37 The Willow

[Stephen Whiteside]

37 The Willow

© Stephen Whiteside 18.11.2011

Why was life so hard? First the owl and now a wombat. And before that, of course, a very nasty snake called Jim. And then there was the flood, of course.

Perhaps, Horatio thought, if he’d agreed to stay upstream with Magnifico, none of this would have happened. For a brief time, at least, life had seemed so peaceful. Now they seemed to be lurching from crisis to crisis, barely surviving one, only to find themselves immediately thrown into another.

Sometimes Horatio cursed having been born as a rat. Why couldn’t he have been born an owl or a wombat? Something big and scary? An eagle! That would be great! Top of the food chain. Nothing to fear. Except starvation, perhaps. And natural disasters like fires and floods. And droughts, of course. Yes, every animal has its burden to carry. He knew that. To live was to suffer.

Right now, though, the suffering seemed just about unbearable. Especially the stabbing wound in his left shoulder. It was getting late in the day once more. They had spent most of it asleep in the wombat’s burrow. They needed to find another safe place to hide with the remaining few hours of sunlight.

How’s your shoulder, Horatio?

He was a brave little fellow, that mouse Magnifico. Brave and selfless.

Pretty sore, to be honest. I’ll cope though. Have to, eh? And let’s face it, nobody ever died of pain.

That good, eh? Well, we need to find somewhere safe to rest.

Yes, I know. But where?



Where! Exactly.

They were actually both feeling very thirsty. Hungry and thirsty. They decided to make their way down to the river’s edge once again. Perhaps some solution would present itself while they were there.

They were reluctant to expose themselves too much to the outside world, so they travelled under the leaves as much as possible. It was a slow journey, though not quite as bad as they had imagined it might be.

It felt safe down by the water. The banks rose steeply on either side, and they were in shade. They felt they would be hard to see for any passing predator. The water was cool and refreshing, of course, and relaxing. With the speed and strong sense of purpose of its flow, it also seemed so clearly to be offering them their one means of escape.

Escape to where? Well, that they did not know, but anywhere had to be better than this.

Horatio and Magnifico picked their way along the water’s edge for a bit. They found a few dead beetles and dragonflies which they nibbled at, and even a dead fish. It was not gourmet food, but they would not go hungry. Some of the grass was sweet and fresh, and provided the added bonus of polishing their teeth.

Now they faced something of a dilemma. They didn’t want to use another established burrow. If they found one that seemed too good to be true, it probably was. The owner - be it snake, wombat, or some other large, unfriendly animal - was bound to arrive back home sooner or later, and then there would be trouble.

On the other hand, of course, in his present condition, Horatio was not up to digging a burrow himself. So it would all have to fall upon Magnifico. Magnifico didn’t mind, of course. He had a heart ten times bigger than himself. The question was not one of attitude, or willingness, but simply the physical question of whether or not he could actually do it.

Of course, Magnifico was no slouch physically. If it was a question of simply building a burrow for mice, he would have no problem at all. But Horatio was about three times taller and three times wider than Magnifico. That meant moving nine times more earth. And that did not account for the increased length that would be required, either. They needed ten mine, not one!

Well, they only had one, but he was no ordinary mouse. He was Magnifico the Strong Mouse, and he was about to put on his greatest show of all - to an audience of one! And perhaps not even that. Horatio showed every sign of being about to fall back to sleep once more.

Magnifico gave Horatio a nudge. If he wasn’t up to digging, he could at least help him to choose a good site.

They found one without too much difficulty. The roots of a large willow tree rose densely out of the water. The leaves of the willow fell back towards the water like a large, protective veil. All in all, it looked like a perfect place to hide. At one point, between two roots, the earth seemed soft.

Magnifico began to dig. It was agreed that Horatio would keep watch, but he was soon asleep. Magnifico was not too fussed about that. The pain must be exhausting, and the willow itself appeared to offer considerable protection. He dug. And he dug. And he dug.

Magnifico stopped for a rest. And then he dug some more. It was now well into the twilight. The willow hid the sky. If there was a bright moon tonight, it wouldn’t make much difference where they were. Not much moon-light was going to be able to penetrate the willow’s branches. Magnifico fell into a routine. Dig for twenty minutes. Rest for ten. Dig for twenty. Rest for ten. The digging spells became shorter, and the rest breaks became longer, but at last, after many hours, he felt he had dug enough. At least for the time being.

He woke Horatio. Wordlessly, the two slipped through the mouth of the new tunnel, and snuggled together against the farthest wall.

[Maureen K Clifford]

so many trials and tribulations for two little blokes to suffer - lucky they have become good mates and have each others backs....this story has lovely moral teachings.

I have become quite fond of Horatio and Magnifico

[Stephen Whiteside]

Thanks, Maureen. I appreciate your comments.