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"They grow up so fast," Rachel said, as they shuffled and snuffled and waddled past us in
single file.
"I guess the real mother skunk will give them different names," Marco said. He was joking. I
think.
"Well, anyway, the forest is safe for baby skunks now," Jake said.
Jake had morphed a housefly to spy on Farrand in the hospital. The commissioner was fine.
The first thing he did when he regained full consciousness was make a phone call to say that
he was voting against logging in the forest.
In fact, according to Jake, Farrand swore he'd never, ever even listen to another word from
Dapsen Lumber. And there was a good chance he'd press charges.
It also seemed, according to Farrand, that even the animals of the forest had risen up against
the loggers. He claimed that he himself had been visited by the spirit of a giant skunk with
the eyes of a human girl.
"Have a good life, little skunks," Marco said to the skunk family. Tiny, furry little masters of
the forest.
Everyone was smiling and looking pretty pleased with themselves. But I was still confused.
As we walked toward home back through the forest, Jake hung back with me, letting the
others move ahead.
"You don't seem all that happy," Jake said. "You miss being a skunk mommy?"
I smiled. "No. I mean, yes, a little. But that's not it."
"So? So what's bothering you?"
I shrugged. "Nothing makes sense to me. Tobias eats one of the skunk kits, then he helps
save the rest. I kill the termite queen to save myself and my friends, then I feel bad about it.
But when it came down to it again, I went after Visser Three without hesitation. One minute I
was a rat being chased by guys with sticks, the next minute I'm bringing dead mice to Tobias,
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who's guarding skunks he would normally have tried to eat. Somehow it's part of the same
big system. How does it all make sense?"
Jake looked like he was sorry he started the conversation. "Urn ... boy, Cassie, I don't know."
"Okay, just tell me this. Am I a part of nature, so I should just live by the laws of nature, kill
to eat, kill or be killed? Or am I something different because I'm a human?"
We walked in silence while Jake thought it over. I felt sorry for him. I know he'd rather have
been discussing Spiderman versus Batman with Marco.
"Well, I guess you're both," Jake said at last. "I mean, you are the person who got rid of the
termite queen. You're also the person who went out of her way to save a bunch of skunks.
Just like Tobias ate a skunk kit one day, then saved them the next."
"That's not much help," I said. "That just means humans are kind of in-between - still partly
wild animals, doing whatever it takes to survive, and partly . . . partly I don't know what.
Maybe something more than the other animals."
"Well, I know one thing. All the animals take care of themselves. But only one animal has the
intelligence and the power to help save all the other species."
I nodded. "You're pretty smart sometimes, Jake," I said.
"Just sometimes?"
"You're right. Only one animal can help to save all the other animals. Only humans can do
that. Of course, we have to save ourselves first." I sighed. "It's still too complicated." I saw a
shadow flash overhead. I looked up and saw Tobias. He dropped down into the trees and
reappeared on a branch just up the trail.
"Hi, Tobias," I called up to him.
He was definitely feeling pretty smug
about
something.
"What's up, Bird-boy?" Marco asked him.
loads of juice. They've made trip after trip for juice. They dug out a big pit in the ground and
made a kind of swimming pool filled with the stuff. Visser Three's been in it most of the
night and all this morning. Judging by the way everyone is staying back, I'm guessing he still
stinks.>
Tobias added with a slightly evil laugh,
shade of purple.>
"Gee, that's too bad," Rachel said. "I feel so sorry for him."
Ax said.
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"Think maybe we should have told him the truth? That it's tomato juice, not grape juice that
washes away skunk smell?" I asked.
We all looked at each other, and broke up laughing at the same moment.
"Nah, I didn't think so," I said.
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