Otter Chaos! (8 page)

he beavers worked through most of the night to get the various elements of the contraption built and set up round the site of Cottonwood Lodge. Chip had given up trying to impress his dad, but was determined to see his plan succeed. He oversaw all of the building work and instructed the beavers to make minor modifications as they tried and tested each part of the apparatus. The otters also stayed up most of the night, working out their part in the plan, which was very dangerous. It needed several rehearsals, with the help of the beavers, and by morning everyone was ready to put Chip's grand plan into action.

Papa Brown and Papa Black bounced up and down on the mooring pad, preparing for the task ahead. Their role was to head back into the Wild West forest and lure the mountain lion to the river. It was a perilous mission, but vital for the plan to work, so their wives were each trying to put on a brave face.

“Now make sure you don't get caught,” said Mama Brown, hugging Papa Brown before the two of them rubbed noses. “You'll be no use to any of us in the belly of a mountain lion.”

“Promise me that you'll keep a safe distance,” said Mama Black, hugging Papa Black tightly.

“I promise,” gasped Papa Black. “We'll both be fine.”

“And we'll be looking out for each other,” said Papa Brown.

“Are you sure you don't need backup?” asked Woody.

“We've outrun him before!” Sooty added eagerly.

“That's very brave of you both,” said Papa Brown.

“But someone has to stay behind and look after everyone else,” whispered Papa Black. The two pups nodded in agreement and hugged their dads.

Mama Black and Mama Brown clutched each other's paws as they watched their husbands clamber up the steep bank. They reached the tree-line, waved back at the onlookers and then disappeared into the forest.

Papa Brown and Papa Black had been putting on a brave face too, because neither of them wanted to meet the mountain lion again. But their families were counting on them, so they took a deep breath, wished each other the best of luck and dashed between the trees. The two otters looked and listened and sniffed with every step, using all of their senses to find the beast before it found them – and it didn't take very long at all.

“There!” whispered Papa Brown, pointing to a flicker of movement in the distance. The otters hid behind a tree and watched, and sure enough the mountain lion stalked into the clearing. It was almost as though he was waiting for the otters to return.

“It's now or never,” said Papa Black. “Are you ready to run?”

Papa Brown took a deep breath and nodded, then the pair hopped out from their hiding place and began to laugh and play noisily, pretending they had no idea the big cat was there, and when he turned in their direction they acted as though he had taken them by surprise.

“Oh, what rotten luck!” said Papa Brown, speaking at the top of his voice for the benefit of the beast. “It's that big, scary mountain lion we escaped from yesterday!”

“I expect we're in trouble now!” added Papa Black, putting his paws up to his open mouth. “I hope he doesn't come after us again as we run home to all the other yummy otters and delicious beavers!”

The otters paused for a moment and watched the mountain lion take it all in, just to make sure he'd take the bait and give chase. For a moment he frowned at them, trying to work out why they were acting so strangely. Then he lifted his head and roared, before bounding after the otters with all his might.

“Off we go, then!” chirped Papa Brown, turning tail, along with Papa Black. “And let's hope that little beaver, Chip, knows what he's talking about!”

They raced back the way they had come, bounding through the undergrowth, moving like black and brown bolts of lightning. When they reached the edge of the forest, they gave a signal to the others, waiting on the riverbank below, to indicate that the big cat was on his way. Everyone took their positions, just as Papa Black and Papa Brown dived off the edge of the slope and hit the top of the mudslide on their bellies.

The mudslide was at the back of Cottonwood Lodge. It zigzagged down the bank, before ending in a steep wooden ramp at the water's edge. The mountain lion had no idea the slide was there, so when he leapt after the fleeing otters he landed on his bottom and skidded after them at high speed.

Papa Brown and Papa Black zoomed expertly down the mudslide and hit the ramp at the same time, soaring through the air and diving into the water. But, just before the lion reached the ramp, Woody and Sooty sprang out of hiding and went to work, pulling a heavy wooden lever that dropped a catapult cup in its place. The creature's world turned upside down and, before he knew what had happened, he slid into the cup and spun like a top.

It took a few seconds for the big cat to stop spinning, and when he did he was sitting in front of the brave pups, who waved goodbye as they pulled another lever that launched him back into the air again.

“YEEAAAW!” screeched the mountain lion, flying towards the river.

Cats – even the giant variety with massive paws – don't like water. So, after a big splash, he quickly bounded back up the bank and on to a sloping deck made from rows of smooth logs. But, the moment he set a paw on the deck, the logs spun round and, no matter how fast he ran, he stayed on the same spot, like training on a treadmill.

“Bring on the rain of pain!” yelled Twiggy, standing on a rock.

Out in the river the young otters, Chestnut, Nutmeg, Storm, Shadow and Jet, were poised next to floating baskets filled with twigs and small stones. At the beaver's signal they began to toss handfuls of debris through the air and, using her tail as a bat, Twiggy hurled them inland at the mountain lion.

“YEAW! YEAW! YEAW!” he yelled as the mini missiles rained down.

The sticks and stones were only small and bounced off the startled cat as he struggled on the spinning logs. Before long, though, some of the stones got lodged in the gaps, jamming the contraption long enough for him to leap off. The lion hit land, turned and snarled angrily. He sniffed and searched for any otters or beavers close by. Twiggy had already vanished and the young otter pups were safe in the water. The only one out in the open now was Grandma Maple!

“Oh, please have mercy, Mister Mountain Lion,” she sighed, clasping her paws together as she stood quivering beside a bush, a little way up the bank. “I am but a poor, elderly otter.”

The big cat growled menacingly and charged at Grandma Maple, not realising that her paws were clasped round another wooden leaver. This lever released another catapult, which showered the ground between them with broken clamshells.

“YEAW! YEAW! YEAW!” yelled the mountain lion again as he landed on the sharp shells, springing up and down like a cat on a hot tin roof.

Grandma Maple made a speedy getaway and was swiftly replaced by Mama Brown and Mama Black, who eyed the animal up and down with fierce disapproval.

“If you leave now that'll be an end to it,” said Mama Brown.

“But you must
never
come back here again,” added Mama Black.

The mountain lion stopped springing, planted his paws on the sharp shells with a defiant wince and glared at the otters. Mountain lions don't speak the same language as river mammals, although most animals can make themselves understood if they speak slowly and wave their paws about. The big cat understood the offer and responded by leaping towards them with a deafening roar.

Mama Brown and Mama Black expected as much and hurried away, leading the pursuer up the bank to where Coco and Berry were waiting. By this point in time, the mountain lion had grown wise to the tricky otters, and looked about before approaching them, checking for levers and shells or things they might throw at him. But there was nothing except a strong smell of fish lingering in the air, so he made his way up the rocky slope towards the two grinning otters … and then abruptly slid straight down again as the pups released a glossy stream of fish oil. Coco and Berry waved their greasy paws at him and then slicked back their fur triumphantly.

The mountain lion scrambled frantically, trying his best to stop the downward slide, but he was entirely at the mercy of gravity. He slipped further towards the final contraption in the otters' and beavers' plan. Chip was there to pull the lever.

Before the lion knew what was happening, a large wooden cage scooped him up and suspended him on the high end of a huge seesaw plank – the other end of which was weighted down with rocks.

“YEEAAAW!” the lion bellowed angrily.