To my son Adriel. Susanna Isern To the little squirrels of the forest: Iraia, Xua, Ane and Elene. Leire Salaberria
Raccoon Wants to Be First Somos8 Series © Text: Susanna Isern, 2014 © Illustration: Leire Salaberria, 2015 © Edition: NubeOcho Ediciones, 2015 www.nubeocho.com – info@nubeocho.com Original title: Mapache quiere ser el primero English translation: Robin Sinclair First edition: March 2015 ISBN: 978 84 943691 7 9 Printed in Spain – Gráficas Jalón All rights reserved.
Raccoon lives in the forest. His favorite things to do are to swing from his striped tail, to roll somersaults on the grass with his friends and to climb up to the tops of trees to watch the moon.
Since he was very little, Raccoon stood out from all the other animals for being very skillful: At harvest time, he got the first hazelnut. When looking for a four leaf clover, he was the first to find one. Playing at guessing cloud shapes, he got the highest points.
Raccoon is almost always the first in everything, and many look at him with admiration. Whenever that happens, his tail fluffs out proudly.
As time goes by, everyone knows his greatest wish: Raccoon wants to be the first in everything! He trains long and hard, in order to be the fastest, slipperiest animal in the forest. He plays games with his eyes closed and his tummy full, to later easily defeat his opponents. He works hard, from sunrise to sunset, to become the best.
One day, a foreign fox arrives in the forest and quickly becomes friends with the animals of his age. While they lounge in the shadows of trees, he tells them incredible stories: “Beyond the river there is an immense ocean. I was the first of my group to discover it.” “On one occasion, I encountered a dangerous shark, famous for its lethal bite. Never before has a land mammal survived to tell this story!”