Every autumn, the forest turned orange.
It always did.
The oaks went amber. The maples went red. The beeches went gold.
Even the little birch trees at the edge went yellow, like candles.
The animals waited for it all year.
But this autumn, October came.
And the trees stayed green.
Just… green.
The squirrels looked at each other.
The hedgehogs looked at each other.
Even the usually-certain badger looked uncertain. 🍂
🌲 The Investigation
“Something is wrong,” said a fox.
“The colours are missing,” said a rabbit.
“WHERE HAVE THE COLOURS GONE,” said a very dramatic vole.
They decided to investigate.
The fox went to ask the oldest tree.
The rabbit went to check the sky.
The vole went to lie down because the drama had tired her out.
The oldest tree had an answer.
“It’s been a warm autumn,” said the old oak slowly. Very slowly. Trees speak slowly. “The leaves… haven’t… felt the cold… yet. They need… a cold night… to change.”
“Can we help?” asked the fox.
The old oak thought about this for quite a long time.
“…Perhaps,” he said.
🍂 Everyone Blows at Once
It was the robin who had the idea.
All the animals together, at midnight, on the coldest part of the hill.
“Blow,” said the robin.
Every animal blew as cold a breath as they had.
The fox. The badger. The rabbit. The hedgehog. Even the dramatic vole, who had recovered.
Hhhhhh. Hhhhhh. Hhhhhh.
A cold mist rose from the ground.
💛 Liam Wakes Up to Orange
Liam went to sleep with a green forest outside the window.
And woke up to orange.
All of it. All at once. Overnight.
The most orange morning Liam had ever seen.
“How?” said Liam, pressing a nose to the cold glass.
In the forest, a fox sat at the edge of the trees and looked up at the window.
The fox flicked its tail.
Just once.
As if to say: we sorted it.
Liam smiled and went to get a coat.
There were leaves to jump in. 🍂