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The Rangers of the Forest

by Robert Henninger

80 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-0737; ISBN 1-4120-0368-7; US$12.95, C$16.95, EUR11.05, £7.66

A little raccoon named Jake gets lost and befriends a trouble-making opossum. They learn many lessons and help bring the animals together (they usually stay with their own kind.)

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about the book      about the author      sample excerpts       catalogue info

About the Book Animals would never socialize with any other animal other than their own kind, but that's all about to change. Meet Jake the little raccoon in the story named "The Rangers of the Forest" as he gets lost and searches for a way to get back home. Nettle, the trouble making little run away who becomes Jake's friend. Daisy and Dandelion, who wind up befriending them. All the while, as Jake and Nettle wander about, Basil, Jake's father and help as well as Cinnamon and Maple, Nettle's parents, are searching for their lost loved ones. This story develops the relationship between different species, as well as sets good and subtle morals in a creative and exciting way. Join the many who have experienced this new and different view on how animals came together, and find out how the raccoons became known as "The Rangers Of The Forest." RangerWriter

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About the Author Robert was born and raised in New York, and has lived there all his life. He lives with his wife and children, Jack, 8, and Elizabeth, 2. Writing for children has always been his dream, ever since he was a teenager. Having 10 brothers and sisters helped to blossom his imagination as he grew up, and he discovered he had a knack for writing later on in his teen years. "This is a big step for me as an author. Becoming a successful writer is a long difficult path, but were there's a will there's a way." He said. "As time passes, I plan to continue writing, and publish more stories. All of them will be unique and different from the others. My ultimate goal is to have my stories become movies...Like my writing heroes, Brian Jacques and Richard Adams.

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Sample Excerpts

CHAPTER 1

Jake was putting the final touches on a ring of clear transparent stones on his windowsill. The little raccoon, only 3 seasons old, (that's 10 or 11 years in raccoons' years), loved the way they glimmered in the sunlight, reflecting a rainbow on his ceiling. Oh, how he loved the colors, how they danced and shimmered about in his room. He looked back down at the several stones he had placed. Only one more was needed to make his collection complete. It couldn't be just an ordinary small rock, but a special one, one that was just the right size and shape to fit in the center of his circle. Jake knew just where to look. He looked at the rainbow of colors on his ceiling one last time before getting up and leaving his room-cavern.

Upon leaving his room, Jake entered the dining room cavern, where his mother was getting things ready for their next meal.

"Hi, mom," he said. "I'm going to look by the stream for more rocks, okay?"

His mother was busily opening the seeds of a sunflower as she said, "Okay, but don't you wander too far. And be back in time for dinner."

"I will," Jake responded, and left to search for his prize.

The home they lived in appeared as an abandoned beaver dam. Though it was not in a river, it was not far from one. Being made of such things as old branches, pine cones and pine needles and ferns would seem a place to be uninviting, but the inside was roomy and comfortable in any weather, winter or summer. The huge fir tree near his home was a great place to play around, climb and explore.

With no other raccoons around for him to play with, Jake lacked having a friend. He would sometimes feel lonely, but collecting colorful stones and playing with his parents made him happy and content.

"Hi, little buddy," his father greeted him as Jake passed. "Where you off to?"

"Hi, daddy," Jake said. "I'm going to get more pretty stones. I only need one more for my rainbow collection!"

"Oh, that's great! Have fun, and find some good ones for me, okay?"

"I will, daddy. See you later!"

"Good luck," his father said, smiling at the ambition in his son's eyes as he passed.

Jake went to the river, which was only a short distance from his home. He stopped at the river's edge and took a drink. Looking into the water, he reached in and grabbed a blue stone. He began following the edge of the river with his eyes peeled for that special gem he needed, collecting other interesting and beautiful stones as he went along the way. The water always moved new and beautiful accumulations of pebbles with its current; each time was a different collection.

As the sun shone through the treetops, a gleam of light caught Jake's eye. He looked into the water and to his amazement; there was the stone he was looking for. It was beautiful, with its rainbow glow and clear appearance. It was perfect for what he needed, and Jake knew it was just the right size. Unfortunately, he was also faced with a problem. The glowing gem was in water that was too deep and fast moving for him to get. However, as he looked up, he noticed a branch hanging over the water where the stone was. He carefully set his collection of stones on the bank of the stream and climbed the tree to the branch. He looked into the water at the prized stone. "If there were only some way to get it," he thought. Just then, he remembered a trick his father had taught him about fishing. He grabbed a piece of the vine that was wrapped around the tree he was on and tied a loop in it. Then, taking a deep breath, he nervously stepped down to the dead branch. It seemed sturdy enough, so he slowly and cautiously climbed to above the glistening stone. Lowering the rope vine he had made was the easy part, but lining it up with the stone proved to be a challenge. The current from the rapid river and the angle of the loop made it extremely difficult to line up. Struggling minutes passed before Jake's efforts paid off. The loop had finally gone over his prize. He slowly began to pull the rope up toward him when the branch he was on suddenly buckled and collapsed! Poor Jake fell into the water and the current swept him away, pulling him under. He barely managed to gasp a breath as he was being pulled downstream, headed for a waterfall, which fell onto jagged rocks.

Jake began to panic, thrashing his paws wildly trying to get his head above water. With a fantastic stroke of luck, Jake's paws raked across the solid round form of a small fallen tree. He grasped and pulled himself out of the rapid river. Gasping for air, the poor little raccoon collapsed with exhaustion, catching his breath and resting his body. He got up slowly, he saw that nothing seemed familiar to him. None of the landmarks he was used to seeing were anywhere nearby.

"Oh, no!" he said.

Feeling frightened and disoriented, Jake got up and followed the river downstream. The further he followed the stream, the more rapid it flowed, and the sound of a distant waterfall made him uneasy. He decided it would be best if he found a familiar landmark. He wandered into the woods. "Where could I be?" he asked himself. "Nothing looks right. Not even the trees."

Jake continued to wander around until he came upon the edge of the woods. There he stopped in amazement as he beheld a beautiful meadow. Jake's eyes widened as he took in all the tall grass, beautiful red, pink and yellow flowers and butterflies.

"Wow!" he gasped in amazement. He looked into the blue sky and saw puffy white clouds. Never had he seen the sky so clearly, for in the forest there were too many trees. Jake's eyes followed some sparrows flying through the air. He watched as they landed on the tall grass of the wonderful meadow.

Just then, a little rabbit poked its head out of a patch of grass nearby. It observed Jake carefully.

"Hey," the young rabbit called out.

Jake had never seen a rabbit before, and wondered what kind of animal it was.

"What's your name?" asked the rabbit.

"Jake, what's yours?"

"I'm Clover. What kind of animal are you?"

"I'm a raccoon. What kind are you?"

"I'm a rabbit, silly. Cantcha tell! I have long ears and a puffy tail, see?" He showed Jake his tail.

"A rabbit? I have never seen a rabbit before," said Jake.

"Why not?"

"I don't know," Jake said, looking confused.

"Do you wanna play?" said Clover.

"Sure!"

"Okay, let's play tag - you're it!" When Clover said this, he tagged Jake and began to run. When Clover noticed Jake wasn't following, he went to him.

"You're supposed to chase me - and tag me - then I chase you," he said.

"Oh, okay," said Jake.

"Ready . . . ? You're it!" He began running again, with Jake chasing after him, letting a gleeful giggle.

Just then, a voice rang out:

"Clover! Clover, where are you?"

Clover stopped and Jake caught up with him. "Who was that?" Jake asked.

"Oh, that was my dad," Clover said. "I gotta go now. Maybe you can come with me."

Jake followed Clover to his parents, but Clover's father scolded him.

"What are you doing, hanging around with my son! Go home!"

"But I'm - "

"Go on!" Clover's father interrupted. "Git away!" With that, he pulled Clover to him, pushed Jake away, and hopped off.

Startled and deeply offended, Jake began to cry. He turned sadly, and went further into the meadow, remembering his parents and how lost he was. He lay down and wept and sobbed, not knowing why Clover's father rejected him so rashly.

Jake lifted his tear filled eyes to the sky, wishing he were home with his parents. His only hope was thinking they would search and find him.

CHAPTER 3

Jake awoke early the next morning feeling alone and frightened. He wandered the meadow, searching for anything that looked familiar. It had been nearly a full day since Jake had lunch, and he was getting very hungry. He thought of how nice it would be if he were home, with his parents as they all sat together and ate the delicious food his mother always prepared. The sunflower seeds all cracked open and ready to eat, the fish his father would catch; all covered with his favorite herbs and spices. And to top it all off, the delectably sweet taste of crushed berries in a walnut shell always hit the spot for dessert. He sighed heavily. The thought of all this delicious food made his stomach growl. He had to find some food, and soon. He stopped and sat on his hind legs as he smelled the air. As he thought, there was water near by, and where there was water, there were fish! Feeling somewhat encouraged by the familiar scent, Jake ran to the source.

All at once, Jake broke through the tall curtain of grass and was at the edge of a large pond. Cattails lined the banks, and lily pads were scattered over the water's surface. Dragonflies darted and fluttered about, and the tall meadow grass seemed as a wall surrounding the entire perimeter of the pond.

Jake had never seen anything like it, but his hunger for fish was stronger than his fascination. He looked into the water and saw some minnows swimming about in the shallows. With a skill his father had taught him, he grabbed one. Though it tasted delicious, it was too small for his appetite. Looking out a little further in the pond, Jake saw more fish. He tried a pounce trick he had seen his father do while hunting with him, but his inexperience and lack of size was a problem. Not only had he missed the fish, but he also caused a splash which scared the others away. He stood upright in the water, looking for more when he spotted a frog on a lily pad by some cattails. Never before had he seen a frog, and curiously approached it.

Was it food?

Jake approached very near the frog, observing its green body and long curved back legs. He slowly and cautiously reached out his paws, trying to pick it up. Suddenly, his paws flinched back as the frog jumped into the water. It swam down until it disappeared in the seaweed at the bottom of the pond. Just then, Jake heard a voice call out from behind.

"What are you doing here?"

Jake turned to see a rather young looking opossum staring back at him, his stubby arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm looking for food," Jake said, staring at this strange looking animal, wondering what it was.

"You're a raccoon, aren't ya?" asked the opossum.

"Yes," said Jake. "How did you know?"

"I ain't supposed to be talking to you, but who cares what they say," the opossum said, thinking of his parents. "What's your name?"

"Jake, what's yours?"

"Nettle. So why are you all by yourself? Where are your parents?"

"I'm lost," Jake said with a long face.

"Lost?'" Nettle said, almost chuckling, "You should feel lucky!"

"Why?"

"Because parents are always bothering you with their constant nagging."

"Where are your parents?" asked Jake.

Nettle glared as he said, "I don't know and I don't care! I ran away from home!"

Jake widened his eyes. "Why!"

"I just told you why."

"Oh, yeah, because they nag you."

"Yeah, you too, huh?"

"No. I miss my parents. I want to go home."

Nettle shook his head. "You don't know how lucky you are," he said. "You're better off without them." He walked to the edge of the pond. "You havin' any luck catchin' breakfast?"

"Well, sort of," Jake answered. Just then, he caught sight of some minnows swimming near him. He caught one and ate it.

"You don't want those puny little minnows," Nettle said. "Come out here and let an expert show you how it's done."

"Okay," Jake said. He got out of the water and stood by Nettle.

"Watch and learn," Nettle said. He looked into the water and spotted a sunfish. "Look there, you see that?" he said, pointing to it. "That's our next feast!" Nettle crouched down and got ready to pounce.

"Isn't it kinda big?" Jake said.

"Shh, you're breaking my concentration!"

Nettle suddenly leapt into the water, grabbing the fish by its sides, pulling it out. No sooner than he pulled it out when the fish vigorously thrashed its tail, slapping Nettle in the face with quick sudden flaps. Nettle fell face first into the water, letting it go. He quickly regained himself and heard Jake laughing.

"What are you laughing at!" Nettle snapped as he glared at Jake.

Jake tried to straighten his face. "You!" he managed to say between chuckles.

"It's not funny!" Nettle shouted. He glared harder as he approached Jake, who was still laughing. Jake was startled as Nettle grabbed him by the paws and pulled him into the water. Jake heard Nettle laughing as he stood up, dripping wet, and began laughing himself. He playfully pushed Nettle down in the water, and they made a game out of pushing and splashing with laughter.

Attracted to the sound of splashing from above, a large, silver scaly creature approached as they continued to play. As it drew near the sounds, the huge pike saw Nettle's tail thrashing about playfully.

Jake suddenly stopped laughing with a fearful gasp at seeing the long jagged teeth and massive body of the giant fish as it came in, headed straight for Nettle.

"Run!" Jake barely had time to yell. Acting very quickly to save Nettle, Jake grabbed him and pushed him out of the way. The pike was startled for a moment, and quickly steered off, as quickly as it came.

"Hey!" Nettle cried. "Why did you do that!"

"Look!" Jake said, pointing to the pike. "It was coming after you."

No sooner did Jake say this when the pike came in for another strike.

"Ahh!" Nettle and Jake cried, and bolted out of the water. They ran and hid behind the tall grass surrounding the pond. They moved the curtain of grass aside with their paws, being sure the coast was clear.

"That was close!" Nettle cried.

"Sure was! It was going after your tail!"

Nettle grabbed and clutched his tail. "Thanks for saving my tail!" he said.

"Let's get out of here," Jake said.

"Really. I don't want to be around if that thing decides it wants opossum for dinner."

"Or raccoon," Jake added.

They got up and walked in the meadow.

"Come with me, Jake," Nettle said. "I want you to see my hide out."

"Oh, where is it?"

"It's not too far. It's near the forest."

Jake followed him as he led Jake through the thick of the taller grass. They soon broke through to some shorter, somewhat thinner grass.

"I don't know why my parents think we should stick to our own kind. You seem all right, Jake," Nettle said.

"Yeah, my parents told me it would be hard to make friends with other animals." Jake said, feeling sad as he remembered them. His eyes turned down with a frown as he longed to be home again.

Nettle, seeing Jake looking so glum, said; "I like you!"

Jake perked up a bit. Although he missed his family and home very much, at least it was good to know he was no longer alone. "Thanks, Nettle," he said. "I'm worried, though. My parents must be very upset. I left just before dinner and I promised to be home. They must be so worried."

"Oh, forget about them," Nettle said with a scowl. "You can stay with me."

"But Nettle, I want to find my home."

"Come on, Jake. Be my friend, just for a little while." Nettle pressed.

"Okay, but if I see my parents, I'm going with them."

"All right," Nettle said, showing resentment. Deep down in his heart, Nettle felt very guilty, but his rebellious nature refused him to admit it. Instead, he blocked out the thought, thinking of excuses as to why he left.

After a time, Nettle and Jake reached the edge of the forest, where there was a tree stump with a hole in front facing the meadow.

"Here it is," Nettle said, and jumped up, climbing down inside the hole.

Jake was unsure he could jump that high, and hesitated. Nettle popped his head out of the hole.

"Well, come on!" he yelled.

Jake climbed up the stump, and down inside the hole. Once inside, Jake noticed there was no roof, and the place where he stood was remarkably smooth.

"So, what do you think of my place? I've been working on this for a long time to make it look this good."

"It looks really nice," Jake said, looking around the inside. He yawned. "I'm tired," he said, feeling his eyes sagging.

"This makes a great sleeping spot. I use it all the time," Nettle said.

"Let's stay here tonight."

"Yeah, good idea," Jake said, and lay down. Nettle did the same and they slept.

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Catalogue Information

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