Cieren is a badger his name is Welsh and is pronounced Keeran. He was born in the Brecon Beacons in South Wales. He had been very happy living with his family there, until one day the badgers heard farmer Jones tell his son that the badgers carried a disease and would have to be driven off the land. Cieren`s family shared the fields with the cows; they ate the same grass and snuffled around quite happily, unaware that they were passing a disease to the cows. The badger family decided to leave. They said their goodbyes and set off the following day.

Cieren knew of an abandoned fox lair, beneath an old oak tree and decided to head there, and sleep until evening.

Finding the lair snug and dry, he curled himself into a tight ball and fell fast asleep. The owl screeched! He woke Cieren, remembering where he was he knew he had to start his journey. He snuffled and grunted until he reached the entrance of the lair. "Which way do I travel?" thought Cieren . He decided to follow his nose . Badgers are shortsighted so it was a good idea! He grunted, shuffled and sniffed for many many miles, sleeping in old holes along the way. Until one evening Cieren found himself in a large field. Cieren scratched and stretched, feeling tired and hungry. He looked around and saw a small wood . Cieren did not know he had reached North Wales and the wood he saw was named Glaslyn Wood. " Glaslyn " means river. And beyond the wood ran the River Glaslyn! If you stand on the edge of Glaslyn Wood, you will see the highest mountain in Wales called Snowdon.

Of course Cieren being a badger did not know where he was, but he liked the look of the place and decided to hang around. 

There are two ways to enter Glaslyn Wood. One way is to open the gate and cross the little wooden bridge. The other is to dig under the fence. Cieren (being a badger) had to dig under the fence. Cieren realized with dismay he was standing on the wrong side of the field. His way was blocked by a large ditch full of water and gooey mud. 

How will Cieren reach the safety of Glaslyn Wood?

To be continued...