The Elk in the Attic - Christopher Hoy

CHAPTER 1 continued

On the first night of the full moon, animals began to appear in the meeting area. There were raccoons, rabbits, porcupines, squirrels, skunks, bobcats, fox, deer, elk and javelina. The trees were peppered with woodpeckers, robins, jays, bluebirds, chickadees, finches, wrens, ravens and hawks. Even a few snakes slithered over to see what was going to happen. The ground animals formed a circle under a twisted old oak tree and began chatting with each other. The birds came in close and chirped their greetings.

“I have no idea why Grandmother Owl sent for us,” a glossy black raven said to a silver squirrel.

“No one does,” a red fox said to the raven. “But she never asks for a meeting like this unless there is a life-and-death crisis of some kind.”

Sitting off by himself, a few yards away from the circle of animals, was a lean gray coyote. He was staring up at the glowing moon, his bushy tail swishing slowly back and forth. He yawned and scratched behind his ear with his back foot.

A few minutes after midnight, Grandmother Owl soared in out of the darkness and landed softly on a low bare branch in the old tree. She was a Great Horned Owl, tall and dignified, with a wide flat head and huge golden eyes. She puffed out her chest, hooted once to quiet the chattering animals, and called the meeting to order.

“As you know,” said Grandmother Owl, “something has gone wrong with the weather. The sky has not given us a drop of rain or a single flake of snow in a very long time. The forest is bone dry. Food is difficult to find and there is little water to drink. I fear if we do not take drastic action at once, many of us will not live to see the next full moon.”

pull quote The animals and birds looked at each other and nodded in agreement with these dramatic words. They all knew now why Grandmother Owl had called this meeting. She was going to tell them what they needed to do to survive this dangerous drought.

Grandmother leaned forward and looked at each animal in turn. The moonlight twinkled on her long curved beak. Her enormous eyes gleamed like gold coins.

“Some of you,” she said, “must leave the forest now and go to live among the humans until the rains return. There is abundant water and food in the city. If enough of you will volunteer to go there for a time, your sacrifice will greatly improve our chances of survival.”

“No!” howled a terrified bobcat. His tufted ears twitched and he sank his long claws deep into the ground. “We can’t live with humans! They hate us!”

“They have dogs,” squealed a frightened squirrel. Her black eyes flashed and she rocked back and forth on her tail. “And they have weapons! We are not meant to live near people. It is too dangerous! We will die!”

Grandmother Owl waited patiently until each animal had expressed an opinion. Not one of them thought living with humans was the best answer to their common problem. When it was finally silent again, Grandmother Owl shook her beautiful feathers and hooted three times to get everyone’s attention.

“Listen carefully,” she said. “Your lives and the lives of your young ones may depend on whether you believe what I am telling you. There is simply not enough food and water in the forest right now to keep all of us alive. It is not more dangerous for some of you to live among humans for a short time than it is to stay here under these terrible conditions. There are those among us who have already proven that what I am saying is true.”

Rabbit “Among us?” asked an amazed rabbit. She whistled through her long front teeth and wiggled her pink nose. “Who among us knows how to live with people? I certainly don’t. They have cars, for one thing, and fences and street lights and … ”

“I do,” interrupted the lone coyote. He strolled into the center of the circle of animals and sat down. “I know that it can be done. Coyotes have learned that it is possible to live near humans if circumstances make it necessary. It has taken years for us to teach ourselves how to do it. Now many of us can survive even in their largest cities. We are able to find enough food and there is always water to drink. By paying close attention to how humans behave, we have discovered dozens of ways to avoid danger. If you know just a few basic things about people, it can be less risky to live with them than to struggle out here in the forest when food and water are scarce. Although we would all prefer to stay in our natural home, when drought threatens us, moving closer to people is a sensible option. You should listen to Grandmother Owl. She knows what she is talking about.”

“Can you teach us how to do this?” asked a black and white skunk. “Can we all become as wily as a coyote? Can every forest animal learn to live safely in the city?”

“That is precisely what we are here to find out,” said the coyote. He waved his bushy tail at Grandmother Owl and then sat down. There was a moment of silence while all the animals pondered what the cunning and experienced coyote had said.

“I asked Coyote to come to the meeting tonight,” said Grandmother Owl, “because I believe you can learn from him the survival skills you will need if you agree to this plan. He has graciously offered to share with us everything he knows about living beyond the trees. Now I must ask for volunteers. Who among you has the courage to step forward and be trained by Coyote for this important task? Who will help keep all of us alive by moving into the city until the sky gives us rain again?”

At first, no one came forward. All the animals were uncertain and many of them were frightened and confused. Finally, Grandmother Owl saw a large brown body gliding toward her in the moonlight. It was an elk.

“I will volunteer,” said the elk. He looked around at the other animals, his tall antlers silhouetted against the shining moon. “And I hope many of you will, also. Do not be afraid. Grandmother Owl is trying to save our lives. I will listen to what Coyote has to say. I will learn how to live in the city.”

Coyote trotted over to stand next to the big elk. His sharp eyes scanned each furry face in the circle on the ground and each feathered face in the trees above.

“And what about the rest of you?” he asked. “Is Elk the only one here who is courageous enough to go on this mission with me?”

Raccoon “I’m ready for my training, too,” sighed a skinny raccoon. She wrapped her fuzzy tail around her eyes and shuddered. “I’m scared, but I will do it anyway because I am also hungry.”

“Count me in,” said a skunk. “I’m too thirsty to think twice about the danger.”

“Why not?” said a large mule deer. He stamped his hoof and snorted. “I am quite sure I can do anything an elk can do!”

“I’ll go,” said a red fox. “I trust Grandmother. She would not ask us to do this if it weren’t absolutely necessary.”

Grandmother Owl was pleased. She watched as the bravest animals left the circle and went to stand beside Coyote. This is wonderful, thought Grandmother. When the rains return, most of the animals here tonight should still be alive.

Coyote began immediately to train the volunteers. “There are many safe places to hide in the city if you know where to look. Search for brush and rock piles, vacant lots, empty buildings, abandoned vehicles or underground culverts. Cities usually have at least one large park with acres of trees, bushes and water. And humans live in houses that are often surrounded by flowers and shrubs. Sometimes you will find small gardens near their houses, too, chock full of tasty things to eat.”

“Birdbaths, swimming pools and fountains,” continued Coyote, “are good places to find water. After dark, people turn on lawn sprinklers and you can drink from puddles of fresh water in the grass. Always check behind restaurants, grocery stores and movie theaters for food people drop or throw away.”

Coyote Coyote paused and looked around to make sure everyone was paying close attention. “But remember,” he said seriously, “you can come out of hiding only at night. Avoid dogs and cats. Stay clear of bright lights. Look and listen before you cross a road. Try to make no sound and leave no tracks.”

The excited volunteers asked dozens of questions about surviving in the city. The squirrels wanted to know where to look for nuts, the birds worried there wouldn’t be enough seeds and the rabbits said they’d starve without fresh greens. The raccoons announced that fruit was one of their favorite foods, while the skunks declared that insects were more to their taste. The deer said they needed to find twigs, green leaves and acorns.

Coyote had much to say in response to the many important questions. It was nearly dawn before he finished explaining everything he knew about living near people.

Grandmother Owl hooted three times to signal that the long meeting was finally over. Then she flew off to the densest part of the forest and her home high in a secluded pine tree. Shielded from the rising sun by a roof of dark green branches, she quickly fell asleep. Soon she was snoring and dreaming of noisy black thunderheads stampeding across the sky like wild buffalo, cool rain soaking into the dusty ground below and the safe return from the city of all her forest friends.

I hope you enjoyed reading Chapter 1 of “The Elk in the Attic.”, and would like to continue reading. Here's how you can buy the book, in Prescott or online.