“Show us the feet,” chirped a chickadee who had suddenly landed on my head. She leaned over and looked at me so that I was looking at her face upside down.
I started to remove my mittens, in order to remove my boot, but once Ginny realized what I was up to she quickly put a stop to it.
“No, not now,” she said, shoeing away the chipmunks. “It’s too cold to be removing your boots. You can satisfy their curiosity on a warmer day.”
A short chorus of high-pitched booing followed Ginny’s firm ruling, but other than that there was no trouble.
Okay, I agreed, while trying not to laugh at all the booing.
“It’s a wonder to me that most of you manage to survive out here,” Ginny said. “There are times for play, I admit, but tonight is not one of those times. We are all under a serious threat here, and we all know what steps must be taken. It is of utmost importance that we help Ethan reach the meeting.”
A brief silence followed Ginny’s grim statement. The chickadee lifted off from my head and flew away. The chipmunks settled themselves. A few yards away, Bandit sighed and muttered something under his breath, which drew an immediate scowl of disapproval from Prowler.
After hearing the concern in Ginny’s voice, my mind settled on the topic of our purpose—which I still didn’t understand. I had just resolved to ask her to better explain it to me, when a faint but growing sound reached my ears.
I pushed my hat up over my ears to better hear. I could not distinguish it at first, but whatever it was, it seemed to be far away and moving closer.
Just then Twitch, the watchful squirrel that he was, called for our attention in an excited voice. “Look, look!” he cried, and began bouncing up and down on the fallen log.
As I turned sideways to look, I realized that the sound was definitely coming from the direction Twitch was so excitedly indicating. It was a splashy, crashing sort of sound. In a strange way, it was a sound I could almost feel as well as hear. Straining my eyes in the low light, I began to distinguish movements among the jagged swamplands. The movements gathered into a shape as I watched, and that shape, nearing us steadily, was so large that it could only belong to Clodstomper.
His tall and lumpy-backed shadow moved quickly toward us. Trotting along the shoreline of the pond, his long-legged strides stretched yards rather than feet. Slowing as he neared us, he lumbered into our presence as impressively as he’d done the first time I’d met him.
***
Poof went Stomper’s big nostrils. “It seems, hmm, you are stuck in the muck, young Ethan.”
It’s true, I told him as I stood up from the log. I’m making us late.
“Hmm, late,” muttered Stomper. “No, you are not yet late. The meeting, you see, has not yet begun. The Earthkeepers no sooner arrived, when they quickly left us again.”
“They left?” said Ginny in a startled voice. “Why? Please don’t tell me that something’s wrong.”
“Hmm, no, there is no need to fret. It had been said by squirrels and birds that Berrybottom bear was fast asleep in his den. That, said the owl, would not do. Hmm-hoom. So, being both swift and persuasive, the Earthkeepers left to rouse Berrybottom from his slumber. Hmm, hmm, hmm,” he laughed. “That, I say, will be a very grumpy bear. M-hmm.”
Berrybottom? I said, looking around. Is that the bear’s name?
“It is,” answered Prowler with a chuckle. “Given to him by his mother when he was just a clumsy little cub, so the story goes.”
“Mmm, hmm, hmm,” laughed Stomper. “You see, he ate himself sleepy one fine summer day, and then took a nap among the blueberries. And when he later woke, he found himself to be covered in crushed berries. He tried to clean himself, but his backside, of course he could not see. His mother then noticed the berries stuck to his bottom as he walked along. Mmm, hmm, hmm. And so he got his name.”
“He blames it on the blueberries being too ripe,” Prowler said, struggling to hold back his laughter. “I say, haw-haw-haw, it’s just perfect! A more fitting name could not be found for him. Haw-haw-haw!”
He sounds like a silly bear, I remarked.
“Oh no,” said Prowler. His laughter quickly ceased and he became completely serious, almost grave. “No, no, no, Ethan. He can be comical, yes. But Berry himself is not silly. He is—and this is no joke about his hefty size—not someone to be taken lightly, if you know what I mean. Only one as large as Stomper may call him Berrybottom to his face. For the rest of us, it’s best to stick with Berry.”
Okay, Berry, I nodded, while Stomper stood laughing very lowly and quietly, nodding his massive head in agreement with Prowler.
“While we’re speaking of bears,” squeaked Barkrunner, standing up straight and proudly on his hind legs to his full height of eight inches. “I must say that—”
“Hush,” Ginny growled, silencing the red squirrel in an instant. “Now is not the time.”
Barkrunner scurried down my arm and stood on the log, sputtering his complaints to himself, flicking his tail in silent protest.
“Then we are not late,” Ginny sighed. “That is a relief.”
“No, not late,” repeated Stomper after his laughter had subsided. “Hmm, nor will little Ethan be late. For I have conferred with the owl, and we have reached an agreement regarding the human calf. He is, we both agree, of no great weight, just as he is of no great height. Hmm, and rather than wings to fly with, or tall legs to walk with, he has only short legs to move himself about. M-hmm.”
“Boots, boots!” chimed the chipmunks. “He walks on boots!”
“Shhh!” warned Prowler with a quick waving of his paws. “Let the moose finish.”
“He is small,” continued Stomper, seemingly unaware and unaffected by the chatter of the chipmunks, “but he is not small enough to be carried by any winged animal. So, since I am not small, but large, and have long legs with which to cross swamps, it is decided that I, Clodstomper, will now carry the Ethan on my back to the meeting. M-hmm.”
You mean it? I asked with a sudden flutter of excitement racing through me. I get to ride on your back?
“I don’t know about this,” Ginny said. Her ears drooped and she began to whine softly.
“Yes, you do,” Stomper answered me. “I admit that it is not a normal activity for one as myself to make such an offer to one as yourself. But tonight is, hmm, not a normal night.”
“Is this safe?” Ginny asked. “Shouldn’t we think this through? You are very tall, Stomper. And Ethan is very small. He could easily fall off and—”
“Hmm,” groaned the moose, nodding his heavy head. “Yes, Ginny, you are correct. I am tall compared to most. Certainly I am the tallest of us present here tonight. But do not forget that I am well-practiced in my ways. It is very rare that I should catch a hoof and lose my balance. And since I am now a friend to the Ethan, though not the same kind of friend as you, Ginny, I have resolved to be a good friend, and to take extra care with my steps. I, myself, have little to offer the council meeting. But Ethan is, as I see it—and the owl agrees—much more important. Therefore, with your permission, Ginny, I have decided to help in what way that I am capable. To do so will make me both glad and proud. M-hmm.”
I’ll be careful, I told Ginny. I was practically jumping out of my boots, barely able to contain my excitement. Please, please, please! Let me ride on Stomper’s back. I’ll hold on as tight as I can, and it’ll be so much fun! When else will I ever get the chance to do this again?
Ginny looked back and forth from me to the massive bull. “All right,” she finally sighed after a long moment’s thought. “I suppose this will be the quickest way.”
Chapter 6
Once Ginny had granted her permission, Stomper said, “Very well. Stand back, little calf. I must make myself low, and in so doing, would not wish you to become lodged between myself and the earth. That, I think, would be a terrible start to our arrangements. M-hmm.”
I wasn’t standing too close to him to begin with, but Ginny and I
both stood back a few more paces, just to be safe. And with a deep hmm-hoom Stomper bent his long legs and lowered his bulky body slowly to the ground. Then, after a glance around him, he held very still.
“Climb on,” he said. “Place yourself before the bulk of my shoulders, so that you may rest on my neck and cling to my mighty antlers with your tiny, hmm, grippers.”
“Hands,” said Prowler. “The humans call them hands.”
“Hands,” rumbled the bull. “Hmm-hmm-hmm,” he laughed. “How difficult it must be to walk on hands. No wonder the humans travel so poorly. Come along now, little Ethan. I will hold perfectly still until you are settled.”
Ginny escorted me right up to Stompers shoulder. I was shivering with excitement from head to toe, and I could feel the eyes of all the other animals watching me. I reached out slowly for his nearest antler. I touched it, felt its bulk, and then realized that I’d never be able to grip it with my mittens on.
“You’ll have to take them off,” Ginny said. “Your hands might be cold, but there’s no way around it.”
I removed both mittens and tucked them deep into my coat pockets. Being as excited as I was, I barely noticed the cold air biting at my fingertips. I reached out and touched the antler again with one hand, and touched Stomper’s muscly shoulder with the other. Touching him was something like patting a horse, which I’d done a few times—although up close, Stomper didn’t smell quite as nice as a brushed horse. He was warm and very solid to the touch, and still quite an imposing presence.
“Try not to pull at his hair,” Ginny said. “It could make him flinch. And if he flinches …”
I’ll be careful, I assured her, and as gently as I could, holding tight to the antler, I began to swing my leg up and over his neck.
“Hmm,” groaned the moose beneath me as I wiggled into place. I could feel the great quantities of air as it entered and exited his massive lungs. “I cannot see you up there, though I feel you for sure. Are you ready, small one?”
I think so, I told him, just after I’d taken hold of his second antler. Yes, I’m ready.
“Good, good. Then, off we go.” And with a deep breath and rumbling grunt, he flexed all of his great muscles and stood slowly to his full height.
Rightfully I should have been nervous and a little frightened. But the truth is, at the time I was far too thrilled by the novelty of the scenario to be afraid of anything. As Stomper rose to his full height, I don’t think I’d ever laughed as hard as I laughed right then, sitting high atop his powerful shoulders. Even though it made me feel a little unbalanced to be so out of control and a little dizzy, I was far too caught up in the excitement of the moment to let anything bother me. I laughed so hard that within a few seconds I could feel warm tears on my cold cheeks. It was, I realized, a piggy-back ride of epic proportions—easily better than any of the rides at the state fair.
At the same time, as Stomper stood up with me laughing on his shoulders, a round of cheering went up from all the other animals standing around us.
“Way to go, little man!” called Prowler, clapping his paws together. “Look at you, way up there!”
“Hooray!” chimed the chipmunks, jumping and dancing together. “He did it! Boots-feet did it!”
“I knew you could do it,” called Twitch. “Now hold on tight, as if someone was trying to steal away your very last acorn!”
“Go chase that meddlesome bear far away,” called Barkrunner. “The lousy thief! Stomp him right out of these woods!”
Ginny, however, made no cheers or jeers. In fact, as I looked down at her, she appeared about as worried as I’d ever seen her. As stomper had lumbered to his feet, she’d begun spinning around in a panic, whining nervously and calling for me to hold on with both my hands, as well as with my knees. Once he was standing and while I was laughing, she paced around us with her head raised, never letting her eyes waver from me.
“Peace, Ginny,” groaned Stomper. “I have pledged myself to keep the Ethan safe. Hmm, and that, on my honor, I will surely do.”
Don’t worry, Ginny, I called down to her. Look! I’m okay! And I’m having fun!
“Very well,” Ginny sighed. “I want you to have fun. Just hold on. Please!”
With that Stomper turned himself very slowly and started off at an easy pace toward the beaver dam—clip-clop, clip-clop, splash, splash. Holding onto his antlers as tightly as I could, I soon grew accustomed to the slight sway and bob of his muscular neck. The rise and fall of his massive shoulders working beneath my legs kept me leaning in turn with his steps. All his muscles worked in perfect rhythm as he stomped along, and even though he was walking much slower than he was capable of, I could tell that he was carrying me over obstacles much faster and much easier than I could have ever carried myself. In less than a minute I felt perfectly at ease perched atop my new friend, and already I could see what great progress we were making across the swamp.
***
It didn’t take us long to cross the swampy area surrounding the pond. Looking straight over Stomper’s head, I soon began to recognize our destination in the gray light. There was a very large beaver’s lodge at the far edge of the pond which dammed up the water that came trickling down from the largest of the many mountain streams. The moon was shimmering on the open portion of the pond as we skirted its snowy shore, and the moon’s dim light cast many shadows from all the brush and logs and leafless trees scattered throughout the area.
The closer we got to the lodge, the more detail I began to see. There were many birds fluttering about the air, and many other animals—from large to small and everything in between—moving about on the ground. From the pond’s far shore the ground slanted up sharply into the woods, and I knew that from there, even though the woods were now dark in shadows, the rising terrain climbed unbrokenly all the way to the top of Ragged Mountain—the mountain where the big ski resort was located, owned by Mr. Schwindler.
“There are others missing as well,” Stomper said as we walked.
“Other animals?” Ginny asked.
“Hmm, see the pond,” said the bull, “and note that it is empty. In summer, when I visit this place, there are geese and ducks floating all about as I wade and feed. Now there are none. They have flown off for winter, and will miss this meeting. M-hmm.”
“Just a bunch of quacks anyway,” Bandit shouted for all to hear, then proceeded to laugh at his own joke. “Who needs them? Haw-haw-haw-haw!”
“Hmm,” groaned Stomper as we neared the beaver lodge. “The ground is quite plush with muck here, little Ethan. I shall let you down in this soft place. M-hmm.”
Yes, Stomper, I answered, even though I was a little bit disappointed that the ride was over so quickly. Looking down I could see a mixture of muck from the pond meeting the dryer ground that was crunchy frozen and dusted with snow.
As soon as Stomper ceased walking, all at once I began to hear many sounds and many voices that had been muffled by his noisy steps and deep breathing. Along with the dozens upon dozens of animals I could see congregating around, I could now hear all of their many and varied voices speaking at once.
“Look! Look! A human riding a moose,” said someone. “Haw-haw-haw.”
“Well, I’ll be …” said someone else.
“You don’t see that every day,” said another.
“That’s big Stomper,” said someone else. “And he’s been tamed by a human!”
“No, no,” said another. “Can’t you see what’s happening? He’s not been tamed, he’s simply helping the little human reach the meeting.”
All at once there were animals of every shape and size moving toward us. Stomper paid no attention to any of them as, with a deep sigh, he lowered his heavy body slowly to the ground. Once at rest, he stretched out his neck and said, “There you go, little friend. Climb off.”
I swung my leg over, planted one foot, then the other, and stood up, holding only one of his antlers until I was sure of my balance. Then I stepped back to take in my su
rroundings from ground level.
“Wonderful,” Ginny said, stepping up close at my side. “I’m sorry to have doubted you, Stomper. You’ve been a wonderful help and I can’t thank you enough.”
Yes, thank you, Stomper, I said. That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.
“Hmm,” groaned the moose as he slowly rose to his feet again. “Fun? Yes, I suppose it was fun, Ethan. That is, if fun means to you what it means to me.”
“Fun,” said Prowler, who was now standing close to my other side, “means the same thing to us all, human, moose, raccoon, and everything else. That’s the way I understand it anyway.”
“Yes, yes,” agreed many voices at once, because by then there were dozens of animals crowding in close to us. Chickadees were landing on Stomper’s antlers, rabbits were hopping all about his feet, while squirrels and chipmunks were climbing his legs to stand on his back. “Fun is always fun,” they agreed. “We all have fun from time to time.”
“Some have much more fun than others,” Ginny said, glancing over at Prowler.
“Hmm, fun,” said Stomper. “Yes, fun we surely had. It is fun to have fun. Of that much I am sure. Now, Ethan, before we get too busy, I must share with you a discovery I made before I returned to carry you. Here in these damp shallows there are some lovely, tender weeds. Mmm, the best kind. You are welcome to share them with me, if you like.”
Oh, I said, watching him tear up something long and slimy. That’s okay, Stomper. I had a big dinner. You go ahead and have them all.
“Very well,” he groaned, and happily and noisily went to work eating his snack.
After that everything became very confusing. For the next few minutes I was caught up in a circus of chatter as I was introduced to many of the new animals surrounding me. It was soon very clear to me that most of them were as puzzled by me as I was by them. They tilted their heads as they stared and asked questions. Some poked at my boots and my wool coat, commenting on what strange fur I had. I couldn’t begin to remember the names of all the chickadees present. There were so many, and they spoke so quickly that it was difficult to keep up with them all. Talon the owl made efforts to bring order to the chaos, but was soon overwhelmed and retreated to a nearby stump to watch from a distance.
The Earthkeepers Page 6