Saturday
Saturday was another bit of a nuisance day for the badgers. It was hot again;
which would mean nothing to drink again.
The weather forecasters were predicting one of the "best" summers
for decades, with long unbroken sunshine and very high temperatures again.
The badgers hadn't really had enough to eat or drink yesterday; and today,
the awful smell in the woodland made it difficult to sense where there might be
food tonight. The smell of burnt oil and petrol; and melted plastic was very
strong. Whatever it smelt like for humans, it was so overpowering for the
badgers; that they could hardly smell anything else; and just wanted to leave
the area.
The badgers had to re-assert the territory as belonging to them, so as well
as the need to eat and drink, and scratch and groom one another, they now had
the job of musking their unique badger smell on trees and paths once again.
However bad the damage to the trees and the flora and the fauna, it could end up
being
even worse for the badgers, if the enemy clan tried to pinch some of their
territory now.
It's at times like this, thought the head badger, that we could do with a few
more badgers in this clan. In times of crisis, to have a couple more bodies to
defend our territory would be very useful. Perhaps he would allow some of the
cubs to stay in the clan this year.
He went over to the other badgers and carefully groomed them for a few
minutes. It was as if he was saying to them, it was OK to complete that new
tunnel they'd started work on.
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