Otter Chaos! (9 page)

Sooty needed to get to the surface quickly, so he sped away, rushing upwards through the water until he broke the surface and gasped for air. From the murky depths, Woody watched with relief as his friend struggled to the finish line and was lifted out of the river.

Relaxing now that Sooty was safe, Woody made his way to the surface too, but instead of worried faces when he reached the finish line, he saw the Black family rejoicing with the young pup up on their shoulders, celebrating his amazing triumph. Not only had Sooty won the final event, he had also put the Blacks in the lead, making them the rightful owners of Cottonwood Lodge.

Woody looked over at his own family, who appeared deflated.

“Never mind,” said Mama and Papa Brown as he swam towards them and climbed out of the water. “We know you did your best. We all did, but the Blacks were just better and won the competition fair and square.”

“I guess so,” said Woody, watching the winning family singing and cheering, hurrying back along the bank towards the den. He could see Sooty bobbing up and down as they carried him with them, but his friend didn't even look back.

he Black family was still celebrating, splashing around in the river and cheering when the Brown family arrived back at Cottonwood Lodge. The Browns knew they had to move out before they outstayed their welcome, so they went inside to pack their things.

One by one, the Blacks followed them in to say their goodbyes.

Berry gave Coco her floral headdress to remember her by. Shadow and Storm presented Chestnut and Nutmeg with the twiggy volleyball. Jet gave Grandma Maple some Mohawk beeswax, which she fully intended to use. Coal didn't know what to say to Beanie, being even more shy than her, but Beanie was feeling braver after her win so she gave him a huge hug that almost took his breath away. Papa Black told Papa Brown about a small den upstream that was vacant, and Mama Black packed a large food hamper for the journey and handed it to Mama Brown, both dabbing tears from their eyes.

Grandpa Jack didn't come to wish a fond farewell to Grandpa Bruno, but that didn't surprise anyone after their history and the recent fight. The big surprise was that little Sooty Black didn't come to see Woody Brown.

“Maybe he's too upset,” said Mama Brown as the family gathered in the central chamber with all of their belongings. “Imagine how you would feel if you won the race and your friend had to leave.”

Woody wasn't sure what to think after what had happened during the obstacle race, but Sooty was his best friend and, in the spirit of their pact, he decided to trust him. They had promised to be on each other's side, after all. Which meant that if Sooty didn't come to say goodbye, then he probably had a very good reason.

Farewells were exchanged and a few more tears were shed as the Browns loaded up their rafts on the mooring pad and tethered them all together, this time with double knots. The Blacks looked at the huge, empty lodge and suddenly felt that maybe it was too big for just one family.

The Browns were about to enter the water when a young voice stopped them in their tracks.

“WAIT!” yelled Sooty Black, running out of the den. He was holding Grandpa Jack's paw, tugging the old otter along behind him. “My grandpa wants to ask you all something!”

“This should be good,” growled Grandpa Bruno drily.

“My grandson has just told me what happened in the last race,” gasped Grandpa Jack, catching his breath. “That young Woody rescued him from the riverweeds and probably saved his life, and that if he hadn't gone back for his friend, then he would have won.”

The Browns gasped and looked at Woody.

“Is this true?” asked Mama and Papa Brown.

Woody nodded awkwardly.

“So I want to ask if you would consider staying here in Cottonwood Lodge with us,” said Grandpa Jack, opening his arms in a welcoming gesture. “We all seem to get on quite well together – most of us, anyway,” he added, scowling at Grandpa Bruno, but then he smiled at him and offered to shake his paw. “But I'm prepared to put our silly feud to rest, if you are, old friend.”

Grandpa Bruno looked at the paw-shaped peace offering through narrowed eyes. Then he frowned and scratched his whiskers as he considered the offer and took a step forward.

“Old friend?” he said.

Grandpa Jack nodded and smiled awkwardly.

“Nice try, you old swindler, but I'm on to you this time!” growled Grandpa Bruno. “If my grandson threw the race to save your grandson, then I think Cottonwood Lodge should be ours! And then
we
will decide who else might get to stay!”

The two old otters began to snort through their nostrils as the old feud came flooding back. It was as though the boxing match that broke their friendship had happened yesterday and they both still felt bitterly betrayed.

So, after the brief excitement at Woody Brown's bravery and Grandpa Jack's offer, it became very clear to both families that their grandpas could never forgive each other. And that meant the Browns and the Blacks could never live together...

“Enough!” yelled Grandma Maple, stepping forward. “After all these years, I can't keep the secret to myself any longer. Neither of you stubborn old goats cheated the other!”

“HUH?” gasped Jack and Bruno.

“It was me!” sighed Grandma Maple, sitting down heavily on a rock. She was so relieved to have her terrible secret out in the open that she was now very anxious to set the record straight. “It was the night of the final fight, and young Bruising Bruno and Big Bad Jack had grown further apart with every match…”

 

“
Promise me you'll be all right,” said Maple, pacing up and down nervously while Bruno skipped and cross-skipped with a length of rope. “I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you...”

“I'll be fine,” Bruno said confidently. “I know Jack's moves better than he knows them himself. By the end of the night I'll be the first ever five-time super heavyweight champion.”

“Then what?” sighed Maple, sitting on a log to rest her legs. They had been aching lately so she rubbed them with fish oil to soothe her weary muscles. She had not told Bruno that they were expecting a litter of pups in the spring, which caused her to feel tired and more worried about him than usual.

“I'll be fine,” said Bruno again, trying to reassure Maple by holding her paws in his gloves. “And when I win this tournament, the Otter Boxing Federation will take me on a grand boxing tour up and down the river, and you can come with me. We'll be living the high life, Maple Moo!”

But Maple had no interest in living the high life. She wanted nothing more than to settle down and raise a family with her beloved Bruno. She also worried that, if he won the match that evening, he would want to continue boxing and might get injured or worse…

Maple couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to the otter she loved. So when she lifted Bruno's gloves and noticed how they glistened in the moonlight with her slippery fish oil, Maple remained silent, knowing full well that he would lose the match to Big Bad Jack.

 

“So it was me who rubbed fish oil into your gloves, not Jack,” Maple finished her story, mopping tears from her eyes. “It was me who put an end to your boxing career for my own selfish reasons.”

Everyone looked from her to Grandpa Bruno, who struggled to piece everything together and didn't know how to react to Grandma Maple's shocking revelation. Then he took his wife's paws within his own, as he had done all those years ago, and hugged her tightly.

“I would never have fought that night if I'd known, Maple Moo,” said Grandpa Bruno. “And I would have chosen raising a family together over a silly boxing tour any day of the week. Just look at our wonderful family!”

“Really?” gasped Maple. “You don't have any regrets?”

“My only regret is that I didn't trust my best friend,” said Bruno.

“I planned to tell you,” sobbed Maple. “But then the pups came and we didn't see Jack on the river again – not until we arrived here, and by then I didn't know how to tell you that he'd done nothing wrong.”

“I shouldn't have needed to be told,” said Bruno. “I should have known myself that Jack wouldn't cheat, and I should have trusted him always to be on my side, even when we were competing against each other.”

Woody and Sooty exchanged a knowing smile, and everyone looked from Grandpa Bruno to Grandpa Jack, who quickly wiped his eyes and sniffed gruffly. The old black otter had also thought his friend had cheated by offering an oily glove to shake, so he was just as guilty of mistrust.

“We've both been stubborn and foolish and wasted so many years because of our silly pride,” said Grandpa Jack, offering his paw once more. “Can we be friends again?”

Bruno ignored the paw and gave his best friend a huge hug, and everyone else was so moved that they all joined in. Papa Black hugged Papa Brown, Berry hugged Coco, Chestnut hugged Shadow, Storm hugged Nutmeg, Beanie hugged Coal, Grandma Maple hugged Jet, and Woody hugged Sooty. Mama Black and Mama Brown looked at everyone else hugging, rolled their eyes, and then they hugged too. It was like a final ‘Hugging' event in the competition, where everyone was a winner!

“HOORAY!” cheered the Browns.

And because it sounded like fun, the Blacks tried it too.

“HOORAY!” cheered the Blacks.

And then, since the two families were about to start living together and sharing everything, they decided that the best way to begin their new life was by sharing a cheer all together.

“HOORAY!”

o the Brown family moved back into Cottonwood Lodge with the Black family and lived happily ever after. No one had a room to themselves, so there were farts and snores at bedtime. The mamas and papas became rather competitive, and Grandpa Jack and Grandpa Bruno found brand-new things to fall out about, much to the annoyance of Grandma Maple. Even Woody and Sooty learnt to disagree, as best friends often do, but on one thing everyone was agreed. Living together was otter chaos, and that was exactly how they liked it!