Thursday
The evening looked like it might be better for the badgers today. The long,
hot summer day had stirred the air up into a frenzy; and a storm cloud was
building on the horizon, The badgers could sense the change in the air - the
humidity was much higher; and the woodland seemed to have a different feel to
it. However, until the storm actually arrived, the woods remained hot and dry;
and the badgers remained very thirsty indeed.
Anyway, the bedding in the sett was in need of freshening up; so it had to be
dragged out of the sett to be aired. Some of the badgers did more work than the
others. One of the boars, was expanding a large rabbit hole to try and form a
new tunnel to make the sett that little bit better. Head badger watched him
suspiciously.
The only chance of getting any water was in the garden of that stately home,
but that was a long way off; and across a busy road and a railway.
One of the smaller cubs was notably lethargic; and had to be nudged along as
he stumbled and swayed through the woodland paths. If he was a bit bigger, he
might have been able to get some food, but the older badgers always got there
first. He really was feeling very weak indeed, All the badgers hoped, he'd be
alright; but they'd seen cubs die before, and, likely as not they would again.
...
It was such a near miss, with the little cub. He hardly had the energy or the
balance to run in a straight line, and he missed getting killed by that car by
inches. The good thing was that the gardeners tap was dripping and all the
badgers managed to get a drink of sorts. At least the little cub would probably survive
at least one more night (if he didn't get hit by another speeding car).
That storm never did come, and it remained hot and
humid all night.
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