After a short trek, Slub Glub and Willowmina came to a marshy area alongside a muddy stream.
“There’s those blasted bandits,” Willowmina spat, pointing one branch towards a hollow log, from which a couple of bushy tails poked out. Slub Glub stuck his long, curly nose inside and snorted loudly.
“Hey! We’re sleeping in here!” grumbled one of the raccoons from inside the log.
“Hmmmph,” Willowmina muttered, rolling the log over with one of her root-feet. Three raccoons tumbled out of the hollow tree-trunk.
“What’s the big idea?” one of them asked, looking up to the willow tree and then over at Slub Glub.
Willowmina adopted a chiding tone. “Oh, so it’s okay for you to hang out in our hair all night chewing on our leaves, but as soon as we disturb your beauty rest, then heaven help us.”
The raccoons fell silent; surprise and then embarrassment registered on their faces. The black masks around their eyes made them look even guiltier.
“Oooh, right, about that. Um… You’re one of those willow trees from up the hill?” one of the raccoons asked.
“Yes, and my whole family is up there weeping wildly, their foliage falling out from all your rustling! Why can’t you spend the night down here in these hollow logs, instead of bothering us?”
The three raccoons looked at each other and then back at Willowmina. Slub Glub, meanwhile, had gotten his nose stuck inside the log and was struggling futilely to free himself. “We’re sorry,” the raccoons said in unison, and then the largest among them continued, “but it’s not our fault. We only climb on you and the other willow tress to get away from the evil grinning devils, who laugh at us in cruel mockery. And then while we’re up in your branches hiding from them, we get awful hungry and there’s nothing to eat but your leaves.”
Willowmina stared at the raccoons, unsure how to react. Slub Glub had finally gotten his nose free and he approached the group. “Devils? What devils” he asked.
“Hyena devils!” the raccoons shuddered together.
To be continued.
Table of Contents: “Slub Glub in the Weird World of the Weeping Willows”
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Illustration & text copyright (c) Andrew Goldfarb