Moley’s Wild Ride:

In the quiet corner of Oakwood Forest, beneath the roots of a crooked old oak tree, lived a small mole named Moley. Unlike the other moles who enjoyed digging slow, neat tunnels, Moley was obsessed with speed. He dreamed of breaking burrowing records, zooming through the dirt like a rocket, and discovering the secrets buried deep underground.

Moley had spent years tinkering in his burrow, building what he called the Burrow Blaster 3000—a dirt-powered, mole-sized digging machine with spinning claws, spring-loaded wheels, and turbo boosters made from repurposed squirrel acorn caps. Most of the forest critters thought he was nuts. But Moley didn’t care. He was ready to ride.

On the morning of his big test run, Moley donned his goggles, tightened his scarf, and stepped into the cockpit of the Burrow Blaster 3000. He flipped a few switches, pulled a rusty lever, and with a whoosh, the machine came to life.

“Today,” he said to himself, “we ride like the wind. Underground.”

The boosters ignited, and Moley was off. Dirt exploded behind him as he tore through the earth like never before. Worms peeked out from their holes in astonishment, and a family of startled beetles was sent tumbling by the shockwave of his passing.

“Woohoo!” Moley cried. “Now this is digging!”

The ride was smooth at first, but as Moley sped deeper into the earth, things started to get... complicated. The soil grew rockier, darker, and suddenly, the tunnel ahead veered sharply downward.

Before he could react, the Burrow Blaster plunged into a steep underground shaft. Moley screamed—half in fear, half in thrill—as he spiraled down into the unknown.

When the machine finally leveled out, Moley found himself in a part of the forest no mole had ever seen. The tunnel walls glowed with strange crystals, and odd echoes bounced around the chambers.

“Huh,” Moley said. “Where am I?”

Suddenly, the ground shook. A loud rumbling noise filled the tunnel.

RUMBLE... RUMBLE... ROAR!

From behind, a massive creature emerged—it was a Tunnel Toad, a legendary beast said to live deep below the surface, feeding on lost diggers and root vegetables. Its slimy body squelched as it slid toward Moley, eyes glowing green, tongue flicking.

“Not good! NOT GOOD!” Moley shouted.

He hit the boosters. The Burrow Blaster rocketed forward, barely dodging the toad’s snapping jaws. The chase was on.

Moley swerved through narrow crevices, darted past glowing mushroom fields, and even jumped a chasm filled with underground lava worms. But the Tunnel Toad was relentless, smashing through walls and slurping closer.

As Moley raced ahead, he spotted a strange, ancient archway in the distance—an old molefolk ruin with carvings and crumbling stonework. Maybe there was a way out through there!

He crashed through the entrance and found himself in a forgotten chamber filled with ancient mole statues and a massive stone wheel.

“A puzzle?” he groaned. “Now?!”

The toad slammed into the entrance behind him, trying to force its way through. Moley scanned the symbols on the wheel—each one showing a different kind of mole: the digging mole, the blind mole, the sun mole, and… the speed mole.

“Of course!” he realized. He spun the wheel to the symbol of the speed mole, then slammed the Burrow Blaster’s claw into a nearby stone panel.

The chamber shook. A hidden door opened in the wall ahead, revealing a glowing, spiral tunnel upward—an escape route!

“See ya, sucker!” Moley shouted, zooming through the new tunnel just as the toad lunged. The creature hit the wall with a splat and slid down, dazed.

As the Burrow Blaster climbed higher, the walls shimmered with ancient energy. The ride was smoother now, almost guided. Within moments, Moley burst through a patch of soft earth and flew out into daylight, landing in a pile of leaves near his home.

Silence.

Then—CRASH!—the Burrow Blaster collapsed in a puff of smoke. It was totaled, but Moley was grinning ear to ear.

Forest animals emerged from the bushes, eyes wide. “What happened?” asked a squirrel. “You were gone for hours!”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Moley said, brushing dirt from his fur. “But let’s just say... it was one wild ride.”

From that day on, Moley was no longer just the odd tinkerer. He was a legend. The mole who outran the Tunnel Toad, discovered the lost mole ruins, and returned with stories of shimmering tunnels and ancient puzzles.

And though his Burrow Blaster was broken, Moley was already sketching plans for the Burrow Blaster 4000.

“Faster. Stronger. Wilder,” he muttered, pencil in paw.

Because once you’ve had a wild ride... you’ll always want another.