Page 68 - Book 3 - (barcoded)

66
The Wylder Valley
Alfie Squirrel was distraught when he heard the news and stood at the garden gate waiting for Charlie Rabbit. Flying low across the meadow he saw Simon Blackbird and below him, Charlie was running frantically. Alfie ran to meet him and told him what happened. 'It's Lottie, she's injured,' he cried. 'Betsy and Sam Hedgehog took her to the bakery.'
'Yes, I know. Simon saw everything from the conifer trees and came to fetch me.'
They raced to the bakery to find Lottie covered in black mud. Paris was wiping her mother's face as Betsy prepared a make-shift bed in the bakery store room. Sam hurried outside to speak with Simon.
'I know what I have to do, Sam,' whispered the blackbird. 'I'll be back with Doctor Drake as soon as I can.'
As they waited, Charlie sat beside Lottie and stroked her cold muddy hands. 'Don't leave me, Lott. Please don't leave me,' he sobbed.
Dr Drake arrived in a flurry and examined Lottie. 'I can't find anything wrong, Charlie, except for a nasty bump on her head, so she could have a concussion. Generally speaking, it's a temporary lapse. When your wife wakes up, she might feel confused. All I can do now is to let her rest.'
'Tell us Lottie will wake up, Doctor. She has to,' implored Betsy.
Sam and Betsy stayed with Charlie throughout the night. The rabbit girls shared a bedroom upstairs. However, Lottie never woke up and died in Charlie's arms in the early hours of the morning.