A Hot Sunny Day

It was a hot, sunny day in the wood. Fox, Badger and Mouse sat under a big oak tree and fanned themselves. They wished they had a swimming pool to splash in.

They looked around the forest for a pool. But there were only stones, leaves and a tiny puddle. “We do not have the right things,” said Fox.

Fox tapped a pencil behind his ear and grinned. “Let’s go to B & Q and buy everything we need,” he said. Badger tipped his sun hat and Mouse clapped her hands.

The big hardware store was huge and bright. They pushed two trolleys and filled them with tiles, paint, hosepipes, a pump and cleaning bottles. Fox checked his list carefully.

At the checkout the kindly shopkeeper looked up. She had grey hair and wore a bright orange pinny. “Oh!” she smiled, “animals in B & Q — how unusual!”

Back in the wood Fox drew a clever plan with his pencil behind his ear. Badger used just his strong paws to dig a very big hole. Mouse watched and clapped, ready to help.

They built the pool sides nice and strong and put on shiny tiles. They painted the edge bright blue and fixed a wooden diving board. Everyone hummed a happy work-song.

Mouse felt a little small that day. She tried to help but all the tools were too big and everything was soooo heavy. Badger and Fox gave her a hug and said, “You help in lots of ways.”

When the pool was finished the friends waited for the rain. Fox, Badger and Mouse watched the clouds and wished and wished. The waiting made them a bit sad.

At last the rain came and the pool filled drop by drop. But the water was muddy and brown. They switched on the filter, but it would not start.

Mouse took a deep breath and slipped into the filter pipe because she was small enough. Inside she wiggled and pushed and found a shiny screwdriver that Fox had left behind. She swam out proud, and the pump began to hum and work.

Everyone put on rainbow swimming costumes and jumped in with a cheer. Birds, rabbits and hedgehogs came to play and splashed all around. The shopkeeper heard all the fun and ran from her shop, took off her shoes and leapt into the water, making the biggest splash of all. They laughed and splashed until the sun went down.