Gary and Morris Find a Nest

It was a beautiful summer day at the Hervey Foundation for Cats. Gary and Morris had just finished playing in a puddle from the rain that happened the night before when they dragged themselves onto the porch and started to lick their fur.

“Boys no! Let me wipe you off first!”

It was Marjorie, and she was armed with a big towel to wipe the cats down with.

“You are both so dirty. No sense in licking up all that dirt you silly boys.”

Marjorie was patting them down just as they heard a loud sound in the distance by the valley.

“That sounded like an angry bird or something,” said Marjorie.

Gary and Morris, now free to lick themselves once more, looked at each other.  

“That sounded pretty bad,” said Gary.

“Yeah, it sounded like there was a fight,” said Morris.

“Or something was fight… ing,” said Gary.

“Is that not exactly what I just said?” asked Morris.

“Okay. Easy now big fella,” said Gary, sarcastically.

Marjorie gave both cats a pet on the forehead and then headed back into the house.

“What you think?” said Morris.

“I’m glad mom wiped off all that dirt. I was not looking forward to licking it off my legs,” said Gary.

“No. I mean what do you think about that noise?” asked Morris.

“Want to go check it out?” asked Gary.

“Do YOU want to go check it out?” asked Morris.

“Do YOU want to go now?” asked Gary.

“Enough of the questions let’s just go,” said Morris.

Gary smirked, then stood up and did a very long stretch, both the front legs and the back legs. After his big stretch, the cats took off across the backfield towards the valley.

Gary got there first, noticing a small crowd of animals gathered along the face of the cliff.

“What’s going on?” Morris asked, bringing up the rear.

“Looks like there is a group down there,” Gary replied. “I see Mama and Papa Raccoon, Lou the deer, and Gilbert the crow.”

The two cats made their way down the side of the valley and over to the crowd, which was somewhat relieved to see the two cats.

“Hey, you guys!” said Gilbert, as he gestured towards them so the other animals could see who he was talking to.

“Hey everyone, what’s going on?” said Morris.

“We aren’t totally sure,” said Mama Raccoon. “But there are a bunch of feathers on the ground and this little nest here has some eggs in it.

“We are trying to figure out who they belong to,” Papa Raccoon added.

The other animals nodded.

“As a Bird, I can tell you with confidence, normally, if the mom was nearby, she’d be attacking us by now,” said Gilbert, in a very matter-of-fact tone.

The other animals nodded.

“Makes sense,” said Gary. “I’ve been divebombed a few times by birds who didn’t know I was friendly.”

“We are friendly though!” said Morris. “We even saved a truck full of turkeys last fall!”

Gilbert chuckled.

“Well from what I have seen, you two are alright!” said the plucky crow.

The animals all got back on track right away and talked about what they should do next.

Lou the deer thought they should prioritize finding the mama bird. Mama Raccoon was worried about how the eggs needed to stay warm. Papa Raccoon feared other animals might take the eggs. Gilbert said he could take the eggs in at his nest, but as a male crow, he was not used to keeping them warm. Morris thought the mom might come back to find the eggs later once she had dealt with whatever the problem was.

What did Gary think? He agreed with everyone.

“I think we all have brought up some very real concerns here, and two things stand out for me,” he said. “Let me know how you all feel.”

Gary explained that they needed solutions to all the points they had brought up, but more importantly, the eggs couldn’t just stay out in the open. The nest was built low on a smaller tree, and that was likely why they were attacked in the first place.

He also felt that if they were to move them, they needed to be extra careful and to keep them warm. Not only that, if the eggs were to move, they’d need someone to stay behind and wait to see if the mama bird came back.

“Where do we take them? My place?” asked Gilbert.

“Almost,” said Gary. “You live above Bullwinkle, right?”

“Yes!” said the crow.

“Let’s bring them to his place and have one of the raccoons start a fire to keep them warm!”

The animals all thought it was a great idea, but they also needed a plan to try and find the mama bird. How could they do such a thing?

“We will need to spread the word. I think that’s all we can really do,” said Morris.

“I agree. We should talk to as many birds as we can find,” said Lou. “I know a few who are really chatty. They might be able to help!”

“So how do we move these eggs safely?” asked Gilbert.

The group of critters sat around thinking for a while.

“What if I just grabbed them with my feet?” Gilbert proposed.

“Your feet are pretty sharp, dude,” said Lou. “You might puncture the shells.”

“We could carry them in our hands,” said the raccoons. “But we have pretty sharp nails.”

“I think we need to carry out a special operation,” said Gary.

They all formed a huddle and Gary filled them in on his plan. They were going to need two long sticks, some birch bark, and a beaver named Terrance.

After discussing their plan, the animals all took off to find supplies – save for Papa Raccoon who decided to stay behind and protect the eggs. He was big and strong enough to scare off any birds or reptiles who might want them for supper.

Lou went to peel some birch bark, Gilbert went to gather leftover string from human places, Mama Raccoon started cracking some long sticks off dead trees, and Gary and Morris went to get a beaver.

Down at the riverbed, Terrance was soaking in some sun on top of his dam. The cats managed to sneak up close without him noticing.

“Boo!” shouted Morris.

Terrance awoke with a startle.

“Aah!” he shouted. “Who’s there? Don’t touch my stuff!”

“It’s Gary and Morris!”

“Oh! Boys! Good to see you,” said a foggy Terrance. “I’ve been having trouble with a few blue jays lately. They keep trying to steal my sticks.”

“And your solution is to fall asleep on top of your house?” asked Gary with a laugh.

“Well, I like to think my presence is enough to keep them away,” he replied.

“We need a hand with something,” said Morris. “It’s a little unorthodox but we think you’re the right guy for the job.”

“Fill me in fellas,” the beaver replied.

Gary and Morris told him about the noise they heard, then the abandoned nest with two eggs sitting in it.

Terrance was very concerned and wanted to help however he could. He believed in always doing the right thing but wasn’t totally sure why they needed him.

“We need your… um… rear end,” said Morris.

“Enough of the joking already!” said Gary. “We need your tail to move the nest.”

“Oh okay. How am I to reach the nest?” asked Terrance.

“Lou the deer is there, and you can stand on her back,” said Morris.

Terrance thought about it for a moment, tapping his tail on the ground pensively, with his tiny little hands drooping over his tummy.

“I like it!” he said. “Let’s go do it!”

The animals walked back towards the nest where Papa Raccoon was standing guard. As they approached the spot, they noticed Papa Raccoon was talking to the other animals who had also returned, but he was a bit dirty and looked tired.

“What happened?” they asked.

“I just danced with a snake who was looking for a meal!” said Papa Raccoon.

“Are you okay?” asked Gary.

“Just a bit shook up!” he said. “Luckily for me, I have hands, so I managed to eventually pick up the snake and fling it towards to riverbed.”

“Oh thanks,” said a sarcastic Terrance. “He’s probably at my house now.”

“Let’s go quickly!” said Papa Raccoon. “We don’t know if he’ll be back with others!”

The animals got to work and fashioned a small stretcher-type appliance out of the sticks, birchbark, and string.  They also put a bunch of tallgrasses on the stretcher to soften it. The raccoons then shoved Terrance and his big bum up onto Lou’s back. Lou moved beside the tree, letting Terrance gently slip his big, wide tail under the nest and lift it off the branch. Lou then moved over to a pile of mossy rocks where the raccoons were waiting with the stretcher so Terrance could lower the nest onto it.

Everything was done slowly and carefully, and for animals covered in fur and feathers, you could almost see them sweat.

Right as Terrance let the nest go, they all let out a sigh of relief.

“It is done!” said the beaver, with great confidence.

“Let’s get this thing back to Bullwinkle’s cabin,” said Gary.

“I’ll stick around and wait for the mama to return,” said Terrance. “I’m not finished tanning, and snakes don’t scare me.”

The animals laughed and agreed he was the right man for the job.

Using their human-like hands, the raccoons carried the stretcher slowly and carefully into the woods and all the way to Bullwinkle’s cabin, where after being tipped off by Gilbert, he was waiting out front.

“Well, hello there! Is this the nest?” asked Bullwinkle.

“It is! This is the one I told you about,” said Gilbert.

“Come on inside,” said Bullwinkle. “I have something to tell you!”

The animals carried the nest into the cabin and set it down in front of the fireplace. Mama and Papa Raccoon got to work starting a fire and soon the cabin was filled with a warm glow.

“I think I found their mom!” said Bullwinkle.

The animals all gasped in disbelief.

“Yeah, I think so! I was down at the beach; you know the one just passed where the humans usually go?” the moose asked.

The animals all waited for him to continue.

He waited for them to acknowledge his question.

“Yes, Bullwinkle. We know that part of the beach,” said Mama Raccoon.

“So, while I was there, I saw this very sad bird. She had been crying and her wing was hurt. Her name was Wilma. It didn’t look too bad, but I asked her if she was okay, and she told me she had been in a fight with a snake.”

“Do you know where she is?” asked Papa Raccoon.

“She said she couldn’t fly and had to wait for her wing to heal before she could go home. She also said she was worried about her babies because she couldn’t get back to them and didn’t know the route unless she was flying.”

“This is perfect!” said Gary. “I’m going to the beach right now.”

“I’m right behind you!”

The cats darted out the cabin window and down the forest trail to the beach. They were going as fast as they could – jumping over logs and through bushes.

Once they got to the water, they looked around but didn’t see anyone. It was deserted.

“Oh no!” said Morris. “She’s gone!”

“Let’s look around a bit first,” said Gary.

The cats wandered around the beachfront, looking under shrubs, behind big rocks, and calling out the name Wilma.

“What do we do?” asked Morris.

“I guess we will go back and make sure the eggs are okay,” said Gary.

Both cats returned to the cabin with their bad news, only to find everyone back there celebrating.

“What’s going on?” asked Gary.

“Hey guys!” said Gilbert. “We found Wilma! She’s one tough bird!”

“How’d you do it?” asked Morris.

“Papa and I were talking about what we would do if we were in that same situation,” said Mama Raccoon. “If we were far from our babies and injured, we decided we would do everything we could to get back to them.”

“So, we got Bullwinkle to bellow as loudly as he could,” said Lou. “He called out Wilma’s name over and over again until we heard her chirp back.”

“Then they put me in this little bed and walked me back here,” said Wilma. “Where I was so relieved to see my two little babies were safe, still sitting in their nest, and warming by the fire.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Wilma,” said Gary.

“And for me as well!” said Morris.

“You two are the only cats I’ve ever met who didn’t scare me,” she replied.

“That means a lot,” said Gary.

The animals all sat around and chatted for a while. Bullwinkle offered to let Wilma stay at his cabin as long as she needed to while her wing healed up. He also promised to not let any snakes come near the place.

“They find me quite intimidating,” he said with confidence.

“Well that was quite the day,” said Morris.

“You’re not kidding,” said Mama Raccoon. “I’m just glad our parents took the kids today so we could actually be here to help.”

“Thank your parents for me,” said Wilma. “You two are incredible. All of you are incredible!”

“Well shucks,” said Gilbert, who was blushing a bit. “I think you’re incredibly strong.”

The animals all giggled as the sun began to set. Gary and Morris told the group they were going to get going and then hit the trail back to The Foundation.

“Hope we don’t run into any snakes,” said Gary.

“They’d better hope they don’t run into us!” said Morris.

“Oh shoot we forgot to tell Terrance he can go home!” said Gary. “He’s still waiting at the tree where we found the nest.”

“To the valley!” said Morris.