Episode 2: “The Shortcut”
Finnick the fox and Maximus the mouse were on their way to the Independent Otters. They were carrying a cooler with a trout they’d caught together.
While they were on Finnick’s secret path, two other foxes passed by, giving them suspicious looks.
“Does it seem like there are more foxes around?” Finnick asked nervously.
“There are definitely more foxes around,” said Maximus, looking at his friend, whom he still wasn’t sure he trusted.
“Uh-oh,” said Finnick, pausing and putting out an arm.
“What?”
“The path is closed. There’s a giant tree fallen over it.”
“No problem,” said Maximus. “We can climb over, or walk around.”
“No—I can see foxes moving near both ends.”
“I’ll cut them down!” Maximus yelled, whipping out his pointy stick.
“We have to go back,” Finnick said.
“Never retreat,” said Maximus holding up a finger. He thought, then said, “Why don’t we take the Westbay Path, then cross over to the Otters when the path turns?”
“Westbay Path is the main path. The Great Grizzly will definitely have people watching it.”
“Ok, then we’ll take a shortcut through the woods. Follow me!”
“What? Do you know where you’re going? This is a bad idea,” said Finnick.
But Maximus was already plunging deep into Redtail Forest, to the west side of their trail. Finnick struggled after him with the cooler.
“Maximus?”
“Yes?”
“When you call something a shortcut,” Finnick said, panting after him. “That usually means it will take a shorter amount of time to get there. We are going farther from the path and farther from the Otters. Which means we will have to go all the way back. Which means this is definitely not shorter.”
“It’s a manner of speaking,” said Maximus. “It’s a shorter way to get there than if we had given up.”
Finnick did not know how to argue this. “Do you know where we are?” he asked.
Maximus stopped. It was starting to get dark. “Of course! We’re somewhere to the west of your trail in Redtail Forest.”
“Do you know how big Redtail Forest is?”
Maximus looked around.
“We’re lost!” Finnick groaned. “I can’t believe I followed you.”
“We’re not lost. Look, there’s some seeds and berries over there. I can hear water flowing. There are some dry leaves here we can nestle into…”
“We’re not looking for a new place to live! Being lost means you can’t find your old place! Ooooh, this was a bad idea,” said Finnick, hunching down with his chin to the ground, then snapping onto his hind legs with his head in the air.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting us un-lost. I can sense Earth’s magnetic field… North is this way!”
After a while, they rediscovered Finnick’s secret path.
“I think we’re on the other side of the fallen tree,” Finnick said.
“I told you we’d find a shortcut,” said Maximus
Finnick gave him a look. His friend smiled. “Maybe we take a longcut back.”
You can read Episode 1 here, with the story behind these stories.
I view my writing on this blog as a ministry, therefore my aim is to always offer it for free. If you feel you have been served well through this ministry, would you consider making a recurring or one-time donation?
