Claire lived in the woods of Wisconsin. She was an outdoors type of person who especially loved skiing and animals.

The Koala was her favorite animal even though this is not an animal that lives in Wisconsin. In all her adventures in the forest Claire had never encountered a Koala, but she did see many bear, deer, squirrel, and birds. Claire's uncle Pedro had taught her to love the woods and animals when they jogged together in the woods around Claire's home.

One day when Claire was sitting in the den playing on her computer, she heard a noise outside the window. Claire went to look outside to see what was there. When she looked, she saw somebody scurrying away into the dense undergrowth of the forest. Claire thought it must be Uncle Pedro. He liked to go for a run about this time every day. He seemed to enjoy listening to the sounds of wildlife. Claire thought a minute and decided this sounded like a good way to pass some time, so she put her tennis shoes on and ran to catch up. When she reached the spot where he usually stopped to take a rest, he wasn't there. She continued on figuring that she would probably catch up with him further along the path.

About a half mile down the trail she noticed a grayish figure, she assumed it was her uncle and sped to catch up. When she reached the spot were she saw the figure, she stopped thinking she smelled something. It was a strange foul smell which vaguely reminded her of a wet dog. She started to get scared and noticed a hole in a tree nearby. She was too terrified to go on, and decided this might be a good place to hide and wait for Uncle Pedro. He often jogged back along the same trail.

As she neared the tree, the smell grew dreadfully horrible. She was not met with the sweet smell of maple as she expected. There must be a rotting animal in the woods directly behind the tree she thought. By the time she reached the hole in the tree, the smell had grown so intense she felt like fainting, but she continued inside. One step inside the tree and POW. . .

She was on the ground in complete pain and rage. What had struck her, she didn't know, but it felt like a million needles in her thigh. She certainly couldn't run or hide, well maybe hide, but she screamed anyway. When she found her screams were met only with silence, she knew she would have to doctor her leg herself. What could she use? By that time it was getting dark, too dark to find anything. She had to take action soon. She set out to carefully assess her situation and calculate her surroundings. Too her amazement she soon recognized a large maple nearby with a peculiar lump in its middle. This was the same place where only three months ago she had helped her parents hide matches, twigs, cloths and food in case of emergencies like this. At the time, she had felt rather stupid, now she understood. She drew herself to her feet using a stick which she found lying on the ground next to her for support. Hobbling on her makeshift crutch, she soon uncovered the buried treasures.

Moments later, as Claire lit one of the matches, she saw the grayish figure again. This time she was extremely scared. The figure appeared too small to be an adult and too big to be a child. She grew stiff with fear. Crunch, Crunch, Crunch, Crunch, something was coming. What was it?

She squinted in the darkness as the figure came closer. Gradually, she was able to make out the image of a person wearing what appeared to be a ski mask. She was more scared than ever now.

"Take off your mask," she cried. But the person just stood there staring. "Why won't you take it off? Please, Please I'll do anything if you only take the mask off." The figure remained quiet.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of hearing nothing but the sound of Claire's racing heart, the figure spoke. "Come with me young lady. You don't have to worry. I'm going to take you to the hospital to get those quills out of your leg." It was a male voice.

"Quills," Claire questioned. "So that's what was in that tree. The sharp stinging in her leg served as a constant reminder that she still needed medical attention. "Well," Claire contemplated her situation carefully. She really didn't have many choices. Maybe this guy could lead her somewhere, or at least she could buy some time. "if you're going to take me out of here, then I guess it's O.K." She struggled with her words hoping that her fear was not too obvious.

Moments later, Claire found herself moving through the woods with a complete, wearing a ski mask no less. This was all becoming a bad dream. She hobbled on for what seemed like hours. Surely she hadn't come this far. Before long Claire was totally confused and not the least bit familiar with her surroundings. Little did she know that they were heading deeper and deeper into the forest. As they walked, Claire tried to calm herself by thinking about how wonderful it would feel when her leg was finally taken care of. In the deepest recesses of her mind she knew that she was in danger in more ways than one. Certainly she should have seen something familiar by now. Finally, they stopped about two or three miles from where they started from.

"Where are we?" Claire settled herself against a tree to rest her throbbing leg..

No answer.

"Aren't we nearing the hospital yet? It seems like we've been walking for hours."

The man spoke abruptly. "Would you just please be quiet. I'm trying to figure that out." Not exactly the nicest thing to say at a time like this.

Claire started to believe that they were just lost. Still a little scared though, she decided not to say anymore. Before long she began to realize how hungry she was, and she really had to go to the bathroom. "What am I supposed to do now? I've really got to use the bathroom." Her own voice startled the silence.

"Well you're going to have to go behind that tree over there." Claire winced at the pain in her leg as she rose. The man showed no sign of caring.

A little later as they were walking Claire heard a noise. It was familiar, kind of like a police siren. She thought that maybe they were getting near town. "Are we getting close yet?" she asked.

"We must be, if that's sirens I hear," the man replied. "It sounds like they're coming from over there. Let's go."

"I think it sounds like they're coming from over there. How about I go that way, and you go that way?" Claire pointed her directions. She could tell the man was getting nervous.

"Seems like a plan to me." The man hesitated only a moment before starting off in the opposite direction. Claire watched him disappear into the brush, then headed her own way grateful for this turn of events. She tried to keep her focus on the faint sounds of traffic, but the shrill screech of the sirens had passed and she found herself disoriented. Finally, she dropped to her knees and cried.

It was a soft rustle of the leaves that made her look up. Had the man in the mask returned? Claire struggled to her feet. Dawn had begun to move in, and she was able to see the intruder quite clearly within a matter of minutes. She gasped. It was a Koala! What was a Koala doing here? She didn't know, but it was a dream come true for her. What was she to do with a Koala in front of her face? She didn't know that either, but she saw the baby it had on its back and she fell in love. She stood there for about five minutes staring. It was so weird to see this type of thing in the woods of Wisconsin. Maybe she had begun to hallucinate. She reached out to stroke the soft fur of the amazing animal before her. The koala bolted in fright and ran like the wind into the woods. Claire's heart sank. How could she have been so stupid? She had to follow. Painfully, she ambled on in search of the koala as well as someone who could help her. Then it happened. . .

She emerged from the brush to find grey cement beneath her feet. Her swollen and clumsy feet stumbled forward directly into the path of an oncoming police car. In her confusion, she tried to get away only to find herself in the path of another vehicle. Was this real?

"Hey young one, what are you doing in these woods this time of the morning? Don't you know there is an escapee from the local prison just down the road? "

"No, I didn't," Claire replied with a sigh, "but I did run into a man about twenty miles back. H said he was going to take me to the hospital to get these quills out of my leg."

"Wow, those are pretty nasty," the officer looked bewildered. "I'll give you a ride to the hospital, and you can tell me all about this man."

After Claire had finally been treated, she was able to call her mom. She quickly told her what had happened and that she was okay. She would have to answer some questions for the police, then she would be released. The doctor advised her to wait for her parents before doing anything. Claire was exhausted, and it seemed like hours before her mother finally arrived pale and out of breath. She hugged her daughter gently before telling her that the police had someone they needed her to identify.

Claire was able to identify the man from his voice. It was the man from the woods. She couldn't believe she had been in the hands of a prisoner all that time. She shivered with fear as she recollected the events of the evening. Suddenly, she remembered the Koala, "I have to go back!"she cried.

"Why?" her mother looked surprised.

"I saw a koala, Mom. I have to find it." Claire rushed to the door before her mother could stop her, but a dark haired nurse guarded her exit. "Hey there, hold on a minute." The nurse chuckles. "Don't worry, M'am, you're daughter isn't losing her mind. There really were some animals that escaped from a zoo early this morning. Maybe they had a koala. Let's make some phone calls and find out."

There really was a koala in the woods that day. Claire was thrilled to find that she really had not imagined it, but she never went for a walk again without her uncle coming to the door and picking her up. She had learned some very important lessons and had some exciting adventures.