‘Thank you, Crab, and thank you, everyone. It’s been a lovely supper and especially good to share it with my family and my best friends but I’m afraid it will be dawn soon and we should go home.’
‘Yes, indeed,’ said Mrs B. ‘Come along, twins. Goodbye, Mr Owl and Mr Fox and thank you again, Crab.’ She bustled away with the twins across the beach into the darkness of the wood.
Fox got up and yawned. ‘Thanks, Crab. Bye, Owl, bye, Badger.’ He loped off. He didn’t run as fast as usual as he had a very full tummy.
Owl blinked hard a few times and stood up on tip claw flapping his wings gently. ‘Thank you both,’ he said to Crab and Badger, ‘it’s always good to have supper with friends.’ He rose silently into the night sky and soared away into the treetops.
Crab raised his pincer to say goodbye to everyone and sat back against a rock at the side of the pool. He looked at Badger.
‘Good?’ he asked.
‘Very good,’ Badger said. ‘See you soon?’
Crab nodded and watched as Badger slid off the rock and trundled away to catch up Mrs B.
Then he sighed in a pleased sort of way and slipped back into the pool with hardly a ripple.
THE END
Badger and Crab and the Flood Page 4