It was a warm sunny day in Animaland. But something was wrong.
Buz the beaver had lost his special log. It was special because it had a carving of his mother on it. So poor Buz went to find his friends and see if they could help him search.
He found them all playing by the river.
"Sorry, Buz, I was just about to play with my new space rocket model," said Bandit the raccoon."
"Sorry Buz, I was just about to start my swimming games," said Downey the duck.
"Sorry, Buz, I promised Barney I'd do some racing with him, but I thought I saw your log down by the Great Pine Tree, you could go there and look for it on the way," said Tundra the wolf.
So Buz set off, feeling a little disappointed that his friends wouldn't help him because they wanted to play. Then Buz began his walk to the Great pine Tree and his search for his special log.
A quarter of the way there, he spotted a rare plant.
"Tundra would love this for his garden collection," thought Buz, so he picked it up and walked on.
Half the way to the Great Pine, Buz noticed a pretty pheasant feather on the ground and he picked it up.
"This feather would complete Downey's collection," he thought. "I'm getting very lucky today." Buz put the feather in his pocket and carried on.
When he reached the Great Pine Tree, not only did he find his precious carved log, but also a beautiful shiny pebble that was bluish in color.
"Bandit will love this," Buz said to himself, putting the pebble into his pocket. He picked up his special log and turned for home.
When he got back to the others, Buz showed his friends what he had found.
"It's perfect, can I have it?" cried Downey, when he saw the feather.
"I love that pebble, can I have it?" cried Bandit.
"That's the exact plant I've been looking for, can I have it?" cried Tundra.
"Nope," said Buz.
Silence fell.
"But...but..." stammered Bandit.
"You didn't help me find my special log, just because you wanted to play. If you think about it, you don't really deserve any of these things I found," Buz explained. Then he left his astonished friends and headed on home.
"You know, Buz is right," said Tundra, breaking the five minutes of silence that had followed Buz leaving. "Hey I've got an idea! Downey, would you mind drawing a picture of me, you, Bandit, and Buz playing together, since you're the best at drawing? Then we could go to Buz, present him with it, and say we're sorry!"
"Great idea Tundra," said Downey. So they got to work.
When Buz was presented with the picture and his friends had apologized, Buz rushed into the house to fetch the plant, pebble and feather for his friends! As for the picture, it was framed and put on the wall, and everyone was happy!!!!

Story Contest 10 Runner Ups:
Elaine, Age 5, Abingdon, MD
Joey, Age 6, Elmwood Park, IL
Samuel, Age 8, Lonaconing, MD
Samantha, Age 9, Melbourne Australia
Madeline, Age 10, Philpot, KY
Alyssa, Age 12, Peosta, IA
Jonathan, Age 13, Porterville, CA
Stine, Age 13, Hjoerring, Denmark
Matthew, Age 13, San Bernardino, CA
Amber, Age 14, Troy, MO

Thank You to all the Animaland Story Contest Participants!