The Media of the Forest

The songbirds flew through the forest, singing the news of the day. Ears perked up and listened, as animals of every species took interest. It was a daily ritual of the songbirds, for they had become the voice of the forest itself.

            Raccoon, his face scarred from a past conflict, listened closely, trying to gleam info on his quarry’s whereabouts. Vengeance. It burned in his mind. Serpent, the snake who grieved him would pay, and if the songbirds had sung the truth the other day, Serpent was close.

A finch landed in a tree branch near him and began chirping the news. “A pack of wolves lost its alpha, as human predators exterminated him and dragged away his corpse. In other news, a beaver creates new habitats for a family of muskrats.”

Interesting news. It was worthless, but nevertheless, it was interesting. Raccoon leaned in closer. He knew it was only a matter of time before the birds sang of Serpent. The guile snake had begun to amass an army of followers. How could such an event be ignored?

The finch continued its song. “A score of ponds have been tainted with pesticides. In an act of mercy, Serpent the red-scaled snake has begun providing clean water to the amphibians that rely on it for life.”

 Raccoon blinked. Act of mercy? Pesticides? He lifted a paw to his scarred face as he remembered the sting of Serpent’s pesticide, like it was only yesterday. Serpent was too wicked to do anything merciful. In all likelihood, it was he who had poisoned the water, in order to gain loyalty from the amphibians. Despicable.

But the other animals in the forest didn’t know the truth of Serpent’s dreadful heart. They gathered near the finch’s branch and gawked up at the small songbird. Wide-eyed and with vacant looks in their eyes, they absorbed the bird’s lies.

Raccoon shouted at them, hopped up and down in rage. But despite his efforts, the animals failed to heed his cry. In a flash of inspiration, Raccoon realized what must be done, to save them from the lies. His claws dug into the tree’s bark as he climbed upwards, towards the finch.

The bird ignored him, continuing its cries. “In an act of benevolence, Serpent has graciously provided these distraught amphibians with new passions in life; they are now his army of peace bringers.”

Lunging with claws extended, Raccoon caught the finch in his grasp, quickly clamping his jaw shut on the bird’s neck and killing it instantly.

The animals on the below reacted immediately. Bears growled and wolves howled as the smaller animals dodged between their feet in a mad dash towards the tree, towards Raccoon. The larger animals followed close behind, until the tree buckled under the weight of their fury, like a sapling caught in a storm.

Those with claws scampered up the tree and towards Raccoon. The fur on his back stood on end and he growled, but the sound of his voice was drowned by the animals’ wrath beneath him.
            They swarmed him, mice and squirrels and other raccoons, pushing him off the branch. He screamed as he fell into the jaws of the enraged masses.