The teacher crouched down, brushing away the heavy, powdery drift with a gloved hand, but there was no sign of the trail markers. Around them, the forest had gone completely silent, muffled by the massive blanket of white. "Don't panic," the teacher said.The class reached a small wood cabin, that survived many wildfires. The cabin was covered with snow. they heard noise and they dug.And there it was! The cabin! Mrs.Willow knocked on the door. The class waited for 5 minutes. The teacher knocked again. The door opened. There was a hedgehog hoglet, named Jordan. Another hoglet named Marie. A rabbit named Shannon and another rabbit named Tiffany and there was a rabbit named Benjamin and more hedgehogs and rabbit children. "Have you lost your way in the snow? Come in, quick! Before the wind gets in!" Jordan the hoglet said, stepping aside and holding the heavy wooden door wide open. Mrs. Willow ushered the shivering class inside one by one. As the door clicked shut, the howling wind and biting cold faded into a muffled hum. The inside of the cabin was wonderfully warm, heated by a crackling stone fireplace that cast a golden glow across the room. A large pot of vegetable soup simmered on the hearth, filling the air with a comforting smell. Shannon and Tiffany quickly helped the newcomers unbundle their heavy coats and peel off their wet snow boots, stacking them neatly by the hearth to dry. Benjamin rolled out a stack of thick, knitted woolen blankets, inviting everyone to wrap up and sit close to the fire. "We heard you digging out by the porch," Marie said, handing Mrs. Willow a steaming mug of hot tea. "We were worried nobody would make it through the drift today. Are you all okay?" Mrs. Willow smiled, taking a sip of the tea. "We lost our maps under four feet of snow, but thanks to you all, we've found a much better place to weather the storm." The bilbies, finally warm and safe, huddled together with Jordan, Marie, Shannon, Tiffany, Benjamin, and the other children, listening to the crackle of the fire as the snow continued to fall outside. "So," Jaime the little rabbit said. "Where are your guardians? You know, Parents?" The children's smiles turned to frowns. "Well, We don't have any, we cook ourselves." Marie said. This cabin was built by us and we had a little help from bears, and badgers." "Weeeeeeeeeeee'rre okay though, we can cook." The door creaked open, and Tori the badger came in. She had cheesecakes in her hands. "Cheescakes!" Felix and Zoey squealed. "I cooked this cheescakes." Tori said. Jaime was very happy. She said to Tori, "So you know these children?" Tori said "Yep. I found each other in a storm. Hurricane Leo? I couldn't find shelter, so I sat under a tree. Then, Marie and Jordan came along and helped! We became friends." Jason, Ocean and Kristen eagerly grabbed the cheesecakes from the table.Max and Rascal, still looking thoroughly disgruntled and smelling faintly of damp pine needles, sat sulkily in the corner. They refused the wool blankets Benjamin offered, preferring to shiver in pride rather than accept comfort from the younger residents. But even Max couldn't keep his eyes off the cooling racks of food. Tori the badger strolled over to the hearth, balancing a fresh tray of warm, golden-brown apple pastries she had just pulled from a side oven. "Who wants more cheesecakes?"Tori said. The dormice, Felix and Zoey, scrambled forward so fast they looked like fuzzy little tumbleweeds. "We do! We do! And we promise we didn't steal anything this time!" Felix squeaked defensively, earning a gentle laugh from Jordan the hoglet. "No stealing required," Jordan smiled, handing each of them a pastry. "We share everything out here. Living in the deep woods means you learn pretty quickly that teamwork beats trying to hoard all the snacks."
The blizzard was still happening and school was off. The snow was deeper now with 7 feet. Jordan and the others made some hot chocolate and announced " We are going out. Tori will watch." The lynx finally arrived. The lynx named Cary sat down."And Cary too." Marie said with a chuckle. Go out? In seven feet of snow? Don't like it.
