On Grey Fox Farm, Hepsy Hen, along with her clucking, scratching friends, lived under every hedgerow, bush, and thicket.

In need of food, a very young groundhog is sent away by his mum to Grey Fox Manor in search of Hepsy Hen’s eggs. October Poe, still in his boyhood, had never been so far away from home, and his mummy knew that sending her son so far away was not without risk.

Little Poe gathered his things, remembering to bring his lantern, better to spy with and to trace for wolves who also would be on their way to the manor in search of the hens with plumpish thighs.

After strict instructions were given to him by his most loving mummy, October Poe, with stout little arms, pressed his lips against his mummy’s nose then leaves her even though his developing heart was still a child’s.

“My Poe is growing up, Lord,” she said, gathering her beans and peas in crumbling soil.

When the small groundhog had gone far from her reach, he quickly became lost in unfamiliar woods. He had not listened to his wise mum’s teachings and now was severely displaced.

Clambering high up inside a cave, he soon fell asleep. A short time later, he heard strange giggles low near his ear that chilled his veins. As Poe scooted upward, four glowing eyes he spied in his candle’s light.

--Pemberley Woolf

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