Congratulations to University of Leicester MA Creative Writing graduate Constantine on the publication of his new book of short stories!
Constantine is an autistic author and father. He achieved a first-class B.A. at Middlesex University in 2017 and completed his Master's Degree at the University of Leicester in 2022. Between the two degrees he wrote four episodes of the Children's T.V. show Pablo and has written and published the picture book Tiya and the Minotaur and The Cats of Charnwood Forest and its sequel Jötunheim. He runs the not-for-profit publishers Coalville Community Publishers CIC, which concentrates on the central Midlands, and Midlands generally.
Tales of the Charnwood is eight bedtime stories about life on the Charnwood as recounted by a Vixen to her cubs. The book is set in the universe of The Cats of Charnwood Forest.
From Tales of the Charnwood
Chapter Four: Badgers.
The following evening, Vixen sat at the mouth of the den watching her cubs play for a few safe pre-dawn hours. She noticed that some of her darling children were teasing the smallest cub. Every family has someone who is the smallest, just as someone must be the biggest. Being a fox of the Charnwood, Vixen knew right from wrong and made plans to teach her cubs the difference.
She had a good store of stories at her command and soon remembered one that would suffice.
The story of the Friendly Badger.
Once her cubs had come back inside and had finished suckling, she began.
"Now, dear ones, I will tell you a story of a Badger. Some Badgers are okay in their own way, some have even been known to share a den with a fox and even be on talking terms; however, these are few and far between.
"Generally speaking, Badgers are grumpy and aggressive and quite scary, even when they’re on friendly terms, except for one. This is the story of the Friendly Badger."
***
A long time ago in the quiet of the forest, a litter of Badgers was born. As with every family, there was a biggest and a smallest; but while the smallest had a small body, he had the biggest heart.
He wasn’t so good at the rough-and-tumble games his siblings liked to play. He much preferred to sniff flowers, watch the stars, or talk to any creatures he happened to meet.
His own brothers and sisters were the first to tease him for his size and poor skill in wrestling contests. So, bit by bit, he started to avoid his siblings. Feeling lonely, he tried to make friends with the other night-time forest dwellers.
One night, he met a fox going about its business.
"Hello," said the Friendly Badger, "how are you?"
"Are you talking to me?" said the fox.
"Yes," said the Friendly Badger, "I’m hoping we can be friends."
The fox laughed at him.
"You can’t be a real Badger. Real Badgers aren’t friendly. You must be a rat with white stripes."
And from that night on every time the fox saw him, he would delight in saying something cruel.
On another night, the Badger came across a bat darting from tree to tree eating tiny insects.
"Hello," said the Friendly Badger, "how are you?"
"Are you talking to me?" said the bat.
"Yes," said the Friendly Badger, "I’m hoping we can be friends."
"Is this some sort of joke?" laughed the bat. "You’re more like a stripy bunny rabbit."
And from that day on, whenever the bat saw the Friendly Badger, he would laugh at him and make up new insults.
The Friendly Badger started to feel that maybe nobody would like him. Then, one evening, sitting on his own watching the stars, he heard a snuffling in the bushes. A moment later, a head appeared under the lower leaves; it was a young hedgehog.
"Hello," said the hedgehog, "what sort of creature are you?"
"I’m a badger," said the Friendly Badger. "Would you like to be friends?"
"Oh yes," said the hedgehog. "Do you like hide-and-seek?"
"Yes," said the Friendly Badger, "it’s one of my favourite games, but I’ve never had anyone to play with."
In no time at all, the pair were playing merrily and agreed to meet up the following night.
The next evening, when the Friendly Badger arrived at the meeting place, he was surrounded by a crowd of adult Hedgehogs, their spines quivering with anger. They shouted at him and chased him away, warning that they would hurt him if he came near their children again.
Every creature the Friendly Badger met hurt and rejected him. He didn’t understand why. He meant no harm to anyone, and yet everyone hurt him.
That autumn, he dug a new home (which for Badgers is called a sett) just for himself and went to sleep dreaming about all the horrible things people had said to him.
Now, when animals like Badgers hibernate, they often grow, and when he emerged in the spring, he had gone from being the smallest to one of the biggest Badgers the Charnwood had ever seen.
He was no longer the "Friendly Badger."
In the long winter, dreaming of all the horrid things those other creatures had said and done to him, his heart had frozen and would never thaw again. He sought out everyone who used to tease and bully him, and, one by one ... he ate them.
But even then, when those who had teased him were gone, and no creature dared come near, the horrible names stayed with him. He spent the rest of his days lonely, sad, and angry.
***
"You see, children," said the Vixen, pausing just long enough to make her cubs uncomfortable. "When you bully someone, everybody loses."
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