On a bleak grey mountaintop at the edge of the world there lived a badger. To his friends he was known as Coley the Snuffler. That was his name. Coley the Snuffler liked his name because it described him very well. He loved roots and grubs and he could snuffle them out better than any other badger around. In fact he was so good he was quite round, even for a badger. But he didn’t mind.
“All the more for you to love” he’d say and waddle off, chuckling to himself. His friends chuckled also, for they loved Coley very much indeed.
Coley’s best friend in the whole wide world was Daisy. He was very pleased to have such a beautiful little flower as a friend and he minded her well. She was, after all, much smaller and far more delicate than him. With his soft warm coat he sheltered her from the cold winds that gusted down the rocky slopes of his home. With his broad grey nose he pushed pebbles around her to protect her slender stem. With his great wide feet he dug up the richest loam on the hillside and placed it at her roots to nourish her and with his great grey bulk he stood, like a wall, between her and any strange animals that chanced to pass that way in case they crushed her. At night when Coley rested between snuffles he sat beside Daisy and gazed at her beauty. Though asleep Daisy would feel the great heat radiating from him. It was so pleasant she’d uncurl her little petals to bask in his warmth. And they talked. They talked as only true friends can, heedless of the glances of passing animals who thought they were a most peculiar sight indeed.
The Burren and Beyond 