What is this vole running from?
He seems scared.
Head for the trees buddy!
You'll be safe in Burns Bog, undercover
where it's very easy to get lost
but it's also easy to hide in.
In Burns Bog, the trees are thick
and there is plenty of cover
When you walk on the ground,
it's firm and squishy.
When you jump on it,
it jiggles like jello
but you have to pay close attention to see it.
All of the trees have needles
and get scraggly the farther into the bog you go
Some plants are smelly,
some are vine-like moss hanging from thin tree branches
Some plants you can make tea out of,
by boiling them in water and taking the leaves out.
Some plants you can eat while others are poisonous.
Most of the plants are unique to the bog,
and grow only in secret places.
To find them, you need to look very hard,
under and over things.
But the vole running into the bog doesn't care about plants.
He doesn't plan on making tea.
He's not thinking about food, poisonous or not,
because human beings have stolen his home.
They've built a landfill over it
without even asking him!
"They took my home.
I'm feeling so angry and sad
because I don't know where I will live now.
Where will I cook, sleep and play?
And now I'm also being chased by a hawk.
What else could go wrong?
At least I've reached the trees!
That will cover me and keep the hawk from finding me.
Up ahead, I see a group of mushrooms
that could hide me even better
than running on this wooden boardwalk."
The vole ran and hid in the mushrooms,
disturbing them from their sleep.
"Hey! Don't push us!" They yelled at the scared vole.
"This is our home!"
The vole apologized, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
but he didn't want to go out.
SCREECH
The hawk is close by.
One of the little mushrooms feels pity for the vole.
"It's okay, they're a little grumpy.
You can stay here until the hawk goes away, mouse,"
Said the little mushroom.
"I'm a vole and why are they grumpy?"
Whispered the vole who was calming down.
"They're stuck here just like I am
and they know that it they could just
get into the centre of the bog,
they could meet the Great Sandhill Crane,"
the mushroom said.
"Why would they want to do that?"
The vole asked.
"Don't tell him! Don't tell him" yelled the other mushrooms.
"I can't tell you," said the little mushroom.
SCREECH
The vole and mushrooms shrank into their hole,
because the hawk was closer than before
and obviously searching for the vole.
"My name is Rudge. What's yours, Mouse?"
whispered the mushroom.
"I'm a vole and my name is Leon."
"What's the difference?" asked the mushroom.
"A vole and a mouse are two different species of rodent,"
explained the vole quietly.
"Voles are unique. That's my problem. I can't find any other voles."
"So you're all alone?" The mushroom asked.
SCREECH
"I could't find other voles, so I lived alone.
And now that my home is full of garbage,
there's no going back now.
I want to find a safe place,
hopefully I'll find some more voles... a family,"
Leon whispered.
SCREECH
"Don't move, Leon," The mushroom warned.
"Why?"
"Because the hawk is right behind you!"
The vole froze.
"Run behind us!" the mushroom yelled.
The vole ran and hid in the farthest part of the hole as the hawk attacked.
It's beak landed in the dirt and uprooted the little mushroom.
It pecked around, but couldn't reach the vole
so after a few minutes, it flew away.
The vole came out of its hiding place,
worried about Rudge, the mushroom.
He found the mushroom lying on its side,
its roots in the air, helpless.
"Rudge!"
"Leon! I'm okay."
"I'm sorry I brought the hawk to your home!"
The other mushrooms were silent.
"It's alright. I don't like living here anyway.
I've always wanted to travel
and now I can!
You can take me to the centre of the bog!"
The mushroom said enthusiastically.
"What?" The vole asked confused.
"We can find a home for you with other voles
and I can see the world!" said Rudge.
"How? You're uprooted!" Leon exclaimed.
"Exactly! I'm not stuck to the ground anymore.
I'll just have to stay moist." Rudge explained.
"But it's dangerous!"
"Even in my home, It was dangerous," said Rudge.
Leon thought about it for a moment.
"You're right. Even my home wasn't safe from the human landfill.
Okay, let's go."
-
Carefully, Leon picked up Rudge by his long tail
and started to run along the boardwalk.
"We can't stay on the boardwalk," yelled Rudge as he bounced along.
"This is where the humans walk.
They'll step on us.
Besides, the path doesn't go to the centre of the bog.
We're going to have to go off the path."
"Why the centre?" Leon asked.
"Everyone is going there to meet the Great Sandhill Crane.
He only comes once a year.
The mushroom didn't want to tell you
because they didn't like to share with strangers,
but you're a friend now so I'll tell you.
...
The Great Sandhill Crane grants wishes.
One wish a year, exactly."
"Wow," Leon said.
"I'd wish for a family and a home,
what would you wish for, Rudge?"
"Feet," Rudge said.
"So I could go anywhere I wanted to."
-
The vole and the mushroom travelled for a day
through shrubs and over moss.
They became tired and hungry.
"I'm thirsty, Rudge."
"Me too. Stop. We can get water."
"How?"
"The ground is made of peat, a type of moss that is special.
The moss can hold water like a sponge,
and it filters bad things from it,
so if you grab some peat and squeeze,
fresh water will come out of it," Rudge explained.
Leon squeezed and drank.
"Wow, that's the freshest water I've ever tasted!"
Rudge bobbed its head,
"Have you noticed how fresh the air is?
The bog also filters pollution out of the air."
Leon breathed deeply.
He felt so mush more happier since he came to the bog.
The hawk did him a favour by chasing him here, he thought.
-
After a snack of bog cranberries and bog ---------
the vole and the mushroom noticed that the trees were thinning
There was space to run and jump,
but the vole was nervous
because there were less places to hide,
if the hawk came back.
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