Bobby the Labrador

Taking to the air!

2011-03-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

As we walked back towards the Sylvanian Village, we spotted a big empty field, with lots of flat grass and no cows at all. "What a waste of grass" we thought, until we came to a gap in the hedge, and there we saw the most wonderful aeroplane. It was shiny and superfast looking, with a huge propeller on the front, and had clearly been designed with an adventure seeking pup in mind! I walked around it to check out the controls and reached up to the canopy that covered the little cockpit. It opened! I was just about to climb in and start her up when I noticed the little Molebabe looking sad. "What's the matter?", I asked him. "It's a single-seater - there would be no room for me!", he wailed. Oh dear, I hadn't thought of that. Reluctantly, I closed the canopy and we walked away. Perhaps it was just as well, though, as my experience of flying planes is very limited - well zero to be exact. I sat in one for seven hours when I first came here from Labrador, and nothing much seemed to happen - just watching films and being brought food - so it can't be that difficult. But I suppose the landing might be a bit tricky.

So we still have the problem - what can we use to get down to Oxford quickly and safely to visit the Mole and his Boy?

Two wheels good, four wheels better!

2011-03-04T13:16:00.000-08:00

After my disappointing attempt to borrow a bicycle, I decided that motorised transport was they way to go. And fortunately I knew just where to find a car! There aren't many cars in Sylvania, but the Mr and Mrs Furbanks (Kenneth and Emma to their friends) have a big old-fashioned American car. They say that they got it "when we were in Hollywood, darling", but being squirrels they mostly chase about the trees and hardly ever use it.

I took the Molebabe over to the car and lifted him up so I could pass him in through the open window. He opened the door and I got in and seated myself behind the steering wheel. I thought we were about to start out on a great adventure, until I remembered that you need a key to start a car. Also it's probably best if your paws can reach the pedals to make it stop and go. Never mind, we had a great hour or so with me pretending to drive and the mole making brumming noises. We set off back home for tea, but then as we were passing a large open field we saw something even more exciting!

Bobby's back!

2011-02-28T13:21:00.000-08:00

Hello again everybody! As you may have noticed, I haven't updated my story for quite a long time now. The main reason is that I have been busier now that I'm going to Big School, but also because a certain Mole asked me to be his biographer. I didn't realise how much work that would be. We wait ages for his GoogleMole messages and then he expects his Blog to updated within moments. He says his fans are impatient, but we all know who the impatient one is!

Anyway, the Mole has been away for ages now with his Boy, and although some people like the peace and quiet, some smaller animals seem to miss him a lot. So much so, in fact that a little Molebabe came crying to me the other day saying that he just couldn't wait until Mole came home to see him, and could we visit him in Oxford? Well, I couldn't see why not - I mean, how far can Oxford be for a Pup who's already travelled from Labrador?

Of course, I knew it was far enough away to require transport, and, as luck would have it, I spotted a nice black, shiny bicycle leaning against a wall. It even had a basket in the front, just the right size for the Molebabe to sit in. Off we set, and things were going swimmingly until we went past the Sylvanian Police Station. "'Ello, 'ello what's going on 'ere?" said a gruff voice. I screeched to halt, and there was PC Badger, looking less than impressed. Apparently it was his bike!

It took a bit of explaining, but we managed to calm PC Badger down, and convinced him that we were just borrowing his bike for a practice. He didn't really mind, but he told us that Oxford is far too far for a bike ride. he said "You'll need something with a bit more oomph than that!". And that gave me an idea....

He's Gynormous!!

2009-11-05T13:22:00.000-08:00

You could have knocked me down with a sprig of heather when I met Uncle Big Wee Jock! I never thought that a haggis could be bigger than me! He was completely round and so furry that it was very difficult to tell which end was which. In fact, I was talking to him for at least 10 minutes before I realised that he was lying on his back. he said he was"taking a rest after a wee dram" whatever that might mean. Actually I'm pretty sure that he just wanted his tummy tickling - haggises are just like puppies in that respect.

After this, I'm not sure I can take too much more highland excitement. Also it's getting pretty drafty in a kilt now we're getting towards autumn. Next time you see me, I think I'll have trusty trousers and boots back on!

A haggis a last!

2009-10-26T09:21:00.001-07:00

...but not quite what I expected! After much unfruitful searching, we finally took some advice from a local expert. Instead of endlessly tramping about in the hills (or braes as they call them around here) we decided to set a trap. We balanced a cardboard box on a stick and under it we placed two items that we were assured were irresistible to any haggis; a Tunnock's teacake (unwrapped of course) and a small glass of finest Malt Scotch. Then we tied a long piece of cotton to the stick and retired to a place of concealment. After about an hour of uncomfortable waiting (heather is very scratchy in the wrong places, I can assure you) we heard some some snuffling and squeaking from the box. Although we couldn't see anything, we guessed it must be a haggis and pulled the string. The box plopped down, and we ran over to it so see what we had captured.

As we picked the box up, we heard a small voice singing an old highland song*, and we were certain then that we had got our first haggis.

Imagine our surprise then, when we lifted up the box and were faced not with a small white furry creature, but a bright purple one.

"You're not a haggis - you're purple!" I exclaimed in amazement.

"Am ah no? Then what de ye ken ah am then, ye wee sassenach pup?", came the reply. "Do ye think we're all tartan jobs frae the souvenir shop?"

Well that clinched it. We were clearly mistaken and he definitely was the genuine article. We apologised and, when he had calmed down he explained that his name was Tiny Wee Jock McHaggis of Glenmore. He also told us how, quite against popular belief, haggises come in all colours and sizes, and they're not all white at all - and none of them are tartan.

We soon became good friends, and I was able to ask him a question that had been bothering me ever since he told us his name. "If you're Tiny Wee Jock, does that mean there are much bigger haggises?".

"Oh aye", he replied. "If you like, I'll take ye to meet mah great Uncle Big Wee Jock". Well that sounded great, and what could there be to worry about - I mean, how big could a haggis be?

* The song turned out to be called "Plankton's Lament, or Whale Meet Again". Or something like that.

Give me a clue!

2009-09-27T08:59:00.000-07:00

After my unfortunate case of mistaken identity involving Rabbie the Scottish sheep, I realised that I needed to do some more research. I mean, I knew that haggises are round and furry, but so are lot of creatures. So how do you distinguish a haggis from all the other highland creatures? I asked James for some advice and he said that they have a very distinctive squeak, made when alarmed, angry, sleepy, relaxed or alert.

Armed with this useful information, I set off for an extended Haggis hunt. I couldn't believe my luck when after only a few minutes I gained my first contact! I rushed around the corner, eager to meet my first ever haggis in person - and who should I meet but a very small hamster, taking some exercise in his wheel.

I have to admit to being a bit disappointed at first, but once I got chatting to young Hamish (that was the hamster's name) I realised that making a new friend is just as exciting as discovering a new species. And anyway, Hamish says that he's going to help me and Jack on our search!

Oops - my mistake!

2009-09-04T12:45:00.001-07:00

Well, it might have big, round, white and furry, but it definitely wasn't a haggis! As soon as I tugged on a handful of fur, I realised my mistake. There was a very loud, cross sounding baaing noise, and I came face to face with the largest sheep I've ever seen. For a moment I thought James and I were in real trouble, as the ram glowered down at us with his fearsome horns and wild eyes. But then Jack, thinking quickly, said "Good morning to ye, good sir, will ye no take a wee drop of tea with us?". The ram was taken aback by the politeness of the young pig, and, although I didn't realise this, Scottish sheep are apparently very fond of tea - special sheep tea if possible. Anyway, he came back to Jack's house with us, and on the way, we became quite friendly. He explained that is his name is Rabbie, of the clan MacBleat, and he is a highland ram by birth. We told Rabbie all about our quest to find the legendary haggis, and he agreed to be our guide. So everything turned out really well in the end.

In Search of the Wild Haggis!

2009-08-31T11:16:00.001-07:00

The most exciting adventure of my Scottish holiday started on the day that I met James. James the Hog, comes from Southern Uplands of Scotland where he helps his daddy on their sheep farm. I became firm friends with James, who was very good a telling tales about Scotland and the legends of the Scottish folk. The story that really interested me was about the wild haggis. This is a creature who lives in the high glens and, though very shy, can be lured out, if you know how. James told me that, if we were to see a haggis in his natural environment, then it was very important that I should blend in with the scenery. The best way to do this, he told me, was to wear traditional Scottish clothing. We arranged to meet the following day at James's father's farm, and I took myself straight off to a Kiltmaker's shop. The next morning, feeling very proud of finery, I met up with James, only to be told that what he had meant was a nice tweed jacket or something, and some stout shoes. I felt a bit silly, but James said that he was sure it would be fine, and so we started our search immediately.

The first thing I had to do was find out what a haggis actually looks like. James said they are thought to be round and covered in white fur, so when I saw a what looked like a big shaggy rug on legs I leaped for it and grabbed hold of it.

Do you think I had captured the legendary haggis? You'll have to wait until next time to find out!

Yes, I'm Back!

2009-08-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

Hello again everybody! I'm sorry I haven't written anything for such a long time. I have been away on holiday in Scotland with some of my friends. We had a lovely time exploring old castles, walking in the highlands and making lots of new friends. I'll tell you about some of my adventures in the next couple of weeks - you wouldn't believe what strange animals we met. There was one who didn't seem to have any paws at all, but was very furry and had a loud squeak. Apparently he's a sort of animal you don't meet anywhere else in the world, and, to be honest I'm not surprised.

Anyway, here's a nice picture of Rebecca, Mole and I having a little rest after looking around a lovely castle. Doesn't it look peaceful and tranquil? Well, it was, for about 90 seconds after this picture was taken. That was when Mole spotted a nearby bowling green and decided to have a burrow. He thought he had made an attractive pattern of molehills to add to the challenge of the game of bowls - a bit like a crazy golf course, but no windmill. Unfortunately, the bowling club didn't agree, and we all had to leave quite rapidly!

Smugglers Ahoy!

2009-07-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

We had our brainwave just at the crucial moment. The net was closing in on our little friend when Rebecca spotted a friend's mummy, Mrs Panda, who was having trouble her baby. The baby didn't want to be in its pram, and carrying the baby and pushing her pram at the same time was a real trial for the mummy. So Rebecca generously offered to push around the empty pram. "We'll meet you outside the museum" said Rebecca, and Mrs Panda gratefully agreed, little suspecting that we had an ulterior motive!
We tucked our new chum in the pram and pulled the frilly canopy up around to hide him as much as possible. Well, we had a few close shaves, as it turns out that dinosaurs are not over blessed with common sense, but they do have a lot of curiosity. He would keep sitting up to have a look around at all the wrong moments. But finally we managed to smuggle him out of the museum to freedom!

Now all we have to do is find somewhere for him to live. I hope he's not a meat-eating dinosaur!

Look out behind you!!

2009-06-24T12:38:00.001-07:00

After the excitement of the volcano exhibition, and all the Museum staff running around looking for a missing dinosaur, we decided to go somewhere for a little bit of peace. We went into the Earth gallery, and I was showing Mole where Labrador is on a giant globe, when suddenly, Rebecca Rabbit tapped me on the shoulder. "Bobby!" she squeaked. "Not now, Rebecca, we can go to the shop in a minute", I replied. "BOBBY!!", she shouted in a very cross voice, "will you please look at this!"
I turned round to see a small, friendly looking stranger standing smiling up at Rebecca. We realised this must be the missing dinosaur and took him by the paw to fetch the Museum staff. But the little dino piped up,"Please can I come with you? I'm bored with sitting in that display case pretending to hatch out every 15 minutes. It's not what I call performance art". So we decided to take him home with us. But how were we to smuggle him out past the staff? We needed our thinking caps on for this one...

Learning about the power of our planet

2009-06-22T11:57:00.000-07:00

Our next outing was to a Geological museum. At first, we weren't too sure about this, as it sounded like it might be a bit dull and "educational". After all, who wants to look at a load of old rocks, when it's sunny outside? But how wrong we were! It turns out that geology is full of exciting things like volcanoes and dinosaurs. One display combined the two things together - it was a demonstration of how volcanoes erupt and as the volcano threw out loads of smoke and stuff, the volcano itself gradually disappeared. When it had finally all gone, there was a small dinosaur. Mole said it was a parasaurolophus - but what do moles know?

Anyway, it didn't look like much else was going to happen, so we went off to look at some more exhibits. Mole saw a sign saying "plate tectonics", and he thought that sounded like food might be involved, so we headed in that direction. Actually it turned out that there was nothing edible at all, so after a while, we set off for the museum cafe, to see if we could meet up with Rebecca Rabbit. On the way, we had to pass the volcano display again, and to our amazement, the case was empty! The museum staff seemed quite bothered about this, so we offered to help find the model dinosaur for them. "Model?" they said, "It's not a model!". Ooer, I think we've got a problem on our paws again!

Maybe it's a boy thing?

2009-06-08T13:00:00.001-07:00

I thought today's school trip was even better than last week's trip to the aquarium! We went to an aeroplane museum - it was absolutely stuffed with brilliant planes - some of them you could even sit in the cockpit and pretend to fly! I have to say that this trip wasn't so popular with everyone, though. At the start of the visit, Mrs Ewe said that, as it's a very big museum, we should go around in pairs. I joined up with Rebecca Rabbit, and everything was fine for about ten minutes. After that, the novelty seemed to wear off for Rebecca. "Oh look", she said with heavy sarcasm "another aeroplane. And another. And, oh goodie, another one". I tried not to be put off and took her to see a really old plane, with propellers. At this, she became quite agitated, saying "If those big fan things start whirring round, it will ruin my fur-do". I tried explaining how propellers work, but her eyes just glazed over. Maybe planes area boy thing? Anyway, Rebecca perked up soon after when we spotted the snack bar and the shop. And do you know what? She bought a model of the plane with propellers to take home! Sometimes I just don't understand girls!

School Trip Excitement!

2009-06-05T11:43:00.001-07:00

When I arrived at school yesterday, there was really exciting news. Mrs Ewe announced that, as we've all worked hard this year, we can go on some school trips! Some of the smaller pupils got a bit overexcited about this, and some of the expectations are a bit unrealistic - I mean how many classes do you hear about who go to visit the pyramids for the afternoon? Anyway, we all turned up this morning with our packed lunches, and climbed on the big bus for the first mystery trip. We drove for about an hour and arrived at a seaside town. The bus parked up outside the Aquarium and we all trooped in. It was all very interesting - everybody loved seeing the fierce sharks and the petting pool where you could actually touch some of the fish was great. But my favourite was seeing Nemo, in pride of place in his own splendid tank. I always wondered what happened after the film - he stayed on in show business anyway. Everybody had a great time and the trip was a success, although it has to be said that the younger otters were just a bit too enthusiastic at the petting pool -you're not supposed to actually dive in and catch the fish apparently. No harm was done , though, and we all arrived home tired but happy. I can't wait to see where we go on Monday.

A mole's patience is rewarded at last

2009-05-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

At first, the mystery just deepened as we followed Mr Duckington's instructions and went to the hardware store. We handed the note to shopkeeper along with the money we'd been given, and in return, we were given a large box. We raced home to see what was in it. You should have seen the mixture of amazement and disappointment on the little mole's face when out came a small shiny bin! As he was staring at this bizarre item, I looked inside the box and saw that there was another smaller container and a little book of instructions. I opened the book and read out aloud "Turn your waste into valuable garden compost with the aid of our easy to use Wormery". At the mention of that last word the mole immediately perked up and got very excited. "Read the rest! Read the rest!" he squeaked. So I carried on and we read all the instructions. All you have to do is put left over lettuce leaves and such stuff in the bin in layers and then add the contents of the other box - some special, very hungry worms! Then sit back and wait and the worms will multiply, eat all the waste and create quality compost for the garden. All this seemed foolproof apart from the word "wait". Needless to say we now have an empty box and a very happy mole. We had to trundle straight back to the shop to buy some more worms, but he's the happiest little mole you've ever seen now, bouncing along singing his favourite Girls Aloud song. Can you guess what it is?

Ducktastic News!

2009-05-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

At first, when it started to rain, the molebabe got very excited, assuming that the worms would immediately rush to the surface and surrender in huge numbers. Unfortunately, it seems that worms have more patience than moles. After a couple of minutes the little chap started to snuffle and whimper about getting wet, and how his Mummy had warned him about catching a chill. Things were not looking good at all, when along came Mr and Mrs Duckington. They are a very nice family of ducks who have recently moved into the area. The smaller Duckingtons were playing at a friend's pond, but mum and dad were out for a walk, and they had umbrellas. At least this way the little mole could watch the ground for worms and stay dry.

It was no good in the end, though. I think it rained too hard, as the ground ended up all muddy and we didn't see a single worm. But, just when I thought that we were facing another big disappointment, Mr Duckington said "I know a place where you can find worms - absolutely guaranteed". He wrote an address and some details on a piece of paper and gave the little mole a five pound note! He's a most generous duck - so we said thank you, borrowed an umbrella and rushed off to the address on the note - which turned out to be a hardware shop. Surely they don't sell worms at a hardware shop?

Bring in the experts

2009-05-15T10:37:00.000-07:00

Well, we did what the Grunts suggested. We went along to see the chickens and asked for their advice. Apparently, there is a special technique to be used when finding worms. You patter your feet up and down on the earth and the worms think it's raining and come to the surface. That's the theory at any rate, so we sat and waited to see what would happen. You'll never guess - it actually worked! There was only one small flaw in the plan, though - the chickens scoffed all the worms before the poor little mole could get near them. After ten minutes all we had was a 100% worm-free patch of grass, and a completely empty molebabe!

Never mind, I told him, it looks like it's going start raining for real any moment, and I've got some other friends who will help us out, and can be relied upon not to eat the worms. We just need to take some bread...

Never judge a book by its cover

2009-05-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

Oh dear, I made a huge mistake, assuming that all pigs like to do is roll around in mud all day, snuffling about and saying hello to a load of worms! When we met the Grunt family, they turned out to be the cleanest, neatest, most fastidious bunch of creatures I've ever laid my eyes on. I don't think they were very impressed with my suggestion that they could help me grub up a few wrigglers for my little black chum. However, they were very nice about it, and put their heads together to try to think of a solution. After a while, Hugh Grunt came back and announced "We've had an idea, but it probably won't work. You see, the creatures that we've most often seen scratching around in the dirt for wriggly things are chickens. But where on earth could you even one chicken around here?". If only they knew!

Playing hard to get

2009-05-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

Finding worms is not as easy as you might think! I went out into the garden with a trowel and a bucket, and I thought I'd be able to fill the bucket with tasty (for a mole) worms in no time at all. Well, after about half an hour of hard but entirely worm-free work, my little friend was getting rather restless. He looked at me with his bright little eyes in such a imploring manner that it was almost possible to ignore the loud rumbling noise from his tummy. Then I had a brain wave! There's a new family of pigs called the Grunts who have moved into the village. I haven't actually met them yet, but everyone knows pigs love rooting about in the mud and getting covered in muck generally. I'm sure they must come across plenty of worms in the process that they would be happy to share with a hungry little mole. I gave him a chocolate digestive to keep him going and set of for the Grunts' house.

Bobby to be a burrow surveyor?

2009-05-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

I've had to do some funny things since I arrived at Sylvania, but this just about takes the biscuit! It all started when I went over to Rose Cottage, to visit my friends Bruce Koala and Rebecca Rabbit. When I arrived, the whole house was in a uproar. Snuffles, the little molebabe had disappeared! Of course I helped with the search, and after turning the whole place upside down, we finally found him hiding in a big basket. We asked him why he was in there, and he answered "Oi was gurtly hungered, and oi thought oi moight find some wormers in ee big basket". Goodness knows why he though there would be worms in a basket, but what was clear was that he had a very hungry little mole on our paws. Moles, as you might know, are nothing if not single minded, and so we realised that we had better find him some worms quick. So we decided that we'd better get out into the garden and get searching. Who'd have thought that I'd spend my day peering into holes in the ground - but how hard can finding a worm be?

If at first you don't succeed...

2009-04-09T12:08:00.000-07:00

....give up! Just look what happened when I tried to reverse the spell that changed the chicks to a different colour. Only another dinosaur! What am I supposed to do with this one? Actually he's quite a friendly little chap. He says his name is Mini Steg, which is quite an odd name. I wonder what the "mini" bit means?

I was so surprised that my magician's hat fell off. When I turned round to pick it up, Steg wandered off, saying something about finding some ferns to eat.

Oh well, I suppose it's all part of learning to be a great entertainer. I wonder if David Blaine ever has problems with extinct reptiles?

Happy Easter everybody!

Always read the small print!

2009-04-08T11:47:00.001-07:00

I said that I would practice my magic tricks, and I am a pup who keeps his word. I asked two of the chicks to help me and went outside into the school playground. It was Saturday so there was nobody else around - I think peace and quiet is very important when one has to concentrate. Anyway, I intended to try out a trick from the book I'd got from the library. It was called "Every Boy's Bumper Book of Magic Tricks" and seemed to be very comprehensive - over 1000 tricks ranging from the very easy to sawing your teacher in half. I decided that I should probably start at the easier end of the range, and so I decided on trick No. 85 - Making a friend disappear. The explanation of how to do the trick was very long and boring, so I just skipped to the end bit, where it gave you the magic words to use. I read them out very carefully, there was a big "kerplunk" noise and a puff of smoke, and I looked down to see - not two missing chicks, but one pink chick and one blue one! It was only then that I decided to read the rest of the instructions.

"May lead to unpredictable results if used with non-mammal subjects out of doors" it said. Fine time to tell me that! Anyway, in the "What to do if things get out of hand section at the back of the book, it said "To reverse the effects of tricks just look in our companion volume "Tips and Tricks for Plucky Young Chaps in Trouble". The problem is, the library wasn't open again until Monday, so it was multi-coloured poultry for rest of the weekend!

And the winner is...

2009-03-20T14:43:00.000-07:00

The excitement was intense as Policeman Badger stepped forward to announce the results. He started off by saying how excellent he thought all the entries were and how hard it had been for the judges to reach the decision. He then continued by talking about each of the entries in turn. This may have been a mistake, as the chicks started to get severely impatient and started to take matters into their own beaks. One of them was even on the table and approaching the cup, when PC Badger realised the situation and hurriedly got to the point. "And the Winner is the Amazing Bongo!". Everyone cheered, and even though I was a bit disappointed, I had to admit that the best animal had won. Anyway, any feelings of jealousy soon wore off as we had an amazing after-show party with cakes and jellies (bone flavour for me) and a lot of seed on the floor for you-know-who.

I'm going to go back to the drawing board and improve my act. I clearly need something even more spectacular. I wonder who will let me saw them in half?

A talented Monkey

2009-03-16T16:24:00.001-07:00

The next competitor to reach the final of the Grand Talent Competition was "Bongo the Monkey and his Beautiful Assistant Amanda". Actually, Bongo's not his real name, but Amanda Lamb did look very nice in her new dress, and there's no denying that he's a very clever monkey indeed. He can do amazing balances and acrobatic moves and he was definitely the crowd's favourite, especially when he claimed that he could do magic tricks as well. I don't think that making bananas disappear by eating them is really magic, but the audience thought it was hysterical.

Of course, I know who won the Grand Prize, but you're just going to have to wait until Friday, because I've got too much homework to do!

Through to the final!

2009-03-15T11:30:00.001-07:00

Well, all that practice paid off! After a slightly nervous start, when I dropped an entire pack of cards while trying to do a trick, everything went pretty well, and I made it through to the final three acts in the Grand Talent Competition.

Frankly, I can't believe one of the acts we're up against. It's (take a deep breath) Kevin the Chicken's All-Poultry Bell Ringing Troupe. Basically, it's Kevin and two of his mates with bells tied round their necks. They jump up and down to make a jingling noise while four of the smaller chicks cheep along to make what they allege is a musical sound. I'm not at all impressed - but the judges seem to think they're cute. I suppose with Easter getting close, fluffy chicks are fashionable. Maybe I should have tried harder to make an Easter Bunny fit in my hat after all.

The third act in the final is really good, though. I'll show you that one next time.

Practice makes Perfect...I hope!

2009-03-09T11:19:00.000-07:00

In the end I had to run auditions to find the right animal to "appear" from my hat. To be honest it was a right performance!
Bunny - ears too long to fit in the hat
Otter - far too wriggly to stay hidden
Chicks - too noisy (and too many - they insist in going around in a big group)
Beaver - won't stop chewing the hat
Kitten - Kept scratching my paw when I tried to lift her out
Mouse - kept falling asleep and refusing to come out at all

In the end the only creature who fitted, behaved himself and kept quiet enough was the little baby guinea pig. So we've practiced and practiced together and I hope it'll be alright on the night. I just hope the competition isn't too fierce!

It's time for magic!

2009-03-04T11:42:00.000-08:00

I've decided what my act will be for the Grand Talent Show. I'm going to be a magician! Having made up my mind, my next task was to work on a special trick to be the climax of the show. I managed to borrow a top hat as part of my outfit, so the obvious thing was to pull a rabbit out of it. That's when my problems began - a hat that's the right size for a puppy's head is a bit small for most creatures to hide in. First I tried one of the baby bunnies, but he couldn't fit in - or when he did his ears just showed over the top of the hat. Then Bucky had a go - but I'm going to have a look at his diet as he was a very tight fit indeed - and anyway I strongly suspect he would chew his way out of it in no time. The strangest thing was that one of the chicks did appear to fit - but I didn't even put him in there! So my hunt goes on - which animal is going to have the winning combination of cuteness and compact proportions?

Another New Challenge

2009-02-27T14:57:00.000-08:00

Bucky spent most of this morning pestering me to take him for a ride, so after lunch we set off with me pulling our go-kart along and him standing with a couple of stray chicks in the kart. I know I'm a dog from Canada, but it's a bit undignified to have two chicks and a beaver shouting "mush, mush" at you as you tow them along. Anyway after a few minutes we ended up in front of the Village Hall, and outside there was a very exciting sign. It said "Grand Talent Contest" and said that there are great prizes to be won. Well surely a pup as versatile and adaptable as me can turn his paw to something entertaining? I just need to decide what my act should be - maybe a song and dance, or some acrobatics? Hmm, I'll have to give this some thought.

Another Fine Mess

2009-02-13T10:39:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I really don't know why bother trying to bring innovative and creative thinking to Sylvania! I spent hours fastening the chicks up to their harnesses and attempting to explain their role in our grand experiment. Then when it was time to go, they discovered the bag of seed that Bucky had used to lay the trail. The dozy beaver had left it in the back of the cart! So all that happened was that they climbed on board, ate their fill and sat down for a rest. Just when I thought things could get no worse, the little ones decided to have a game of tag. I don't know if I'll ever manage to get those reins untangled again.
If I wasn't such an indomitable pup, I would just give up. But that's not the Labrador way - I am just going to have to come up with a new idea!

Poultry Power

2009-02-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

Well, we managed to find a solution to our lack of horsepower - chicken power! Bucky was not at all convinced with my idea of harnessing a large number of our feathered chums to the cart, but I was determined. My idea was that, if we laid a trail of seed leading all the way to top of the hill, the chickens would follow it. Their natural hunger and concentration on the task of pecking at the ground would soon take their mind off the fact that they were attached to a cart by reins. I won't pretend that it was an easy job attaching all the lines to the chicks, and there was a lot of argument amongst the bigger ones about who would be "Leader of the Pack". In the end, the only way to settle it was to attach all the big ones, including Kevin closest to the cart so that it the little ones who were actually leading the way. So with that settled, and all the team raring to go, we were ready for what would surely prove to be a huge success, and, indeed a turning point in the whole history of poultry power...

First test run

2009-02-07T13:50:00.000-08:00

Bucky and I finished our car and then we took it for our first test run. I sat at the front so that I could take charge of the rope that controls the steering - it does that waggling the bit of wood that the front wheels are attached to. We went to the top of the hill in the meadows just outside the village and positioned it carefully at a point where there is a long slope ending in a flat area with no trees to hit. Bucky tucked in behind me and we pushed off for our first run. I don't think I've ever been so fast! The grass rushed past us and all we could do was wave to a startled bunny who popped his head out of his burrow just as we hurtled by. As the slope finished we started to slow down, but I'm not sure how far we would have got it was not for the fact that a front wheel lodged in a mole hill. Just as Bucky and I were congratulating each other on a successful test, out popped a highly disgruntled mole. "Bo Urr, it took oi hours to build that gurrt hill" he said " and youm 'ave bashed in down in no toime at all. Oi 'ope as ow you've got insurance", he said with a cash-related gleam in his eye. I think that he was just being an opportunist, as moles don't really live in their hills anyway - it's just soil out of their tunnels - but Bucky decided to placate him with a couple of worms he'd "found" in his pocket. I'd wandered what that little beaver had been up to while I was setting the cart up at the top of the hill! A word of advice - never put your hand in a beaver's pocket without first checking its contents!

After this we had a couple more test runs, but it was very hard work pulling the cart back up the hill. We decided that we needed some other form of propulsion - but where could we find a suitable source of power when we don't know anything about engines?

A car of my own

2009-02-04T12:11:00.001-08:00

Well, it was no use asking Mr Bear to teach me to drive. He just insisted that I am too small and will be for a few years yet. I tried to persuade him that, if it is just a matter of height, or shortness of legs, then I could easily tie some blocks of wood to my footpaws. I'm sure I could reach the pedals if I did that. But it was all to no avail, and for a while I was quite downcast. But you know me, I'm not the sort of Pup to take no for an answer, and so I decided to build my own car that's just the right size for me.

Bucky helped by gnawing the wood to the right size, and I "borrowed" some old wheels from an old supermarket trolley that someone had left lying around. By the time we had put the finishing touches by fixing on the last wheel, I don't mind saying that it looked pretty impressive. Now we just have to find a suitable place for a test run. It is powered by gravity, so we will need to find a slope somewhere on the edge of the village, but making sure that it's really safe and there's nothing to bump into. Safety first - I don't want to lose my driving licence before I'm even old enough to have one!

Rescued by a Big Bear!

2009-02-01T14:17:00.001-08:00

Just when I thought we we were going to be stranded for the whole night, along came our salvation in a large and very furry form. We were standing at the side of the road on a little patch of grass with the chicks doing what chicks do (scratching around looking for something, probably disgusting, to eat). I had my hands full keeping them from straying onto the road, and keeping Bucky from chewing at the telephone poles (that would have been a disaster!). So I didn't notice a cheery grey van coming along the road with Mr Bear at the wheel. He could obviously tell that I was in difficulties, because he pulled in at the side of the road, and asked if he could help. I explained the situation, and he smiled and said that he would give us all a ride home in his lovely van. We all piled in - chicks in the back and Bucky and I in the front with Mr Bear. I was a bit worried about cart, but Mr Bear said that it would be safe there until the morning, when we could come back with Mr Blackberry to fix it.

We set off back to the village, and it was the most exciting ride I've ever had! You might think this is funny, but I've never been in a car before. Back in Labrador we mostly used canoes to get about on the lakes, and here in Sylvania there isn't much call for cars. But I thought it was wonderful. Mr Bear said that his van isn't a very new one - he called it Austin, but I don't know if that's the make or his pet name for it. Anyway I think it's great and now I want drive one! Mr Bear said that I am too small, and it's true that my paws don't quite reach the pedals. But once we'd got the chicks back safe and sound in their hen house, I started trying to think about how I can learn to drive.

Roadside Emergency!

2009-01-30T11:28:00.000-08:00

Just as I was settling into a pleasant drive in the country, I suddenly started to hear an ominous squeaking noise from somewhere behind us. Bucky said it might just be a friendly mouse trying to hitch a ride, but it got louder and louder until the mouse responsible would have had to be the size of a donkey! We stopped and got out to look around the cart. I soon saw the source of the problem - one of the cart wheels was leaning at a very strange angle. Kevin came to have a look as well. He claims to know a lot about mechanical things, but I'm not terribly convinced. Anyway. he said it had "seized up" whatever that might mean. What was for sure was that it wouldn't turn properly any more. There we were, stuck in the middle of nowhere with nothing to eat and about 20 hungry beaks to fill! Whatever next??

A ride in the country

2009-01-28T11:58:00.000-08:00

Well, the situation with the chicks was getting ridiculous! Poor Farmer Blackberry was trying to tidy away his table and all his fruit baskets, but as soon as he picked up a basket and tried to stack it, he was met with an indignant "cheep!" from within. It was obvious that doing the job with a couple of dozen bored chicks trying to "help" was going to take hours. So Mr Blackberry had an idea. He said that he would teach me how to drive the cart, and so he did just that. In return, it was my job to keep the chicks entertained by giving them a nice ride in the country.

We set off with me at the reins and Bucky ion the seat beside me, and an excited feathery mass in the cart behind. All seemed to go well at first and we got quite a long way out into the countryside. I was just starting to relax and enjoy my drive. Of course, that was my mistake...as you'll find out next time.

Farmer's Market

2009-01-25T03:47:00.001-08:00

Hello Everybody! This weekend I was asked by the local farmer, who is a very nice rabbit called Mr Blackberry, to help him out at the Farmer's Market. I thought it was a bit strange to have a place where you could buy and sell farmers, but it turns out I was a bit mixed up about that. Actually, a Farmer's Market is a place where people can go to buy fruit and vegetables direct from the growers, so they can be sure of getting it super fresh, and also at a bargain price. Of course, most of the farmers bring their produce in a van, or a trailer behind a tractor, but Farmer Blackberry has a proper old-fashioned horse and cart. He was immediately the centre of attention, and we sold out in no time. Mr Blackberry said that I'd been so much help that, since we had some spare time, he would teach me how to drive the cart. Of course, I was very keen about that. But I didn't know then what would happen later - the only clue was the fact that some of those pesky chicks had started appearing. Apparently they get very bored between Christmas and Easter. Fair enough, it is a bit dull when you can't play out in the bad weather - but why do they have to follow me around? And why in such huge numbers??

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T06:46:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you all had a great Christmas. We all had a wonderful time - in fact I've been so busy that I haven't had time to update my blog at all. Here is a picture of this year's Nativity play. As you can probably see, I was one of the three Kings this year - that meant that I could keep a close eye on Colin the Camel. In fact the only time when I wasn't holding firmly onto his bridle, was the moment when this picture was taken. I had to come forward with my two fellow Kings to give our presents to the baby Jesus. It was at this point that I really needed to pairs of eyes - one to keep watch on Colin, and the other for the baby mole next to me. I didn't know this, but apparently moles are very fond of shiny things, and as quick as the rest of us laid down our parcels in front of the crib, the mole picked them up and trundled off, saying things like "Bo urr, that be moine". Eventually, we managed to placate him with a bit of tinsel off the tree, and the play was able to proceed. Unfortunately by this time, Colin had wandered off and was helping himself to bites out of the scenery. Never mind, everyone seemed to think this was all highly comic and part of the show. You know what they say in show business - "Never work with animals and children". But that is a bit difficult in Sylvania!

Nativity Challenge

2008-12-18T13:15:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's nearly Christmas time again! Long-term Bobby fans may remember last year when the whole school dressed up and put on a Nativity Play. Well, we're doing the same this year. Everything was fine last time, except for a little trouble with some of the actors - the woolly sort! One of the sheep tried to eat the music off the piano, and, as I was the shepherd, I was not the most popular pup in town. So this year, I was absolutely determined there would be no repeat of the problem. I was so keen to prove myself, that when, Mrs Ewe asked for a volunteer to look after a new animal, I stuck my paw up straight away. She didn't say what sort of animal, but I assumed it might be some more sheep, or maybe a donkey. Either way, I have plenty of experience and there shouldn't be any surprises.

Oh how wrong I was! Imagine my surprise when Colin the Camel walked into the school hall! Not only is he just about the most exotic creature you can imagine, but he's also absolutely enormous! For a few moments, I couldn't think what to say - but fortunately Colin is a friendly camel and in no time at all we were getting on really well. The best news is, because I'm looking after Colin, I get to be one of the wise men in the play. I hope I get real gold to carry!

Rocketry is harder than I thought

2008-12-10T12:34:00.001-08:00

Well I climbed to the top of the ladder, and then clambered into the cabin. I strapped myself into the special padded basket (it was my usual basket I use for naps, but I put an extra blanket in just in case of excessive G-Forces) and then I reached up to press the red button. I pressed it and then did a countdown..10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0....er -1?

Nothing! Not a sausage. I climbed back out of the capsule and down the ladder and went off to find someone to ask what had gone wrong. After a while I found Grandpa Rabbit. He came and looked at my rocket, and after a few moments, he started to chuckle.

"What's Up?", I asked.

"Well, young pup", he replied "it is normal for a space ship to include a rocket motor, or some sort of means of propulsion!". I looked at the bottom of the space ship, and it was true. There was a big gap where the smoke and flames normally come roaring out. "But it's made of cardboard", I explained "it would be dangerous to have a fire!". Grandpa just shook his head and smiled. "Perhaps you'd better wait until you're a bit bigger, and you can find a real space ship".

I suppose he's right. But, I ask you where on earth would I ever see a real space ship around here?

Up, up and away!

2008-12-08T12:22:00.001-08:00

I'm on my way. I can't pretend that I wasn't a little bit nervous as I climbed up the ladder to the hatchway. After all, even the famous American astronauts didn't go into orbit in a space ship they'd built themselves! Never mind, I'm confident in the combination of Canadian know how and Sylvanian technology. I just hope I've packed enough treats for the trip - I wouldn't want to run out of dog biscuits before coming home!

I bet you're as excited as I am, but you'll just have to wait until next time to find out how I get on.

To boldly go where no dog has woofed before

2008-12-04T13:59:00.000-08:00

Using that telescope has certainly inspired me! I have decided that viewing the stars from a distance is just not enough - I'm going to visit them in person! The first thing a pup needs when venturing outside the earth's atmosphere is a space suit, so I buckled down to the job, and I think you have to agree I've done a pretty good job. OK, it's not yet entirely airtight, and my tail still sticks out of the back, but these are surely minor details.

Next I've got to make myself a spaceship, but we've got the cardboard, we've got the sticky tape and we have the technology, so there's no stopping us now. After all, there was a dog in space long before a human made it!

The Sky at Night's the place for a Pup

2008-11-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

Look what I found at the back of the attic! It's a beautiful old telescope. When I found it, I tried setting it up to look out of the little window at the back of the attic. When I looked through the telescope, I was amazed - everything I could see was upside down! I trotted downstairs to ask Grandpa Rabbit about it, and he explained that it is an astronomical telescope, and it's for looking at the stars. Apparently all astronomical telescopes work like that - don't ask me why. I tried hanging upside down to look through the eyepiece, but it was very tiring, and in the end, I decided a star probably looks the same both ways up anyway. I couldn't wait for it to go dark enough to go outside and try spotting some stars. Grandpa Rabbit found an old astronomy book I can borrow, and he helped me find some of important stars. Did you know the brightest star of all is in a part of the sky called "The Big Dog"? Not only that, but there's also a constellation called "Little Dog" and even one called Puppis! There's no doubt about it, this has been a giant leap for dogkind!

Never tell a grownup that you're bored!

2008-11-18T12:13:00.000-08:00

Well I certainly learned a lesson today. Now we're moving from Autumn into Winter, the nights are getting dark very early - in fact by the time I've got home from school and had a glass of milk, it's already too dark to play outside. I thought it was very boring - and I made the mistake of saying so to Grandpa Rabbit. He chuckled in a rather worrying way, and said "I've got just the thing for you, my lad. (By the way, "My Lad" is never a good sign when a grownup says it to you - it's almost a bad as being called "Robert Labrador").

We went upstairs, and then upstairs again, until we reached the attic. It's a dusty dark room full of boxes and old junk. There isn't a normal ceiling, just the inside of the roof, so it's like being inside a sort of wooden tent.

"Right" said Grandpa Rabbit, "Here's a whole world of lost treasure for you to explore! If you tidy it up nicely, then you can have anything you find, that you fancy playing with". Grandpa Rabbit went back down the stairs, and I stared a the mountain of old junk. "Treasures indeed!" I thought, "I'll never find anything worth playing with in this lot". Well, I was wrong about that - and you'll see why next time!

Another Fine Mess

2008-11-12T12:30:00.001-08:00

Well, things just went from bad to worse! As Little Tail tried to pull me in over the side of the boat, the whole thing started to tip over. I slipped out of his paws, and before we knew what was happening, I went back into the water one way, he went the other way, and the boat rolled right over. For a few moments we were both a bit scared, but then we realised that our paws had touched the bottom. Little Tail's daddy is very sensible, and he had only let us go out on a lake that is just a few paw's lengths deep.

We tipped all the water out of the boat (or as much as we could) and then pulled it to the side of the lake. Then we both trudged back to the village to own up to what had happened. Little Tail was rather worried that his father would be very cross - after all he is the Chief and they can be very fierce! But it was all right, and anyway Little Tail's mummy wouldn't let anyone be cross with us - she wrapped us both up in towels to make sure we got warm and dry as soon as possible, and gave us a nice mug of hot chocolate to drink. I was most worried about losing my lovely green wellies, but Little Tail's daddy said that we will most probably be find them in the dry season when the lake's level goes down. Even better - they said that I can borrow some moccasins to wear until then. What a great souvenir from my holiday in Labrador!

Peril on the Pond!

2008-11-09T13:14:00.001-08:00

Everything started out really well. I thought we would be going out in a traditional Canadian canoe or a kayak, but Little Tail had arranged to borrow a friend's rowing boat. It was a lovely little boat, painted yellow and white, with two oars and just enough room for two small animals to share. Well, I say "just enough" - that was true as long as everybody stayed sitting down. The problem started when I decided to try fishing over the side. After a very short time, I felt a tug on my line - I had a catch! In my excitement I stood up to get a better view and that's when the boat started to wobble. I wobbled forwards first, and thinking that the fish was going to tug me in, I let go of my rod. Unfortunately, that just made me lurch backwards, and that was too much. Splosh! I went straight into the water. Once in the water, I remembered to keep calm and do a doggie paddle to keep myself afloat. I had to kick my wellies off, as they filled up with water, and my paws feel very heavy. Little Tail also kept very calm and steered the boat to keep close to me, and very soon he was helping me back on to the boat. For a few seconds, all he had to worry about was whether I would shake off all my wet fur on him, but then the boat started to wobble all over again. Apparently ( we found this out later) it's best to help someone back into a boat over the stern - that's the back end - as it makes it less like to tip over. Would the boat tip over all over again? You'll have to wait until next time to find out what happened!

A visit to the original Canadians

2008-11-05T12:03:00.000-08:00

Back to my Canadian break, and after my less than totally successful attempt at fishing, I asked Mr Ranger what we could do next. Mr Ranger, being a Moose himself, knows a lot about the wildlife of Canada, but also about our history and cultural heritage. He suggested that we make a visit to meet some of the original native inhabitants of North America. Well, of course I was very keen to do that and so we set off straight away. I was a bit nervous about taking Rabbie the Bear with us - I mean I know native peoples are very good at living in harmony with nature and everything, but he is extremely large! But Mr Ranger said it would be no problem as he knows the people of the Red Tail Squirrel tribe very well.

After about two hours walking through the forest we came to a clearing, where there was a small cluster of traditional tents and we were greeted by the leader of the tribe Bushtail, and his son Little Tail. They were very hospitable and explained that they live in the tents throughout the summer, hunting and enjoying the great outdoors, but in the winter nowadays they move in to ordinary houses. Sounds very sensible to me!

We got on very well, and Little Tail offered to take me out for a ride in his boat the next day. That sounded too good to miss, so we all settled down for the night. Rabbie had a tent to himself but even so, his paws stuck out all night. He didn't mind though - it's the great benefit of being so furry! Next time, I'll tell you how I got on in the boat.

Halloween Fun

2008-11-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist breaking off my tale of what happened on my holidays to show you what happened on Friday night. I always enjoy Halloween of course, but this was something really special! Everyone in the whole village dressed up in scary or magical outfits and we went from house to house collecting treats (some people say trick or treat, but I'm not the sort of pup who does tricks). We finished off with a grand Halloween party in the village hall - there was ducking for apples and sticking the tail on the donkey. Dougie the Donkey was a bit worried about that, but it was a pretend Donkey, and with his instinctive grasp of where a tail should go, he won the first prize.

Next time, I will return to telling you more about my Canadian adventures and I will tell you all about my visit to some Very Important People!

The one that got away...

2008-10-24T15:18:00.000-07:00

Mr Ranger was as good as his word. He found us a lovely little pond to fish in. Mr Ranger and I sat on a little hill by the side of the pond and Rabbie sat nearby, just dabbling his paws in the pond. Everything went really well until I got a bite. Now, I know fishermen are renowned for exaggerating the size of the fish they caught, but this one was enormous! A beautiful big salmon, all silvery and splashing about so hard I thought I'd lose my grip on the rod. But as soon as it appeared, a certain very large bear launched himself into the water, and made the fish disappear in an instant. I wouldn't mind the fish going but Rabbie made such a splash that me and Mr Ranger were both wet through. Even my wellies were full of water!

Mr Ranger gave Rabbie a very stern telling off, but after we had dried out a bit, we couldn't stay cross with him, as he looked so sorry for himself. We went back to Mr Ranger's cabin and shared a big pot of honey. Now the only problem I've got is how to get honey out of fur. Any suggestions?

Ranger to the Rescue

2008-10-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

Well, what a relief! I turned around to see what was causing the rustling in the bushes, and out stepped a small but definitely friendly animal in a very smart uniform. He announced that he is the National Park Ranger for the area, and asked if I needed any assistance. I thought that was a bit of a strange question to ask when a few feet to his left stood a gigantic bear. Mr Ranger saw my expression and smiled kindly. "Don't worry about old Rabbie", he said "He's just a big old softy. He probably saw your fishing rod and thought he might be in for some handouts". We got to talking, and Mr Ranger explained that normally it's a very bad idea to feed bears you meet in the woods. But Rabbie is a personal friend, and a very trustworthy. "Just don't let him hug you too tight", explained Mr Ranger, "he can get a bit too affectionate for smaller animals".
Mr Ranger offered to show me the very best fishing pond in the forest - where there would be plenty for me to catch and enough to share with Rabbie. I'll let you know how we got on in my next post.

A walk in the woods

2008-10-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

I promised to tell you about some of my adventures on holiday back home in Canada, so here goes. As you might know, Canada is a very big country, full of forests and lakes, and lots of people like to go on camping trips, doing some canoeing perhaps, and some fishing. Well, I'm not sure about canoes, as they look very wobbly to me, so I just decided to go off on a fishing trip. I put on my wellies to keep my paws dry, got out my fishing rod and set off into the woods. I followed a path leading to a small lake which everybody told me was a sure-fire winner for fishing success. After about a quarter of an hour, I was in quite a deep, dense bit of the forest, when all of a sudden there was a rustling in the undergrowth just ahead, and out stepped the biggest bear I've ever seen! Of course, we have bears in Sylvania, but they're not much bigger than me, and anyway they are all very friendly and don't like to eat anything much other than honey, or perhaps condensed milk. Canadian bears are completely different, and if there's one thing they love, it's fish. And here I was in the middle of the forest, with fishing gear, probably smelling of the bear's favourite food! He didn't say anything at all, but just looked down at me from a great height, so I decided to back away very slowly. This seemed to be a good strategy, until ...I heard more rustling behind me! I just froze - what would I do if it was the bear's even fiercer big brother!! You'll have to wait to find out what happened next.

What I did on my holidays

2008-10-12T05:20:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody! Sorry that I haven't written anything for such a long time, but I've been away on my holidays. I'm going to try to catch over the next couple of weeks and tell you all about the adventures I had. I've just got back from visiting all my friends and relations in Canada, and I had a great time there. But first let me tell you about my visit to Sweden.

I have got an aunt in Sweden -well I call her an Aunt, but she's actually a friend of my mother from when she was a sled dog for a while. She's a moose called Hälge. Aunty Hälge lives near Stockholm and she took for a day out in the city centre. Stockholm is a very beautiful city with lots of islands with bridges between them. Aunty Hälge took this picture of me standing in front of a huge sailing ship. We had a little boat ride around the harbour later on - but our boat wasn't as big as this! Pity - I rather fancy myself as a nautical pup.

We had planned to travel up North to visit the reindeers, but seems they are already busy preparing for Christmas, so I'll go and see them another time.

I'll be back soon, with news of my visit to Canada. Love Bobby xx

See for yourselves!

2008-08-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

You know last time I said I wished you could have seen me on the train? Well, guess what? There was someone with a video camera filming the whole thing! I've never tried putting a video on my blog before, so I hope it works out OK - perhaps someone could leave a comment to let me know.

Bucky says I looked rather nervous as I stood on the back of the guard's van, because the train was going so fast, but I'm sure that I just look intrepid. See what you think!

A very exciting outing

2008-08-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

Today I went on a train for the first time ever! There is a little steam railway not far from us that takes people on outings during the summer. The surroundings are very pretty, and, as it was a nice warm day, Bucky, Kevin and I decided to give it a try. In the picture, you can see the three of us waiting patiently on the platform. Well at least, I was waiting patiently - I'm sorry to report that the other two were not quite so well-behaved. Bucky had to be warned against gnawing on the wooden bits of the station building, and as for Kevin! I don't want to say too much, but I don't think scrounging biscuit crumbs off other passengers is the correct behaviour for a well brought up chicken. Free range is one thing, but there have to be limits.

Anyway, after a while the train drew into the platform. The driver was very nice and let me stand on the footplate (that's what the driver's cab is called) for a little while. I wasn't allowed there for the actual journey of course - and to be honest it's just as well. It might be a very small engine, but it was really fast! It's a pity you weren't there to see me.

The Perfect Home

2008-08-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

We have found the perfect place for the Bearskis at last! We had completely given up on finding a suitable home for them in the village, so we decided we must look further afield. Mrs Bearski made a picnic and put it in a basket for Mr Bearski to carry. Mrs Bearski herself carried a big jug of orange juice (which I thought she was bound to spill, but she is incredibly careful). Then we set off, with Bucky along to help amuse the little ones.

After about an hour of walking we all sat down to have a bite to eat, and leaned up against a big tree. To my amazement, I saw that there was a big door in the tree trunk, and on further inspection we discovered that it was one big tree house! Not only has it got lots of room for the whole family, but part of it converts into a table for dinner time, and best of all , there are enough tyre swings for the whole family! You can guess where Bucky and the little ones went straight away. As usual, I ended exhausted from pushing them for ages!

The tree house doesn't seem to be occupied, and, of course, Mrs Bearski was overjoyed with her new home, so that's where the Bearskis are going to live from now one. Bucky and I promised to come and visit them as often as we can. Judging by how well Bucky seemed to be getting on with young Miss Bearski, I think that might be quite often! Is there romance in the air?

Problems with the Housing Market

2008-08-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

I'm still having trouble trying to find somewhere suitable for the Bearskis to live. Bucky and I thought hard about it, and even Kevin the chicken lent a hand (or beak), but we couldn't think of any Sylvanian house that has enough room for a whole extra family. In the end, we decided that we would have to give up our log cabin. After all, we don't live there, we just use it as a play house - and as the Bearskis are from Canada as well, we thought that they should feel at home.

Oh dear, that was a mistake. Mrs Bearski took one look and didn't like it at all. She says that one room isn't enough for a growing family, and anyway Bears like to live in the woods, not in the middle of an open field. It's something to do with foraging for honey I suppose. If they are that keen on trees, I'd better keep Bucky's "hobby" (nibbling trees until they fall down) a pretty well guarded secret. So where on earth am I going to find a house that is also part of a forest?

Hello, I'm back!

2008-07-25T03:22:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody! I'm sorry it's been so long since I last updated my blog, but I've been away on holiday. I had a lovely 4 weeks back in my native Labrador, visiting all my family and friends, but now I have returned to Sylvania.

Today was a lovely day, so Bucky, Kevin the Chicken and I all decided to go for a country walk. As we were crossing the meadow, we met a family of small bears. They are called the Bearski family, and they come from a place called Furryville. By an amazing coincidence, they are from Canada too, and they have come over here on their holidays, but they didn't arrange for anywhere to stay. Unfortunately, there isn't a hotel in our village, so we've got a bit of a problem.

Anyway, I have promised to try and find somewhere for them to stay. Surely there will be someone with a spare room? Or two? Won't there?

Prizegiving Time

2008-06-24T13:37:00.000-07:00

The celebrity turned out to be star of stage and screen, Angelina Ballerina. She was very elegant and pretty and she did a sort of twirl and curtsy before handing me the most magnificent trophy for winning the running race. I wanted to say something to her, but I got a bit shy and could only manage to mutter "Thank You" before I blushed and had to turn away. She didn't seem to mind and everybody applauded like mad.

I'm going to be away for the next couple of weeks. I'm taking a holiday and going back to see my folks in Labrador. I've been trying to pack everything but it's very difficult. I had to choose between spare socks and taking my trophy. You can imagine what won out there, so I'll have to hope it isn't too cold for my toes when I get to Canada.

I'll be back to talk to you all again in no time. I hope you all have lots of fun on your Summer holidays!

I've won!

2008-06-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

In the end, I decided to stick with a straight running race. If there's one thing (apart from burying bones and seeking out interesting smells) that pups are good at, it's running round like mad things.

I lined up in the final against three of my friends and it was a very close finish. PC Badger was the judge, and he decided that I was the winner. I don't know if it was Sylvanian record time, but the important thing is that I am now the champion! At the end of Sports Day, there is going to be a prize giving, and I'm going to be presented with a prize by a well-known celebrity. I wonder who it will be?

I'm fit and raring to go

2008-06-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

Good news everyone! My paw is better now and I've started my training for Village Sports Day. My only problem is deciding what event to compete in. My first choice was the sack race, so I went down to the Donkey Sanctuary to find an old sack to use for practising. Unfortunately I couldn't find any empty sacks anywhere. I picked up a full sack but before I could do anything with it, I became aware of a piercing stare from behind my left ear. It was Dougie the Donkey, and he took a very dim view of me taking his dinner away. I tried to convince him that it was just the sack I wanted, but he just looked at me. In the end I had to give up. So now I plan to enter the running race (boys, 10 and under). Wish me luck!

I've had a nasty bump!

2008-06-13T09:59:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid I've been in the wars. Before you say anything, it didn't happen when I was having a ride with Dippy. In fact, I was having a quiet afternoon in playing with Bucky. He wanted to have a game of Snakes and Ladders and I couldn't quite reach the game on the top shelf of the toy cupboard. I stood on a stool to reach it, there was a bit of a wobble and off I tumbled.

I landed badly on my right paw and it hurt an awful lot. I was taken down to see Nurse Beagle at the surgery and she put it right in no time. She has put a bandage on my paw, and I have to keep it on for a few days. Nurse Beagle gave me a bit of a telling off for climbing up on the stool - she says I should always ask a grown up to reach for things that are high up. She says things it such a kind way that you don't feel bad, and I'm certainly going to remember that advice.

It doesn't hurt much any more, but I'm just a bit worried that I won't be able to take part in next week's Village sports. I haven't decided which event to take part in yet, but I certainly don't want it to be the "sitting down and watching" race!

A white-paw ride!

2008-06-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

Dippy certainly found a way of joining in! When nobody was looking he knelt down and four of the

smallest animals climbed onto his back. Then he stood up and took them for a ride all round the village green! The four babies adored it, but there were one or two frowns on the grown ups' faces, I can tell you. The most worrying thing was how the babies were going to get down again, but in the end that was easily solved. Dippy just stopped, bent his back legs a little and they all slid down his tail. After that, everybody wanted a go, and, far from being left out, Dippy was the centre of attention. When it came to my turn I was very surprised at how it felt - all the books suggest that dinosaurs were all scaly and cold blooded, but Dippy is sort of furry, and very warm and cosy to sit on. Everybody agreed that Dippy had made it the best Summer Fete ever, and that he can stay in the village as long as he likes.

In the nick of time

2008-06-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

Well, we managed to persuade Dippy to vacate his temporary home just in time. Lots of people and lorries arrived at the village green and started to set up the Village Fete. Dippy was fascinated by the activity and wandered out of his tent to have a closer look. At that point we rushed in with the table and filled the tent with cakes and so on. We were a bit worried that he might try to squeeze back in, but there were to many interesting things going on. There are games and competitions, the super slider has been set up, and there is a teacup ride for the tinies. The only problem now is that Dippy is a bit big to actually join in with any of these things. Despite his size, he's actually only a baby diplodocus himself, and he is starting to look a bit woebegone. How can we find some way that he can join in - without trampling or squashing something?

A tricky situation

2008-06-01T07:14:00.000-07:00

Oh dear! Just when we thought we'd got the whole Dinosaur accommodation problem sorted out, a new and very tricky situation has developed. This week the village holds it's annual Summer Fete, and apparently Dippy's big tent is actually the marquee used for the refreshments and cake show!

Two grown ups turned up carrying a table to put in the tent and were rather put out to find a large Diplodocus blocking the entrance (and indeed the whole tent). Then PC Badger arrived on the scene. He seemed to find the whole situation rather amusing until Bucky unwisely suggested that the cakes could go on the grass outside the tent. How were we to know that PC Badger is odds-on favourite for this year's fruit cake championship? Anyway, he has made it clear in no uncertain terms that Dippy had better be gone by tomorrow morning, or I'll be winning the prize for most unpopular Pup!

Home Sweet Home

2008-05-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

What a stroke of luck! Just as we were starting to despair of ever finding a suitable home for Dippy, we came across an enormous empty tent. It's just the right size for Dippy, and he can curl himself up with his nose under his tail (that's how dinosaurs sleep apparently).

The tent is right in middle of the Village Green and somebody said something about the Village Fete taking place in a "marquee" - but this is just a big tent, so I'm sure it'll be fine.

At last, I can stop worrying about getting into trouble with people about where my large chums are living. First Kevin the Chicken and then Dippy - it's been a very exhausting few days. I'm off for a nap now.

A subtle ruse

2008-05-22T13:26:00.001-07:00

I don't know if you have ever seen a donkey frown, but it's a rather worrying sight, I can tell you! It's the nearest a donkey really gets to losing his temper, but we got the message - we have to move Dippy out of the Donkey's stable as soon as we can. Remembering that Dippy said he's a Veggiesaurus, we decided that the first stage in our master plan should be to lure him out. So with the somewhat grudging agreement of the Donkeys, we laid a trail of carrots and other vegetables away from the stable. Sure enough, after a little uncertainty, Dippy started to follow us. Soon we and our large prehistoric chum were well away from the Sanctuary, and the Donkeys were able to resume their proper place. Unfortunately, this is where the flaw in our master plan became apparent - there is no part two. Now we have got to have another brainwave for somewhere to lure him to!

Safe and Sound

2008-05-18T13:41:00.000-07:00

Finally we managed to find out of the jungle! Of all the unlikely things to happen, it was a brainwave from Kevin (who says I'm a bird brain) the Chicken that saved the day! We couldn't see anything from our height because of the undergrowth, and though Dippy had a perfect view, he didn't actually know what we were looking for. Kevin came up with idea of trotting up Dippy's long neck so that he could see the way. Rather him than me, as it's a long way down, but Dippy was very careful and gentle with him. Pretty soon, Kevin was able to guide us back to the Sylvanian village.

When we got there, we soon had another problem. Dippy announced that he was rather tired and that he would like to have a sleep in "that nice little house". We all looked at each other in consternation - who's house could he mean? I don't think any of the grown ups would be too keen to find a Dinosaur sleeping in their bed! We soon found out, though - it was the Donkey's stable that he meant - he's obviously had his eye on it for a while. Well, he sort of backed into the stable but it's really nowhere near big enough and his head and neck stick right out. What's more, we have no got a large number of grumpy donkeys to contend with. Blimey, a pup's life is never simple!

Out in the big wide world

2008-05-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

Today we decided that we had better solve the mystery of the strange face we saw in the background of my photograph of Kevin in the Donkey Sanctuary. We searched around the stables, but couldn't see anything, so we decided it would have to be a full Expedition. I was to be expedition leader with Bucky as Assistant Leader and Expeditionary Beaver. Kevin insisted on coming along as Expeditionary Chicken even though me and Bucky are almost sure there's no such thing. We set off into the countryside, and after a while the undergrowth started getting longer and longer. Unfortunately, at this point, Kevin decided he was tired, and demanded a ride in the barrow. We trundled him along for what seemed like hours, with no sign of our mysterious visitor, but always with the strangest feeling that we were being watched.

After a particularly bumpy bit, Kevin complained about ending up with scrambled eggs (I don't know what that means - surely only girl chickens have eggs?) so we stopped to have a rest. And that is when we saw him! Right behind us was the most enormous green creature that any of us has ever seen! At first we were all a bit frightened , but he introduced himself, saying his name is Dippy, and when he assured us that he is definitely a Veggiesaurus, and is not fond of eating small animals, we all calmed down and became friends. He's a very interesting chap, but I'm still not entirely clear on where he's come from. He just talks about something called an "anomaly", which I suppose is Dino-speak for something or other.

Anyway, now we have got just one problem. We've walked for miles and the undergrowth is now so high and thick that I can't see how to get home. I hope someone has a bright idea soon!

A problem solved and a mystery started

2008-05-08T12:53:00.000-07:00

We have managed to find a place where Kevin the chick doesn't intimidate everyone by towering over them. I suddenly remembered the donkey sanctuary. All the donkeys are much larger than Kevin, and they are so patient and even tempered that they don't even mind when he climbs up onto their backs "for a better view". there's plenty of straw inside the stable for Kevin to make little nests in, and I'm hopeful that he will settle in really well with them. Burnham (he's the donkey inside the stable looking out) seems to have become quite fond of him already. he offered Kevin a share of his carrot. That was very generous , but I have to say that Burnham looked very relieved when Kevin told him that chicks eat seed and don't really like carrots.

So everything seemed to have been sorted out really well, and I took a picture of them all together. the strange thing was, when I got home and printed out the picture, I noticed something very odd behind the stable that I hadn't noticed when we were there. What on earth could it be? Whoever, or whatever it is, it must be very large!

A Sizeable Problem

2008-05-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

You remember that I mentioned that of the baby chicks seemed to be growing faster than his brothers and sisters? Well just look at the size of Kevin now!

He's absolutely flippin' enormous! He is nearly as tall as me already and he's developed an alarming tendency to puff his chest out, tip his head back and go "cock-a-doodle-do". Well, at least that's what I think he's trying to do. It comes out more like "Cheep-a-squeakle-do", but I'm pretty sure he's trying to establish himself as the cockerel in chief. Anyway, he is creating a bit of a problem - he's already far too big to fit in through the door of the hen-house, and when he tries to stand on the roof, it looks very wobbly. We're going to have to think of somewhere else for him to live. Somewhere that doesn't mind noisy neighbours!

Those pesky sheep!

2008-04-26T12:42:00.001-07:00

This really is the absolute limit. Do you remember when our football game was ruined when the pitch was invaded by an entire flock out to graze it to within an inch of its life? Well, they are only back and as full of mischief as ever! This morning I took some friends down to the Super Slider and there they were. The whole flock monopolising the slide and not letting anyone else have a go. The thing with sheep is that they always follow the leader, so once the lead sheep had decided he wanted another go and went back up the steps he was confronted with the rear end of the last sheep. That meant the loop was completed and then we had a never ending spiral of high speed slithering wooliness.

Well, we couldn't let this go on indefinitely- a dizzy sheep is never a happy sheep, and besides we wanted to get our slide back. I went to fetch Mrs Ewe - as she is a relative, she seems to be able to reason with the flock a bit better than the rest of us, plus, being a teacher, she has a really loud voice when she wants to. She finally managed to get the sheep back into their field, where they are now happily munching a way again. Best of all, she went to see Mr Panda, and he says that because we have lost a whole days playing, we can keep the slide a bit longer. So all's well that ends well.

Wheeeeeeeeee!

2008-04-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

The most amazing thing happened today! A lorry showed up at the playing fields and unloaded lots and lots of bits of wood and steel, all painted bright colours, and looking like an enormous three dimensional jigsaw puzzle. Several hours of head-scratching later, Mr Panda had assembled it, and we realised that this was the Super Slider we had heard about. It is great fun - you go in through a little door and then climb up some spiral stairs inside it. then you come out at the top of a long whirly slide that is made of shiny and very slippery metal. It's a bit frightening at first as you go very fast and sometimes land with a bit of a bump at the end. But even the smaller animals were queuing up for another go. We kept going round and round and up and down until it was time for tea. Mr Panda says the slide (he calls it a Helter-Skelter - maybe it's Chinese?) will be staying for a whole week, so we can have as many goes as we like!

I'm back!

2008-04-24T04:46:00.001-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since I have updated you with all goings on here in Sylvania. I had so much fun over Easter that I'm afraid I forgot all about my blog for a while. We had two birthday parties as well as all the Easter fun, so we were all very busy.

The chicks are still thriving. In fact one of them looks like he's thriving a bit too much - I'll have to keep an eye on him. he's called Kevin, and he likes his food a lot - he's always bossing the others about and insisting on his fair share - and then a bit more. Still, I don't suppose a fat chick can cause too many problems.

I was on my way down to see the Donkeys today and stopped off at the Post Office. Outside there was a very intriguing sign. What do you suppose a " Super Slider" could be? We have got a slide in the playground already, and it's lots of fun, but I think they must mean something else. We will just have to take a look tomorrow after school.

A home of their own

2008-03-12T15:04:00.001-07:00

Bucky and I decided that, if we were ever to shake off our feathery followers, we had to create an alternative attraction. What on earth would turn a young chicken's head? Then we had a brainwave - one thing all birds have is a strong nesting instinct, so if we could provide them with a suitable home, perhaps they would settle into it. Bucky set to chewing up lengths of wood for me, while I made a sturdy frame. Then we nailed all the planks on to the frame and added a nice watertight roof.

Then came the moment of truth - would the chicks take to their new home? At first we weren't sure - they sort of hung around cheeping and looking a bit baffled. So in the end, Bucky crawled through the little door to show them how it worked - and of course, they all followed him. As soon as they saw the nesting shelf we'd built, their minds were made up - this was definitely the place for them.

Now all I need to do is get Bucky out of there...

It's one thing after another

2008-03-10T13:07:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought things couldn't get any more difficult this happens! It seems that baby birds think that the first thing see after they have hatched is their mother. Guess who that is? Now we can't shake them off wherever we go - they just follow us around in an orderly line, cheeping for food. It's getting quite embarrassing - Mrs Ewe was not at all impressed at school, I can tell you!

I'm going to have to think of something - how can I persuade them that they are better off an more comfortable somewhere other than 50 centimetres behind my back?

Talk about counting your chickens!

2008-03-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

I just could not believe the scene when I went down to my cabin this morning to check on the Easter eggs.

It seems they were not, as I had assumed, chocolate eggs at all. It must have been so warm and cozy in the straw that all the eggs have hatched out!

The cabin was absolutely stuffed with chicks. Bucky and I got bowled over as soon as we opened the door. It was cheepy pandemonium!One cheeky blighter even sat on my head.

Now we've got to try and decide what to do with these new arrivals. I just hope they will stay in the cabin for now - it's enough for me to have that little beaver baby following me around all day. Anyway, we're off to find some chicken feed to keep these hungry blighters form pecking us!

Easter's Coming

2008-03-07T12:25:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you realised, but it's going to be Easter very soon. Actually, I can't wait because I gave up chasing cats for Lent, and the strain of resisting temptation is starting to show. Anyway, Mrs Ewe has asked me to do a very important job for her. Every year, the village holds an Easter egg hunt for all the smaller animals. They hide eggs all over the place and the babies run around with little baskets trying to find them. Of course it all has to be kept a great secret so as not to spoil the surprise. The eggs arrived to day, and Mrs Ewe has asked me to hide them away in my log cabin. Bucky came along to help - to be honest he wants to go everywhere with me - so we will just have to hope that he doesn't give the game away.

I have hidden the eggs away inside my cabin now and covered them up with a layer of straw. It will keep them out of sight, and also stop them getting to cold in this frosty weather we've been having. I'm sure they will be OK, but I'm going to come down and check on them every day, just to be sure.

It's Amazing!

2008-03-02T12:27:00.000-08:00

Well, it certainly looks like my MP has delivered the goods this time! We went down to the park this morning for a kick around with the football, only to find that the most amazing collection of playground equipment had appeared overnight!
We rushed back to the village and told all the children and babies to come down straightaway. There's a railway engine that turns into a climbing frame, there's a lovely swing and there is also a roundabout which consists of teacups whirling around a teapot. the last one is the most popular with the babies. They queue up for a ride, and then, as soon as their turn is finished they rush around to the end of the line and jump up and down shouting "Again! Again!" at the top of their voices. It's quite tiring chasing round after them all - I had no idea you get so exhausted having fun!
I must write a thank you letter to the MP. If only I could remember what his name is...

My Good Idea

2008-02-27T12:04:00.000-08:00

Seeing the Houses of Parliament gave me a great idea. You see, I have always thought our village should have a much better playground for all the smaller animals and babies to play in. It's nice to have a football field, but the little ones would really love some swings and roundabouts to play on. So I have decided to write to my MP! I got his name and address from Mrs Ewe, and I borrowed some smart writing paper. I sat down at the big writing desk and wrote the neatest letter I have ever produced. Then I took it straight to the Post Office and sent it on its way. I am sure I have a convincing case and I can't wait for the response to come. I hope he can help!

School Trip to London

2008-02-24T03:30:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was a very exciting day out for all us at the village school! We all went down to London to see the sights. We saw Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, and all the famous landmarks. My favourite place of all was the Houses of Parliament. One of my friends took a picture of me standing in fron to of Big Ben. It's amazing to think that the people who work in there can make so many decisions. I hope they always speak to a grown up before making the really important ones.

Actually, it's given me an idea of a way that I can try to help all the smaller animals in our village. I'll tell you more about it next time.

My new business

2008-02-20T14:04:00.000-08:00

Bucky and I have found a way to keep us both occupied doing something useful.

With my new found talent for woodworking, and his great enthusiasm for chewing up wood, we decided we go into business as carpenters. Bucky saws up the wood and I build things from it. Occasionally, Bucky gets a bit overenthusiastic with his chopping up of the planks, so we have a sideline in bundles of firewood.

So far it's going really well. I've made a set of garden chairs for a cat who comes from Japan, and Bucky has made an enormous mess. But as there are shavings everywhere anyway, nobody minds. I just hope Bucky doesn't spot my skis!

Make do and mend

2008-02-17T05:10:00.000-08:00

Well, I've managed to solve part one of my problem. I went and borrowed some tools from my friend Mr Otter, and I was able to replace the broken leg on the table. Actually, I think I might have a bit of a talent for carpentry. It takes a long time cutting the wood to the right shape and its quite hard finding something solid to rest the wood against, but I solved that by making myself a little work bench. Anyway, the table is now good as new, and Grandma Rabbit doesn't look quite so cross any more. Now I just have to find something a bit more constructive for Bucky to do.

Baby Beaver Mayhem!

2008-02-14T14:00:00.000-08:00

It didn't take long to find out what had taken Bucky's eye. It wasn't anything on the table that he fancied - it was the table itself! It was only about half an hour after I left Bucky at the playgroup whenI got a call to come back immediately. When I got there, I found a terrible scene. There was a small beaver surrounded by toys that had fallen off the table. There was a very cross looking Grandma Rabbit - and in the middle of it all there was a three legged table. He had chewed straight through one of the legs, and the whole thing had collapsed.

Now I have been told that I have got to find some way to keep Bucky from chewing things or he won't be allowed back in the playgroup at all. And I've somehow got to put right the damage done to the table. It's all very difficult - after all he's only doing what comes naturally to a beaver. I'm going to have to put my thinking cap on this time.

Time for a break

2008-02-13T12:59:00.000-08:00

Keeping Bucky out of mischief is certainly a full time job for a young pup. I was very glad when Grandma Rabbit said that he could join the village playgroup. After all, I have to go to school myself, and I don't think my teacher would appreciate me bringing a baby beaver along!

Anyway, I took Bucky along, and to help him settle in Grandma Rabbit said that he could choose whatever he liked off the toy table. He certainly had his eye on something when I left but I'm not sure what. Can you guess what his favourite plaything will be?

Keeping Bucky Occupied

2008-02-09T10:00:00.001-08:00

Well, I've found a way to keep Bucky's hyperactive incisors busy, if only for a few minutes. I took him down to the village sweet shop and let him choose the biggest, stickiest lollipop on the whole stall. Now most people like to lick a lolly, but, being a beaver cub, Bucky was straight in gnawing away at it. To be honest, I don't think it will delay him for very long, but at least it will give me some time to think about what we're going to do next. Of course the first thing to do will be to make sure that he cleans his teeth properly, so I think I'd better take him home next.

Stowaway!

2008-02-06T12:51:00.000-08:00

I went back to my cabin again this morning, and guess what? There was another pile of sawdust and wood chips all over the front step. I was about to stomp off and find my brush to sweep up again, when I heard a noise from inside the cabin. "Right!" I thought, and grabbing my brush in case there was a fierce animal inside, I poked my nose warily through the doorway. There in the dark back corner of the cabin, was a pair of small bright eyes. There was a small squeak, and deciding that such noises don't usually come from dangerous animals, I said "Come on out whoever you are. I won't hurt you" and I put down my brush.

A few seconds later a small, worried face appeared at the door. It was a baby beaver! I've never been so surprised, and I think he was too. We sat down together, and he told me his name is Bucky and he comes from Canada just like me. At the moment, it's a complete mystery how he got here - my only theory is that he stowed away in the logs that the cabin was made out of.

Anyway, he's really a very nice little chap, and I'm sure we can find somewhere for him to live. As he's a fellow Canadian, I hope he come and stay with me. But in the meantime, I've got one big problem - how do I stop him chewing everything?

What a Mess!

2008-02-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

I decided to go down and play in my log cabin today - but when I got there, I was astonished by the scene that awaited me. Just inside the door it looked like something had been chewing the logs, and there was a big pile of wood shavings all over the front step. I had to go and borrow a brush to sweep it all up.

It didn't take long to clear up the mess, but what is bothering me is what on earth can have made it in the first place. I mean, rodents are the usual culprits when it comes to chewing stuff, but all the mice in the village say they haven't been to my cabin at all, and even the baby guinea pig has an alibi. So what's going on?

Digging up the Past

2008-01-30T12:51:00.000-08:00

I bet you thought that us pups only dig holes so that we can bury bones. Well not so - some of us are archaeologists now. Well one this one is anyway. I followed Endeavour round to the other side of the castle wall, and there was a whole team of people carefully digging and scraping away in a hole in the ground. At first, I thought they were all just playing it the muck, and, as that's a favourite thing amongst pups of all ages, I jumped in and started to scrabble around madly. I got quite a telling off, I can tell you. Apparently, Endeavour's detector had revealed signs that there might be hidden remains in this part of the castle, and I had pounced right into the trench where they were trying to find it. Apparently it's very bad form to jump into an archaeologist's trench without first acting permission, and even worse to start scrabbling with your forepaws and covering the site director in soil.

So I was feeling a rather sad and sorry pup when suddenly one of the team cried out. It turned out that my mad scrabbling had actually uncovered part of a low wall and that was just what they were looking for. As you can see from the picture, I was allowed to stay and help while they cleaned up and revealed the remains. It's all very interesting, and I hope we will soon know what it is we have found. Apparently the next stage in my training would involve wearing a striped jumper and meeting someone called Tony, but I'm not too sure about that. I'm not sure that I'm patient enough for this job!

School Trip Time

2008-01-26T13:22:00.001-08:00

Well, all the snow melted over the last two days, and we all thought that things were going to be a bit boring after the Winter Sports mayhem we'd all enjoyed. But when we got to school, Mrs Ewe announced that, because the snow had all cleared up we would now be able to go on a school trip. Mrs Ewe wouldn't tell us where we were going so as not to spoil the surprise.You can imagine how excited we all were when the coach stopped, and out of the windows we could see a real life castle!

Mrs Ewe led us up to the castle gate and told us some things about the history, but to be honest we all just wanted to climb up the towers and run around the battlements pretending to be knights and damsels in distress. So Mrs Ewe sent us off to let off steam, and she said we could do some history later.

After we had completed our mad half hour, I went down to have a look at the castle walls in more detail from the outside. After a few minutes, we met up with Endeavour Mouse, who was wondering along waving a very odd contraption just above the grass. I asked him what what its was, and he said it was a metal detector, and they are used for finding things hidden under the grass. He said that he was working in a team who search for hidden things to find out more about the past. So now we are going to meet the rest of the team to find out how to "dig for history".

My new home from home

2008-01-24T13:36:00.000-08:00

Just look what my friends have built for me! After school this afternoon, I was told to shut my eyes tight and hold paws with two of my friends while they led me to a "special place". When we got there I was told I could open my eyes, and when I did, I saw the most beautiful, perfect little log cabin, just like the ones we have at home. Not only that, they have even put a Canadian flag over the door! Now whenever I feel like a taste of home, I can just go and tea (waffles and maple syrup of course) with some of my friends in my very own log cabin. It's just about the best present ever and Mr Panda and Granpa Cat are very clever to have been able to build it themselves. back home, we have beavers to help, but I've never seen one round here.

Winter Sports for the Advanced Pup

2008-01-23T13:51:00.000-08:00

Now everybody had got used to basic stuff like snowmen, snowball fights and sledging, I decided that it was time to introduce my friends to the advanced stuff. I found some bits of wood and shaped them to points at the front, fastened them to welly boots, and hey presto, instant skis. With the addition of a pair of sticks as ski poles, I was off and away down the hill. Everyone looked very impressed as I zoomed down the slopes, and as I got used to my skis, I tried to show off - perhaps a little too much, as I fell off and landed in a big heap of snow. Everybody laughed, but I didn't mind - you can't learn anything without making some mistakes. Well, after I had done some more "learning", I started to get a bit cold and damp and we trudged off back to the the thatched cottage, where a lovely surprise was waiting - a nice hot cup of hot chocolate all round!

The funny thing is, although I have enjoyed playing in the snow, it is starting to make me a bit homesick for Labrador. It's not that I want to go back there - I'm having too much fun with my friends here. But sometimes I would just like to see some familiar things to remind me of home. I mentioned this to Grandpa Cat who lives in the thatched cottage, and he just nodded and said "Hmm, we'll have to see what we can do". I wonder what that could mean?

We've made a new friend

2008-01-21T11:41:00.000-08:00

This time we really have made a new friend! After we got tired of throwing snowballs at each other, we decided that the best thing to do would be to make a snowman. Everyone helped to collect snow and roll it up into a big pile for his body, and then a huge ball for his head. Then we needed a face. Eyes were easy - we found two pieces of coal and pushed them into the snow. The nose was a bit more of a problem until I trotted off to the stable and "borrowed" a carrot off Dougie the Donkey. He wasn't at all sure at first, but I promised to chop up a few apples into his feed, and, as he has such a sweet tooth, that persuaded him.

After we finished the snowman, the smaller animals were getting a bit tired, so I gave two of them a ride on the sledge. That may have been a mistake, as all the babies then insisted on having a ride. I mean, I know I'm a pup from Canada, but do I look like a husky? Anyway, I'm worn out now, so it's home to a nice warm bed. I hope the snow is still there tomorrow, as I want to try something else out.

It's snowed!!

2008-01-19T08:17:00.000-08:00

Sorry that I haven't been in touch for a while. The main reason is that it snowed a few days ago, and ever since then we have been far too busy having fun to worry about diaries or blogs.

Anyway, about the snow. I woke up on Tuesday morning and it seemed strangely bright - even through the curtains it seemed like there was a strange glow. I got up, threw the curtains open and squealed with excitement when I saw the scene. I rushed to tell the others about the snow, and we all rushed out without even stopping for breakfast. Of course, coming from Labrador, I'm very used to snow, but some of the other animals had never seen it before, and so didn't know what to do. Luckily, I was on hand to show them some games to play. First of all, though, mayhem broke out - nobody needs to be shown how to have a snowball fight. As you can see, a certain raccoon got hit right on the nose, but don't worry - he soon got his own back.

Anyway, I've got to go out and play again now, but I'll give you some more news tomorrow.

The best visitor ever!!

2007-12-28T03:41:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry I haven't had time to tell you all about our surprise visitor, but so much has happened in the last few days. The biggest excitement was on Christmas morning, when there was a funny jingling noise outside, and a knock on the door. When I opened it, in walked a bear with a huge white beard, a red suit and a huge sack of presents. For a few minutes there was total pandemonium as all the smaller animals rushed around getting wildly overexcited, but then Radish and another rabbit called Rachel got us all organised. All children had to form an orderly queue and wait to talk to Father Christmas (I expect you've guessed that's who it was). We let the babies go first as they can't really be orderly for very long. The amazing thing was that no matter how many children went to talk to him, Father Christmas never seemed to run out of presents. When it was my turn, I got a lovely aeroplane to play with, and I've been hurtling around with it ever since.

Happy Christmas to everyone, and I hope you had just as much fun as we did!

I've met Radish!

2007-12-24T01:45:00.000-08:00

Well, I have finally met the celebrity bunny that everyone has been talking about for the last few days. Her name is Radish and she was the star of a famous book by a lady called Jacqueline something. Anyway, she came home on the day of our last Nativity Play performance with lots of her friends, including an even bigger bunny called Elizabeth.

As it was our "last night" (as us theatrical types call it) we decided to have a big party right there on the stage. There were party hats and pop and cakes and even some special party games. I was so excited that I didn't even take my costume off and we all had a wonderful time.

The strange thing is that everyone is still saying that there is another special visitor expected. I mean, I've met Radish and Elizabeth - who could possibly be more exciting than that?

Someone Special is Coming Soon!

2007-12-10T12:30:00.000-08:00

When I got home after the Nativity Play yesterday, Mrs Squirrel had some very exciting news. Apparently someone very special is coming soon - a very famous literary rabbit. I don't know who she can mean, but apparently it is someone who has had even more adventures than me. On hearing this, we all went outside the front door to wait.

But then it started to rain. It's all right for squirrels, as they can shelter under their tails, but I tend to smell like a wet puppy when I get wet, so we all went back inside to wait. I do hope our special visitor comes soon!

It's Nativity Time

2007-12-09T09:39:00.000-08:00

Well, I found out why Mrs Ewe was so interested in where she could borrow some sheep and a donkey! It was all for the school Nativity play. I didn't think I would get one of the main roles as I'm a new pup, but when I explained that one my relatives back home in Canada is a sheepdog, she said that I could be one of the shepherds. That's me on the right in my arab headdress. Dougie the donkey has been very well behaved - although that could be because there is a bale of hay hidden at the back of the stage for him to munch on. In fact, we only had two problems through the whole performance.

First of all there was the baby panda. He wouldn't stop crying until we let him have his puppy toy to cuddle in the crib with him. It's not very authentic, but Mrs Ewe said that we could pretend that one of the three Kings had brought it as a present along with the Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.

The other problem was that pesky flock again. They were very well behaved at first, but one lamb decided he wasn't getting enough attention and went to get a cuddle from Mrs Ewe. that would have been fine except Mrs Ewe was playing the piano for our song at the time. Two paws are more than enough for playing a piano - believe me, you don't need a lamb's nose as well!

Never mind, everything was all right in the end. All the Mummies and Daddies seemed to enjoy the show, anyway.

Back to School

2007-12-06T11:49:00.000-08:00

Would you believe it? I finally find my perfect job and it's time to go back to school. My two week's work experience has finished and it's the classroom again for me. Still, it doesn't matter really, as the Donkey Sanctuary say I can go along any time I want to, and I have promised Dougie I'll go every day if I can.

School is very nice. Mrs Ewe, the teacher, is firm but nice, and all my friends are there as well, so I'm sure I will be happy. The best bit of the day is the end of the afternoon, when Mrs Ewe sits us all down and reads from her big story book. Some of the smaller animals tend to fall asleep at this point, but it has been a long day for them and nobody minds really.

Mrs Ewe said the strangest thing at going home time today. I was telling her about Dougie, and about how the sheep had invaded our football, and she just smiled and said "you knowing some sheep and donkeys might come in useful soon". What on earth can she mean?

My perfect job at last!

2007-12-03T12:13:00.000-08:00

At last I have found something I am really good at. Not many people even know that the Sylvanian Village has a donkey sanctuary. Well I do, and now I am now officially the chief donkey groom! The first donkey I am taking care of is called Dougie, who is a lovely grey donkey. He is very patient and stands nicely while I brush his fur and make sure he looks clean and healthy. Of course, the fact that he knows I have got carrots for treats does help quite a lot!

I have been given a wheelbarrow, some brushes and a big sack of oats for the donkeys, and a nice pair of green wellies to keep my paws nice and dry. Mucking out can be quite messy work, you know.

I do love looking after Dougie. The nicest bit of all is when I'm brushing the fur around his neck, and he leans his head around and snuggles up to me. I think I'm the luckiest puppy in the world!

Baking Day Upset

2007-12-02T10:23:00.001-08:00

Another day, another job to try. Today I had the chance to help out at the Sylvanian bakery, making cakes and bread for all the animals. It all started quite well with Miss Suzette and Grandma Rabbit helping me to make the pastry and dough. I did get a bit messy with all the flour and sugar and stuff, but that was mainly because the table is so high, and I was a bit wobbly standing on a chair. Eventually they gave me a little low table to work at, and everything went much better. Until, that is, it came to the time to take everything out of the oven. There wasn't much space to put everything down, and I thought that the safest place to put a plate of pies and croissants was on top of a small metal round thing.

I didn't know about pedal bins, or what happens when someone's paw accidentally steps on the pedal. Miss Suzette was very nice about it, and helped me clean it all up. Somehow, I don't think they'll be asking me back, though. I do hope I find a job I like soon - it's all getting a bit upsetting now.

All the Work and no Play...

2007-11-30T12:12:00.000-08:00

... makes Bobby a dull pup, so they say. I've been working hard all week, so we decided that Saturday is the day for a bit of a break. I love football, and so do lots of my new friends. We split into two teams (four animals on each side) and went down to the football pitch at Princess Elizabeth Park.

As if from nowhere, a whole flock of sheep appeared. Typical sheep, they decided that our grass was the best in the whole park, and they marched onto the pitch and started to graze. Well I don't know if you've ever tried to play football around a flock of sheep, but, believe me, it's not easy. They may not be fierce or aggressive, but they won't move out of the way, and they are very single minded when comes to munching the grass. Plus, they have no understanding at all of the offside rule.

After about 10 minutes we finally managed to persuade them to move to the sidelines and got the game underway at last. I think it helped that we've got a lamb on our team, so they decided to support us. Before long we were having a fantastic game, and guess what? I scored the winning goal!