Post by angelwyche - ADMIN on Dec 17, 2007 21:41:03 GMT
Lunas Summer Adventure
Meeting Caspian
Meeting Caspian
Luna is a pretty pink eyed, white lady guinea pig. She lives with some of her guinea pig family in a house with a big garden that has a big oak tree in it. There are some other animals that live here too all being looked after by 2 girls and their Mum and Dad that make up their human family.
Luna lives in a big pen with 3 floors with her Mother, Froste, her Grand mother, SnoBell, and an elderly buff sow called Hazel. There is also a huge pen in the garden, in the shade of the oak tree, in which the guinea pigs spend a lot of time in the warmer months.
This June day finds the four sows in their outside pen on the grass in the shade of the old oak tree. There has been rain over the past couple of days that has made the grass green and lush, and the ground has a wonderful earthy smell. The family’s tortoiseshell cat is dozing on a big plant pot of saxifrage which makes a very comfortable cushion. The families Mother is on her knees pulling plants that are in the wrong place out of the herb patch.
‘I remember seeing this garden in the snow, when I looked out of the cat door’ said Luna ‘it looked very cold’. Ermm! Says Froste ‘The less said about that the better I think’ ‘The grass wasn’t there’ said Luna. ‘It was but it would not be growing much’ said Froste. ‘Too cold and not enough light for anything much to grow in winter’ she continued. ‘I much prefer this time of year’ said SnoBell. ‘I think tonight is the shortest night, Hazel will know more’. What’s that? Said Hazel’. ‘The shortest night! That’s what’ said Luna a she skipped over to Hazel. Hazel slowly chewed on some grass and concentrated for a short time. ‘Yes it will be’ she said. What does that mean? Asked Luna as she snuffled amongst the grass, she could smell chickweed a very tasty find. It means that we have reached mid summer; this also means that tomorrow the Sun will stay in our part of the sky more than any other day of the year.
The four sows hear the gate open at the end of the garden, suddenly there is a lot of scrabbling noises of large paws with nails scraping on the flagstone path as a large dog zooms across the garden. Cleo the cat rockets off the plant pot she has been resting on, all her hair on end and runs off through the back door which is open. The big black and tan dog gallops after her. The mother shouts and runs into the house followed by the dog’s owner who is shouting after it. There is crashing from the kitchen as Cleo jumps up onto shelving to get away, followed by raised voices and barking.
All the four sows rush under the covered end of their pen and stay still, wide eyed and uttering low trills. The pen is then hastily lifted and thrown to one side. Hazel, Snowbell and Froste dash off under some near by ground cover of sage and oregano. Luna is grabbed by hands wearing big suede gloves and carried away out of the garden. Around the corner Luna is pushed into a cardboard box containing newspaper. Then left in the dark, terrified and alone, surrounded by unrecognisable metallic odour and other strange smells of plastic and dog.
Some time later she hears voices and the smell of dog increases. Her box is picked up and carried a short distance by one of the humans with a gravely voice, answered by the dogs owner. Suddenly there is more shouting and barking and Lunas box is thrown and lands upside down with the soiled newspaper on top of her. She hears more stuff landing nearby. Then all goes quiet again.
After a little while she hears the questioning trill of a strange guinea pig. She tuts back a reply ‘I’m here, I am uninjured but I am very frightened’ the strange guinea pig voice says for her to stay still until he can find her. Soon the end of the box starts to lift up and a young boar pushed his head under the edge of the box and stares at her. ‘Come on out while I keep this up’ he says ‘Hurry!’ Luna quickly slips under the edge of the box, dipping her back and flattening herself.
She found herself in the shade of brambles, nettles and rose bay willow herb, and in the company of a young dappled grey boar. He is thin, has dirty feet and patchy sparse coat. His ears had pieces bitten out of them and his nose was covered with dirt and scabs. She sniffed him carefully, he smelled of ammonia and something chemically and not healthy. He lifted his head as she sniffed his breath and under his chin. ‘Thank you’ she tuts ‘I’m sure I would never be able to have lifted the edge of the box myself’ He lightly diped his head ‘no bother’ I’m pleased to meet you and be able to help’. ‘I am Luna’ Luna said ‘named after the Moon’. He looked at her blankly ‘I have no um… name’ he said ‘None of us did, just a number on the pen we were in’. We’d better move’ the young boar continued ‘in case the men and the dog come back’.
He looked around and found a narrow track through the brambles and with Luna close beside touching him on the shoulder with her cheek. They cleared the blackberry bushes in to an area next to a stone wall and well grown grass and other plants. Following the wall they travelled along the edge of a hay field until the wall became a hawthorn hedge. ‘I’m sorry the boar said ‘I must rest a while, I have never had to walk so far in my life before’. That’s OK’ said Luna ’I’ve never had to walk this far before’. I have never been outside before’ He said ‘the brighter light actually makes my eyes water, but it seems to be a bit darker now’.
Luna looked around ‘It seems to be near dusk now, we should think about stopping and resting for the night soon’.
The two guinea pigs soon find a small animal track through the hedge; they followed this into the back garden of a house bordering the hay field. They climbed over some rubble into an area next to a greenhouse. Here there was a patch of dandelions, groundsel and a few leaves of grass. Luna started to nibble the dandelions. ‘What are you doing? Exclaimed the young boar. Luna stopped chewing and looked at him ‘eating’ she said. ‘That!’ he replied. ‘Yes’ said Luna, starting to chew again. She finished chewing and swallowed, she was amazed that he didn’t eat dandelions. ‘We never got anything like that where I come from’ He said. He tried a little and then some more, and they both settled to eating for a little while.
As it became dark the two guinea pigs settled down to rest. ‘Tonight is the shortest night’ Luna told him ‘It is the middle of summer’ He looked at her ‘How do you know that?’ he asked. ‘Before the dog came into our garden and chased Cleo the cat, Hazel and my mother were telling me about it’ she answered. ‘Then I was grabbed’ She looked at him sadly ‘Now I don’t even know if I will see them again’.
‘I never had anyone like that’ he said ‘I was taken from my mother at three weeks and taken away to a new place’ Luna looked at him ‘tell me about it she asked?’
‘I was born in a pen with a very low ceiling with mesh around the sides. It was dark most of the time, except when a male human put on lights when he fed us. ‘What did you get for food? Luna asked wondering about his earlier comments about the dandelions. ‘Not very much and it was all the same, dusty and musty smelling’ he continued ‘there were others below us and also above. I also remember the boar in the same pen as us, died a short time after I was born. His body was in the pen with us until all my siblings and myself were taken out. He was thoughtful for a couple of seconds then carried on. ‘We were taken in boxes to a new place where lots of us were mixed together in a wooden pen on the floor of a building. I kept being left behind when the others were moved on. Eventually I was taken out of the pen I was in by the man who has the dog this morning, put in a box separate from the others he picked out. Transported again, then we stopped and you were put in the vehicle. The rest you know.
Lunas heart and soul went out to him, she has never heard of neglect or cruelty in her short life, but here the truth of what can happen to a little pig not as well placed and cared for like herself, sits in front of her as a presence of a little grey boar pig.
Luna settled in beside him, saddened by his life story, she curled into a small cashew nut shape close to him as he curled his longer body against her back.
It was dark, Cleo moved effortlessly along side the hawthorn hedge at the edge of the field and the boundary of the gardens of the houses on the Street where she lived. Her tortoiseshell coat blended her into the shadows. She was still very upset over the events of the afternoon. She disliked the silly dogs that still thought that they had to chase cats; the reason for all that was long over. ‘Plah!’ she muttered to herself the trouble and upset that dog had caused through chasing her was just awful. The poor little moon pig had disappeared, which caused a lot of unhappiness to the humans in the home. Then there was the police, they had managed to catch the humans responsible, and found some poor little malnourished guinea pigs, but not Luna. She had heard them talking about laboratory suppliers, detestable people.
Cleo slipped under the fence into another garden and padded over to the greenhouse. She came across a familiar smell; she stopped and examined the ground opening her mouth to help her identify the scent. She followed the trail to find two little pig people lying together, ‘Moon pig’ she purred, but even if Luna was awake she would not understand cat language. Cleo fondly looked at the two Guinea Pigs. ‘It is a good thing that I found you both before any others’ she thought. Both guinea pigs carried on sleeping, twitching slightly as they dreamed. Cleo lay down near to them curling her body and carefully wrapped her tail around her paws, and rested as only cats can with their sensory surround on full alert for any activity nearby.
Luna woke and stretched in the light before dawn, waking the young boar who immediately backs away until his rump touches the greenhouse wall. ‘Whets that???’ he whispers. Luna Looks into the familiar greens eyes of Cleo the family cat. ‘Don’t be scared’ she says I know Cleo well, she is part of our family’. He moved back beside Luna. Cleo got up and flicked her tail and walked a little way away and turned to look at the two guinea pigs. ‘She is going to guide us home’ said Luna ‘Come on’
The guinea pigs troted after Cleo as she led them under a fence in to another garden. The light turned pink as the sun started to rise before them. ‘Midsummer’s day’ said Luna stopping and blinking. Cleo stopped and watched the sunrise, Luna trotted up beside her and the boar moved to see the sun come up too.
A little while later Cleo trotted into the family’s garden followed by the two little pigs. She led them to the herbs and then settled down beside them. The guinea pigs took cover in the oregano and sage and settled to await the family wake up.
Cleo heard movement in the kitchen, she got up and ran and pushed through her cat door. ‘Meoow purroow. She meowed at the mother and little girls’ then jumped back through the cat door. Then turned around and put her head back though the cat door again then mauwed at them again.
The little girls and their Mum followed her out into the garden to see the guinea pigs at the edge of the herbs.
Later after much fuss and a bath the guinea pigs are settled on knees in the living room. Luna was so excited telling the other guinea pigs about her adventure. The boar screamed loudly if Luna went out of sight, so everyone was careful to make sure they were not parted. A cage had been set up close to the sow’s pen so he would be near them.
After a bath the true colour of the young boar showed through. He was very unusual a lemon/lilac argente and white, with rose quartz coloured eyes. The family’s father was very interested in him and decided that he was staying to be his guinea pig. The young boar was given the name Caspian ‘An ancient sea’ said the Father ‘As his colour made him think of waves with sunlight shining on them.. Caspian now had a name and a home and he settled in the cuddle cup he was in on the fathers knee, and happily accepted the little treats he was being offered.
Copyright: S McVay-Little (Angelwyche) UK Pet Cay Club
