Story: River Rescue
“Mia, where does the river start?” Pip, the deer mouse, asks her closest friend, Mia, the blue jay.
“I don’t know,” Mia answers, “Let’s explore the Stippling River today! We can watch dragonflies.”
As they arrive at the river, Pip stops abruptly, “Mia, do you hear that?”
Mia flew off in the direction of the noise. “It’s coming from the river,” she calls back to Pip.
Pip hurries to the river as fast as her little legs can take her, “I see something dark tumbling in the river current.”
“Mia! It’s a turtle! Oh, no! It’s Josie, the red-eared pond slider,” Pip shouts up to Mia.
Mia circles above the water, “The current is too strong! She’s spinning and can’t get her footing!”
“We have to help her!” Pip cries out.
“Hang on, Josie!” Mia squawks. She dives closer to the water, “I’m coming!”
Josie’s head pops up from the water for a brief moment. “Mia!” She yells. “Help!”
“I’m trying! When I get close, the current pulls you further downstream,” Mia shouts.
“Mia, wait!” Pip warns, “If you try to grab her, the current will pull you under, too!”
“What should we do?” Mia frets.
Pip sees a branch on the riverbank, “I’ll use the branch for her to grab. You can help her out of the water.”
Mia nods and circles back to Pip, “Let me help you! That branch is heavy!”
Pip holds the branch over the water, and Mia helps her steady it. “Josie, grab the branch!”
Josie kicks her legs, “I’m trying!”
“You’ve got this!” Mia encourages her friend. “A little closer.”
Josie reaches out with her front claw and hooks the branch, “I got it!”
“Mia flies over and grips the edge of Josie’s shell, “Slowly work your way to the riverbank. I will hold you steady.”
“Whew!” Josie pants and collapses onto the grass.
Pip rushes to her side, “Josie! Are you okay?”
Josie lets out a sigh of relief, “I… I think so. The current was too strong!”
Catching her breath, Josie explains, “I wanted to cross the river, but I slipped. The next thing I knew, the current swept me away.”
“That was close,” Mia exclaims. “We’re glad we heard you when we did.”
Josie replies with a tired smile, “I am glad you heard my cries for help!”
Pip looks at the river, “The current is dangerous after the rain we had last week.
Josie nods, “I did not realize how dangerous it is.”
Pip’s face lights up, “I have an idea!” “We can build a bridge to help you and Walter, Josie’s twin brother, cross the river when the current is dangerous.
Mia tilts her head, “A bridge? That could work!”
Josie nods, “Yes. That could work!”
“We can gather long branches. Then, we can tie them together with vines like Ember, the owl, does in her nest.
Mia agrees, “…and we can use rocks to keep the bridge stable.”
Josie grins, “Maybe we should ask Boone the raccoon, Moonbeam the skunk, Henry the groundhog, and Jasper the opossum to help.
“Let’s get started,” Mia says. I can fly over and ask the others to help.”
“Josie and I will start gathering materials,” Pip volunteers.
“Check over by the river bend, Pip,” Josie suggests. “There are always branches there after it rains.”
“Great idea, Josie!” Pip agrees.
“I found more branches,” Mia exclaims and lands beside Pip. “The others are gathering heavier branches and will be here soon.”
Josie glances at her friends, “I was scared today. I didn’t know if anyone could hear me. The water kept pushing me further downstream.”
“I’m glad we did hear you,” Pip smiles. “You were brave!”
“Pip’s right,” Mia agrees. “You stayed calm and let us help you.”
“Thanks,” Josie blushes. “You came to my rescue.”
“Here’s the others with materials to build the bridge. Let’s get to work,”. Pip picks up a vine and starts tying the branches together.
“What’s this?” Walter admires the finished bridge as he comes to find Josie.
Nudging their last rock in place, Pip answers, “A bridge for you and Josie. She has a story to share with you!”
With the bridge finished, the friends sit on the riverbank to hear Josie’s tale of the day in the Watercolor Woods.
