Page 26 - The Black Deer and Charlie Rabbit

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The Black Deer and Charlie Rabbit
There was an uneasy silence among the branches but no one answered Alfie. He shrugged. ‘It must have been a bird or something,’ he said to himself as he went back inside.
‘Well? What was it?’ asked Sadie.
‘Nothing. It was quiet when I looked up. Probably a couple of birds having a scuffle over a nest,’ he replied. Alfie went back to bed but Sadie couldn’t rest.
She put on her dressing gown and stood on the veranda outside, looking down. Below, in the vegetable garden, lay two conifer branches. Both had been ripped from the tree trunk. ‘Alfie would have needed a saw to do that,’ she thought. ‘What kind of bird could do it?’
***
‘Did you see anything, Simon?’ asked Sadie. She’d called Simon Blackbird and asked him to take a look at the top of the trees.
‘It’s weird. I expected to find a crows’ nest. You were right about the branches. The thickest ones have been ripped off the trunk as if they were twigs, and some have been cleverly put together to form a kind of viewing platform. Don’t look so worried, Sadie. When Alfie comes home we’ll throw them down in the meadow.’
‘Of course, Simon. Thank you. See you later for coffee,’ said Sadie. She wasn’t as convinced as Simon that there was nothing to worry about, and decided she’d tackle Alfie later, and insist he told her what was going on. Every night he had stared out across the meadow. He left for work earlier in the mornings and came home late at night. She wanted answers.