Many seasons have gone by since that adventure I had. Many, many seasons. But I have not forgotten one little detail of it. So clear it is in my memory, it seems like it happened only yesterday.... I was in a horde of rushing stoats, weasels, foxes, rats, minks like myself. Wave upon wave came forward, faster and faster. Towards an equal horde of goodbeasts. Mice, voles, hares, hedgehogs, even badgers rushed forward, their weapons glinting in the sun. Then, all activity stopped. The waves did not crash together, but stopped, frozen on both sides, as the goodbeast horde parted. An enormous badger strided forward, swinging an equally huge broadsword with ease. Slowly, another wave of goodbeasts joined the colossal army, then another, then another. We were badly outnumbered. Just as suddenly, everything started again. Some turned around to flee, but they met their death quite soon, running into a line of sling-whirling and dagger-stabbing hares. Those that fought on had a chance of surviving, but only a few actually did. Exhausted, I hid myself under a pile of sand, pretending I was dead. When some beast stepped on my wounded head, I passed out. I awoke much later, feeling groggy and sick. Hearing no sound from above, I slowly stood up. I was so dizzy, I could only go a foot before I collapsed to the ground. I forced myself to struggle on for about five hours, trying to find a suitable form of transportation to get out to sea. I finally found it. A small raft was on the water, tied to a wooden stake. I used the last of my strength to untie the rope and drag myself onto the raft. Just as I drifted out to sea, everything went black. I awoke on a strange island, where many small trees grew. There were ferns everywhere, and small birds flew from tree to tree. I had no idea how long I had drifted, but I guessed that I had been on the seas at least a week, for it took a week to get to any of the islands from the island where the battle had taken place. That explained the pangs of hunger in my stomach. I got up, pleased to notice that I felt fine, no longer weak or dizzy. I picked out a nest with eggs in it and a mother on top. I slowly stalked towards the nest, being careful not to frighten the bird. When I was about a foot away, I pounced. The mother flew away. I stepped towards the nest, but as soon as I put my paw on an egg, the mother attacked me with lightning speed. By the time I escaped far enough away, I had as many pecks as sand on that beach. I tried again and again to catch a bird and kill it to get its eggs. Finally, after a long time of being pecked by various mother birds, I found a mother with her back turned toward me. I snuck closer and closer until I was right behind her. Grabbing the bird in my paws, I took out my dagger and killed her. I reached into the nest, and removed the eggs. For the next hour, I collected dry wood, until I had a huge pile of wood. striking two stones together, I managed to light a small fire with some of the wood. I carved a sort of saucepan out of a piece of wood with my dagger, then soaking the saucepan with water to prevent it from burning. I cracked three eggs into it, saving the fourth for later. I stuck the bird on a stick after removing its feathers, holding it over the fire to roast it. Putting it down, I scrambled the eggs and cooked them. Using a leaf as my plate, I quickly scarfed down my meal. I fell asleep well fed and contented. In the morning, the first thing I noticed was that my egg was missing. I was angry. I wasn't sure if I could go through that whole thing again to get another egg. If I didn't, I would starve. I searched the island for my egg, but all I found was a lost, newly born chick wandering around. Wait....it had come from my egg! I couldn't bring myself to kill it for food, because it was so helpless and defenseless. Besides, it would be useful to have a trained bird... Finally! It was finished. My very first raft. After many seasons of training the bird to fetch vines, pieces of wood, and other things needed to build a raft, it all had paid off. My raft was finished, and I was ready to leave the island. I had lived on berries for a whole season before I realized that my bird could steal the eggs without being pecked to death. Even with the eggs, it got very sickening after three seasons of roasted berries, toasted berries, boiled berries, sauteed eggs, baked eggs, scrambled eggs, and so on. I was looking forward to a nice supper of....well, anything but berries and eggs! Of course, when I left the island, I would have to leave the bird behind. I didn't have a bag big enough to hold food for both of us. Taking my pouch from my belt, I filled it with berries and two eggs, recently collected by my bird. I also found a huge, long stick, just in case I needed wood for something. I would set sail tomorrow. I awoke at dawn, getting up to say goodbye to my bird. But it was gone, probably into the forest. It was just as well. It would probably have followed me if it saw me leaving. I pushed my raft out onto the water and jumped aboard. Night time was near, and I found myself getting hungry. Opening my pouch, I reached inside. I grabbed what felt like the smooth side of a berry. SQUAWK!!!!!!!!! My bird shot through the air, flapping its wings wildly. I looked inside the bag, but the food I had put in there was gone. Instead, there were all the things I had trained the bird to fetch for me: a long, long piece of vine, a stick, a rock. no food. The bird alighted on my shoulder. I stared out at sea, wondering what I could get for food. a shark fin circled round in the water. Suddenly, an idea just popped right into my head. taking my dagger and stick, I quickly whittled the stick into a sort of harpoon, then attached the piece of vine to it. Making sure it was all secure, I threw it with all my might at the shark. I missed. Pulling it up, I tried again. This time I hit it right in the middle of its back. With a jolt I hadn't expected, the shark took off through the water with an amazing speed. So did the raft. I smiled. Without realizing it, I had found a way to make my raft go faster. After two days, the shark died. Using my longsword to keep fish from eating my shark, my bird and I feasted on shark meat (raw, but tasty). Finally, after about a week or two, I sighted an island with a gigantic fortress on it. Reaching the shore, I was happy to note that two foxes were standing guard at the gates, not some pesky goodbeasts. With my bird on my shoulder, I strode inside. It's been a while since then, and my bird has long since flown away to distant lands, but I still have the memory of the first time I entered Fort Nightshade. Maybe I'll look out the window someday, and my bird will be waiting for me to go on another adventure with him.