Big Sky Mountain

by Alex Milway

  But Grandma Nan wasn’t fooling anyone. She struggled with every step, and Rosa knew she had to do something. Would Grandma Nan listen to her? she wondered.

  ‘Stop! Stop now!’ said Rosa.

  ‘Do not tell me what to do,’ said Nan, struggling on.

  Rosa had to be bolder. If Grandma Nan hurt herself further, they could be in real trouble getting home. Rosa ran ahead and blocked Nan’s path.

  ‘Please, Grandma Nan!’ pleaded Rosa.

  Grandma Nan looked like thunder about to erupt, and Rosa’s confidence evaporated. In the silence of Grandma Nan’s stare the seconds felt like hours. Finally Rosa dug in her heels and plucked up the courage to speak again.

  ‘If you get any worse, how will we walk back to the canoe? How will we get home?’

  Grandma Nan was stubborn, but she wasn’t stupid. She lifted her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

  ‘Well, that told me,’ she said. Her stormy mood had moved on, and she eased herself to the ground with something of a smile. ‘Do you think you can stop Mr Pernicky alone?’

  ‘I can try,’ said Rosa, and she marched off to speak with the hare. He laughed manically as one of his mud bombs struck the beavers’ lodge. His arms were filled with three more large balls of mud, ready to fire.

  ‘I’ve almost blasted a hole through it!’ he cried.

  ‘This has to end, Mr Pernicky!’ said Rosa. ‘Now!’

  Rosa was feeling more confident than ever after persuading her grandma to rest. Mr Pernicky, however, was a very different kettle of fish. He was definitely not one to back down, especially when he was enjoying himself so much.

  ‘Absolutely not,’ he said. ‘Haven’t had so much fun in years.’

  He pulled back the catapult, and loaded up the bombs.

  ‘But you could hurt someone!’ said Rosa. ‘There are better ways of sorting things out!’

  ‘I don’t believe there are,’ he said curtly.

  Rosa heard a peculiar creaking squeal, and the beavers shouted ‘TIMBER!’ at the top of their voices.

  Mr Pernicky’s eyes grew unbelievably wide.

  His ears shot upright.

  ‘Get out of the way!’ cried Rosa.

  She gripped him in her hands and pushed him to one side as a huge tree – gnawed fully in two by the beavers – came careering down right on top of his catapult. The trunk smashed it to splinters without so much as an argument.

  Mr Pernicky’s ears flopped to his side in defeat.

  ‘THAT’S ENOUGH!’ ordered Rosa. ‘Grandma Nan is hurt, and it’s a wonder all of us are still in one piece.’

  The beavers shuffled out from behind the gnawed tree trunk. Rosa’s shouting had left them feeling mighty sheepish.

  ‘Nan’s hurt?’ asked Mr Pernicky.

  ‘Yes,’ said Rosa. ‘You should all be ashamed.’

  ‘But they flooded my house and ruined my carrots!’ said Mr Pernicky.

  ‘We didn’t think we were causing any harm,’ said Elsie. ‘We were just building our new home.’

  Mr Pernicky muttered something mean.

  Rosa was determined to solve the matter. ‘I don’t think they meant to do this,’ she said.

  ‘They knew exactly what they were doing,’ said Mr Pernicky. ‘Those beavers are masters of chopping things up and flooding everything. Besides, they are intruders on my land. I’ve lived here forever without anyone and I am perfectly happy.’

  ‘We are not intruders,’ said Iris. ‘We were told we could move here. And we do no harm.’

  ‘You must admit, you have changed the forest,’ said Rosa.

  Elsie blushed. ‘I suppose we have chopped down a few trees,’ she said.

  ‘And everyone needs to be thoughtful of others’ feelings,’ said Rosa, carefully.

  ‘My feelings are that they should go away,’ said Mr Pernicky.

  There was a loud whooshing noise, as the river eventually broke through the beavers’ damaged dam.The water surrounding the hare’s home started to disperse.

  Mr Pernicky was overjoyed. Elsie and Iris were devastated.

  ‘I’m sorry about that,’ said Rosa. ‘You’d worked so hard on it.’

  ‘Beaver Town was going to be awesome,’ said Iris.

  ‘And now all is back to normal,’ said Mr Pernicky happily. He clapped his paws and made to hop off home.

  ‘No,’ said Rosa, firmly blocking his path. ‘These beavers are now part of the mountain. You need to find a way to live together and work together.’

  ‘Why?’ said Mr Pernicky.

  Rosa tried to remember all the things her grandma had said. She knew it was important to say the correct words.

  ‘Because we all have a right to be here,’ she said. ‘Who gave you the right to build your home?’

  Mr Pernicky was silent.

  ‘Who told you this was your river?’ added Rosa.

  Mr Pernicky again had no answer.

  ‘With a little effort everyone can live together happily,’ said Rosa. ‘We all have a role to play in looking after the mountain.’

  Mr Pernicky’s ears flopped down. ‘All right,’ he grumbled.

  Elsie and Iris were glowing with happiness.

  ‘Now sit down here and find a way to get along,’ said Rosa. ‘You can all get along, I know it.’

  12

  A Helping Hand

  Rosa returned to her grandma, who hadn’t moved, but had made a daisy chain the length of her arm.

  ‘Not a single mud bomb for at least ten minutes!’ said Grandma Nan. ‘You must have done well, Rosa.’

  ‘I think the beavers were better at stopping Mr Pernicky than me,’ she replied. ‘How’s your ankle?’

  Grandma Nan pulled down her sock. Her foot was as swollen and wide as an ancient oak tree, and it had turned a gruesome shade of purple.

  ‘Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!’ Rosa said. ‘It looks bad.’

  Grandma Nan agreed. ‘It’s a good job you told me to rest,’ she said. She patted Rosa on the leg with thanks. It wasn’t easy for Grandma Nan to admit that Rosa had been correct, but she always believed in being honest. ‘It filled up like a balloon as soon as I sat down.’

  Rosa looked a little bit squeamish at the thought. ‘Can you walk at all?’ she asked.

  ‘Only one way to find out,’ said Nan.

  But Grandma Nan screwed up her face in pain as she tried to stand, and Rosa knew their problems had only just begun.

  ‘How will we get you back up Dilly-dally Falls?’ she asked.

  ‘I’ll manage,’ said Nan. But not even she believed herself.

  Nan hobbled slowly to the waterfall, bag on her back, half slumped over Rosa’s shoulder. One look up the narrow track along its edge told her she could go no further.

  ‘Pains me to say it,’ said Nan, staring up at the roaring waterfall. ‘But I think we’ll need Tom to tie me to his aeroplane to get me up there.’

  Rosa let Nan down gently and gazed thoughtfully at the track.There was no easy way round it.

  ‘We’re stuck,’ she said.

  They both scratched their heads in thought.

  ‘I suppose we could rest here another night,’ said Nan. ‘See if my ankle gets better. We have a little more food, and your honey.’

  Rosa considered setting up camp again when two shadows emerged from the depths of the river. The beavers broke out of the water, and pulled themselves up the riverbank.

  ‘Elsie! Iris!’ said Rosa.

  ‘We were too busy worrying about ourselves to take in that Nan had been hurt,’ said Iris. ‘We’re sorry.’

  ‘It’s nothing,’ said Nan.

  ‘Your ankle is not nothing,’ said Rosa. ‘We can’t get home. She can’t walk up there.’

  Rosa pointed to the top of the waterfall.

  ‘That is a problem,’ said Iris, measuring the distance with her paws and eyes. ‘But I think we can help. Yes?’

  Elsie nodded furiously. ‘YES WE CAN!’ she cried, proudly slamming her paws into her hips. ‘We are bu
ilders! We can find a way.’

  Elsie’s enthusiasm vanished instantly. ‘We’ll need Mr Pernicky’s help,’ she added.

  ‘Don’t put yourselves out on my part,’ said Nan.

  The beavers were having none of it.

  ‘Don’t move,’ said Iris.

  ‘No fear of that,’ said Nan.

  The beavers returned a short while later, tugging a flotilla of chewed fallen logs upstream. Mr Pernicky was balanced precariously on top, a long rope wrapped round his shoulder, tool in one paw and some paper plans in the other. His ears were bolt upright, and he looked like he meant business.

  ‘Sit tight, Nan!’ he ordered, hopping from the logs on to the riverbank. ‘We’ll have you up there in a jiffy!’

  Rosa watched with fascination as the hare and the beavers conversed over the plans, nodding and agreeing with great conviction. With smiles and determination all round they set to work.

  Elsie scampered up the narrow path to the top, leant over the edge and threw down two ropes to Iris below. They secured them in place, while Mr Pernicky chopped and hammered branches and lumps of timber, following his design. Before long he’d knocked up a structure solid enough to take Nan’s weight. With a little bit of invention Mr Pernicky joined the ropes and a broken old seat from his home, and secured it to the ground.

  ‘What do you think of that then?’ said Mr Pernicky proudly. ‘Pull it up, Elsie!’

  The beaver tugged at one of the ropes, and the rickety seat lifted easily into the air, climbing towards the top of the waterfall.

  ‘It works!’ said Iris.

  ‘What did you think it would do?!’ snapped Mr Pernicky.

  ‘Ingenious!’ said Grandma Nan. ‘They’ve built a winch.’

  ‘Hop on then!’ said Mr Pernicky.

  ‘Are you feeling brave enough?’ asked Rosa to Grandma Nan.

  ‘What choice do I have?’ she replied, smiling bravely.

  Mr Pernicky dragged the seat back to the ground and jumped in. He bounced up and down to prove its strength.

  ‘See!’ he said. ‘Hare ingenuity! Never lets you down.’

  With Rosa’s assistance Nan took the hare’s place. She gripped the seat tightly.

  ‘Ready?’ said Iris.

  ‘See you at the top,’ said Nan. ‘Thank you, Mr Pernicky!’

  ‘Hold on!’ he said, and with a swift tug of the ropes Nan was hoisted up and over the roaring waterfall. She cackled with laughter at the wide-ranging view from its top. Big Sky Mountain had never seemed so exciting as when hanging in the air.

  ‘I’m flying!’ cried Grandma Nan joyfully.

  Rosa hurried up the path to meet her grandma at the top of the waterfall. She helped her out of the seat, and pulled the canoe down into the river ready for boarding.

  ‘We made it!’ said Rosa.

  ‘Yes we did, my love!’ said Grandma Nan.

  Rosa smiled happily. She gave her grandma a huge hug, taking Nan by surprise – eventually Nan thought to put her arms round her granddaughter and squeeze back.

  ‘You must come and visit us again,’ said Elsie. ‘We’ll soon have Beaver Town up and running.’

  ‘I would like that a lot!’ said Rosa.

  Then they waved goodbye to Iris and Mr Pernicky, and settled into Florence with their bags. With the oar in her hands, Rosa pulled off into the river and steered them home.

  13

  Home Again

  Little Pig greeted Rosa and Nan at the shoreline, and informed them there had been no intruders, or wolves, or anything else in any way scary.

  ‘I am still alive!’ he said.

  But he quickly noticed Nan’s ankle. ‘Unlike you!?’ he added, shrieking upwards into the sky. ‘What have you done? What have you done?’

  Nan hobbled up the shore to her cabin, aided by Rosa.

  ‘It’s just a sprain,’ she said calmly. ‘I simply need to put my feet up for the next few days.’

  ‘I’ll look after her,’ said Rosa.

  ‘I’ll have to keep an even better watch!’ said Little Pig, fretting. ‘Yes! That’s exactly what I’ll do.’

  He slid into his resting place under the roof and opened his eyes wide. Rosa laughed and opened the cabin door. She dropped the bag to the ground and helped Nan on to her bed.

  ‘I’m very pleased you’ve come to stay with me, Rosa,’ said Nan. ‘I know I might not have been so welcoming when you arrived, but I can see you are a Wild through and through.’

  These words filled Rosa with joy. She sat on the edge of the bed, feeling contented and not a little exhausted. She started to daydream about life on the mountain – there was so much of it she had yet to see.

  ‘I suppose we should get some food on the go,’ said Nan, who struggled to stay still for any length of time. ‘Fancy a pot of beans?’

  Rosa was starving, and she knew everything took much longer to do on the mountain than it used to in the city. Cooking any meal now took hours, and she knew she would have to do all the work.

  ‘I’ll get it going,’ she said, easing herself up.

  ‘There are herbs outside in the veg patch,’ said Nan. ‘And packs of dried beans in the cupboard. Also, onions in the –’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll find it all,’ said Rosa. She was beginning to see that Grandma Nan was going to make the worst patient ever.

  As Rosa opened a cupboard there was a bump and a rattle outside the cabin.

  ‘What’s this?’ said Albert the Moose, his head lurching through the open window. ‘Hooman calf still here?’

  ‘That’s right, Albert,’ said Nan.

  ‘She don’t smell quite so much of pretty flowers no more,’ said Albert.

  ‘No, she doesn’t,’ said Nan. ‘Apple?’

  Albert started to slobber. ‘Yes, please!’ he said.

  Rosa tossed an apple to him and he caught it in his mouth. With much effort he tried to remove his head and huge antlers from the window, but after three attempts he gave up.

  ‘Stupid head,’ he said. ‘I’ll eat it here.’

  ‘Good idea,’ said Nan.

  ‘Good idea,’ said Rosa.

  14

  The Story

  A few days later, when the weather was fine and Grandma Nan’s ankle was nearly back to its normal size, Mr Hibberdee arrived at the lake. Rosa had been chopping some wood under the watchful gaze of Albert the Moose, and she spotted the bear trundling through the scrub without a care in the world. Rosa waved happily.

  ‘Good morning,’ said Mr Hibberdee, his scarf fluttering in the breeze.

  ‘Hello,’ said Rosa, wiping her brow. ‘How are you and your jams?’

  ‘Sweet as ever,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘I wondered if you might have payment for my honey?’

  Rosa’s heart started to race – she had pushed the matter right out of her mind.

  ‘Well,’ she said tentatively, ‘Grandma Nan mentioned that you might like a story in payment?’

  Mr Hibberdee’s face brightened.

  ‘Oh, yes!’ he said, scratching his neck. ‘I haven’t heard a story in weeks. But make sure it’s exciting. I love exciting stories.’

  ‘I can try?’ said Rosa.

  Mr Hibberdee clapped with happiness, and sat down on a fallen tree trunk at the lakeside. They watched a flock of geese bob up and down on the water as Rosa started to tell her story. She took a deep breath.

  ‘When Dad couldn’t look after me any more in the city, Grandma Nan was the only person I could think of who might put me up. I’d never met her before, but I had to try,’ she said.

  Sad stories always affected Mr Hibberdee the most. His eyes sparkled. ‘And?’

  ‘So I wrote her a letter,’ laughed Rosa. ‘But Grandma Nan can’t remember that bit.’

  Mr Hibberdee let out a rumbly sort of laugh.

  ‘And then Tom flew me here in his little plane,’ said Rosa.

  ‘You flew here in an aeroplane?’ said Mr Hibberdee excitedly.

  ‘Yes. A little one,’ sai
d Rosa. ‘And it could land on water!’

  ‘Wow,’ said Mr Hibberdee. ‘I should love to travel in an aeroplane one day. It would make getting to my customers easier, that’s for sure. Bears don’t often get the chance to fly.’

  ‘No, I bet they don’t,’ said Rosa.

  ‘I doubt we’d fit in the seats,’ said Mr Hibberdee. ‘And I hear they only serve tiny packets of jam. That would be no good.’

  ‘You’d have to take your own,’ said Rosa.

  ‘I would!’ said Mr Hibberdee. ‘And do you like it here?’

  Rosa paused to think. She’d only spent a few days on Big Sky Mountain, but she’d already seen and done so much.

  ‘I think I do,’ said Rosa. ‘It really is like no other place on Earth. I’ve sailed in a canoe. I slept under a waterfall. I met some busy beavers, and a really angry hare – although he seemed all right in the end. And I also saw all the stars in the galaxy.’

  ‘All the stars?’ said the bear excitedly.

  ‘Yes, I think so,’ said Rosa.

  ‘Wow,’ said Mr Hibberdee. ‘What a story!’ He growled and dug around in his backpack for another jar of honey. ‘Would you like some more?’

  ‘I still don’t have any money,’ said Rosa.

  ‘Your stories are worth more than money to me, Rosa,’ he said. He lifted a big furry eyebrow, and Rosa agreed. She took the jar. ‘It’s a pleasure doing business with you,’ he said.

  And with that Mr Hibberdee picked up his things and strolled off along the lake.

  ‘Everything good?’ called Grandma Nan from the cabin.

  Rosa gathered the firewood and crunched her way back up the shore with the new jar of honey.

  ‘Yes, it is,’ said Rosa. ‘Everything is perfect.’

  Can you find?

  Can you help Rosa find these hidden species on Big Sky Mountain?

  They’re all somewhere in the book.

  Cabins

  I really love cabins.

  Cabins can be found anywhere, but they’re mostly found in the middle of nowhere, and that’s what makes them so special. Because they’re often so far from towns and shops, they’re usually very simple designs, made from logs or boards of wood. Some might even be made of stone.