The Incredible Journey

The next morning, Bodger rises stiffly from his slumber. He hears Tao crunching upon some freshly-caught prey and hopes that he will share his kill. However, the cat leaves only a pile of inedible feathers in his wake. After taking a drink of water from the creek, Bodger returns in desperation to the pile of feathers, eating it in order to gain some sustenance. The feathers only stick to his throat and he must retch them back out. He settles for some foraged blades of grass and wild raspberries, which do nothing to truly satiate his hunger. Luath soon leads the charge to continue the journey, and all three animals proceed onwards.

Bodger journeys for as long as his body will allow him. He eventually reaches such a point of exhaustion that he collapses on the forest floor. His two companions try to rouse him, but eventually leave his prone body in order to explore the surrounding area on their own. While Luath is hungry too, killing goes against his nature.

While Bodger lays unguarded, a bear cub happens upon him. Bodger only has the strength to curl his lips into a snarl—he cannot do anything else to deter the cub from molesting him.