“This is our island,” snarled Nettle.
“And it’s time for you to go,” growled Thorn.
Roz made herself as big as possible. She banged her chest and roared wild, angry sounds. But the bears were not intimidated. They roared right back. And then they attacked.
Nettle pulled Roz into a fierce bear hug while Thorn clawed at her legs. The robot tried to shake free, but the bears would not let go of their prey, not this time. A cloud of dust bloomed around the trio as they thrashed closer to the edge of the cliff.
All of a sudden, something burst out from the trees and onto the open clifftop. Mother Bear. She was gigantic, like a mountain of golden fur. And she was furious. It seemed like this would be the end for our robot. But Mother Bear wasn’t there to join the fight. She was there to break it up. “Nettle! Thorn! Get over here this instant!”
The young bears should have listened to their mother. Instead they pretended not to hear her. Nettle slashed at Roz’s body, and Thorn began wrestling with her foot. He grabbed the foot with both paws and forced it up from the ground. Then, with every ounce of his strength, he twisted the foot around.
Reader, the following events happened very quickly. First there was a strange thwip sound as the robot’s right foot popped off her leg and sailed through the air. Then everyone toppled over. Nettle and Roz fell sideways along the edge. But Thorn fell backward and tumbled
right
off
the cliff.
Do you know what the most terrible sound in the world is? It’s the howl of a mother bear as she watches her cub tumble off a cliff. Mother Bear’s howl was so startling that it snapped Brightbill right out of his stupor. Her howl was so powerful that it shook Roz’s entire body. Her howl was so loud that animals heard it clear across the island. But there was no reply from Thorn. Mother Bear’s howl slowly faded, and she wilted to the ground.
Roz watched as her detached foot sailed over the edge and plummeted down to the shore below. It fell past circling seagulls, smashed off a rock, and disappeared into the waves. And that’s when the robot noticed something furry dangling from the cliffside. Thorn! His full weight hung from a tree that was rooted to the rock wall. He gripped the tree tightly in his jaws and looked up at Roz with wide, frightened eyes.
“I see Thorn!” shouted Roz. “Grab my legs! Quickly!”
Mother Bear and Nettle scrambled to their feet. Each bear took a leg in her mouth, and together they slowly lowered Roz headfirst down the cliff. Thorn whimpered through clenched teeth as he watched the robot approach. Then he felt her strong arms wrap around him and heard her booming voice holler, “Pull us up!”
Thorn let go of the branch and cried, “Please don’t drop me, Roz! I don’t want to die!”
“Do not worry,” said the robot. “I will not drop you.”
The next few moments seemed to drag on and on. Mother Bear and Nettle kept pulling on Roz’s legs, and more of the robot slowly came into view until a furry golden head finally appeared, and Thorn leaped into the embrace of his family.
CHAPTER 47 THE PARADE
“Does it hurt?” Brightbill touched the smooth surface where his mother’s foot used to be.
“No, it does not hurt,” said Roz. “But it will be difficult for me to walk.”
The bears huddled behind the gosling and stared at the robot’s stump of a leg. Nobody understood how a foot could pop off like that, or how Roz could remain calm.
“Roz, I’m sorry my cubs attacked you,” said Mother Bear. “Sometimes they’re completely out of control.”
“It is okay. You know how they are at this age.”
“I can’t thank you enough for saving Thorn. I promise my cubs will never bother you again. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, Mother,” said Nettle and Thorn, together.
The robot tried to walk. She bobbed up and down on her uneven legs, which worked well enough on the flat surface of the clifftop, but once she entered the forest, her problem became clear. The smooth stump had no grip, and it slipped around on the forest floor. So Roz tried hopping on her one good foot. She took a few crunching hops and then clanged into a tree trunk. A few more hops and she crashed into the undergrowth.
“I’m really sorry I broke off your foot,” said Thorn as he helped the robot up from the weeds.
“I forgive you,” said Roz. Whether she was capable of true forgiveness is anybody’s guess. But they were nice words, and Thorn felt better when he heard them.
“It looks like I will have to crawl home,” said Roz.
“Nonsense!” said Mother Bear. “I have a better idea.”
Mother Bear lay flat on the ground while her cubs boosted Roz onto her back. Then Brightbill fluttered onto the bear’s broad shoulders. And when they were both safely aboard, the group set off through the forest.
The robot was heavy, but she was no trouble for the giant animal. Mother Bear strolled along as if it were perfectly normal for a robot to be riding on her back. They made quite a grand procession, all walking together like that. And the procession became even grander as deer and raccoons and birds and all kinds of other animals joined in. Everyone wanted to see the mother robot riding the mother bear. The group wound its way past ancient trees, and over rolling meadows, and through babbling streams, collecting more and more curious animals as they went. It was the grandest parade of wildlife anyone had ever seen, and leading the way was our robot, Roz.
But the parade couldn’t last forever. As the sun went down, the other animals began drifting away, one by one, and when the parade finally arrived at the Nest, only the original members remained.
“Here we are,” said Mother Bear, helping Roz down into the garden. “Now, wasn’t that better than crawling all the way home?”
“Oh, yes, that was wonderful!” said the robot. “I cannot imagine a better ending to this day. Thank you very much.”
“Yeah, that was amazing!” squeaked the gosling. “My friends won’t believe me when I tell them I rode across the island on the back of a bear!”
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourselves!” Mother Bear smiled. “It’s the least I could do after all the trouble these two caused.” Her smile became a frown, and she glared at her cubs, who suddenly took great interest in a pebble on the ground.
It was late, and it had been a long, difficult day for everyone, so the bears said good-bye and headed back to their cave. Brightbill and Roz stood in the garden and watched their new friends lumber away. And then the gosling said, “Mama, do you think you’ll ever walk again?”
“I am not sure,” said the robot, “but I know who to ask for help. Now go get ready for bed.”
CHAPTER 48 THE NEW FOOT
Mr. Beaver squinted at Roz’s stump.
“I’ve never built a foot before.” He stroked his whiskers and muttered to himself. “There are really three problems to solve. The foot needs to grip the ground. And it needs to be durable. And then there’s the issue of fixing it to the leg. I might have to consult a few friends.”
“Will she ever walk again?” said Brightbill.
“What’s that?” Mr. Beaver was lost in thought. “Oh, not to worry. You just sit back and leave everything to me. I love a challenge!”
Mr. Beaver plunked into the pond, and returned a while later rolling a large section of a tree trunk. “Say hello to your new foot!” he said, slapping the wood with his tail.
“Hello, new foot,” said the robot.
“That’s the spirit! This beauty is from one of the hardest trees I ever chewed. I just need to make a few modifications.”
Mr. Beaver placed the piece of wood next to Roz. He squinted, repositioned the piece, and squinted some more. With his claws, he marked different spots on the wood. And then he put his big chompers to work. The beaver chewed and gnawed and carved up that piece of wood, turning it over and over in his paws.