PISTACHIO'S PROBLEM

Edward Perry, 10

Cheltenham

In the depths of the harsh winter, in a cosy oak woodland full of life, stirred a hazel dormouse. It had a soft golden, brown coat of fur, vast jet-black eyes and feathery elongated tail. You see, it is odd for a mouse to suddenly wake up startled in the middle of their hibernation, and on this occasion, it was very odd. The mouse’s name was Pisatchio, and she wasn’t pleased.

“Being arisen from my snug bed at this time of night?!” she squeaked in annoyance. Pistachio glanced at a miniscule clock showing the time. “A quarter past winter!” she huffed.

THUD! A gargantuan plastic bottle rolled onto the forest floor, followed by a humongous crisp packet falling from the air. Several feet slammed down, peeling off some sticky gum onto some unfortunate animals’ houses. Humans were everywhere; dropping, chucking and littering their rubbish into the wood. Squirrels scampered, foxes fled, deer dashed and earthworms escaped.

“Oh dear!” bellowed Pistachio. She skedaddled back to her bed and started drawing some posters. They said, ‘Meeting. All woodland creatures please attend the meeting at the mighty oak tree tonight. It is critical.’ Pistachio grinned and stuck up all her posters before arriving early to prepare for her pow-wow.

That night, the woodland was bustling with life.

“Hello, fellow animals. I have gathered you here because of the humans,” Pistachio stated clearly. “All day, they have been dropping their litter in our home. Has anyone got any ideas on how to stop this?”

Several paws shot up. “Maybe we could store loads of rotten eggs in their gardens,” suggested a sly fox, named Felix. For a while, more and more unhelpful brainstorms were remarked.

But then it came...A slender, slimy frog put up his hand. “If they clutter our homes, then we shall clutter theirs,” he announced. Every creature admired his work, so they began his plot.

The next day, humans came again and littered some more, but the animals could not take it. They took Pistachio’s orders and carried a stash of rubbish with them, as other creatures bounded across roaring roads and winding valleys.

Finally, after finding a bustling city, Pistachio gazed up a street filled with litter and no sign of nature. “Go!” she bellowed. The tribe of animals scuttled up onto the rooftops of houses. They started squashing all the rubbish from the street and the wood, down the chimneys. Even if the humans threw it back out, they continued. Felix threw eggs and the frog coated the bricks of the house in slime. Pistachio was overjoyed seeing everyone infuriated.

By the end of the day, the people had given up and Pistachio headed home to finish her hibernation. She pulled up her blanket of leaves, and fell into a deep sleep, happy in the knowledge that the humans would not come back to litter their habitat tomorrow.