The Strange Monster
by Ann Lewis
It was one o'clock on a bright sunny summer morning, and Mr. Owl was just about to get out of bed and make some cowslip tea for himself and Mrs. Old, when a loud knocking sound came on his front door. Then he heard a voice shouting, "Mr. Owl! Mr. Owl! please come outside quickly. There is a huge monster here in the wood."
Mr. Owl quickly flew down the back stair of his little treehouse and pulled open the door. There on the steps, panting for breath, stood Bobby and Billy rabbit. "It's massive and yellow and got great big black teeth." gasped Bobby.
"Now calm down, little fellow," said Mr. Owl, "and tell me where abouts you have seen this awful thing."
"Well, sir," said Billy. "Just across the main path, by the large oak tree, in Buttercup Meadow."
"I'll just let Mrs. Owl know where I'm going, and I'll be right with you."
As Mr. Owl shut the door behind him, he could hear all the other woodland animals shouting and talking all at the same time! Mr. Badger the policeman came over to him.
"Some very strange things happening here, Mr. Owl." he said. "Why my good lady wife thinks the thing is going to eat us all up."
The group of animals bigger and bigger as they followed Mr. Owl and policeman Badger on to Buttercup Meadow. In the distance Mr. Owl could see exactly as Billy and Bobby rabbit had said, a huge yellow monster, and what looked like very big sharp pointed teeth indeed.
Just then, a noise started, like a giant roar, and everyone jumped back frightened out of their skins. Suddenly, the big jaws opened and the monster's head went down and came up with its mouth full of earth.
"My goodness!" screamed Mrs. Blackbird. "It's eating up all our wood."
Just then Mr. Owl began to think of when he had seen a thing like this before, and suddenly it came to him, and he began to chuckle! Everybody turned and looked at him.
"It's not a monster, everyone." he said. "It's a digging machine that humans use to dig up earth from one place to another. I saw a picture of one once, when I was little, at the village school."
Everyone started to laugh, and relaxed so they too could see how silly they had been to think it was a monster. The humans have left it here, and now are using it to help build the new road to cross Beaver Brook.
Now that we all know it's not going to eat us all up, I want you all to come home with me, and Mrs. Owl will make use all a nice cup of cowslip tea, with a sticky bun. So everyone cheered, and happily followed Mr. Owl back home to the safety of Bluebell Wood.
Copyright The Bentilean 1999
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