9. Capture

Just at sunrise, the adults were woken by the sound of hens squawking.  Mippy and the young hedgehogs were in the forester’s chicken pen chasing the chickens about.

Mippy had dug under the wire-netting and made a tunnel big enough for the little hedgehogs to followed him in through it.

“Come out of there!” yelled Molly Mole.

 “That is very dangerous,” yelled Mortimer Mole

The forester, carrying a bulging sack, was coming towards them over the grass.    

Mippy and his friends just had time to scramble out of the chicken coop though their tunnel, before the forester arrived at the coop.

He undid the latch, opened the door, went into the coop and emptied his sack.  Out of it fell a very bewildered looking Mr Fazzi who gave a muddled “CAOOOR.”

The forester left the sack in a heap near the door, hurried out and latched the door.

Mr Fazzi flew up and banged his head on the wire netting roof of the coop.

“Keep your head on, Mr Cawker.  You are going to fetch a good price at the market,” said the forester.
“Just give me a moment to eat my breakfast.”

“We must rescue Mr Fazzi,” whispered Mippy.

“We can’t,” said Molly Mole, “It would take us weeks to dig a tunnel big enough to get a bird that size out of there.”

“He saved my life,” said young Mippy. “Now I have to save him.”

George Hedgehog held up a paw and announced, “I will make a plan to rescue him.  I have a length of secret string.  The swallows will tell Mrs Fazzi where he is, and she will soon be here to help us.”

“Go with George’s plan,” Igrene advised Mippy.  “He got me out of a molehill that I got stuck in.”

“Okay, I will rely on him,” muttered Mippi.

“Good lad!” said Igrene.