The Grounded Owl.
The mother owl flu quickly and quietly back to her nest in the old oak tree. Her two babies were still sleeping so she woke them gently. Breeze and Midnight the two baby owls were more then happy to wake because it was their first flying lesson!  As soon as it got dark they would be up high amongst the clouds with the wind in their feathers.
"Now don't be scared you two, I know it's your first time but you have no idea how easy it actually is." The mother owl said.
"I’m more existed then scared mum, I'm probably going to fly faster and better than Breeze." Said Midnight.
"Shut up Midnight!  You always think female owls are not as fast as male ones! Well I've got news for you, female's are actually faster at flying then males!!" This was true in the owl world but Midnight refused to admit to it. Their mother gave them a warning look and they stopped arguing straight away.


It got dark pretty quickly and that was the cue to start the flying lessons.
"First, you go further out onto this branch until I say stop." Said the mother owl. So they slowly stepped out onto the branch, further and further they went until their mother said. "Stop!"
"Wow, It's so cold out here!" Said Breeze shivering.
"Yes it is you two have not set a claw out of the nest since you were hatched so you are used to the warmth. Now start exercising your wings, like this copy me." Their mother flapped her wings and her chicks copied her exactly.
"This is exhorsting; do you have to do this every time you want to fly?" Asked Midnight.
"Of course not.”  Replied their mother.  “But you two have to get used to using your wings before you fly."
"Ok, but to be honest with you I've had enough of this. I want to fly high!" Said Breeze.
"Hold on darling, we’re almost there.  Then after that you hop on the branch, flapping your wings as you do it." They again copied their mother exactly and Breeze and Midnight couldn't help laughing with joy.  Their mother frond at them and said
"Listen please these lessons are important.  At the last hop you push down hard with both wings and then you will have a successful take off."  Their mother gave them a last hop and then hovered above them showing them how easy it really was.
"How do you hover?" Asked Midnight.
"Just stay in one place and flap your wings a lot.  Make sure you control your wings carefully" Their mother replied. Midnight and Breeze looked at each other nervously.
"On the count of three." Said Breeze in a quaky voice. “1…2…3!” They both gave their last hop and flapped their wings. Midnight did well and stayed where he was hovering like their mother, but Breeze had no control of her wings and went hurterling toward a tree!
"BREEZE!" They both cried as she screeched in help, but it all happened too quickly they could do nothing.  In a blink of an eye she crashed headlong into the tree's trunk and fell to earth.


Everything went completely black for a while for poor Breeze, but then very slowly she came round.  How luckily was she to be alive, she had just had a very nastey fall, she looked up at the sky.  Where on earth was she?  She sat there for a few moments completely dazed and then her keen eye sight showed her that she had landed in a bush.
‘Maybe I should try and fly out of the bush.  I mean I must get back to my family’ she thought but her fall had been so bad that she had damaged her right wing and couldn't fly!
‘Alright so I can’t fly, maybe I should call for mother and Midnight and then they would know where I am.’  This idea scared her as her screeches could attract some unwanted attention. She then heard her mother calling her name over and over again but Breeze was just too scared to call back. Then suddenly she heard some rustling coming from inside the bush! She froze with fear.
"Oh no!" Squeaked a small voice.
"Shh!" Squeaked another.
"H...hello, who's there?" Breeze called out nervously. Then she saw two mice hiding amongst the leaves just inches away from her.
"Oh it’s only mice." She said.
"Ok that’s it we're done for! Just eat us now and get it over and done with." Said one.
"I've just fallen out of the sky, I’m hurt and anyway I ate not to long back." Breeze replied.
“Oh, you poor thing." Said the other one and came out of hiding.  This mouse was pregnant Breeze noticed so it was rather large and the other mouse must have been it's mate.
"What do you mean poor thing? This is an owl they eat us!!" Shouted the male mouse.
"Yes I know that, but it's only a baby and it looks scared half to death. I feel sorry for it." Said the female mouse.  The male mouse just rolled its eyes and sighed.
"I am very scared, I can't fly and I don't know where I am."
"Well, I'm Ginger and that's my husband Sid. You've landed in our home, we live under this bush and it's very safe. Safe enough for us to raise a family anyway."
"Great Ginger.”  Said Sid sarcastically.  “Why don't you just tell this owl where to pick us off next?” Ginger ignored him and asked Breeze kindly.
"So how did you fall out of this sky then?"


After Breeze told them the whole story even Sid was feeling a bit sorry for her not that he wanted to.
"You poor love." Said Ginger.
"What are you going to do?" Asked Sid.
"I have no idea.  I can't fly or call for help, it is dark, cold and I’m on my own!" Said Breeze in a panic and she started to cry.
"Hey it's ok; we'll stay with you for a bit if you like.  I’m afraid we can’t stay for long though because I think my babies will be due any second now." Ginger said.
"Oh thank you so much, that would be kind.  You are two of the nicest mice that I have ever met." Smiled Breeze.
"You're probably the nicest owl we've met." Sid said and they all laughed.


An hour went by and then Ginger started to show the signs of labour so the two mice had to dash quickly under the bush to their nest. They told Breeze to stay in the safety of the bush because that way she would be safe from danger. Breeze took there advice and stayed where she was.  She sat there for a while shivering because it was a very cold night and her little owl body wasn't used to such cold conditions. She then started thinking about Midnight and her mother.  They probably thought that she was dead.  Then suddenly out of nowhere she heard a sniffing noise outside the bush. Then.....a long howl, there was a hungry wolf just outside!!  Breeze stiffened up with fear hardly daring to breath.  The wolf trampled and sniffed around the bush for ages, it could deffently smell her there was no dawt about that.  Suddenly with out warning the wolf tried desperately to get its head inside the bush so that it could find what it was looking for.  Breeze closed her eyes and waited for the wolf to clamp its jaws around her.  The wolf struggled and battled to try and get inside the bush, but it could not work the wolf was just too big.  After a while the wolf got tired of trying to get inside the bush and walked off to try and find an easier pry. How close was that, Breeze breath a huge sigh of relive and relaxed once more.  She knew that the wolf would not return, it had completely given up.


After the wolf encounter Breeze saw a lot of interesting things that she had never seen before.  A spider the size of a large finger nail started weaving a web near to her and she enjoyed watching him hard at work.  Thousands of ants came marching through the bush an hour later carrying food, dirt, eggs and the queen, she guest that they must be moving to a new nest site. A millipede came crawling into the bush a few seconds after the ants and it took ages to leave again.
‘How many legs do they have anyway?’  Breeze wondered to herself. 
After a couple of hours of watching insects they started to give her the creeps and she stopped watching them and started wishing that she was back in her comfy nest with Midnight.  She sat on her own for a long time just listening to the wind, the wolves and the rustling of leaves.  There then came the sound snapping twigs again and all the leaves began to rustle violently.  She tensed up again thinking it could be another predator.  This sound was coming from behind her so Breeze turned her head all the way around to see what it was.  A spiky round ball rolled into the bush and it pricked Breeze hard in the back
“Ouch that hurt!” She complained to the spiky ball.
“Friend or foe?” Asked the spiky ball sharply.
“What?” Asked Breeze. “Come out of that ball I’m not going to eat you. I’m a grounded baby owl and I’ve been here all night!” The ball unrolled and revelled a heghog and did not look happy.
“Stupid wolves, can you hear them? They’re howling so loud that I’m finding it hard to eat.  I came in here for a bit of peace and quiet.”
“Well  I’m only an owl chick and I fell out of the sky.  I can’t get back to my family and they must be worried sick.”  After hearing this the heghog didn't seem too sympathetic. He started telling her everything about himself and then he started a long topic on good grubs to eat in the soil. Breeze didn't mind this because all she wanted was some company.


"So there you have it, I've now told you everything about myself." He finished. "I hope you get back to your family soon.  Anyway I've got to be going now as i need to rustle up some more grubs before the morning."
"Ok Mr. Heghog bye." Breeze said and he left.  Once again Breeze was left alone, with nothing to accompany her but her mind.  She wasn’t left on her own for very long because two rabbits came hopping into the bush playing with each other. They stopped dead when they saw Breeze with complete fear in their eyes.
"Oh my god an owl!" They shouted together and dashed away as fast as they could.
"Wait, Please come back I'm a grounded owl, I swear I want eat you. I'm cold and I'm ever so lonely!" The rabbits did come back and after hearing Breeze's story they realized they weren't in any danger. The rabbits were both brothers and they were so unbelievably funny. They made up their minds to put on a comedy act for her to keep her entertained.
"We are the R.C.A bothers." Said one.
"The what?" Asked Breeze looking completely blank.
"The rabbit comedy act brothers.  We're the best comedy act you'll find around, so get ready for a great show!" Said the other.
"Yeah that is true.  I'm Cabbage and that's my brother Lettis the funniest rabbits in the country."  So Breeze settled herself down for one great show. Their act lasted for a long time, an hour and half to be persises and by the end of it Breeze could hardly breath because she was laughing so much. She laughed none stop from beginning till end. Cabbage and Lettis were certainly the funniest rabbits in the country


Morning came quicker then expected and the rabbits finally finished their act. "That was great!" Cried Breeze over and over again.
"Thank you!” They both said and bowed down to Breeze's tapping claw which was her way of around of aplorse.  Suddenly out of nowhere a shoot rang out and that made both Cabbage and Lettis dart away with fright.  Breeze heard terrifying feet clomping around outside the bush.  Nearer and nearer they got until the feet were right next it! Breeze was so scared and before she stopped herself she gave out a loud screech of fear.
"Hello, what was that?" The voice said. A tall man brushed back the bush and found Breeze on the floor. Breeze shielded her eyes from the sun as her sight was not used to such strong light. She couldn't see well in the day at all because like all owls her and her family usually slept in the day. She felt herself get picked up by the man and carried away somewhere.  Where was this stranger dragging her off to?  She had no idea what was happening to her, everything was just happening to quick. She tried everything to escape but the man had a firm grip on her.


The man took her back to his house and he ended up building her an outdoor Avery and put her into it as soon as it was ready. At first she hated it and wanted to get out, but slowly over the weeks she realised the man was trying to help her and she calmed down. She had a bandage on her bad wing for a good couple of weeks but when it got better it came off. The man looked after her well, he gave her good food and water, he had built her a brilliant Avery and he taught her how to fly. So when it came time for her to be released back into the wild she was sorry to leave him.
"Off you go  owl and good luck!" He said.
"I'm sorry to leave you.  You've been so good to me how can I ever thank you?" Of course no human ear could have heard this.  All he saw was now a fully grown adult owl looking up at him 
"Off you go." He said waving his arm up and down to give Breeze some encouragement. She took off and looked back at the human one last time.  She screeched her thanks and flu back to the old oak wondering if her family still lived in there.