Deep in Hollow Wood, where the brambles curl and the moon peeks through the leaves, our story begins...
Bramble found Old Oakley exactly where he usually was at this time of day — sitting outside his set with his back against a moss-covered oak, eyes half-closed in the morning sun.
"Good morning, young Bramble," said Oakley without opening his eyes.
Bramble wondered how the badger always knew who was coming. Perhaps it was the sound of his paws, or the way he rustled through the leaves.
"Good morning, Mr Oakley," said Bramble. He sat down beside him, not quite sure how to begin. "I wanted to ask you something."
Oakley opened one eye. "Go on, then."
"What's actually inside the Dark Hollow?"
The badger opened both eyes now. He looked at Bramble for a long moment, then gazed out towards the trees. "Ah," he said quietly. "That's the question, isn't it?"
"Everyone else just walks through," said Bramble. "Hazel says it's only shadows and tree trunks. But it feels like more than that."
"Does it?" said Oakley.
"Yes," said Bramble. "It feels like... I don't know. Something big."
Old Oakley nodded slowly. "Some things," he said, "you have to go and see for yourself. No one else's answer will do."
Bramble felt his spines droop a little. That wasn't what he'd hoped to hear.
Oakley must have noticed, because he leaned forward. "But I'll tell you something useful," he said. "When something feels too big to face all at once, make it smaller. Count your steps. Just three. See what happens."
"Three steps?" said Bramble.
"Three steps in," said Oakley. "Then you can come straight back out if you like. No one says you have to cross it today."
After Bramble left, he thought about what Oakley had said all the way back to the edge of the Dark Hollow. Three steps didn't sound like very much. Three steps was nothing, really.
He stood at the place where the sunlight ended and the shadows began.
One.
His paw touched the darker ground.
Two.
The air felt cooler here.
Three.
He could still see the sunny path behind him, still hear a robin singing somewhere to his left. Nothing had changed. Nothing had happened.
Bramble turned round and stepped back into the light, his heart beating just a little faster than usual.
Three steps. He'd done it.
He felt secretly rather pleased with himself as he trotted back towards his stump, already thinking about telling Hazel — or perhaps not telling her, perhaps keeping it to himself for now, his own small victory.
He didn't notice Pip sitting very still beneath a nearby fern, watching him with wide, curious eyes.
And as Hollow Wood grew quiet and the stars came out to watch, it was time to rest — until tomorrow's tale.