Nosedive No More

Look Out!

Deep in the heart of Towering Oaks, another day was ending over Buttenhauser's Meadow. As the sun set, the forest creatures of both the night and day gathered at the old story tree to watch the full moon rise. Full-moon nights were always exciting, because that's when Grandpa Owl would read a new story from his book of twilight tales.

Silvery rays of light fell onto the thick branches of the ancient tree as Grandpa Owl emerged from his nest. Carrying the big book of stories in his giant, gray-feathered wings, he settled onto his favorite perch. Everyone grew quiet, wondering what tonight's story could be.

The faint sound of wildly flapping wings could be heard in the distance, growing louder until it filled the air. "Look out," cried Nelly. "Nosedive is coming!" In a flash of red-brown fur, the little squirrel scurried down the giant weathered trunk to safety. Nosedive's arrival was always cause for alarm. Though the young bat was a great flyer, his landings however, could use some work.

Nosedive raced across the open meadow, anxious not to miss the beginning of the story. "Wait for me!" he called. Spotting an empty branch, Nosedive tried to land. Turning too late, he missed his target and crashed into Red, who had just found a good spot above Grandpa Owl. The woodpecker let out a loud squawk as he fell into the open storybook and landed on Grandpa Owl's wing. Before hitting the ground, the heavy book clipped one of Hopper the rabbit's long ears. "Ow," Hopper yelped, covering the stinging wound with a paw. The other animals scattered in surprise.

After he had returned Red to his perch, Grandpa Owl flew down to get his book and dusted it off. He made sure no pages were torn before settling back on his branch. All the creatures hurried back to the tree, angry and complaining. Nosedive tried to apologize, but no one listened.

"Why don't you watch where you're going," Red squawked. "One day, somebody's gonna get hurt!"

"Somebody already did," Hopper grumbled, still holding his ear.

"Sorry Hop--" began Nosedive, but Red interrupted.

"Why don't you just stay away until you can land without breaking stuff!"

"But--" Nosedive began again.

"Ow, my ear! I think there's a hole in it," said Hopper.

"Don't be such a baby, it's not that bad," said Nelly.

Without a word, Hopper turned away and hastened into his burrow. Nosedive curled up at the bottom of the tree burying his face in his wings as the protesting continued. He wished he were invisible. Grandpa Owl flapped his powerful wings quieting the squawking, chirping, barking and howling.

"Listen everyone," began Grandpa Owl, "Our friend Basil is new to flying and needs to work on landing." Hearing Grandpa Owl call him by his proper name, Basil, Nosedive lifted his head and searched the branches of the tree. "Now, many of us here have also had trouble at first," Grandpa owl continued, looking up at Red. "Rather than complaining, we should help Basil solve his problem. Practice makes perfect, after all."

Everyone apologized to Nosedive for yelling at him. His friends, Nelly and Ollie Owl, then came up with an idea. They could help Nosedive practice landing! Nosedive thought the idea was great and wanted to start right away. Nelly looked up at Nosedive's older brother Belfry, hanging from a branch in the middle of the tree. "You can help, too, Belfry."

"Me? No way, I've got better things to do than teach Nosedive," Belfry replied.

"But you're a bat," Ollie insisted." Nosedive, uh, Basil needs your help."

Wrapping his leathery wings around his slender body, Belfry turned away. "Not my problem!"

Disappointed, Nelly, Ollie and Nosedive searched the tree for anyone else who might help. Red went into his nest and pretended to sleep so no one would ask him.

"Can anyone else lend a wing?" asked Grandpa Owl.

"I can," Ellis declared. The young magpie swooped down from the old tree and landed next to Nosedive. "I'm a landing expert!"

Nosedive smiled, "Aces! Thanks, Ellis."

"Bravo," Grandpa Owl said, clapping his wings. "You can begin practice tomorrow. Right now, it's story time."

The Big News

After the story, Belfry and Nosedive flew home to their hollow tree in the forest. Speeding into the entrance, Nosedive almost crashed into the TV before his father caught him.

"Whoa there, buddy. We need to work on your approach," he joked.

"Guess what, Dad?" Nosedive asked, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"What's up bud?" his father replied.

"Tomorrow, my friends are going to help me practice my landings," Nosedive reported happily.

"That's great," his father exclaimed. "I thought we were going to practice together, though."

"If it's ok, I'd like to practice with my friends instead," Nosedive said.

"That's fine," said Papa Bat. "They'll be an enormous help, I'm sure."

"You'll be landing in no time," his mother encouraged.

Nosedive beamed at his parents' approval, but Belfry quickly dampened his brother's spirits.

"Nosedive will never learn to land," he said, peering over his moon-glasses.

"That is not your brother's name, Belfry," their father said in his sternest voice.

Belfry knew his brother didn't like that nickname. He'd started calling Basil Nosedive after his very first crash and the name stuck.

"You could always help you know," Papa Bat continued. "It would be the big-brother thing to do."

"No way! My friends would laugh," Belfry replied. "And besides, he's too scared. He's more a chicken than a bat," Belfry laughed.

Nosedive looked at Belfry, whose toothy grin angered him even more. "Who needs you anyway! You couldn't teach a fish to swim!" Nosedive stormed off, "I'll show you," he muttered.

Belfry looked over to find his parents glaring at him. "What?"

Let's Get Going!

Early the next evening, Ellis, Ollie, Nelly and Hopper arrived at Nosedive's home. Ellis made bugle sounds, while the others called for Nosedive to wake up. As he emerged from the tree, Nosedive yawned and greeted his friends. "What's going on?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"It's time for landing practice," said Ellis.

"So early?" Nosedive yawned again.

"You need to practice if you want to land by story time," Ollie explained.

"Yeah, c'mon, sleepyhead," said Nelly. "Let's get going!"

"Quiet down out there! Some of us still want to sleep!" Belfry yelled from inside the giant hollow oak where they lived.

The friends ignored Belfry and continued talking. Nosedive went back inside to change out of his PJs then returned with a long sigh. "Ready."

"You don't sound very ready," said Nelly.

"No worries, I'm a landing expert, remember," said Ellis. "With my help, you'll be able to land in no time!"

Hopper handed Nosedive a gift wrapped with wrinkly paper and a crumpled red bow. "Here, you should wear this." As Nosedive took the package, he noticed the bandage on Hopper's injured ear.

"Sorry about your ear," he said, his wings dropping.

"Don't worry about it," said Hopper smiling. "It looks worse that it is. Go on, open your gift!"

Nosedive tore into the wrapping. "Whoa! A helmet!" He strapped the red and white striped helmet onto his head and pulled the sky-blue goggles over his eyes. Nosedive felt like a superhero.

"Aces! Thanks, Hopper," Nosedive said.

"No problem," said Hopper and started off for home.

"You're not coming with us?" asked Nosedive.

"No, I don't want to run into old Barnabas," Hopper explained.

"Oh, he never comes out this early," Ollie reassured.

"Still, I want to get back early enough to find a good spot," Hopper said nervously.

Hopper said goodbye to his friends. As he turned to hurry back to the old story tree, the old scar on Hoppers hind leg from his last run-in with the owl was still visible. Ollie, Ellis, Nelly and Nosedive wished Hopper well and set off to the meadow to find a place for Nosedive to practice landing. They were sure that by story time, Nosedive would be landing like a pro.

If at First You Don't Succeed ...

At the edge of the meadow, Ollie, Nellie, Ellis and Nosedive found the perfect tree to practice in. It was just the right height, and between the branches there was enough space for Nosedive to avoid crashing.

Ellis took charge and began explaining his landing technique, but Ollie quickly interrupted him. "Nosedive flies at night like me, so I should show him how to land," he insisted. Ollie took off and flew in a circle above the tree before he swooped down to land on one of the lower branches. "See, just like that!"

"I can do it better," said Ellis. Determined to prove he was the expert, Ellis flew up then returned, flapping his wings to gently perch next to Ollie. "That's how you land."

"Bats don't land on branches," said Nelly. "They catch them like I do when I jump to a new tree." Nelly scurried up the tree and jumped gracefully from one branch to another, showing Nosedive how to grab onto their smooth bark.

Nosedive tried each method, but none of them worked. "This is going to take longer than I thought," said Ellis, as Nosedive lay in the grass. His wings spread in exhaustion.

"We've been at this for hours," Nelly said, helping him up. "Let's take a break and try again tomorrow-You got this, Nosedive!" she smiled.

The friends agreed and Nosedive went home to rest up before story time.

#

Though practice didn't go as he'd hoped, Nosedive was determined to surprise everyone at story time with a perfect landing. Nosedive fell back asleep, then awoke soon after to the sounds of his family preparing for their nightly routines.

"Up and at 'em sleepyhead," he heard his dad call. "You don't want to miss Grandpa Owl's story, do you?" Nosedive sprang out of bed and rushed from the tree.

"We'll see you at the meadow later," his mother called after him.

"Ok!" Nosedive called back and hurried off to the old story tree.

Not Again!

Nosedive reached the story tree as the sky darkened and the first stars began to twinkle. Filled with confidence in his brightly colored helmet and goggles, he spotted an empty branch on which to make his landing and dove for his target. "I can do it," he told himself.

As he approached, Nelly, Ollie and Ellis watched. "Come on N.D., you can do it," they whispered. But once again, Nosedive missed his target. He crashed right into Grandpa Owl, sending the storybook flying. Fortunately, Nosedive landed in a mound of soft moss at the bottom of the tree. He sat up, somewhat dazed, to find Hopper standing in front of him. "Good thing you were wearing the helmet," he said.

In the meantime, Grandpa Owl recovered from his scare quickly enough to save his book from hitting the ground. After making sure no one was injured, he looked at Nosedive with a sigh then began reading. After the story, Grandpa Owl flew down to have a word with Nosedive.

"That was a good try today. Still, I think it would be a good idea if you skipped story time until you're able to land."

"But I practiced!" said Nosedive.

"Yes, and that's good," replied Grandpa Owl. "But learning takes both practice and persistence," he explained, placing a wing gently on Nosedives shoulder. "I'm sure if you keep trying, you'll be able to land very soon. Right now though, it's just too dangerous."

"Ok," replied Nosedive, doing his best to hide his disappointment.

Seeing Nosedive's sadness, Ellis, Hopper, Nelly and Ollie gathered around to cheer him up.

"No worries," said Ellis. "We'll practice until you get it."

"Right, same time tomorrow," added Nelly. "Be ready."

His friend's encouragement lifted Nosedive's spirits. As night fell and his friends went off to sleep, Nosedive's determination had returned. Since he still didn't feel like meeting his parents at the meadow, Nosedive flew home. Ollie kept him company on the way, making Nosedive laugh with stories of when he started learning to fly. When he got home, Nosedive was in a much better mood and was looking forward to practicing again.

Goodbye Meadow

The next day, the friends met at their practice tree, determined that this time, Nosedive would get it right. Ellis immediately began telling Nosedive how to land, but Ollie quickly interrupted.

"Your way didn't work last time," Ollie pointed out.

"Yours didn't either," Ellis yelled back.

"It would have if you hadn't been showing off," Ollie replied.

"You're both wrong, anyway," said Nelly. She suggested that Nosedive try to grab hold of a branch instead of trying to land on it.

"And then you just turn upside down like bats do," Nelly said.

"That might work," said Nosedive.

Taking flight, Nosedive spotted a branch he could grab onto and dove for it. "Got it," Nosedive shouted. But the branch bent like a bow, throwing him back into the air. "Lookout!" cried Ollie, flying out of the way just in time. Ellis, angry no one listened to him, wasn't paying attention and didn't notice Nosedive heading straight for him. They crashed with a loud thud and fell to the ground. Ellis was furious!

"You never watch where you're going," he yelled.

"I couldn't help it," said Nosedive. "The branch made me go too fast!"

"I told you to watch out, Ellis," said Ollie. "You should have been paying attention."

Ellis glared at Ollie. He was about to say something mean, but Nelly interrupted. "Let's try a branch that doesn't bend so easily," she suggested. But Ellis was too angry to listen.

"I quit!" he yelled. "You'll never learn to land anyway," he told Nosedive before flying away.

Ollie and Nelly, angry as well, felt Nosedive wasn't trying hard enough and left. Alone, Nosedive hung silently in the practice tree. As he watched his friends disappear across the meadow, Nosedive made a decision - he would leave Buttenhauser's Meadow for good.

Where's Nosedive?

The next morning at dawn, Nosedive's family returned to their giant oak. Since he didn't meet them after story time, his parents began to worry when they didn't find Nosedive at home. Belfry, however, wasn't worried. He was sure that his annoying little brother was still out practice-landing, wearing that dumb helmet.

It was getting late. The sun was already peeking over the horizon and Nosedive still wasn't home. Now Belfry started worrying, too. The family went out to alert everyone in Towering Oaks that Nosedive was missing.

Nosedive's friends began searching all their favorite hiding spots; even Red joined in.

"Daytime is so dangerous for bats," said Nosedive's mother, her voice all trembly. "What if he can't find a safe place to sleep?"

"He's a smart boy," Papa Bat reassured. "He knows what to do. And Everyone is looking, we'll find him."

The bat family returned to their home to rest up for the night search. But Belfry couldn't sleep. He felt guilty about being mean to his brother and for not helping him learn to land.

As day was ending with still no sign of Nosedive Belfry's worry grew. Eager to find his brother, Belfry raced out to search as soon as the sun set.

#

Meanwhile, Nosedive had gotten lost in the forest. He'd intended to make a new home at the lake where he and his family had once lived in a small cave. The ground was much softer there and Nosedive thought it would be the perfect place for a bat who couldn't land.

As night fell, he peeked out from an empty nest in a birch tree he'd crashed into. Scared and hungry, Nosedive realized running away was a terrible idea and set out for home.

While flying in what he hoped was the right direction, the moonlight reflecting off Nosedive's colorful helmet caught the eye of a long-eared owl stretching his wings for his nightly hunt. "Mmm, breakfast," he thought. "And with such pretty decoration!"

Nosedive was busy searching for something familiar to guide him home. He didn't notice the enormous shadow gliding over the ground toward him until he looked down. "Barnabas!" he cried and spun out of there as fast as he could. But Barnabas was not about to let his snack get away. He flew after Nosedive, looking forward to a tasty meal.

The Great Escape

With Barnabas close behind, Nosedive twisted and turned, curved and spun in every direction. He was running out of tricks to avoid Barnabas' sharp talons when he noticed something familiar. It was Buttenhauser's Meadow--and his practice tree! An idea hit him and he dove for it.

Barnabas tried to follow Nosedive but couldn't keep up. Watching Nosedive speed downward toward the tree, Barnabas was sure the little bat would crash and decided to wait for him to hit the ground. "This is going to be easy", he thought in delight. The rush of wind in his face, Nosedive disappeared into the leaves of his practice tree. He reached out just like Nelly showed him and grabbed onto the branch that had made him crash into Ellis. As it bent, Nosedive's feet almost touched the ground before he was shot back toward the sky with a loud snap.

Aiming his helmet straight at Barnabas, Nosedive wrapped his wings around his body as tightly as he could. "Oh, what luck," said Barnabas as he saw Nosedive heading straight for him.

The owl flew toward his prey expecting a yummy breakfast. What he got was a beakful of Nosedive's helmet! Barnabas spun backward and fell to the ground with a thump as Nosedive shot away like a rocket. When he thought he was high enough, Nosedive raced toward home without looking back.

On the way, Nosedive met his big brother. "Belfry!" Nosedive called. "Am I glad to see you!" Belfry had recognized Nosedive's helmet in the moonlight and was rushing to his aid when he saw Nosedive's escape.

"Nosedive," he called back. "That was AWESOME! You knocked old Barnabas right out of the sky!"

"We should get out of here before he wakes up," said Nosedive.

The brothers hurried home, where Belfry told their parents how Nosedive got away from Barnabas. Happy to have him back, Nosedive's parents hugged him so tightly he almost couldn't breathe. "You were really brave, son," said his father. "But you're grounded­-maybe for life!"

The thought of losing Nosedive made Belfry realize how much he cared for his brother.

"If you want, Basil, I can help you with your landing," Belfry said. "After all, to land like a bat, you need a bat to show you how!"

"Aces," said Nosedive. "Thanks!" After a few seconds, he looked at Belfry in surprise. "Hey, you just called me by my real name!"
Belfry smiled and playfully tugged his brother's ear. "Don't be too happy. If you're still crashing by the next story time, I'm trading you in for a pigeon!"

"Yeah, good luck with that!", Basil laughed.

Nosedive No More

Word quickly spread throughout the forest that Nosedive was safe at home and about how he had stood up to the scariest creature in Towering Oaks.

Early the next evening, Ollie, Ellis and Nelly paid Nosedive a visit.

"We're so glad you're home," said Nelly. "We were really scared!"

"If you still want to, we'd like to help you practice again," said Ellis.

"Sure," Nosedive said with a smile. " We'll surprise the whole meadow at the next story time!

With Belfry's help and his friends cheering him on, Nosedive soon learned the right way to land. When the next full-moon night finally arrived, he could hardly wait to show everyone.

"C'mon Belfry, they're going to start without us," Nosedive called.

"Relax, we have plenty of time," Belfry said, smiling.

The brothers reached the old story tree as the moon rose, bathing the meadow in its silver glow. Everyone watched as Nosedive performed a perfect bat-landing. The crowd's excited cheers echoed across the meadow, filling the night air with joy. Grandpa Owl waited for the applause to fade, then opened his big book of twilight tales. He gave Nosedive a knowing wink and began a new story.

"Once, there was a young bat who was a great flyer but had trouble landing..."

Nosedive's eyes widened in surprise, and he beamed with pride.

"Basil, why are you still wearing that helmet?" Belfry whispered. "You know how to land now."

"It looks cool," answered Nosedive, "and it works great for getting rid of hungry forest owls!"

#

12