Chucky's New Mom
by Victoria Booth

A long time ago, there was a baby woodchuck who lived in the woods. He lived with his mother in a hole in the ground. Chucky Woodchuck was this baby woodchuck’s name, and doing things different was his kind of game. One day he climbed out of the hole in the ground. He ran through the woods in circles – around and around. He ran down paths and in between trees, he looked into a honeycomb and got chased by some bees! He ran to the left, and he ran to the right, he ran for so long that soon it was night! Chucky suddenly became scared. He couldn’t remember which way he had come, or how to get back. The night was scary and so very black!

He was hungry and thirsty, and oh, so cold. He didn’t know what to do; he was just a baby who had been way too bold.

He wandered around crying buckets of tears, and poor Chucky, was so full of fear!
He finally lay down as he shivered and shook. He tried to sleep, but kept opening his eyes to look. He was so tired and filled with fright.

Suddenly, he heard noises in the night - rustling and crackling of leaves. He wished he had a coat, so he could hide in the sleeves.

But he sat up, wide-eyed and alert. The night was cold, dark, and dim.

He looked through the trees and what did he see? A huge, hairy wolf, that seemed to be coming right at him!

He ran behind a tree to hide. But as he moved, the wolf saw him and ran to his side!

The wolf spoke to him, " What are you doing out here in the dark of the night? And where is your mother? I don’t see her in sight."

"I’m lost," he replied, with a sniffle and a tear. "I can’t find my mother, and I know she’s not near!"

"Oh, dear," said the wolf, sympathetically, " I hope you’re not the one…"

"What one?" asked Chucky, "why, what do you mean?"

"Well," the wolf said, "earlier today a mother woodchuck was killed by a big farm machine. She had been running around asking the other animals, if her baby they had seen, when a farmer accidentally ran over her. He didn’t mean to, he didn’t see her, but he did and she died." She started to say more, but didn’t, because Chucky had started to wail, and to cry, and he cried so hard and so loud that everyone heard him who lived nearby.

The wolf felt sorry for him. He was just a baby, after all. She felt very bad for him – for this lost little soul – who now had no mother and no home in a hole. So, she picked him up and as he squirmed and sobbed, she carried him to her cave. She whispered to him reassuringly that she would take care of him now and be his mother and love him as if he had always been her own.

Chucky, wasn’t happy though, and got mad at the wolf. He yelled at her and told her to go away! She wasn’t his mother! She didn’t look anything like a woodchuck. And she was certainly too big to fit in a hole!

Well, the wolf knew best, so she took charge. She gently, but firmly, pushed him into the cave, and she rolled a large rock in front of the opening, so he couldn’t escape. She didn’t want him to go wandering out in the night and perhaps get into trouble.
In the early dawn hours, they both fell asleep as the birds woke up and began to sing and to cheep.

In the morning, while Chucky slept an exhausted sleep, the wolf crept quietly out of the cave to find something for Chucky to eat. She tore off some leaves from a bush, found some berries and chewed them to mush. She took the food back to the cave, where she dropped it on the floor. She nudged Chucky Woodchuck awake. "Here," she said, "I don’t know how you can eat this stuff, but I think I chewed it good enough.

Chucky sat up and gobbled all of it down, he was so very hungry. Afterwards, the wolf took him out with her scouting for water and something for her to eat.
Now, lots of nights passed, and lots of days, and always each morning the wolf would go out and find Chucky something to eat. At night, her fur would keep him warm so that he could sleep.

Still, Chucky wouldn’t be nice to the wolf. He resented her, he thought he hated her. He didn’t understand that she had given him a home and loved and cared for him. All he knew was that one day he went out to play, and his mom was taken away.

Many months went by, and Chucky became older and meaner towards the mother wolf, he was never even a little nice, but still the wolf took good care of Chucky.

Then one day, Chucky was waiting for her to get back and bring his food back to the cave. It became afternoon, and then evening. At first, Chucky was glad, after all, he was sure he hated her! Why should he care if she never came back?

When she didn’t come back after it became dark, Chucky finally set out and started trying to follow her mark. He followed the trail for a long, long time. He was just about to give up, his energy was being sapped, when suddenly ahead, he saw her caught in a trap! He ran to her, and saw in her eyes that she was in a lot of pain.

Chucky sprang into action. "I’ll help you, Mother," he said quick as a shot. "I’ll help you to get out, I’ll help you get uncaught!" He pulled on the trap, and pushed with his feet, but he couldn’t do it - he was filled with defeat. So, he ran through the woods, he shrieked and he cried. He called loudly for help, but didn’t see anyone outside.

He leaned against a tree, and tried to catch his breath, tried to think. It wasn’t long, before a big black bear came out through some bushes. She reared up on her hind legs, and growled loudly, "What’s all this fuss, from such a small woodchuck?"

"My mother!" cried Chucky, "is caught in a trap! And I’m not big enough to help, and I need a nap!"

"Take me to where she is," growled the bear, "we’ll see about getting her free."

Chucky ran ahead full speed ahead to where she was, the bear following closely behind, lumbering heavily through the woods. When they reached the spot where his mother lay, the bear stopped short. "Hey, what’s this? Some kind of Joke? This isn’t your mother, son. This is a wolf!"

Chucky became angry and started jumping up and down. "Of course, she’s my mother! Of course, she’s my mother! She’s taken care of me, fed me, and kept me warm and safe! Isn’t that what a real mother is? Of course she’s my mother! I love her and she loves me! My real mother died, and my wolf mother took me and loved me! Please help my mother, so we can go home! Please help my mother, so I won’t be alone!"

The bear was still puzzled, but she took it in stride, as she pulled and she pushed. She used her big, clawed paws and pried the trap open, finally freeing the wolf.

Chucky jumped all over his mom and licked her face, he was so happy to have her back. The wolf and Chucky both thanked the bear, and walked slowly home. They talked along the way. When they got back to the cave, they crawled inside and cuddled together. As the wolf licked her wounds, Chucky looked up at her and started to cry.

"Now what is wrong, Chucky?" Asked his mother, the wolf. "We’re safe and we’re home. Why do you cry?"

"Well," answered Chucky, as he sniffled and he sighed, "you have loved me all these months – not since I was born – but when I was orphaned and awfully forlorn. I thought I hated you and I was very mean. But I know now that I love you. You are my mother, the only one I’ve got, and the only one I want."

"Hush, hush, little Chucky, it’s okay, it’s all right. When it really mattered, you came through and helped with my plight."

They quieted down some and huddled close. As they were getting near sleep, she whispered, "And Chucky, today you were a good scout, but most importantly, today, you learned what a mother is really about."

With that, they both fell asleep. From that day on, they were known as mother and son.

When years went by, and Chucky grew up and had children of his own, he often reminded them, "The most important thing is not who gives you life, but who loves you, and takes care of you. That is what a real mother is.

THE END