hester the Coyote
By Anne Spackman
Copyright 2012 by Anne Spackman
Cover art by Anne Spackman, using picture within the public domain
Once upon a time, in the high cold mountains of a place called Ash Mountain, there lived a clever young coyote named Chester. Chester's cozy den was made of moss, bracken, and fallen leaves. He lived in a small, wooded glade that lay in the valley between the mountains. Even on sunny days, Ash Mountain's peaks were covered in a swath of misty clouds and drifts of pure white snow. Ash Mountain was a very lovely place to live, and Chester was very happy there.
"Coo coo!" called the dove one morning from high above Chester.
"Good morning, Dove," said Chester. Chester had many friends, including foxes, badgers, and small birds, mostly wood doves, thrushes, and sparrows, that lived in the trees nearby.
"Hiss!" said Slippery the Snake, as he slithered past Chester.
"Oh, excuse me," said Chester, stepping lightly away. It was not a wise thing to step on a snake.
Chester enjoyed the sunshine in the valley under Ash Mountain.
"Yawn," said Chester. "I think I shall have a nap under one of these trees," he said to himself. He liked to stretch out on the grass to nap and then forage for food when he became hungry. Chester was happy living in Ash Mountain’s valley. In springtime, there were beautiful flowers in the valley, of pink, blue, and yellow hue.
"Hullo, Chester!" called Fred the Ferret. "Enjoying this fine weather, eh?"
"Yes, indeed," said Chester. "I was just about to look for something to eat, a field mouse or something."
"Don't let me bother you then, Chester," said Fred.
And with that, Fred the Ferret disappeared into a hole in the ground.
One day, mankind came to Ash Mountain, and Chester woke up to the sound of bulldozers. In the distance on the field, the bulldozers made horrible noises as they tore up the ground with sharp, steel teeth. Mankind wanted to develop the valley beneath Ash Mountain. Soon, there would be houses upon the fields and the forests Chester had known. Ash Mountain’s valley as it had been would be no more.
Chester was suddenly faced with a dilemma. If he and his friends wanted to live, they had to leave Ash Mountain and its valley. They had to find another place to live. But where could Chester go that was safe? Chester felt sad and scared by all the noise, and uncertain where to go. All of his forest friends were fleeing the area to find a new place to live. Chester passed young foxes, badgers, rabbits, and all kinds of songbirds running away from Ash Mountain to a safer place, west of the bulldozers. Chester ran beside a stream a little to escape the bulldozers destroying Ash Mountain.
As he passed a tall sycamore, a small, spotted owl in the tree said,
"Hoo, hoo, Chester, I know somewhere you can live now."
"Where?" asked Chester, stopping to catch his breath. "I don't know where to go or what to do. Ash Mountain has always been my home."
"There is an oasis to the south."
"An oasis?"
"Yes, I have heard that there are more of your kind there. Coyotes and other creatures have made it their home."
"Tell me, wise Mr. Owl, how do I make it to the oasis?" cried Chester.
"You must head south, past a desert and then you may find it. But, the oasis lies far away. You must have great fortitude Chester, to make it past the desert on your own. You will find the oasis if you are lucky. Good-bye, Chester," said the owl as he flew away. "May you reach safety and find your people soon."
Chester was left alone to wonder. Could he make it to the oasis alone? He had to try.
Chester ran beside the stream until he ran across a little, dry, leathery reptile drinking the water.
"Who are you?" cried Chester.
"I am Richard, the reptile," said the creature. I live here."
"I am Chester," said Chester. "My home was Ash Mountain and the valley, but now I must find a new home."
"Hmmm. I have never heard of Ash Mountain," said the reptile. "I make my home in there," he said, pointing to a small den under a tall birch tree.
"Have you heard of the oasis?" asked Chester. "I wish to know if I am headed in the right direction to find it."
"Hmmm," said Richard, and he thought awhile. "I do not know for certain, but some say there is a great desert to the South of here, that lies out of the reach of mankind. Perhaps you will meet some animals there who can tell you where the oasis is. I'm sorry I cannot help you more."
"Thank you very much, Richard," said Chester. "Good-bye."
"Good-bye," said Richard. "And good luck."
So Chester continued upon his journey, this time turning in the direction that Richard had shown him, with the sun on his right. Over the stream he went, taking care not to get too wet. He was just able to jump over the stony stream without falling in, but he did get his paws a little wet. Chester took a drink of the water and then went on, into a grass meadow.
"Bzz bzzz," called the buzzing bees. Chester went on.
"Hiss," said a slithering snake a short distance away as Chester passed by.
"Run!" cried a few field mice scurrying into a hole in the ground. Chester went on.
After a while the bright grass meadow became a kind of dry, barren ground covered sparsely with grass. Chester saw an oak tree in the distance and decided to stop for a rest under the shade.
"Who are you?" cried a voice from above.
"I am Chester the Coyote. I am looking for the oasis. Have you seen it?" Chester called above uncertainly. Then suddenly, a great hawk swooped down from the top tree branches to one of the boughs below.
"I am Hank, the Hawk," said the hawk. "I am also looking for the oasis. I stopped here to rest my wings. Maybe we could travel together?" said Hank. "Do you know where the oasis lies?"
"No," said Chester. "I have heard it lies to the South, beyond a great desert."
"I have flown a long distance in search of another home, where it is not cold, and beyond the range of mankind," said Hank. "The snow buried my tree in the far North of Glen Dale, where I lived, and so I have come South, for the winter."
"Then let us be friends and travel together," said Chester. "Maybe together we can find the oasis."
Together, Hank and Chester set off to find the oasis. They traveled on some time, and finally reached the end of the barren wasteland. They came to a lush green yard that ended abruptly before them. And just ahead they spied a small ranch home, with a donkey in a paddock, and a chicken coop with a strutting rooster.
"Cock-a-doodle, doo!" cried the rooster. Then Chester and Hank saw a man raking leaves in the yard. As soon as the man spied Chester , he ran toward Chester with the rake, yelling at the coyote to go away. Then, after a moment, the man seemed to relent.
By this point in his journey, Chester was very hungry, and too weak to run away. He just sat down on the ground and flinched as the man came near him with the rake raised in his right arm.
"Well, little fella, you're tuckered out, ain't ya?" said the man in a Western accent.
Chester looked up. Hank had flown to a nearby tree to rest.
"Lemme get you something to eat." Said the man. "I probably shouldn't. People ain't supposed to feed coyotes, just makes 'em come back for more. But, see, Lester here is an old softy." Said the man. He headed back to the house, and Chester just waited a long while for him to return. The man came back with a tray of leftover meat and gave it to Chester.
Chester ate all of the meat and then cried softly in gratitude. Chester was tired, and so he let the man gently pet his head a little, but then he shi
ed off and danced away. He was a wild coyote, and didn't trust mankind, after all. Chester looked up as Hank soared above him.
"Thank you," Chester cried to the man, at a little distance.
Twilight was falling as Chester and Hank continued on, past concrete streets and several other ranch houses, until they found a dry patch of woodland by one of the concrete roads. There, Chester and Hank slept outside under the stars. The constellations twinkled in the clear midnight-blue skies above, and the wind howled through the branches of the copse of trees by the road. Chester was interrupted in his sleep by a troop of ants swarming on the ground.
"Ouch!" yelped Chester, and he jumped up to avoid being bitten again. He moved away a little and then settled under another tree.
"Are you still there, Hank?" called Chester.
"I'm up here," called Hank, from a nearby tree.
"Good-night, Hank." Said Chester.
"Good-night, Chester." Said Hank.
The next morning, Chester and Hank traveled on. They had to be careful in the land of men, but luckily, they managed to avoid any more trouble until by and by, the ground became a desert. Soon, desert land was all they could see, dotted here and there by cacti of different kinds, and small scraggly trees of brush land. Chester and Hank began to grow weary as the day wore on under the hot sun. Both of them were tired and hungry.
"I'm going to go and find something to eat," said Hank suddenly, and Chester stopped next to a tall, prickly cactus. "And then, I'm afraid I can't fly any more today." Hank said, flying off to hunt a mouse for his dinner.
That night, Chester howled in the moonlight under the stars and moon. Suddenly, he was joined by another coyote.
"Who are you?" Said Chester.
"My name is Lily." Said Lily. "I live here on my own. I heard you singing in the moonlight." Said Lily. "You sing rather well."
"Thank you," said Chester. "I'm Chester. I never thought to meet another coyote in this desert. I am looking for the oasis."
"The oasis?" said Lily, and she thought a while.
"I have heard that a great many coyotes live there." Said Chester.
"I have never heard of an oasis." Said Lily. "This is the Golden Desert. I don't know of an oasis any where. I live here, in a den not far away, in some brush under a mesa of rock. Are you certain that there is an oasis where you are going?" she asked.
"Yes, Hank the Hawk there is my friend, and he also heard of the oasis." Said Chester. "We are traveling together in search of a new place to live, away from mankind, where there is water and a place to make a den."
"Well, then I hope you find the oasis." Said Lily. "I have not heard of any such place. I have seen only a few wolves out here in the desert. I live alone."
Chester suddenly got an idea.
"Lily, would you like to come with us to find the oasis?" asked Chester.
"I don't know," said Lily. I have always lived here in the desert." She said, hesitating. "I would be scared to leave my home, but if there is an oasis somewhere, I shall be interested in finding it. I can forage out here in the desert, since it has always been my home. If we run into trouble or do not find your oasis, I can always turn around and make my way home again. I think I may be in want of an adventure."
"That's the spirit!" cawed Hank. So, Lily joined Chester and Hank, and together they traveled South.
The next day they traveled all day through the hot sun and slept at night in an arroyo with a trickling stream. They traveled on in the same way another two days when the beginnings of jagged mountains appeared in the distance, with a high, quick-flowing waterfall. The three friends journeyed on another day when at last they reached the waterfall. Underneath its great visage stretched a vast, calm blue lake, fenced with forest.
"The oasis!" cried Hank. "We have reached the oasis at long last!"
As the coyotes and their friend neared the lake, a silver fox crawled out of his burrow.
"What's all the noise?" he cried.
"Is this the oasis?" asked Chester, in excitement.
"This is Paradise Valley," said the fox. "Yes, yes, I have heard it called the oasis." And with that, the fox ran back into its burrow to avoid the coyotes.
"I've never seen such a lovely place." Said Lily. All around them were lush green trees with many places to make a home.
"Thank you, Chester, for your company." Said Hank. "And your friendship."
"Thank you," said Chester. "We've found the oasis at last!"