The nature detectives jumbo story

Made by CLUB members

 

 
All change in Mystery Wood
 

It was a misty morning in Mystery Wood.

Fog hugged the hedgerows and hid the treetops, absorbing all noise so no sound could be heard.

No rustling leaves or creaking branches, even the birds were quiet.

Everything still and peaceful as if captured in a photograph.

Then in a flash the silence was shattered by a huge racket. What a monstrous commotion!

What on earth was happening…?

What happens next? It's up to you

...

A grand old gnarled oak had fallen with an almighty crash!

Branches splintered off other trees as it hit them on the way down.

The ground got ripped up as the roots were yanked from it, exposing a badger set and a rabbit warren.

The rabbits froze, wide-eyed and the badgers thundered out to see what had happened.

The baby animals blinked at their first encounter with daylight.

What caused the tree to fall?

By David Scott, 8

...

Rain started to beat down onto the treetops and flowers, flattening them against the ground.

A flash of lightning had struck the tallest tree in the wood and split it right down the middle.

Thunder rumbled menacingly and a family of fairies at the bottom of the tree flew out frightened for their lives.

The fairies flew from one tree to another hoping that each one wouldn't be damaged by the lightning.

By Ella Hamilton

...

Then the fairies swept down, their wings glistening in the rain as they all interlocked together forming a fairy-shaped umbrella over the rabbits.

The badgers started to dig beneath a tree in the hopes that it was hollow and they could all live in there, but suddenly...

By Stacy Bootle

...

Big balls of hail came rattling down the holes of all the animals!

Everyone ran, scurried or fluttered for their lives, then as quick as the hail started it stopped and everywhere went silent.

The sun came out and all the animals, fairies and pixies saw how messed up their land was.

By Coco Quiney-Lewis, 8

...

As the animals started to peek out of their holes, the fairies began to flutter their wings and the pixies crept out too.

They could all see delicate flowers and grass shoots lowering their heads from the weight of the sudden hail.

Pretty flower heads drooped, bluebells hung their heads and the toadstools which pixies sheltered under now had white bobbles on their caps.

By Maxwell Munford-Gibbs, 8

...

The rabbits, the badgers, the fairies and the pixies had a meeting in the middle of the toadstool ring to decide what to do about their homes which had been ruined by the storm.

They decided that it would be best if they all worked together as a team to make some new homes.

So the rabbits collected sticks and stones, the badgers cleaned up the mess, the fairies got pinecones and the pixies made breakfast, lunch & dinner.

The fairies started to sing a happy working song and everyone joined in.

By Eleanor McBride, 5 

...

At first, they sought to ignore the gnarled face of the strange creature. But then they saw that he only meant kindly and began to approach.

Fairies, as I’m sure you know, are very intelligent and immediately recognised him as a rare tree gnome.

As they sat down in a clearing he told them this strange tale:

“The storm the other night didn’t just ruin your homes - it bought visitors. Small, big eyed creatures. They come from a time before this one but the lightning somehow bought them to here.

But what are they and what do they want? The answers are hidden in the old oak”

By Ellie Rowles

 ...

The journey to the old oak was fraught with danger, but as they got closer to it the trees began to peacefully speak.

The trees whispered "there is no danger around here, afraid beings".

" Wow! Who just spoke?" asked the timid pixies.

They continued on their tiring journey to the old oak where they saw a big old tawny owl perched on a low branch. He spread his wings and flew away as if he wanted them to follow him.

Should they follow him? What would they find?

 By Eve, 8  

 ...

The tawny owl spread his wings wide and swooped down into the clearing.

"Follow me."

He took off into the sky, ignoring the puzzlement he had caused.

"How can we fly Mama?" squeaked the smallest baby badger.

"We'll help you, dears," said the wisest and prettiest fairy, whose name was Finnellan. "Our spells can help you fly!!"

"We're badgers, not deer," muttered the father badger, but he let the fairies cast their threads of magic round him. Unfortunately he was far too heavy for their lifting magic, even if all the fairies joined in.

"This'll never work," declared Rosamund, the youngest novice. "How about we fly after the owl and leave a brightspark trail for you to follow? Else we'll never catch up."

There was an embarrassed silence; the other fairies were clearly ashamed that they hadn't thought of it first.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" cried Finnellan. She shot up into the air, leaving a trail of rainbow sparks glowing in the air. The others took off after her and the rest of the animals followed them into the undergrowth, leaving the clearing deserted.

Could they catch up with the owl? What would they find?

 By Sinead Foley  

          

What happened next to the little band of friends?
 

You tell us - email the next bit of the story to:
 naturedetectives@woodlandtrust.org.uk