New Friends

Chapter One

Wintertime is special in the Blackberry Forest. The snow lies in deep blankets upon the branches of the trees and on the earth below. In the daytime, the sunlight sparkles off the snow, and in the night the moons shines brightly above the trees. Where there is a clearing, the whole night sky is uncovered and a multitude of brilliantly lit stars fills the sky.

Chips and William, who are rabbits, and Charley, who is a grasshopper, would sit outside at night and look up at the stars. They talked about going to the top of Roly-Poly Hill where there was a large clearing. That way they could see the full sky. One night they obtained permission to go, so they gathered themselves together and headed for the hill.

On the top of the hill, they sat on some stones and were amazed the wonderful sky. There was a bright quarter moon and thousands of twinkling stars against the dark sky. There were no clouds at all.

"Did you know that all these stars are really suns. They just look so small because they are so far away.," explained William.

"Yes, answered Chips. "Do you think some of those suns have earths around them just like ours and that the earths have rabbits and bugs?"

"Sure," stated William. "There must be other planets around some of them. Maybe right now some rabbits and bugs are looking in our direction and wondering if anybody lives here."

Just then a meteor flashed through the sky.

"Look," cried Charley, "a shooting star."

"Now, that's not really a star, Charley. It's a meteor," explained William. "It's actually a small stone that has hit our atmosphere and the friction of rushing through the air causes it to burn up."

"How do they make wishes come true?" asked Charley.

"They don't," laughed William. "That's just a superstition."

"Oh," sighed Charley.

Just then a shower of pebbles fell our their heads.

"Ouch!" yelled William.

The meteors are falling on us!" shouted Chips.

They ran for cover under a bush. Feeling very frightened, they held their breath to see if anymore meteors would come down from the sky. Suddenly, they heard laughter.

Out of the darkness came a racoon and a small bear. They had pebbles in their hands.

The raccoon, "Sorry to frighten you."

"We heard you talking about meteors and were wondering what you would do if pebbles began falling on your heads," the bear stated.

"We would run for cover, of course," said William. "We might have been hurt. That was stupid trick."

"We sorry," the raccoon repeated.

"I have never see you two around before," said Chips. "Where did you come from?"

The bear answered, "We are from the Misty Mountains."

"Wow," said Charley. "We never met anyone that came from there. Those mountains a so far away."

Now and then, while standing on top of Roly-Poly Hill on a very clear day, they could see the Misty Mountains far off in the distance. They often wondered what it would be like to live there.

"What are your names?" asked Charley.

I'm Rocky and she is Rhonda," answered the raccoon.

"I'm Charley. This is Chips, and this is William."

"Please to meet you," said Rhonda.

"Why are you two so far from your home?" asked Chips.

"We are both orphans. Both of our parents died when we were very young. We were both alone, so we decided to take care of each other. We wander from place to place, because we want to see the whole world," explained Rocky.

"I'm sorry to hear about your parents," said Chips.

"Me too," said William. "It must be hard to live without them."

"Yes," said Ronnie, "but we have learned to get by. Having each other helps."

Charley often wondered what the Misty Mountains were like. He had never been on a hill bigger than Roly-Poly Hill, and he was amazed to hear that there were mountains many times that size.

He asked, "What are the Misty Mountains like?

"Oh, they are beautiful," said Ronnie. "There are trees of all types at the bottoms of the mountains, but as you get to the top, there are less and less trees. At the very top, the mountains are alll covered with snow. The highest mountains have snow all year round."

"And, at the top , you can see for miles and miles," continued Rocky. "Did you know beyond the Blackberry Forest there is a large lake?"

"No," said Chips.

"Yes, there is and Rocky and I are going to visit it," said Rhonda.

"Are the mountains truly ten times bigger than this hill?" asked Chips.

"Yes, they are," said Rocky.

Chips asked, "What are you plans for now?"

"We decided to stay here in the forest until the winter is over," replied Rocky.

"Good. Then we can play together sometimes," Chips suggested.

Rocky and Rhonda agreed that they would enjoy that.

It was very late, and everyone was growing tired. Chips, William, and Charley headed back to their homes, and Rocky and Rhonda headed for a shelter they had made for themselves.

On way down Roly-Poly Hills, Charley saw another meteor. He could not resist the urge to make a wish upon it. He wished that someday he would be able to visit the Misty Mountains.