Excerpts from The Hedghog Wars-Chapter 11
The Hedgehog Olympics
It was quiet in the Forest. If you listened real close, I bet you could hear
a pin drop, “plunk, plunk, ping, ping.”
The Hedgies and Scruffies had decided by e-mail between both sides that they were going to stage an Olympics to see who was the best team. The
winner of the Olympics would be declared the ultimate winner of the
Hedgehog Wars. There was a prophesy on the tablets which they pointed to:
“Sometimes on the fields of prowess, sometimes
through voices which resound.”
Picture the pomp, the pageantry of the opening ceremony. The trumpets
were blaring, “dum, dum, dum,da” the drums were beating, “boom, boom, boom, ba.” The opening ceremonies began, the flags of the troops were
waving in the wind. The flag of the Scruffies showed all kinds of mixed-up
colors like purple, orange and red and the center piece of the flag, amidst the color splotches, were 2 beavers chewing on wood.
the gold mushroom award was given for a win.
The Spectators went crazy when the scoreboard announced the results of the event and that the competition score now was so much closer with the
Hedgehogs ahead 4 to 3. The Hedgies were barely hanging on to their lead by their paws.
The one big event of the competition was the soccer game in the snow,
since the weather had changed into heavy snowfall. All the troops on both sides participated and the game got off to a rousing start. The Hedgies threw snowballs while they slipped and slid to kick the ball in every direction. They tried to avoid any Scruffie defenders who were attempting to clear the ballNoogie and Googie led the Scruffies into the Olympic Stadium for the ceremony. The stadium was a clearing in the meadow north of the stream
surrounded by logs chopped down by the beavers, and arranged in a ring around the meadow. They came walking in with jogging suits on that
matched the color splotches.
The Hedgie flag showed a groundhog eating grass while peeking through the tall weeds. Its colors were blue and green.
The cheering got louder and louder, but neither team was able to score
on the other for the first 89 minutes of the game. In the last minute, Muzzler kicked the ball to Fingersnap, the wily weasel, who was streaking down the left wing. He feinted the Hedgie defender, Stymie, to the inside and took a shot from the corner. The soccer ball curved and banana’d its way into the goal for the winning score.
“G-O-O-A-A-L! ”The spectators went berserk as time ran out with the
Scruffies tying the Olympic competition. This game had gone on for more than l 1/2 hours of kicking, sliding, slipping and just plain falling. A lot of
little critters and hedgehogs got tired and asked their leaders to let them go back to their forts for rest and relaxation.
The games were called off and no one was declared official winner.
Because a draw had occurred, both armies agreed to meet the next morning for the joint flag raising and awards ceremony.
The next day as the color splotched flags were raised in the clearing,
awards were given out to the winners and second place finishers. The
winners received their golden mushrooms, while the second place finishers got the silver carrot. The Hedgie and Scruffie anthems were played at the beginning of this day and there appeared to be, for the briefest of moments, peace as the sun’s rays glimmered through the forest pine.
Excerpts from The Odyssey-Homer
So Alcinous says: "Listen leaders and counselors of the Phaecians We have eathen well and delighted our hearts with the song of the lyre, the prfect accompaniment to a feast. Let us go out and gegin the games, so that after Odysseus returns to his home, he can tell his friends how talented we are at boxing and wrestling and jumpng and footraces, more than all other people."
After much sparring of words in jest and otherwise:
Odysseus sprang to his feet, still wearing his cloak and grabbed a large discus that was much thicker and heavier than the ones the Phaeacians normally used in their games. And he whirled and flung it out of his mighty hand, and the stone flew, humming, and all the lordly Phaecians ducked as it sped through the air, and it overshot the marks set for everyone else's throw. When it landed Athena marked it and said to him..... "in this sport at least you can be confident tht no one is able to beat you."
And so Odysseus won his honor back from Alcinous and the Phaecians and was allowed to return to his country and homeland, Ithaca. Similarly, the Hedgies and Scruffies returned to their respective Forts,Stinky and Shiskabob and the war was over for now until the next skirmishes in ensuing chapters.
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