Poppy and Ereth Read online

  Poppy turned to Luci. “Luci,” she pleaded. “Please, we need your help. Fly back to your cave—fast as you can. Get as many of your family as possible and bring them here. You’ve got to fly us out of this place.”

  Luci looked at Poppy and then at the mice in the dell. “Really?”

  “Absolutely,” said Poppy.

  “Miss Poppy,” said Luci, “there’s fire all over Dimwood Forest. It’s getting hard to fly.”

  “Please,” Poppy pleaded. “It’s the only way to save us. Please, just try!”

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can!” cried Luci, and off she flew.

  As soon as the bat was gone, Poppy went to the edge of the rock. “Everyone!” she called. “Listen to me. The bats are my friends. They will be yours, too. I’m sure they will come. When they do, don’t be frightened. They can carry us to safety.”

  “They’ll teach us to fly!” shouted Spruce again.

  “When they come,” Poppy continued, “they’ll be able to pick you up by your backs. It won’t hurt, I promise. I’ve already done it. It’s the only way we’re going to get out of here alive!”

  The mice stared at her.

  Poppy felt a nudge from behind. It was Ereth.

  “What about me?” he whispered in a frightened voice.

  “You can come, too.”

  “But…but they won’t be able to pick me up by my back.”

  Poppy stared at him for a moment, then said, “Ereth, it’ll have to be your belly. It has no quills. It’s soft.”

  “My…belly?” he roared.

  “Ereth, it’s the only way.”

  “Pickled pink pockets!” cried Ereth, backing away. “I can’t. I won’t. It’s not right. It’s humiliating. It’s my one tender spot. Everyone will laugh at me.”

  “They won’t!”

  “Will!”

  “Ereth, listen to me. I’ve been to the bat cave. Have you any idea what’s there?”

  “I don’t care!”

  “You do!”

  “Don’t!”

  “It’s salt!” she cried.

  Ereth stopped moving away. He peered at Poppy through the thickening gloom. “Did you say…salt?”

  “Yes! Right there, in the bat cave. I’ve never seen so much. A whole beach of soft salt.”

  Ereth stared at her. He began to salivate. “A whole…beach…of…salt?”

  “Enough for the rest of your life!”

  “The bats!” came a cry. “They’re back. Look at them!”

  Poppy looked up. Down through the clouds of swirling hot smoke fluttered hundreds of bats into the dell. Their wings beat the air, pushing the smoke away.

  “We’re here! We’ve come!” their voices cried, high and shrill.

  “Lie down!” Poppy shouted to the mice. “Quickly! Let them grab you by your backs! Hurry!”

  It was hard to know who squeaked more, the bats or the mice. But as the bats hovered over the dell, dipping and diving, Poppy could see one mouse after another lifted away. Most were carried the way she had been, by the back. In two instances she saw small great-grandchildren carried by their tails. And at one point she was sure she heard Spruce shout, “Hey! I’m flying! Like Grandma!”

  “Miss Poppy,” Luci called, “what about this huge, prickly mouse?”

  Poppy turned. There was Ereth. He was alternately cowering in the midst of some two dozen bats, then spinning and smacking about with his tail. The bats kept approaching the porcupine, only to leap away when he lashed out.

  “Ereth!” cried Poppy. “Stop! Be calm! Just roll over. It’s the only way they can pick you up.”

  “Toenail toothpaste!” bellowed the porcupine. “It’s insulting! Humiliating!”

  “Salt, Ereth,” cried Poppy. “Think about that salt! Salt enough for the rest of your life!”

  Ereth blinked at Poppy. Then, drooling a little and muttering, “Salt! Salt for the rest of my life. Salt for the rest of my life!” he rolled over and stuck his four feet straight up in the air. Bats instantly clustered over his belly. Poppy saw Ereth rising—upside down—in the air.

  “Great gobs of chicken cheese!” Ereth bellowed as he disappeared up into the smoke. “This tickles!”

  “That’s everybody but you, Miss Poppy,” Poppy heard Luci say into her ear.

  Poppy took one more look around the dell. She was indeed the last one. The flames had crept in very close and had reached the base of the boulder. The howl of burning filled her ears. Each second the air grew hotter, scorching hot, so hot her whiskers curled. Even as she gazed about, the trees surrounding the dell exploded into flames.

  She looked at Luci, nodded, and then offered her back.

  The young bat sprang over her and gripped her fur. “Ready, moth-mouse?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” said Poppy.

  Luci unfolded her leathery wings, flapped them furiously, and soared up in a tight spiral.

  Poppy, eyes closed, felt the terrible heat and the buffeting winds. She smelled the acrid stench of burning. Then the heat and the stench retreated, though her eyes still smarted from the dense smoke. At last, when fresher winds blew into her face, Poppy opened her eyes, looked down, and gasped.

  All of Dimwood Forest was burning. Flames lit the sky, reaching enormous heights as if trying to pull it down. Black, gray, and white smoke billowed and roiled. Patches of smoldering scarlet dotted the earth like a glowing crazy quilt. “It will all…all of it…be gone,” Poppy whispered.

  Then she looked ahead and saw the swarm of bats carrying her family to safety. Amid them she could see the bulging bulk that was Ereth. And she was almost certain she could hear him bellowing, “Bring me to the salt!”

  When Poppy looked down again, her tears—tears of sadness, tears of relief—fell. Whether they reached the burning forest she never knew.

  CHAPTER 35

  The End

  FOR FIVE DAYS the fire raged, roared, and ravaged Dimwood Forest, and then gradually died away.

  On the sixth day curls of smoke continued to trickle upward like whispered memories, while the charred trees stood like tall, crooked skeletons. Nothing moved. The earth was burnt over black. The land was silent and hot. Dimwood Forest was no more.

  On the seventh day rain began to fall. It fell softly, as if the sky were kissing the earth.

  CHAPTER 36

  The Beginning

  IT TOOK A FULL MONTH for the smoldering ground that had been Dimwood Forest to cool. Gradually, the mice began to emerge from the bat cave. Though there were those who went elsewhere, some made their way back to the places they had once lived. Slowly, their lives resumed.

  Among those who returned to the forest area were Poppy and her immediate family. And Ereth.

  The old porcupine was pleased that Poppy had not died, pleased that he did not have to smile anymore, pleased that he was free to swear again, pleased to know where he had a life’s supply of salt.

  One day Poppy was sitting on a rock surveying the fire’s destruction when Bounder appeared quite suddenly and sat down before her. “Glad to see you’re okay,” he said.

  “You too,” returned Poppy. “Bounder, I can’t thank you enough. That was quite a ride.”

  “It sure was,” said the fox.

  “Were your children all right?” asked Poppy.

  “Sure. A little singed, but fine. Yours?”

  “Very much so. Thanks to you, everyone was saved.”

  “Glad to hear it.” Bounder stood up. “Hey, mouse,” he said with a toothy grin, “I’ll catch you next time.” He turned and trotted away. Just before he took a bend in the path, he looked back, winked, wagged his tail, and then went on.

  Poppy never saw Bounder again.

  It was a week later, twilight. The air was sweet and dew laden. The sun, setting in the west, filled the cloud-laced sky with strokes of purple and orange. Poppy and Ereth sat atop Bannock Hill. Spruce was with them. For a long while they sat in silence. Then suddenly Poppy cried, “Ereth, Spruc
e, look over there!”

  Spruce looked where Poppy pointed, but the porcupine only muttered, “Toasted tiddlywinks on toast. I don’t feel like looking at anything.”

  “No, really, Ereth. You must look,” insisted Poppy, and she scampered a few feet. “Please come over here!” Spruce joined her.

  With a loud grunt, Ereth heaved himself up and waddled reluctantly to where Poppy was peering down at the ground. “What is it?” he demanded.

  “Just look!” she insisted.

  Ereth and Spruce stared where Poppy was pointing. A tiny green shoot no more than an inch high had pushed up through the blackened earth.

  “Things are starting to grow again,” cried Poppy.

  “Does that mean the whole forest will come back?” asked Spruce.

  “I think so,” said Poppy.

  “So what?” muttered Ereth. “You won’t be here.”

  “Ereth,” said Poppy, “how many times do I have to tell you? I need to go to another place for a while. I want to see what else there is in the world before I get too old. And Spruce said he would come with me.”

  “Why Spruce?” demanded Ereth.

  “‘A mouse has to do what a mouse has to do,’” Spruce said.

  “That’s not you talking, that’s Ragweed,” Ereth grumbled. “Always Ragweed.”

  “Grandma says you should come too,” said Spruce.

  Ereth turned to Poppy. “Why can’t you stay here?” he demanded.

  “Because when I visited the bat cave I learned that there’s a whole lot beyond Dimwood Forest. I want to see even more.”

  “How are you going to do that?”

  “Ereth,” returned Poppy, “with the forest gone, the bats can’t find enough insects to live on. They’ve found a new home in an old mine in another forest some miles from here. I’m going with them.”

  “You’re not a bat,” said Ereth.

  “I like bats,” said Spruce. “They’re fun. Luci takes me flying all the time. We’re best friends. We’re going to have adventures.”

  “Ereth,” said Poppy, “it’s like what Oldwing said. As long as you try, you’re young. Now, it’s twilight. Luci will be here in a few moments to take me. I wish you would come with us.”

  “Uncle Ereth, the bats offered to take you too,” said Spruce.

  Ereth shook his head. “I’ll never fly again.”

  “Walk, then,” said Poppy. “I’ve told you how to get there. It’s not that far. Go straight north.”

  “I’m too old to move,” Ereth objected. “Anyway, there’s all that salt you found for me. I’d be a fool to leave that.”

  “Then, Ereth, at least promise me that you’ll visit.”

  “Greedy green geese! I’m not promising anything to anyone.”

  “Then, my dear, dear friend, we have to say good-bye.”

  “I said good-bye to you once,” cried Ereth. “I don’t intend to say it again!”

  “Then…what else can we say?” asked Poppy, her eyes filling with tears.

  “Nothing!” snapped Ereth. “Just go. Forget about me. I’ll forget you, too. Have yourself a grand old time. So will I.”

  Poppy peered up into Ereth’s face. “Oh, Ereth, I do love you,” she said. “You really have been the best of friends. Thank you for always being you.”

  “Just go!” shouted the porcupine.

  Even as they stared at each other, Luci and another bat arrived in a flutter of wings.

  “Miss Poppy!” cried Luci. “Spruce! We’re here. Are you ready?”

  “Almost,” said Poppy. She stood up on her rear toes and gave Ereth a kiss on the tip of his nose. “Good-bye, my dear, dear friend,” she said. “I will always miss you!”

  “Go away!” yelled Ereth, and he turned his prickly back on her.

  “I will,” said Poppy. To Luci she said, “I’m ready.”

  “Bye, Mr. Ereth,” called Luci. “If you change your mind, you can come too. We’ll take you.” She giggled. “Belly up!”

  “Never!” growled Ereth.

  Poppy lay down. Luci hovered over her, gripped her back as gently as she could, and lifted her in the air. The other bat did the same to Spruce.

  “Good-bye, Ereth,” Poppy called down as she and Luci circled upward. “Good-bye!”

  “Good-bye, Uncle Ereth!” called Spruce.

  And off they flew.

  Ereth turned and stared after Poppy, watching as she headed north, then disappeared into the sky. The old porcupine shifted about and gazed in the direction of the bat cave, where all that salt was waiting for him—enough salt for the rest of his life. Ten lives.

  He shut his eyes and lifted a paw to touch the tip of his nose.

  Suddenly Ereth opened his eyes and bellowed, “Baggy buffalo boxers! Poppy! Spruce! You tiny tuffs of tinsel wits! Wait! I’ve changed my mind. I’m coming too!”

  And the porcupine began to run in a northerly direction.

  CHAPTER 37

  Rye’s Poem

  ICE LEAF

  A green summer leaf

  Embraced by the frozen ice

  Keeps memories warm

  Acknowledgments

  Brian Floca wishes to thank Justine Wilbur and the Prospect Park Zoo of Brooklyn, New York, for a close look at the zoo’s resident Erethizon dorsatum, Brody the porcupine.

  About the Author and the Illustrator

  Avi is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning CRISPIN: The Cross of Lead and the Newbery Honor Books NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH and THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF CHARLOTTE DOYLE. He also writes the beloved Poppy stories, an animal adventure series that includes RAGWEED; POPPY, winner of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award; POPPY AND RYE; ERETH’S BIRTHDAY; POPPY’S RETURN; and POPPY AND ERETH. His many other critically acclaimed books include DON’T YOU KNOW THERE’S A WAR ON?, the hilarious animal fantasy THE MAYOR OF CENTRAL PARK, and the Victorian ghost story THE SEER OF SHADOWS. Avi lives in Denver, Colorado. You can visit him online at www.avi-writer.com.

  Brian Floca’s illustrations have appeared in several books by Avi, including the six volumes of the Poppy stories and the graphic novel CITY OF LIGHT, CITY OF DARK. For younger readers, he is the author and illustrator of MOONSHOT: The Flight of Apollo II as well as the highly praised books LIGHTSHIP, a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book and ALA Notable Book; THE RACECAR ALPHABET, also an ALA Notable Book; and FIVE TRUCKS. You can visit him online at www.brianfloca.com.

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

  Read all the adventures of Poppy and friends

  RAGWEED POPPY POPPY AND RYE ERETH’S BIRTHDAY POPPY’S RETURN POPPY AND ERETH

  And enjoy these books by Avi

  The Barn

  Beyond the Western Sea, Book I: The Escape from Home

  Beyond the Western Sea, Book II: Lord Kirkle’s Money

  Blue Heron

  Devil’s Race

  Don’t You Know There’s a War On?

  Encounter at Easton

  The Fighting Ground

  Finding Providence

  The Man Who Was Poe

  The Mayor of Central Park

  Night Journeys

  Nothing but the Truth

  Prairie School

  Romeo and Juliet—Together (and Alive!) at Last

  The Seer of Shadows

  Smugglers’ Island

  Something Upstairs

  Sometimes I Think I Hear My Name

  S.O.R. Losers

  The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

  “Who Was That Masked Man, Anyway?”

  Windcatcher

  Copyright

  POPPY AND ERETH. Text copyright © 2009 by Avi. Illustrations copyright © 2009 by Brian Floca. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompil
ed, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  Adobe Digital Edition March 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-191050-0

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