Kap. 1The Parade of Paws and the Secret Snack Mission

The friends soon reached a patch of very soft, green moss. There, they found Bruno the hedgehog sitting very still and quiet. Bruno was a very calm and very observant little fellow. He was watching a long line of tiny ants march by. "Hello, Bruno," Lili said, waving her big, soft white paws. "Do you want to join our very important morning mission?" Bruno looked up and blinked his round, dark, thoughtful eyes. He was always very prudent and liked to think before moving. "Is there a tasty snack involved in this mission?" Bruno asked. Tico jumped up and down like a bouncy, orange rubber ball. "We might find the Great Golden Acorn of Destiny!" Tico yelled. He was so excited that he accidentally did a messy backflip. "Or we might just find a nice, crunchy brown leaf," Bruno said. He decided to join his friends on the narrow, winding trail. They walked past a bridge made of old, grey, creaky wood. The water in the stream went glug, glug, glug over the stones. Everyone felt safe and happy in the warm, golden forest light. They were the best team of friends in the whole woods.

As the afternoon went on, the big sun began to sink. The sky turned the color of a ripe, juicy peach. Long, thin shadows started to stretch across the leafy forest floor. Suddenly, Lili stopped and her long ears stood straight up. "Do you see that?" she whispered in a tiny, shaky voice. A massive, dark shape was moving behind the thick, green bushes. It was much bigger than a rabbit or a small squirrel. It had giant, jagged points sticking out from its head. Tico’s tail puffed up until it looked like a giant bottle brush. "It is a Shadow Monster!" Tico squeaked, trembling like a leaf. Linda flew high up into the air to get a look. "It is following us!" she chirped with a little, cold shiver. The shadow moved every time the group of friends moved. When they stopped, the giant, dark shadow stopped moving too. It looked very spooky and very mysterious in the dim light. Even brave Lili felt her heart go thump, thump, thump inside. They did not see Sombra the deer standing behind the trees. Sombra was a noble deer with big, beautiful, wide antlers. He was very peaceful and quite shy of the others. But his shadow looked like a scary giant on the grass. "We have to run!" Lili cried out.