Little Josh & The Eerie Winds of Winter

Excerpt from 'Little Josh & The Eerie Winds of Winter'

Apparently, that summer had been the hottest on record.

It had certainly been the most enjoyable time that Little Josh could ever remember. But the endless dry spell had become quite a concern amongst the elder mice in the surrounding community.

The collective opinion was that too much of a good thing could lead to disaster. And on each gloriously scorching day the real doom-mongers, who lived in the murky depths of the lower valley, had insisted that the intense buildup of hot air would create an insufferable storm that would, inevitably, cause nothing but misery.

But as far as Little Josh was concerned, he simply adored those long hot days of idle pleasure. He wasn't interested in 'misery' or 'disaster'.

To tell the truth, he didn't know what those words really meant. And as far as 'insufferable storm' well... Little Josh had never ever seen a storm in his entire life.

As far as he was concerned it could never happen, because, since the day he was born the sun had always shone... without fail.

You see, Little Josh was a bundle of joy. He was a multi coloured grey, cuddly ball of fluff, with a happy smiling face and a tail that just wouldn't stop flapping around like a wagging dog. The only thing he was interested in was having a good time. Oh, and he did like to giggle... a lot.

But Little Josh simply couldn't get enough of lazing around under that hot baking sun from morn till, well... till he couldn't take any more leisurely recreation. And, usually, by around mid afternoon he would reach that wonderful moment of total relaxation where there was only one thing he could possibly do... fall into a deep, deep sleep and snore away, contentedly, for the rest of the day.

Although, come to think of it, it had been the only summer that Little Josh had ever known; even so, he was sure that it had to be the best summer ever.

However, during the middle of the day, when the sun was at its highest point, boredom would sometimes kick in and Little Josh would be ready for a little mischief. So he'd hitch a lift up the steep slope on the back of the farmer's cart. At the very top, he'd jump off the rickety old cart and curl himself up into a very tight ball. After psyching himself up for a moment or two, then with a very fast count of one-two-three, and a slight nudge off of the stump of the old oak tree with his back legs, he'd roll back down that slope with sheer joy.

Chuckling out loud, over and over again he'd tumble like an out of control bowling ball. Of course, he'd flatten the long grass in his wake and crash and bash anything and everything that got in his way. But he did have to avoid the ever so horrid stinging-nettles.

However, once he'd navigated past that ever so dangerous obstacle he'd go faster and faster and faster still, down that slope, until the ground leveled off and he'd come to a totally exhausted halt. Little Josh would always end up flat on his back with a huge belly laugh. In fact, he'd laugh and laugh his little head off until he could laugh no more. But after a moment of silence he'd start chuckling again, not just to himself, but out loud. Oh, yes, he'd have the best time ever with not a care in the world. And why should he worry? There had never been anything for Little Josh to be worried about.

But one evening, whilst the entire family, including Little Josh's parents and older brothers and sisters and cousins and distant relatives and waifs and strays and various lodgers who came and went, were sipping cocoa, Little Josh's father told them all a horrid tale about 'The Eerie Winds of Winter' and how they would gobble up anything and anyone who stood in their way.

And true enough. When The Eerie Winds of Winter suddenly picked up, and howled like a thousand hungry wolves, Little Josh immediately dived underneath the bedclothes for safety.

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