Temperate+Deciduous+Forest+Fiction

 **// The Forest Race //** = “Ladies and germs, mammals and reptiles, welcome to the annual Forest Race. I’m your host, Goldie the Goldfinch.” Dash the deer heard Goldie announce from his perch high up in a nearby tree. =

=== “Competing in this race is Ruby the Redbelly Snake –” Goldie paused for applause but instead got a wave of silence and an eruption of small boo’s coming from an angry mob of mice nearby for Ruby had accidentally eaten the Mayor of the Mice a few months ago. “And Dash the Magnificent!” Now the forest was filled with hoots and hollers for every living creature in the Temperate Deciduous Forest loved Dash the Deer. “Alright, let the race begin! Contestants, take your places. Get set! GO!” One of the hawks above let out a piercing screech to indicate the beginning of the race and they were off. Dash steered off to a path on the left and Ruby slithered to the right. === =     =



After twenty minutes of nonstop prancing, Dash was quickly loosing his energy. He figured that Ruby was far behind him so he stopped to take a rest in the middle of the clearing. As he began to close his eyes, he noticed something to the left of him. He walked toward it and sniffed it. There, on the forest floor, was a curious looking fungus growing on a piece of herbivore dung. Dash had heard about this type of fungus called the Dung Cannon, which was in the process of decomposing the dung into soil. Now, in the new dirt, four small plants were growing.

“What are you doing?” Asked Dash as he circled the Dung Cannon fungus.

“My job,” The fungus explained to Dash. “I decompose the dung of herbivores so that new plants can grow, such as these,” He gestured toward the four small plants.

Dash stared longingly as the fresh greens. “May I eat them?” Dash stuttered. All he could think about now was the yummy plants crunching between his teeth instead of his tired legs.

“Go right ahead, I have no use for them,” The fungus encouraged and Dash gobbled them up. Little did he know, there was a pesky roundworm in the decomposed dirt that he had just plucked the plants out of. Now it was inside of him. He began to gain his energy back and sprinted down the path, suspecting that Ruby was still far behind in the race. But Dash was very wrong. Ruby, thinking that Dash was far ahead of her, pushed herself to slither faster. Soon she grew so tired she collapsed and rested on the ground, giving up. How would she ever be able to beat Dash the Magnificent? He was just to fast for a Redbelly snake like her.

But all of a sudden, she heard a crock. It grew louder and louder and soon appeared in front of her. There, in her reach, was a Firebelly Toad. This gave Ruby hope and encouragement because with this food, she could gain enough strength to push all the way to the finish line. She devoured the toad and slithered down the path with regained hope and energy.

The crowd cheered as Dash pranced toward the finish line, his body weakening. He dropped to the ground in agony and tired to inch toward the finish line.

“Here’s our winner, folks. Ruby the Redbelly Snake!” Dash heard Goldie announce.

Dash never made it to the finish line for he had been killed by the roundworm. Now every year the Forest Race is held in memory of the fierce Dash the Magnificent.

Jaycie D. BiomesThird10

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