The Animals of Farthing Wood (Book)
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The Animals of Farthing Wood is the first book of The Animals of Farthing Wood series. It was first published in 1979.
[edit] Plot Summary
The humans have dug up the heath that surrounds Farthing Wood, and have reduced the size of the wood itself to little more than a copse. When the pond is filled in leaving only a small trickle in the stream due to an ongoing drought, Badger and Fox take it upon themselves to call an assembly of the wood in order to try to come up with a solution to their problem. They realize that there is little that they can do to stop the humans and are about to break up the meeting when Toad arrives. He explains that he had been captured in a jam jar and taken far away. He eventually managed to escape and followed his homing instinct to get back to Farthing Wood, passing through a nature reserve called White Deer Park in the process. The animals decide to leave Farthing Wood and travel to the reserve in the hope that they will be safe from humans there.
Their first hazard is in the nearby town where they attempt to drink from a swimming pool. Several creatures fall into the pool, and the noise level attracts the attention of the human resident who owns it. The animals manage to escape and head away from the town towards the nearby army land and marsh. They shelter there for the night and the next day the lizards decide to stay behind in the army land as they have everything they need to survive in abundance at their present location. Most of the animals head towards the marsh in search of a drink, leaving Toad, Adder, the mice and the voles behind, and are alarmed to discover that a fire has been started by a careless human when they get there. The animals move around to the other end of the marsh hoping that the fire will not spread to them, while Fox runs back and saves Toad just before he is caught in the flames. The fire continues to spread and the animals travel over a causeway to a little island in the centre of the marsh. Humans arrive to put out the flames, and after spotting the animals, they leave when it begins to rain. The animals then realize that the lizards had been left in the path of the flames.
[edit] Characters in the Book
- Fox - The elected leader of the animals on their journey to White Deer Park.
- Badger - Quarter-master and second-in-command.
- Toad - The guide for the animals.
- Kestrel - Scouted during the day for the animals.
- Tawny Owl - Scouted at night for the animals.
- Adder - The only snake on the journey - he saved the lives of the animals several times.
- Weasel - Looks after some of the smaller animals.
- Mole - Voraciously hungry mole whose appetite often led him into trouble.
- The Pheasants - Pheasant and his mate. The first confirmed casualties of the journey.
- The Rabbits - Rabbit and his family.
- The Hares - Hare, his mate, and their two leverets.
- The Hedgehogs - Hedgehog and his clan. The two oldest hedgehogs were killed on the motorway - they were the last casualties of the journey.
- The Squirrels - Squirrel and his family.
- The Voles - Vole and his family.
- The Fieldmice - Fieldmouse and his family
- The Lizards - The first animals to leave the party, choosing to remain in the marshland. Believed, but never explicitly confirmed, to have been killed by the fire.
- Vixen - A female fox who Fox met while he was separated from the other animals. She agreed to become his mate after the hunt.
- Whistler - A heron the group met in a quarry.
- The Great White Stag - The overlord of White Deer Park
- The Warden - A naturalist who the animals saw near the town prior to the end of their journey. White Deer Park is his responsibility.
- The Edible Frogs - A frog species native to White Deer Park. They befriended Toad on his way home to Farthing Wood.
- Bruno - A dog the animals met on their way to White Deer Park. He was easily outwitted by Fox.
- The Rooks - The inhabitants of a copse the animals shelter in on the way to White Deer Park.
