The Forest ranger

Mark

It was 9am when Sam woke up. He was happy because it was weekend because if it wasn't, he would have already been in school and he would have slept 2 hours shorter, and he wasn't really a morning person. He followed his morning routine, which consisted of simple tasks like brushing his teeth and making his bed, but even those simple tasks felt like he was put to work in a coal mine. He never felt such a need to just go out and forget about those everyday stuff, and take a long long walk through the forest. He remembered all that stuff he saw yesterday, and just knew he had to share it with someone, so he invited his best friend Mark for a walk in the park near to their homes. After a 10 minutes of convincing him, (it was early, and Mark wasn't a morning person either) Mark accepted the invite with the condition that his dog had to go with them. Sam didn't like Mark's dog Blacky, he was big and black and Sam always said he smelled like fish, which wasn't true at all because Blacky hated fish more than anything in the world, even more than cats, which he loved to chase around the neighbourhood. When he arrived to place where he and Mark arranged to meet, Sam happily greeted Mark, but then Blacky jumped on him and tried to lick his face, since he loved Sam, even though Sam didn't share his feelings. Sam pushed Blacky away and told Mark to keep him away from him. Mark wasn't happy that Sam didn't like his dog, so they had a short argument, and after Sam unhappily apologised to Mark, they went to the park. They were talking about their favorite movie, Lord of the Rings, and as they were arguing about why the eagles couldn't throw the Ring in the flames of Mount Doom themselves, a dog appeared before them. This dog wasn't friendly as Blacky was, and he was atleast 30 centimeters taller. It had big round head and big, muscular body. It was a rottweiler, and he was growling at them and showing his big, yellow teeth that looked like they were atleast as big as a kitchen knife, which in reality wasn't the case, but they sure did look terrifying. Boys looked at the dog and saw that he has no collar, which meant that they can't count on his owner to save them. Sam and Mark stood there, petrified in fear while they watched the big, scary dog growling and barking and coming closer and closer to them. As the dog attempted to jump, the boys turned their backs and started running from it, but they knew they had no chance in outrunning that dog. But then something happened. They heard another bark, very familiar bark and then a whimper that came from rottweiler. They turned to look what is happening, and they saw Blacky barking and growling at the other dog that now didn't look scary, he got almost to the ground with his ears down, and then turned and ran away in the street. Sam was amazed, and he had the feeling that he has to thank Blacky for saving him, so he crouched and first pat him on his head, then gave him a hug, and said that he will never think bad of him again. Blacky seemed happy, and he jumped on Sam to lick his cheek, but this time, Sam did not stop him. From that moment on, Sam and Blacky were very good friends. Then they continued their journey to the park. After 5 minutes, they arrived to the park and then Sam started telling Mark the wonders he saw in the forest. When he came to the part with the fox, Mark told Sam that he saw fox once in the zoo, but that fox was small and was more yellow than orange, and she lived in desert. Sam seemed amazed by the fact that there are more species of that amazing animal, and he wanted to know all about them. After a short walk through the park, they saw a forest ranger, and he asked them what they were doing alone. They told him that they want to see all the secrets forest has to unveil, and ranger smiled at them and asked them if they want him to join them and tell them more about the forest. They gladly accepted, and absorbed every word he had to tell them. He told them about the different kinds of trees, about the mighty oaks, and gentle and elegant birch trees, he told them about mushrooms that grew from the trees or ground after rain, and about all the kinds of animals that could be found in the forest, some of which sounded truly magical. A squirrel that can fly? A insect that looks so much like a stick that a whole army could have passed by, knowing he was there, and couldn't notice it because of his perfect mimicry. Sam never could have imagined such an amazing creatures existed, just waiting for him to discover them. They could walk and listen to the ranger for hours, but the night was falling, and they told their parents that they will be home before night falls, so they said goodbye to the ranger, and told him that they will come back again. The ranger was happy about it, because not a lot of kids would rather spend their sunday in the park than watching movies or playing games. He thought to himself: "What a great forest guardians they could become, they just need guidance".