No Home is Like Our Own - by Anali, age 10

In a dirty, damp hollow tree, three flirtirans sat clumsily waiting for spring to come suddenly to brighten those cold, dark winter days. Violently, Willy-woo stomped down the stairs and crouched near the fireplace. It happened so quickly that it startled the other two firtirans so that they jumped in fright. All that racket made the old, hollow tree go "Creak! Crack!" and it split right down the middle. What a sad sight to see three young flirtirans homeless all throughout that cold winter night. When morning came, it was not dark or scary like they had thought it would be. It was white and gray, with rabbits hopping around, leaving their pawprints behind.
"Oh, so this is what winter looks like," muttered Pippy-doo, the second flirtiran, with and awe-struck face.

A little rabbit hopped up to them and asked, "Who are you?"

"We are lost, homeless flirtirans, looking for a home," answered the oldest flirtiran named Doodle-Doodle-roo!

"So, if you know of the nearest hollow tree, will you be so kind as to tell us where it would be?" requested Willy-woo.

So the little rabbit told them to come to his house where all his family lived. It was a den that was lit by a large fireplace, it was so warm htat it melted all of the cold winter snow away from the den. It was a quaint little home, but the hollow tree was all the flirtirans had ever known, so when they saw that nice little place the rabbits called home, they stared in awe because it was not like their own. The little rabbit showed the three flirtirans to his Pa, who knew of each hollow tree nearby. They told him why they were there, and their response was quite a scare.

"Not one in the forest, not one anywhere, except for the one haunted by the old rabid hare," answered the odd Papa rabbit.

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Mama rabbit made soup and the flirtirans had a feast which was bigger than what they had in a week.

They ate, slept and when morning came, they were in for the long day ahead of them. They said their goodbyes and headed to the old haunted hollow tree. But when they were out of sight of the little rabbits' home, a storm blew up and darkened their way with gloom. Then they saw a hole with a sign that read, "Mr. Mole's Hole."

They knocked on the door and stared at the floor and wondered what was a mole, then the door flung open and their wondering and hoping was no more, for there in front of them was a dirty, ugly mole.

Looking around, the mole finally found three flirtirans there on the ground and grumbled, "Oh, ok, I'm awake, so what is so important that you wake me out of hibernating?"

"Oh, please, Mr. Mole, it's so very cold and there is a storm coming to smite our poor little souls, so, if you would be so kind let us stay only until the storm goes away," pleaded Peppy-doo.

Mr. Mole nodded to them to come in and he led them to a room with a bed and brought them a piece of bread on a red, lead plate. So they ate, hogging it all. The storm felt like it would never end and it got so desperately boring that it made Willy-woo, who was no good at entertaining himself, ask the mole when he was born.

"Now what made you think such a thing?" insisted the old mole.

Soon the storm stopped, so they set of on the trail to the golden hawk's house, who would fly them to the haunted hollow tree.

When they got there, he was not a mole who lived in a hole who thought that he was young, but was very old, nor was he a strange little rabbit with too long ears, but a hawk that eats mice whole!

The hawk was perched on a tree that swung with the breeze. It had no leaves like all the other trees, but it looked mostly dead, but still the hawk even liked scene even if it was truly dead altogether. He flew down, and it frightened them. He was very tall and it made them feel small, like they were laid down near the ground. They knew that he would not eat them, due to the fact athat they had too much fur, but one could not wonder what was behind those bright, yellow eyes. It made you despise looking at him at all.

"So," said the howk in a deep, evil voice, "What brings you to these cold, dark parts were only screetch owls, wolves and hawks as bold as monarchs embark?" said the hawk. Although it was cold, that was not what made the poor little flirtirans shiver or make their teeth chatter. It was the story they had heard that when one goes in, they never come back.

The hawk agreed to fly them to the haunted outback. They hopped on his back and they flew over swamps overflowing with bats, huge yellow cats, and screetch owls, catching mice and rats. Finally, he landed in a long, narrow stretch that once was a flower patch.

"This is as far as I will go. Just follow this path and you'll get where you're goig, said the scary hawk in the deep hollow voice. They walked down the path, then they stopped and looked up and saw a hollow oak tree.

There was no rabid hare, no wolves or bears, in fact, there was nothering there except some bushes that would have berries in the spring. They rushed inside and were amazed to see it was just like their old hollow tree, but bettter, for it was new.

You see, a little change is not that bad because what had happened did not make them sad. It made them glad because they had a new, hollow tree to call "home".