Max the Mole and the Great Tunnel Rescue

Chapter 1: Team Work

In a hilly meadow called Burrowby, there lived a young mole named Max. Max was a fine digger, one of the best in the meadow, and he knew it.

"I don't need anybody's help," he liked to say, puffing out his chest. "I dig faster alone."

When Rosie the rabbit offered to help him clear a tunnel, he said, "No thanks, I'll do it myself." When Barnaby the badger suggested they plan the new burrow together, Max waved him off. "Too many diggers spoil the dirt."

Max did work quickly. But he also worked in the dark, bumped into walls, and often dug in circles, because he had never asked anyone to check his direction.

One stormy afternoon, the sky rumbled and rain poured down in sheets. Water seeped into the meadow, and the ground began to shake.

RUMBLE... CRASH!

A section of the hillside slid down and blocked the main tunnel of Burrowby. Inside, a family of young field mice was trapped, huddled in the dark and frightened.

The whole meadow gathered at the mouth of the tunnel. Everyone looked worried.

"I can fix this!" Max declared. "I'm the best digger here."

He dove in headfirst, and soil flew in every direction. He dug and dug until his claws ached. But the more he dug, the more the loose dirt tumbled back down behind him, sliding into the tunnel he had just cleared. After an hour, he had barely made progress, and he was muddy, exhausted, and out of breath.