Otter Chaos! by Michael Broad Page A

sharing one small chamber between the five of them. And they were squabbling so ferociously they missed Papa’s big news. He pressed his paws either side of his whiskers and yelled it again at the top of his voice.
    â€œWE’RE MOVING HOME!” he boomed.
    Grandma Maple and Grandpa Bruno snapped awake, while Woody, Beanie, Nutmeg, Chestnut and Coco fell silent for a whole two seconds before they all leapt forward to ask the same question.
    â€œCan I have my own room?” they pleaded. “PLEEEEEEASSSE!”
    â€œYes,” smiled Papa Brown. “You may have your own chamber.”
    â€œWho?” asked Beanie and Woody, wondering which of their siblings they would no longer have to share with. “Who’s getting their own room?”
    â€œI should get it!” said Chestnut. “Nutmeg snores!”
    â€œI should get it!” said Nutmeg. “Chestnut farts!”
    â€œI should get it!” demanded Coco. “I’m the eldest and by far the prettiest!”
    â€œActually, all five of you will have your own chambers,” Papa smiled proudly. “And there will be one for me and Mama, and another for Grandma and Grandpa, and one left over!”
    Now he had his family’s undivided attention, Papa Brown told everyone about the enormous den he’d found abandoned upstream, waving his paws about as he described the grand scale and sprawling layout of their brand-new home. It was called Cottonwood Lodge and was a mud-caked mansion compared to the cramped conditions they currently lived in. They would be swapping three small chambers with three narrow connecting tunnels for eight large chambers with a network of six wide tunnels, and an indoor splash pool, and mooring pad, and a mudslide and storage galore!

    â€œWho used to live there?” asked Mama Brown, eyes glazing over as she began mentally decorating with sludge, twigs and the finest moss, while allocating chambers and stores for their supplies.
    â€œI found out from a passing river rat that the lodge belonged to a beaver and his wife and their ten little kits,” said Papa. The otters gathered round, bright eyes sparkling as they imagined their new home. “He built extension after extension as his family grew, but eventually there were just too many children to fit, so they had to move on.”
    â€œThat was one busy beaver!” said Mama Brown.
    â€œWhen are we going?” asked Coco. She was keen to have her own room where she could tend to her appearance all day long, away from annoying brothers and sisters who rubbed her fur up the wrong way.
    â€œWith prime property like that we don’t want anyone else moving in, so there’s no time to lose,” said Papa. “We will head off first thing in the morning, which means you should all get an early night.”
    There was a snuffle from the corner of the chamber where Grandpa Bruno and Grandma Maple had already made a head start, having fallen asleep in a cosy cuddle.
    â€œThere’s a lot of packing to do,” said Mama. “So we’ll be relying on you all to be responsible for your own bedding and anything else you want to take with us.”
    â€œYes, Mama!” the otters said excitedly and dashed off to gather their few belongings before their last night of sharing a chamber. And for the first time ever there were no arguments between the brothers and sisters because they were too excited about the new home. They were all lost in their own thoughts about what their new chambers would be like.
    Coco imagined sitting in her room, smoothing her fur dreamily.
    Chestnut imagined a room with no Nutmeg and no snoring.
    Nutmeg imagined a room with no Chestnut and no farting.
    And Beanie imagined daydreaming all day and having midnight feasts on her own.
    Woody simply looked forward to having his own space, a place without warring twins or a vain big sister who was always in a mood. Beanie was no trouble at all, but