Read Mounty’s First Adventure by Laurian Brand
Laurian Brand’s short story was adjudged the best entry in the Department of Environment’s AFW LitFest competition.
Read about Mounty the mountain chicken and his first adventure. We really hope Mounty goes on to have more adventures.
Mounty’s First Adventure
Mounty hopped with glee. The cool water from Boo Boo Pond was refreshing and swimming was this little Mountain Chicken’s favourite activity on a hot day.
His long legs stretched as he leapt along the broad mossy leaves of the old cedar tree. The mountain breeze dried Mounty’s wet glistening skin as he settled on a bed of roots to dream and wonder about leaving the majestic mountain on which he lived. He was only seven weeks old and his bumpy brown leathery skin had shiny black spots that sparkled like black opals. Mounty was not a chicken, he was a frog but his long, long legs allowed him to spring higher than any frog, higher than you could imagine. Mountain Chickens were hunted so Mounty had to be quick to stay alive.
He was alone in the mountains. His family had been taken one by one by the giant creatures with the loud stomping walks and long ugly boots. First, it was his mum and dad, then it was his brothers Clucky and Froggy and lastly his sister Mousy. Luckily, Mounty was the best at hide and seek and the giant creatures never found him. Mounty was lonely and often cried for his family; he was the youngest and couldn’t understand why they left him. His friends Toad, Birdy and Bunny played with him but he missed his family so much and often talked to the white ball in the sky when evening came, hoping it would grant him a wish. The little shining lights up high reminded him of bugs with their lights on their backs and he would fall asleep dreaming of family, friends and food.
Mounty had seen tall structures coming out of the ground far away when he had gone to the very top of Old Cedar. There were thousands of bugs moving around and moving in carts, they looked like families except he wasn’t sure they were bugs since their bodies looked a little strange and they never flew in the air. He hoped they were bugs though because they were his favourite treat. Mounty dreamed of a day when he could wander into this bug village and eat and eat and eat. His long pink tongue flicked in the air as he thought of the yummy, delicious bugs. Smilingly, Mounty fell into a deep, long sleep while the chirping crickets played his favourite bedtime song. Read More