THE HOUNDS ARE COMING- By Jane Shepata

She shuffled along the forest floor heavy with the weight of the kits soon to be born. She had found a safe den and she was content- waiting. Her mate had been strong and healthy and she carried four kits this year. And she wandered along the forest floor eating grubs and tidbits found under rocks and logs and she felt good and continued her feeding under the cool glowing moon.

Something made her nervous, something was wrong -as she listened raising up on her hind legs her heart began to pound and the hair on her body bristled-as word spread. The timid willows, royal oak and maple together breathed the warning upon the wind.....shhh. And this warning relayed urgently by the trembling aspens reached the intended senses and the animals heard! And every forest creature skittish and ashiver absorbed the alarm in unison and all hearts FROZE- THE HOUNDS ARE COMING.

The terrified does cautioned their fawns-hush and follow me. The bucks had already bounded away and disappeared amidst the heavy forest glades. Opposum, fox, porcupine, skunk, chipmunks, squirrels hid deeper in the maze of brush hoping the demons would not catch their scent , that their newborn and unborn would be safe tonight. THE HOUNDS ARE COMING.

Mama coon ran- She felt if she could reach a tree and get high enough the hounds couldn't reach her so she climbed, with all her strength she climbed higher among the twisted branches and foliage, burdened with the weight of the kits she climbed higher as the wind shouted in her pounding ears. Run Mama THE HOUNDS ARE COMING.

She pulled herself toward the upper most canopy as the horrible beasts reached the bottom of her tree tearing at the bark, snarling and growling trying to tear her tree down. The noise and smell of the hounds mingled with the smell of man, man with shouting and lights shining in her eyes and the endless din from the hounds below curdled her blood and entombed her in a terror that made her panic and cringe.

She clung to the meager limb and looked down and wondered if the monsters could somehow reach her so she moved a little farther out on the limb, she felt a little safer and adjusted her weight so she could put her human like hand to her belly where she rubbed trying to comfort her kits who had rolled themselves in contracted little balls in her womb....

As she moved and reached down the limb that held five lives snapped and broke and sent mama tumbling into the jaws of death, and the last thing she saw was the cool glowing moon in the western sky.