Hey there, and welcome back to a new story. It's been a while since I've published or uploaded a Fanfic, the last being Animal Farm: The Novelization at the end of 2021.
I've been interested in The Wind in the Willows, a book published in 1908 about the adventures of four rural English animals: Mole, Rat (a water vole), Toad, and Badger. I've checked out some adaptations from the 1949 Disney film to the 1985 Rankin Bass film. But I liked the stop-motion 1983 movie, which created a five-season TV series in Britain during the rest of the 80s and some of the early 90s. So I decided to try making a short Fanfic about this classic, though the 1980s stop-motion animated series will mainly inspire it.
Summary: An animal never seen in England rescues Billy Rabbit from the Wild Wood weasels. Badger takes an interest in this newcomer, who has come from the United States of America. He, the newcomer, and the Riverbankers learn more of each other's cultures and interests.
Disclaimer: The Wind in the Willows and its characters belong to Kenneth Grahame, and the 1980s stop-motion show belongs to Cosgrove Hall. I own only one character in this story.
Publishing Date: September 10, 2023
The Visitor
Spring had finally bloomed to the Riverbank and the Wild Wood. The animals of the English countryside had already started coming out from their winter dormancy. They enjoyed the fresh, warm air and sunlight after months of cold and snow.
On this late April morning, a young rabbit was heading to school. He had strayed from the Riverbank and decided to try a shortcut through the Wild Wood. He had hoped to find an easier path to school, wanting to try a different route for once.
But young Billy Rabbit had taken a wrong turn. He wasn't closer to school; he had gone deeper into the Wild Wood without realizing it.
"Uh-oh," said he. "This isn't the right way. I better go back."
It was advice that his mother had given him. If he was lost, he was to retrace his steps. After all, rabbits were used to open grassy areas, not closed wooded places.
"'Ello, son," said a familiar sneaky voice as its owner came around a tree. "What brings you out here, eh?"
Billy Rabbit froze with fright. It was the Chief Weasel, the head of the weasels of the Wild Wood. Beside him was his henchman, the smarmy top weasel among his ranks.
"H-Hello, Chief," whimpered the young rabbit. "Wha-What brings you out there?"
"We own these woods, of course," said the henchman.
"He knows that already, idiot," snapped the Chief Weasel.
The henchman flinched from the swat. "Aw, Chief!"
"B-But I'm on my way to school," Billy bleated when the weasels finished arguing. "Please move so I can go."
"Now, now, sonny," said the Chief. "That's not a nice way to talk to your elders."
"Not very nice," added his henchman. "Not very nice indeed. Shall I give him the Chinese Burn, Chief?"
The Chief waved a paw. "There'll be time for that," he growled. "We have to take his money first for tax purposes."
The henchman walked over to Billy and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Billy wriggled and tried to escape, but the weasels were bigger and faster than he. The henchman shook him, which caused a coin to fall out and land in the Chief's paw.
"But you can't have my money!" squealed the young rabbit. "Wait until Mr. Badger hears of this!"
"Mr. Badger? Don't you know?" jeered the Chief, admiring the coins in his paw. "He's gone off on his little walk to the Riverbank and won't be back for a while. He can't help you now. Now cough up some more boodle."
"That's right, cough it up!" added the henchman.
Billy tried kicking at them, just as his kind sometimes reacted to danger; rabbits were usually the animals to run from a fight. But the weasels held on tight to the collar of his sweater, keeping away from the flailing paws while they kept chortling.
"What do you varmints think you're doin'?"
A much deeper growl distracted the weasels from the young rabbit. They stepped away when the animal approached, much larger than expected.
It wasn't a badger. This wasn't an animal the Riverbankers and Wild Wooders had seen in their home. He was large and bulky with black fur and small, rounded ears. His brown muzzle was the only thing about him that wasn't black. On his head, he wore a cowboy hat that the Riverbankers had heard that Americans wore.
"Going after kids like that?" growled the bear. "Ain't your parents taught you to be ashamed?"
"It's not stealing," interjected the Chief. "It's more of a tax. Anyone who crosses my path needs to be paid sixpence."
"Tax collectors, thieves...it doesn't matter, and there ain't no difference between 'em at times," said the bear. "But go ahead and take some money from me. I dare you, partner."
The weasels gave a defensive growl, only for the bear to return it with a much deeper growl. The bear even took a giant step forward, which got some of the weasels backing. The henchman tried making a move and charged at him, but the bear merely swatted him to the side.
"You're as interferin' as that bloomin' Badger," growled the Chief, and he threw the stolen coins down to the ground. "All right, I'm backin' off for now. Just you wait, though, stranger. You'll get yours in the end."
"I'll be waitin', partner," the bear sneered. "I've been waitin' to knock some skulls around again."
The Chief growled and ran to pick up his henchman. As soon as he did that, he started hitting him over the head, ushering him away from the crime scene. The henchman whined about having been hurt, but he scurried away with his chief pursuing him.
Billy had been watching from behind another tree, amazed at the bear's authority. Feeling bolder now, he declared, "Thank you, mister!"
"No problem, kid," said the bear, looking around at Billy. "Now, what were you doin' out on your own?"
"I was just heading to school," said the rabbit. "I wanted to try a shortcut instead of the usual way."
"Well, for now, stick by the usual way," the bear advised. He stooped down and picked up the coin the Chief Weasel had dropped, handing it back to Billy. "I'd give it a few days for them to mosey on somewhere else."
"All right," said Billy. "And thank you again, mister!"
The young rabbit headed down the path where he had come from. The bear watched him go before sitting on a fallen log and taking out his journal. Already on his second trip to the United Kingdom, he had seen some pretty interesting sights: the great English city of London and some of the creatures of the countryside.
...
In the meantime, Badger had just been returning from his morning walk. He loved taking morning and evening walks around the Wild Wood and the Riverbank. While he sometimes greeted other animals who would say hello, he preferred staying alone or with his three closest friends on the Riverbank: Mole, Rat, and Toad.
He was sitting down on a log to take a break. Sniffing the air, he appreciated the fact that spring was returning. After all, the air felt cooler in the morning before warming. After a few minutes of sitting, Badger noticed Billy Rabbit going down the path toward where he would attend school.
"Hello, young Billy," Badger greeted the young rabbit. "Off to school, I suppose?"
"Yes, Mr. Badger," chirped the young rabbit. "I got lost along the way."
"So that wasn't the path to school?" Badger remarked. "I suggest you take your normal path and pray you're not late."
"I know, Mr. Badger. I had a run-in with those awful weasels." Billy shuddered as he recalled the encounter with the Wild Wood weasels. "They nearly took my lunch money."
"Foolish creatures," growled Badger, standing up from the log. "When I get a hold of them, I'll teach them to leave youngsters alone - "
"It's okay, Mr. Badger," said Billy with a smile. "Someone named Bear got a hold of 'em first."
That piqued Badger's interest some more as he sat back down. Of all the animals he knew on the Riverbank and in the Wild Wood, he had not known someone named Bear. He had even read about bears in a book about North American wildlife his father passed on to him.
"I will go and see if our visitor is around," said Badger. "In the meantime, young Billy, go straight to school. And don't be so eager to try shortcuts for a while; stay to the usual route."
Billy nodded and scampered down the path. In the meantime, Badger picked up his cane and strolled back down the forest path he had taken.
He didn't have that far to look when he spotted the stranger. He was sitting on a log, taking out what looked like a journal and writing in it. As Billy said, he was large and black, but he also seemed friendly enough.
"Howdy," said the bear, noticing Badger arriving. He had put up his journal and stood up from his seat on the log.
"Er...hello," Badger greeted back with a nod. "Did you save a young rabbit from a gang of weasels?"
"Yessir."
"I don't know you. But I take that you're American, given your accent," said Badger, rubbing his muzzle with curiosity. "What brings you over to our part of the world?"
"Bear's my name," said Bear, taking off his cowboy hat and bowing slightly. "I've come over yonder from the United States of America on a trip."
"Ah," remarked Badger, nodding again. "Young Billy Rabbit told me about a visitor who drove those wicked weasels off. So that was you, eh?"
"Yessir," replied Bear.
Badger's face took on a stern tone. "Those weasels never learn from their last encounters. Why can they not mind their own business for once while we attend to ours in peace?"
"People just don't respect boundaries like they used to," said Bear. "Good fences make good neighbors, as my pa always used to say."
Something about Bear's attitude brightened Badger up a bit. Of course, this American newcomer was coarse in both appearance and behavior. But he could feel a kindred spirit with him.
"Your father must have been a wise animal; our fathers would have made good friends," said Badger. "Now look here. I am going to the Riverbank to visit my friends for lunch: Mole, Rat, and Toad. Would you care to join me and meet them?"
"Sure," answered Bear. "By the way, you never told me your name."
"Just Badger will do," was the reply, and the two shook paws. "And I assume that you go by Bear as well."
"Yessir. I'm lookin' forward to meetin' these friends of yours. Lead the way, Mr. Badger."
Badger nodded and headed to the front; according to animal etiquette, animals were to walk in a single-file line and not strewn about like hay in a barn. Bear let him lead on, taking advantage to gaze at the beauty of the English countryside.
To be continued...