Snoutie and His Friends - Diana Malivani

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really did have an interesting morning,” thought Snoutie, remembering the butterfly’s visit.

      No sooner had he thought of this than he again saw the same butterfly sitting on an enormous cabbage leaf.

      “Now I’ll catch you for sure!” exclaimed Snoutie and, grabbing his net, he started chasing after the butterfly.

      His morning guest left the cabbage leaf, flew over to a dandelion, and then started circling over the swings. Then, after resting a minute on the gate, she flew off somewhere in the direction of the forest.

      “You still can’t escape me!” shouted Snoutie, waving the net around.

      He continued to run after the butterfly and didn’t even realize that he had jumped over the fence around his little house.

      

      As he chased after the butterfly, he failed to notice how far he had traveled from home. Meanwhile, the butterfly had disappeared into thin air! Suddenly he heard a delicate little voice singing a happy song not far from him. Just to be careful, Snoutie hid behind the trunk of an old oak tree. Then, after a bit, he cautiously stuck his snunk out. He saw a small, beautiful girl gathering a bunch of bright yellow dandelions. She was singing something softly and had no idea that Snoutie was there. Snoutie was pleasantly surprised and started studying her from his hiding place.

      She really was quite pretty. She had thick, chestnut-colored curls that gleamed in the sunlight and enormous blue eyes with long lashes. She was wearing a pink dress with a white lace collar and a big bow in the back.

      Snoutie shifted from paw to paw and did not realize that he might snap a dry twig until a loud crack rang out.

      “Oh, who’s there?” asked the scared girl, looking over at the tree.

      “It’s me. Please forgive me,” mumbled an embarrassed Snoutie as he came out of his hiding place. “I really did not mean to frighten you. I am Snoutie. Who are you?”

      “My name is Michelle. I live near here, on the other side of the hill. Mama let me go out on a walk to pick dandelions.”

      

      “And I was chasing after a butterfly and ran beyond the fence by accident. My house is over there, at the very edge of the Big Forest. Have you ever been there?” Snoutie asked his new friend.

      “No, never! My Mommy and Daddy do not let me go that far,” answered Michelle. “You know, Daddy told me that a magical white flower grows in that forest. If you see it and make a wish, your wish will most certainly come true. But it is very hard to find this flower. It grows in a thicket that is impossible to pass through.”

      “It would be great to find it!” Snoutie’s eyes gleamed and he started noisily sucking in air through his snunk with excitement. “Maybe we should try? We’ll find it quickly and be back before the sun sets so our parents won’t even have the chance to get worried.”

      “OK,” agreed Michelle, “but we have to be back home by evening. Otherwise my parents will be very upset.”

      So Snoutie and Michelle set off quickly in the direction of the Big Forest.

      * * *

      Snoutie and Michelle bounced along the forest path. Everything around them seemed magical: the heavy branches hanging over their heads; the thick, prickly bushes with sour berries; the soft carpet of green moss; the splashing of clear water in the stream; the songs of birds; and the rustling of fallen leaves.

      The little travelers ran merrily off into the depths of the forest, singing a happy song as they went along. Butterflies of all sorts of colors fluttered in the air, and gay grasshoppers jumped around in the deep grass. It seemed to the two travelers that the Forest, which had been warmed by the rays of morning sunlight, wanted to be their friend.

      Then Snoutie thought he heard the splashing of water somewhere up ahead, and the two friends soon found themselves on the banks of the forest stream. The stream was so wide and fast that there was no point in even thinking about crossing it. The travelers began to feel a little tired and hungry.

      “I think we’ll find a tasty lunch on the other side of the stream,” said Snoutie. “We just have to figure out how to get over there.”

      “But first let’s sit down and rest,” answered Michelle.

      

      A large, flat, brown rock lay near the shore. The tired travelers decided to sit on it and take a little break.

      But as soon as they sat down, they felt the rock begin to move.

      “You’re not very courteous, are you, young creatures? You have just sat down right on the roof of my house, which, if you must know, is not a bench for tourists!” said a scratchy voice.

      Michelle jumped up in alarm, and Snoutie grunted in fear and rolled off onto the grass.

      “There’s no reason to jump up and grunt!” continued the grumpy voice.

      “Oh, please excuse us,” said the travelers in unison, still unsure who the voice belonged to. “Would you be so kind as to tell us the best place to cross this stream? It’s so wide and so fast.”

      “I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you,” said the same grumbling voice, and a small, wrinkled head popped out from under the stone they had just been sitting on.

      “I am Turtle,” said the head in a scratchy voice. “Nice to meet you!”

      “Nice to meet you, too,” said Snoutie, embarrassed. “My name is Snoutie, and this is Michelle. We are traveling through the forest. We want to cross to the other side of the stream to find something tasty to eat, but we don’t know how to do it.”

      “Walk down that way a little farther. It’s narrower there and the wind has blown a lot of branches into the water,” explained Turtle. “You won’t find it very hard to cross at that point. You’ll probably meet Croaky the Feel Good Froggy and Beaver the Builder and his little beaver cubs on your way. Once you get across the stream, you should follow Burly Boary’s tracks along the well-trodden path. You will pass the leaning tree, where Robin the Elder has built his nest at the very tippy top. Then you will see a thicket of burdock, where Loppy the Bunny has dug his den. After that, you will come out into a large field that has been completely turned over by Sir Mole. Lots of sweet potatoes and wild strawberries grow there.”

      Snoutie and Michelle thanked Turtle and happily ran on down the stream. They soon heard the splashing of water and a loud croaking coming from somewhere behind a growth of ferns.

      

      They had already reached the stream and were preparing to walk into the water when they suddenly heard someone quite nearby croak out in a singsong voice:

      “Don’t cross the stream there! Do-o-o-on’t! Cro-o-o-a-a-a-k-k-k! It’s deep there.”

      Snoutie and Michelle looked over to the place where they had heard this croaked warning coming from and saw an enormous frog rocking back and forth on a yellow water lily. His cheeks were puffed out and he looked very important and serious. When he saw our travelers, he jumped up high in air and plopped down into the water, but then he neatly emerged from the stream and made his way up to where they were standing on the shore.

      “Thank you very much,” said Snoutie. “You know, I am slightly acquainted with your relatives, the green frogs.”

      “Some relatives!” snorted their new acquaintance self-importantly. “I am much bigger and stronger than any other frog. I am Croaky the Feel Good Froggy! And, if you have noticed, I am not just green like they are; I am green with brown spots. And what’s more, no one else croaks as loudly as I do. Cro-o-o-a-a-a-k-k-k!” Croaky the Feel Good Froggy showed off his skill with pride, causing Michelle to hide behind Snoutie’s back.

      “Might you tell me where you are going? I would be happy to assist you! Cro-o-o-a-a-a-k-k-k!” proposed Croaky helpfully.

      Snoutie

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