Freiyon Fables - Rise To The Challenge: Rise To The Challenge

By Justin T Hunt

MICKLANG, THE UNASSUMING SQUIRREL, HAS FOUND HIMSELF IN A DREADFUL AND DANGEROUS SITUATION. 

He is trapped in a zoo, far from his wife, Harriet, and his freedom in the wild. Stranded with other squirrel companions who seem unable to speak the same language he does. He will have to find a way to escape if he hopes to reunite with his d

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shawline Publishing Group
• Release date: Mar 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781922701992

Justin T Hunt

Born in Blacktown, NSW, Australia, Justin Hunt grew up in the Blue Mountains of NSW with his older sister, April, and his parents. He has been writing stories since he was seven but had not considered publishing books until he was fifteen years old. His first book, 'A Tail to Remember', was officially published in March of 2017, with a practice cover. His series 'The Freiyon Fables', which has 3 books in it, is currently available on Amazon, however he is trying to rewrite the series into smaller installments for kids to enjoy the stories more, instead of the adventures all taking up one book at a time. Justin currently lives in Wagga Wagga, NSW, and works as a kitchen hand at Kapooka army base, waiting to find a job that utilizes his completed Bachelor of Arts degree. He is 28 years old, graduated in his studies of Bachelor of Arts at Charles Sturt University, and has a dog named Raven that keeps him happy and active. He also is currently working out at a local Gym to lose weight. He still writes and has huge imaginations for more stories in the future.

Book preview

Freiyon Fables: Rise to The Challenge

© 2022 Justin Hunt.

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Printed in Australia

First Printing: March 2022

Shawline Publishing Group Pty Ltd

www.shawlinepublishing.com.au

Paperback ISBN- 9781922701923

Ebook ISBN- 9781922701992

Dedicated to Luca Pellegrini, one of the best friends a person could ever ask for and one of the kindest souls I’ve ever met.

Author’s Note:

✍

Baby Squirrels are called kits or kittens.

Kits are born blind and they depend on their mothers for around two or three months

Kithood refers to a squirrel’s childhood.

Prologue

A young boy, shivering, huddled near a campfire. He wore a brown jacket over a green long-sleeved shirt, as well as dark grey jeans, but he still shivered. He had his arms around himself for warmth, and his breath came out thick. He peered up at the clear night sky through the gap in the forest canopy, his discomfort worsening from sitting on the hard ground.

Wrapping his purple and black scarf around his neck, the boy tried conjuring warm thoughts. His rough blonde hair ruffled in the wind; his ocean-blue eyes scanned a group of bats flying off into the night. Then his gaze redirected to his mother, who was toasting marshmallows by a fire.

She turned her comforting brown eyes his way. ‘Come closer, sweetheart. You must be freezing.’

The boy shuffled over to her side and warmed his hands over the flickering flames. The warmth coated his hands and brought a pleasant smile to his face. Watching those embers dance and dissipate into the frigid air triggered a question in his mind, something that he had never openly asked before.

‘Mum?’ He paused, worrying he sounded silly. ‘Is it true that Grandma discovered a different dimension?’

The mother delivered a smile equally warm as the hearth before them. ‘Well, it’s funny that you should mention that. That’s the reason I brought you out here tonight. I’m going to tell you the story of your grandmother and the friends she found. When I’m done, you can ask whatever questions you want to. But you need to listen carefully. It’s a long story, and I want you to soak in every single word of it.’

The boy sighed. ‘Ok, Mum.’

The mother reached for her backpack. She reached in, and out came a thick book–old, like it had been worn from many prior reads.

The boy scooted closer to his mother as she set the book on her lap and opened up the front cover. ‘Her story begins not in her home but in the middle of a forest, quite similar to this one. That is where two small squirrels met and fell in love.’ As she started reading, the stars in the sky sparkled, and the surrounding trees fell silent. It was as if the entire forest wanted to hear her story as well.

CHAPTER ONE:

Capture!

Water trickled down a moss-covered stone waterfall, dribbling into a crystal-clear pond that was currently hosting two creatures drinking peacefully: A pair of ordinary red squirrels. The male had ocean-blue eyes and some white at the tip of his tail, which was actually paint that got splashed on him. The female had emerald-green eyes.

The two squirrels stopped drinking and gave each other longing looks as they spoke in their native squirrel language.

‘I’m glad we decided to be together, Mark,’ the female said. ‘I can think of no other squirrel I’d rather be with.’

‘Nor I, Harriet,’ Mark said. His paw reached over and started caressing Harriet’s back. ‘Do you remember the day we first met?’

‘Of course, Mark. It was the day you saved my life.’

  

Both squirrels reminisced. It began as a normal day in the forest. While foraging for food, Mark suddenly heard Harriet’s calls for help. He scurried to find her being attacked by piranhas at a nearby river. Using his wits, he grabbed a sharp stick and used it as a sword, slashing at the fish and distracting them long enough to pull Harriet from the water. She had been hurt badly and was drenched in her own blood. But thankfully, she was alive. Harriet left the attack with two less toes than before and a bite mark on her leg, the latter of which healed over time. From that point on, the two decided to spend more time together, to forage happily every chance they got.

  

At the end of the recollection, Harriet sighed, taking a brief glance at the scar on her hind leg. ‘It wasn’t long after our fourth foraging that we decided to become an official couple. And I’m glad we did, Mark.’

‘Harriet, you’re the greatest squirrel I could ever ask for. I’ll always love