Once Upon a Forest 1993

In the meadow called Dapplewood, a small, brave band of young creatures—Abigail Ellen Blain, a mouse; Edgar Benji Gregory, a mole; Russell Paige Gosney, a hedgehog; and Michelle Elisabeth Moss, a young badger—are students of their uncle, Cornelius Michael Crawford. Under his patient guidance, they explore the woods and learn how to look after their home. One day, while Cornelius leads them on a hike, they stray toward a road and a tense sequence unfolds: Russell narrowly dodges a car as a glass bottle tumbles from a window. Moments later, a poison-gas truck rumbles into view, its tire punctured by the broken bottle, sending the vehicle skidding and releasing a deadly cloud that begins to spread through the forest while the driver hurries away to seek help.

The gas devastates Dapplewood, and panic threads through the young friends. Michelle rushes toward her house, pleading for her parents, but the toxic fumes creep inside first. Abigail follows and helps pull Michelle from danger, only to find that Michelle’s parents have already perished. At his home, Cornelius speaks of a past encounter with similarly spreading gas, recounting how he and his sister were forced to flee and leave their parents behind. To save Michelle, the Furlings must gather Lung-wort and Eye-bright—herbal remedies that could heal the damage—but the plants near their meadow have been destroyed, so they must seek a new meadow and return with the herbs within two days.

On their journey, Abigail, Edgar, and Russell are soon tested by danger and wonder alike. At night, a monstrous one-eyed barn owl stalks them across an open field, briefly capturing Abigail before she escapes his nest. At dawn, they encounter a flock of wrens preparing to say goodbye to a young wren whose feet are stuck in a mud puddle; Edgar devises a plan to free him, and the rescue succeeds, earning the wrens’ cheerful celebration.

Their guide Phineas explains that the meadow lies beyond the land of the yellow dragons—an ominous construction site filled with heavy machinery. The trio must escape the site, slipping through a sewer grate to safety and emerging at a tranquil pond beside another meadow. They quickly locate a field full of Eye-bright, but Lung-wort sits high on a treacherous cliff. A spark of ingenuity strikes when Russell uncovers Cornelius’s flying-machine designs, and the friends decide to build the real thing. As they take off, Abigail Ellen Blain volunteers to climb out on the wing to grab the herb as they pass. She loses her balance momentarily, and Edgar Benji Gregory saves her from a fall. Though the Lung-wort seems out of reach, Edgar spots it snagged on the wing and they press on toward home.

A storm lashes their return, and the trip ends with a crash landing in the woods. They stagger into Cornelius’s home with the precious herbs, only to glimpse humans outside the window and scramble to safety through the back door. Edgar becomes separated and is caught in an animal trap, but Cornelius and his friends spring into action: they free Edgar, discard the trap, and declare the area clean once more.

The remedy is applied to Michelle, who lies unresponsive the next day. A single tear from Cornelius falls upon her, and she is revived, to everyone’s relief. Cornelius, astonished by the sight of the newly built flying machine, recognizes how much Abigail, Edgar, and Russell have grown during their perilous journey. The surviving residents of Dapplewood eventually return, and the three young friends are joyfully reunited with their families. Cornelius offers to take in Michelle, symbolizing a renewed sense of unity and cooperation among all the creatures who still must work together to protect their shared home.