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Authors: Scott McKenzie
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bird-watching hut, ready to give them their reward of a chocolate Easter egg. Even back then at three years old, Ben knew the Easter Bunny was actually some poor unfortunate member of the park staff who had drawn the short straw to wear a pink rabbit suit for the day and hand out chocolate eggs to every kid who walked through the door.
Now the hut was empty, apart from a bench that ran the length of the opposite wall under the open shutters. On the bench sat a pair of binoculars and a clipboard with a sheet of paper clipped to it and a pencil tied on with a piece of string.
Confident there was nothing in there that could cause him harm, Ben stepped into the hut. He sat down on the bench and picked up the clipboard. The piece of paper had eight squares drawn on it, with a message written along the top.
Can you find all the wildlife in the park?
The first square contained the silhouette of a hare and the other seven were empty. Ben pulled the cord to turn out the light in the hut and picked up the binoculars. He looked through the open shutters, into the clearing outside, scanning the surroundings but seeing only empty bird tables. He adjusted the dials on the binoculars and was amazed how powerful and clear they were. One dial made his view zoom in so far that he could see the individual leaves on the trees that must have been at least fifty yards away.
He zoomed out again, then took the binoculars away from his eyes to take in the whole scene. Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes. He looked through the binoculars and zoomed in. He saw the leaves moving back and forth, then a hare appeared from under the bush, wriggling its nose on the ground, foraging for something to eat. Then, as soon as the hare had appeared, it ran away again, back into the undergrowth.
Ben lowered his binoculars, picked up the pencil, and marked the picture of the hare on the clipboard with a tick. A moment later, the silhouette of a kestrel appeared in the second box.
* * *
"Come on, Charlotte," the woman said. "You need to come with me now."
Charlotte didn't know what to do. This woman, who seemed like she wanted to help Charlotte when she first appeared, was becoming more and more threatening in what she was saying. She seemed to duck out of answering any of Charlotte's questions. "Who are you?", "Where did you come from?", and "How do you know where my mother and little brother are?" had all been met with a reply of "It doesn't matter—we need to go now!" or were just plain ignored.
It didn't feel right. Charlotte couldn't explain it, but she had an overwhelming feeling telling her not to go with this woman. She had always been told to only trust grown-ups in uniform when she was in trouble but, on a night where she had seen all kinds of magical things, this was the first time she had felt in real danger.
The woman took a step towards the bridge. Alarm bells sounded in Charlotte's mind.
"No!" she shouted, and edged back, away from the bridge.
"We're wasting time, Charlotte," the woman growled as she set foot on the bridge. "If you don't come with me, you'll never see your mummy or your little brother ever again."
"No!" Charlotte shouted again, louder this time. There was a rustle in the bushes around her and out of the corner of her eye she saw movement in the grass at her feet. Then there was movement all around her. She took her eyes off the woman who was stalking across the bridge and saw hares sitting at her feet: seven of them—the seven hares Charlotte and Ben had freed from their spell so far. All at once, they sat upright, as if they were soldiers standing to attention, and looked directly at the woman crossing the bridge. Charlotte looked up and saw the woman on the bridge. She was only a few steps from the island.
To Charlotte's amazement, the woman’s appearance was changing. Just moments ago, she had appeared to be the same age as Charlotte's mother, but now she was ageing before her eyes. Grey and white
Now the hut was empty, apart from a bench that ran the length of the opposite wall under the open shutters. On the bench sat a pair of binoculars and a clipboard with a sheet of paper clipped to it and a pencil tied on with a piece of string.
Confident there was nothing in there that could cause him harm, Ben stepped into the hut. He sat down on the bench and picked up the clipboard. The piece of paper had eight squares drawn on it, with a message written along the top.
Can you find all the wildlife in the park?
The first square contained the silhouette of a hare and the other seven were empty. Ben pulled the cord to turn out the light in the hut and picked up the binoculars. He looked through the open shutters, into the clearing outside, scanning the surroundings but seeing only empty bird tables. He adjusted the dials on the binoculars and was amazed how powerful and clear they were. One dial made his view zoom in so far that he could see the individual leaves on the trees that must have been at least fifty yards away.
He zoomed out again, then took the binoculars away from his eyes to take in the whole scene. Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes. He looked through the binoculars and zoomed in. He saw the leaves moving back and forth, then a hare appeared from under the bush, wriggling its nose on the ground, foraging for something to eat. Then, as soon as the hare had appeared, it ran away again, back into the undergrowth.
Ben lowered his binoculars, picked up the pencil, and marked the picture of the hare on the clipboard with a tick. A moment later, the silhouette of a kestrel appeared in the second box.
* * *
"Come on, Charlotte," the woman said. "You need to come with me now."
Charlotte didn't know what to do. This woman, who seemed like she wanted to help Charlotte when she first appeared, was becoming more and more threatening in what she was saying. She seemed to duck out of answering any of Charlotte's questions. "Who are you?", "Where did you come from?", and "How do you know where my mother and little brother are?" had all been met with a reply of "It doesn't matter—we need to go now!" or were just plain ignored.
It didn't feel right. Charlotte couldn't explain it, but she had an overwhelming feeling telling her not to go with this woman. She had always been told to only trust grown-ups in uniform when she was in trouble but, on a night where she had seen all kinds of magical things, this was the first time she had felt in real danger.
The woman took a step towards the bridge. Alarm bells sounded in Charlotte's mind.
"No!" she shouted, and edged back, away from the bridge.
"We're wasting time, Charlotte," the woman growled as she set foot on the bridge. "If you don't come with me, you'll never see your mummy or your little brother ever again."
"No!" Charlotte shouted again, louder this time. There was a rustle in the bushes around her and out of the corner of her eye she saw movement in the grass at her feet. Then there was movement all around her. She took her eyes off the woman who was stalking across the bridge and saw hares sitting at her feet: seven of them—the seven hares Charlotte and Ben had freed from their spell so far. All at once, they sat upright, as if they were soldiers standing to attention, and looked directly at the woman crossing the bridge. Charlotte looked up and saw the woman on the bridge. She was only a few steps from the island.
To Charlotte's amazement, the woman’s appearance was changing. Just moments ago, she had appeared to be the same age as Charlotte's mother, but now she was ageing before her eyes. Grey and white
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