up my legs, and I slid under his hind end. Snow stepped from one front paw to the other to keep from falling on his chin. He went up my legs so far that his furry tail flopped me in the nose as it waved back and forth.

  “Hey, watch it,” he snarled over his shoulder.

  “You watch it.” I blew at his tail because it was tickling my nose. “You were the one who stopped so quick. What’s the deal?”

  With a nod of his head, he motioned. There were people at the end of the road. They stood between us and the green safety of the trees. Their backs were toward us. The Beep-beep Monster stopped and got some more to eat. The hungry creature behind us . . . the people in front of us . . . What could we do?

  The people didn’t seem to see Snow and me . . . not yet. We couldn’t get past the monster. There wasn’t enough room. We couldn’t get too close to the people. Both our mothers had ordered us to stay away from them. And . . . and we couldn’t stay here because . . .

  “Beep . . . beep . . . beep . . . beep,” the beast said, starting after us once more.

  “Maybe we should warn the people,” I suggested. “They don’t even know the monster is sneaking up on them. He could grab them, like he does the boxes, and swallow them in one gulp.”

  Snow looked at the monster. He looked at the people. He looked back at the monster.

  “Let’s make a break for it. There aren’t very many. Maybe we can dodge between them, slip through, and make it to the trees. Once there, we can find a place to hide.”

  Sounded like a good idea. There were only two more boxes full of garbage. Hungry as this guy was, he probably wouldn’t be satisfied with just two more. That made us next on the menu. I nudged Snow’s tail with my nose.

  “Let’s go!”

  Snow slid from his perch on my legs and we charged for the trees. The people yelled when we darted between them. They scattered and hopped out of the way. They pointed and shrieked.

  “Look out for the Beep-beep Monster,” I warned them with a snort. “He’s going to get you.”

  I guess they didn’t understand. They just kept pointing at Snow and me and making noises with their mouths and laughing. A fat man with no fur on his head accidentally stepped on Snow’s front paw.

  “Yowwwie!” Snow yelped.

  The little fat man lifted his foot and hopped aside. I lowered my head at him. “Watch it, tubby,” I warned. “Don’t you go stepping on my feet. I’ll butt you right in the . . . in the . . .”

  Well . . . I didn’t have any idea where I was going to butt him. I didn’t need to worry about it, either. He saw me coming at him with my head down. He almost knocked two people out of the way when he ran. Once through that crowd, Snow and I found ourselves in the center of a broad road with more people in front of us. This was a real road. It was wide, had a stripe down the middle, and it was not crowded or shadowed by the tall buildings. My eyes flashed when I remembered how fast the cars and truck whizzed on the one in the mountains. Mother said roads were dangerous. But nothing seemed to be moving.

  “Which way now?” Snow asked.

  People lined the edge of the road in front of us. I glanced over my shoulder. More people lined the edge of the road behind us.

  “I . . . I don’t know where to go.”

  Suddenly a people voice boomed above all the other noises. It was so loud, it seemed to come from all around—in front of us—behind us—everywhere.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, here come our high school football team stars. They made it to the state play-offs last year.”

  “The tractor and trailer they are riding on was provided by Crutcher’s Farm Implement Company,” another voice boomed through the air. “The homecoming queen candidates are riding in convertibles from McMahan Buick.”

  “Let’s all put our hands together for the fight song, played by our own Pride of Hidden Valley Marching Band,” the first voice said, “and for the future state championship football team.”

  Snow and I froze in our tracks. We both looked to our right. People—all in rows—were walking away from us. They were really weird looking. All had purple fur with a yellow stripe down the legs. Their heads were purple and hard-looking. A bird roosted on the front of each person’s head. One of the people at the rear of the line turned back to look at us. I blinked, realizing it wasn’t a bird on his head at all. It was just one big, bright yellow feather.

  Down at their sides, the people carried strange things. Some were shiny yellow like the sunset. Others were black and narrow like a tree limb. Still others were the silver of white water on a rushing stream. All at once they lifted the things toward their faces. Strange sounds came. A blast of noise filled the air. It was so loud that it made my ears flatten against my neck. I guess Snow noticed the startled look on my face, and the way my ears hid from the honks and squeaks and racket. With a blink, he looked up at me and wagged his tail.

  “Music.”

  If this was music, it sounded a lot better when we were farther away.

  Right in the middle of the lines of people, a whole row carried tree trunks that were cut off flat on both ends. It wasn’t much of a tree trunk, though. The thing was only about as long as it was round. They beat on the tree trunks with sticks and made a pounding noise. One people carried a really big tree trunk. When he hit it with his stick, it made a loud “BOOM.” Like thunder, I could feel it rattling in my chest.

  I didn’t want to mess with the people who had purple fur and a feather sticking out of their heads. I guess Snow didn’t, either. Slowly he started toward the far side of the road—where we had seen the trees.

  Now there were bunches of people there. Our escape to the trees was blocked. Big people and little people were all crowded together.

  A tall skinny people, with a fuzzy face, stood in a cabin. The sides flopped with the breeze. That must be what Snow called a tent. “Get your balloons, right here!” he called. “Balloons! Twenty-five cents!”

  Little round things that looked like clouds floated above his tent. Some of the little people had small vines tied to their front legs. The little clouds floated above their heads. They were all different colors and bright as a rainbow. More and more people came to point at us. I could hear voices—not as loud as the two voices that boomed above all the others—but there were so many and the sounds came so close together and the music was so loud . . . I couldn’t understand any of it. I looked over my shoulder. The place we came from was crowded now. More people rushed in to clump together. It was like a solid mountain of people.

  The people with purple fur and a yellow feather on their heads stopped making the music with their mouths. They turned around to look at us. There was a line of people in front of us, people and the Beep-beep Monster behind us. Snow and I spun to our left and started to run.

  The breath froze in my throat. My heart quit beating. My eyes got so big around, I thought they might pop clear out of my head. I slid to a stop and didn’t even blink.

  Another huge monster rolled toward us. Big and green as the grass, he snarled and growled. Black smoke belched from his head. He had to be a truck, since he w
as so big and because we were on a road. But he wasn’t like any truck I had ever seen before. The two hooves in front were small and close together. His two hind hooves were far apart and bigger than anything I ever saw in my life. They were gigantic. Enormous!

  A people car followed close behind him. Only this car was flat, and instead of riding in it, people stood on the thing. These people were covered with purple fur on the top and white fur on the bottom. They didn’t have yellow stripes down their legs. Their heads were not covered with fur, like most of the people who lined either side of the road. These people’s heads were round and shiny gold. They looked like they were hard as a rock. Little bars hid their faces.

  I guess they had been crawling under low branches or something, because some of the purple fur had been scraped off their hides. Each had a different mark where their scratches were: 4 21 18 44. I bet it hurt to get that much of their purple fur scratched off.

  The green monster belched more smoke out of his head. He rolled closer and closer and . . .

  Snow spun and tried to run away. His feet slipped on the hard road. With a whoompf sound, he fell on his side. Struggling to get up, he was in such a panic and the road was so hard . . . he couldn’t get his paws under him. His feet spun and tried to catch the ground. He jerked and flopped, but he couldn’t go anywhere.

  This was it. This was the end for my friend and me.

  “Looks like we have a surprise addition to our homecoming football parade.” A voice rumbled and boomed above the clamor of all the rest.

  “Maybe they came down from the mountains to wish our team good luck,” the second voice said. It was a different voice. Not as deep or rumbly, but it was every bit as loud as the first. “And I think you’re right about them wishing our players good luck. They came right up to the John Deere tractor, furnished by Crutcher’s Farm Implement Company, and are standing there looking at our football team.”

  “For those of you up toward Main Street, who can’t see down by Johnston’s Hardware Store,” the deep, rumbly voice said, “we have a baby moose and a little wolf who just came out of the alley. They’re a cute pair, but it’s kind of weird to see a moose and a wolf together. Wouldn’t you say, Kathy?”

  “Yes, Bob. Very unusual,” the lighter voice answered. “They look a little nervous, too. Now, you folks down on that end of the parade, don’t crowd the little things. We don’t want to scare them to death.”

  “Kathy’s right. Everybody back up a little. Give them some room. They’re really scared and . . .”

  I wanted to run. I had to get away.

  The green monster blew more smoke from the top of his head. He roared and rumbled. Then—with his round, front hooves just inches from where my friend was struggling to get up off the ground—he stopped. He stayed there, growling and snorting and breathing smoke.

  If he took one more step, Snow was a goner. Snow would be smushed flatter than a beaver’s tail.

  Eyes tight, I lowered my head.

  “Back off!” I threatened with a snort. “Get away from my friend!”

  The gigantic green beast just snorted back at me. I shook my head and threatened again. He blew black smoke and rumbled.

  There was no bluffing this guy like I did the little fat man with no fur on his head. This guy didn’t scare.

  I wanted to run. If I did, Snow would be left all alone. So frightened that I almost felt sick inside, I knew I couldn’t help. I was too little. The green beast was too big. I had to get away!

  I turned.

  Behind me, I heard Snow’s claws scraping on the hard road. I heard him whimper. The enormous green brute roared again.

  Scared as I was . . . I just couldn’t stand it.

  With a snort, I spun back toward the big green monster. I lowered my head. He snorted back at me.

  I charged anyway.

  I leaped over Snow and butted the ugly beast with my head. I hit him, right in the nose—as hard as I could.

  Chapter 10

  Ouch!

  Headache.

  Big-time headache!

  Something warm and soft and damp touched my nose. I blinked and tried to see what it was. My long lashes fluttered. Snow was standing above me. Head tilted to one side, he watched me with worried eyes. His wet pink tongue flopped out and licked my nose.

  “Are you okay?”

  I didn’t answer. I was a little confused. The last thing I remembered . . . Snow was on the ground, trying to get up. The green monster was snorting and getting ready to eat him and . . . I was standing.

  Now . . . Snow was standing and I was lying on my side with a headache that throbbed and pounded so bad, I could hardly keep my eyes open.

  “Bub?” Snow repeated. “Are you okay? Are you awake?”

  “Yes. Yes, I’m okay,” I managed finally. “I’m good.”

  “That was really brave.” Snow kissed my nose again. “Kind of dumb,” he added under his breath, “but really brave.”

  I shook my head. The instant I did, I wished I hadn’t. It made the pounding come back inside my skull. My eyes blinked and twitched when I stared up at Snow.

  “What do you mean, ‘Kind of dumb’?”

  “Running into a tractor with your head.” He motioned with a jerk.

  The huge green beast was still on its feet. Quickly I struggled to get my legs under me. My head throbbed, and the whole world spun around. I decided not to get up . . . not quite yet.

  “What’s a tractor?”

  “The thing you ran into. It’s a machine—like a people car—only it’s bigger and lots heavier.”

  My eyes crossed when I tried to look up at my head. “It’s a lot harder, too.”

  Snow shrugged his ears. “I guess.”

  I blinked and shifted my weight. Finally I managed to get on my feet. I was still wobbly, so I tried to focus on Snow.

  “What did you say it was?”

  “A tractor. I saw one up close once. There’s a big pasture down below the waterfalls where we spent the summer. Mama told me what it was. One night my brothers and sisters and I even sneaked up and smelled it.”

  “I don’t care what his name is” I told Snow. “All I know is that he’s a lot tougher than I am.”

  My head wasn’t banging so bad, and the world had stopped spinning. Suddenly I noticed the movement around us. People were inching closer. My heart thumped inside my chest. My breathing was hard and loud in my ears. Snow noticed the people crowding in on us, too. I saw him tremble. Then he hid between my front legs and growled.

  The people stopped. Then they stepped back—but only a little.

  It was like a dream—a horrible nightmare—that would never end. There were scary people and Beep-beep Monsters and tractors and . . . and . . . I’d probably never see my mother again . . . and I missed her so . . . and I wanted to be home in the woods where it was safe and where I belonged . . . and . . .

  “HRONK! HRONK!” Booming from beyond the wall of people that surrounded us came the loudest sound I had ever heard.

  “Hronk!” I squeaked back. My head jerked as I spun to see where the sound had come from. Mother? It had to be Mother!

  The people turned to look, too. Then, like the wake Mother left in the water when she swam, the people began to part. Wider and wider they scattered, until I could see something at the far end of the road. Tall and proud, it was an enormous animal. It looked like Mother. The face was just as beautiful as hers, only everything on it was much bigger. Near the large ears were treelike things that stuck up in the air, just like Mother had told me Father would have.

  Hronk!” I squeaked again.

  The huge animal trotted toward us. People ran. Some hid inside the buildings. Others hid behind trees. The ones closest to us climbed up on the flat car with the people who had hard heads. Others crouched behind the giant hooves of the tractor. Some of the people didn’t run at all. Not until the powerful animal got close to them. All he did was look and lower his head. They squealed and scampered away.<
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  I felt tiny as the big moose stepped nearer. His huge shadow crossed the road as he walked up to me. I stretched my neck, but I still couldn’t see all of him.

  With a toss of his head he looked down at me.

  “Are you Bub Moose?” His voice seemed to echo against the buildings.

  “I . . . I . . . Yes, I’m Bub Moose.” Suddenly I began to tremble.

  “Bub Moose, your mother has been looking everywhere for you. She was afraid that you were hurt. Where have you been?” His nostrils flared, but his big brown eyes were soft.

  “I . . . I’m sorry. I . . . we . . . fell off the cliff, and we’ve been trying to find the way back up the mountain. I don’t know where we have been. We were looking for our mothers. Do you know where our mothers are?” I peered through my long eyelashes at the great moose towering above me.

  “Your mother is searching for you in the forest. You have worried her too long. Follow me, now!” The big moose turned and started down the road.

  “Who . . . who are you?” My knees felt wobbly as I stepped out.

  The magnificent moose turned toward me. “Bub Moose, I am your father. You have caused enough trouble. Let’s go!”

  “You’re my father?” A shiver raced up my spine and made my tail jerk. Mother had told me that someday I would grow up to look like my father. But I was so little and he was so . . . so . . . It was very hard for me to grasp what he had said.

  “I am your father. We’ll talk about this later. Right now we need to get away from these people. I warned them when I came into town, but they will soon feel brave again and we need to leave. Some of them are already beginning to come back out of their buildings.” He turned and walked toward the woods.

  “What about Snow?” I asked.

  “Snow? What are you talking about?”

  “Snow is my friend.” I bent and looked between my front legs. Snow wasn’t there. I bent more. Looked farther. Snow stood way back, under my tummy, where the giant moose couldn’t see him.