Justin's Tale

  The song of spring was over, and summer was gone.  The autumn leaves were starting to change colors and drop off the trees. Justin’s family was preparing for winter.

Justin was a grey and white field mouse, with green-brown eyes, and a smile that could charm a bird out of a tree. He was a creative mouse, always thinking up poems.

On the morning of the third day of the season, he was picking apples with his brother and sister. “Well now, that’s a fine haul,” he said to Drake. “Shall we take them in?”

“Oh, do let’s!” The voice was not Drake’s. “Room for one more?” A grey squirrel with a beautiful red tail vaulted out of the tree.

“Ruby!” the three mice chorused. “Good to see you!” Drake added.

Ruby Longbrush, well-known as an archer and singer, stood beaming at them. She was modestly dressed in a warm red tunic, leather belt and brown trousers  . Across one shoulder was sheathed a knife with a garnet in its pommel. She drew it, speared an apple, and cut the fruit neatly into four slices.

In the kitchen, Rasa Fieldmouse was hard at work- preserving fruit, baking rations, and making a salad for lunch. “Hello, Mother! We have company- Ruby.” She stopped her activities. Giving Ruby her famous smile- which her eldest son had inherited- she brought forth a slice of hazelnut and blackberry pie.

“Now, I don’t wish to cause alarm, but there have been reports of slavers up north,” said Ruby. “I also heard about a pair of cats.” There was silence following the news- the kind of silence where you could hear a leaf fall. The moment was broken by Ruby’s parents.

“Hi there! Ruby, you impudent young tail-twitcher, why didn’t you wait for us?”