by Mary Kelly
Inspector Bartle said: “This poor little robin was a pitiful sight when I first arrived – very distressed and sticky all over. Without the caring attitude and diligence of these two boys, who knows how much longer it would have suffered. It just shows how cruel these traps can be. They catch any animal which happens along, and this robin was very lucky to escape.”
Despite the loss of tail feathers, the robin survived and was taken to a wildlife centre where it was later released back into the wild.
Facts About Robins
Young robins have a brown rather than a red breast.
Robins are “omnivores”. They eat anything from fruit and seeds to spiders and mealworms.
The female robin builds the nest – usually among bushes or in holes in walls – and lines it with roots, moss, feathers and hair.
Some robins have been known to nest in unusual places, such as sheds or old teapots!
In winter, the robin puffs up its feathers to insulate its body against the cold.
Take a sneak peek at
another exciting story based
on a real-life animal rescue!
“So what game are we going to get, then?” Dad asked as they drove down the country lane into town.
“It’s called Ice Storm,” Lewis grinned. “I’ve played it round at Maddy’s house and it’s brilliant. You have to collect all these stars that give you superpowers, and the baddies throw icicles to try and freeze you.”
Dad sighed. “I don’t know why you don’t do something useful, like read a book.”
Lewis rolled his eyes. Whenever Mum had to go away to a sales conference, or to visit Granny and Pops back in Jamaica, he and Dad were stuck with each other all weekend long. He loved his dad, but all he ever did was work, and he seemed to think that’s all Lewis should do, too! Yesterday, before she’d left, Mum had suggested that they go into town and get the game that Lewis had wanted for ages. But Dad was even ruining that.
Lewis put his feet up on the car dashboard and glanced at his dad. Dad was long and lanky, like him, but that was about the only way that they looked the same. Lewis was like Mum, with chocolate-brown skin, dark eyes and afro hair. He liked wearing jeans and trainers, but Dad always wore smart clothes, even at the weekend. Dad’s skin was white and freckly, and he had brown hair. Behind his sunglasses, Lewis knew that Dad had light blue eyes that twinkled when he smiled, but that didn’t happen very often.
Dad glanced over at him. “Feet!” he warned Lewis immediately. Lewis gave an exaggerated sigh and put them down.
At least they were going to see Granddad tomorrow. Granddad was Dad’s dad, and he was really fun. He was always telling Lewis exciting stories about his time in the Navy, or playing with Alfie, his old greyhound dog. Granddad was as fun as Dad was serious.
Sometimes Granddad seems like the young one, and Dad the grumpy old man! Lewis thought, grinning to himself.
He wound down the window as they drove down the little windy country lane, covered with fields on both sides. The sun was shining brightly, and the air smelled like cut grass and holidays. School was just about to start again, but it didn’t really feel like autumn yet. Lewis had had a brilliant summer. He and Mum had gone to stay in Cornwall with his best friend Maddy and her family – her mum and her big brother Stephen. They’d been fishing and crabbing, and eaten ice cream every day. Dad hadn’t come because he hadn’t been able to take any time off from work.
Lewis stared out of the window as he remembered his holiday. But as he was thinking, a flash of black and white caught his eye. Something was lying at the side of the road. “Dad, stop!” he said, sitting up in his seat and straining to look out of the window.
“What?” Dad quickly pulled the car over to the side of the road. “Are you OK?”
“I saw an animal,” Lewis said, unbuckling his seat belt. “It was on the road, it might be hurt.”
“Lewis, we can’t just stop—” Dad began to say, but Lewis was already getting out of the car.
Making sure there was nothing coming, he ran across the lane. At the end of a row of parked cars, there was a small animal, lying very still.
Please let it be OK, Lewis thought as he crept towards it. Was it a cat, or a dog? It had a dark grey body, and a stubby grey tail. As Lewis stepped closer, it looked up, and Lewis gasped as he saw its face. It had black and white lines over a long snuffly nose. Its eyes were black and beady, and it had little black paws, with strong-looking claws.
“It’s a badger!” Lewis called excitedly to Dad in the car. “I’ve never seen one in real life before.”
“It’s probably got fleas,” Dad called back. “Come on.”
“We can’t just leave.” Lewis stepped closer. The badger was only small, and its beady, black eyes looked up at him fearfully. As Lewis got closer, it shuffled backwards towards the nearest car, dragging one of its back legs behind it.
“Look, Dad, it is hurt,” Lewis said. “We have to help.”
“OK,” Dad sighed and Lewis heard him getting out of the car. But the sound of the car door shutting startled the young badger. Before Lewis could move, it disappeared right underneath a van that was parked nearby.
“Oh no!” Lewis gasped. “She’s scared.” He kneeled down and peered under the van. The badger peeped back at him. “Don’t be afraid,” Lewis said. “We want to help you.”
“Lewis, we can’t stay here all day, or you’ll never get your game,” Dad said. “She’ll come out when she’s ready. She’s a wild animal, not a pet. And you don’t even know if she’s a girl, anyway.”
“She looks like a girl. And I don’t care about the game!” Lewis insisted. “There must be something we can do. What about the rescue centre where Granddad got Alfie? They help animals, don’t they?”
“The RSPCA?” Dad said. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea. Hold on, I’ll give them a ring.”
Dad walked back to the car and Lewis sighed with relief. “It’s going to be OK,” he promised the badger. She just peered up at him and snuffled her nose again.
Lewis looked around for something he could give her. He spotted a clump of grass and went and collected a handful.
“Come on, Badger,” Lewis said soothingly as he kneeled down and held a long blade of grass under the van. The badger’s snout wriggled as she sniffed at it, but she didn’t come out. “Come and get the nice food,” Lewis coaxed her.
But the badger just stared at him. Lewis studied her face. He couldn’t believe he was so close to a wild animal. Her eyes were bright and intelligent, like she understood every word he said. She had a dark nose, with fine, white whiskers poking out from either side. Her stripes were perfectly straight, like they’d been painted on. She was beautiful!
“Badgers don’t eat grass,” Dad told him as he reappeared with his phone. “They eat worms and snails, things like that.”
“Oh,” said Lewis, coming out from under the van and scrambling to his feet. “What did the RSPCA say?”
Dad held out his phone and showed him the RSPCA’s website on the screen. “I rang the emergency hotline and they said they’ll send an officer out straight away. There’s a rescue centre just outside town. I didn’t even know it was there.”
“I knew they’d help!” Lewis said happily. He sat down again and, to his surprise, Dad kneeled down next to him. They both peered under the van. The badger looked back, curiously.
“I think I’ll call her Bramble,” Lewis said.
“Bramble?” Dad looked surprised. “That’s a nice name. What made you think of that?”
Lewis smiled. “Granddad said that now it’s September, it’s almost time to go blackberry picking again. Last year Archie got stuck in a bramble bush. It took ages to get him out!”
Dad laughed and shook his head. “That dog is a troublemaker!”
Lewis glanced under the van. The badger l
ooked back, her snuffly snout poking out.
“It’s OK, Bramble,” Lewis told the frightened badger. “Help will be here soon.”
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