In the morning, when I went outside, I saw lots of Tasmanian Devil paw prints. I decided to follow them and see if I could find their den.









I walked for a long, long time. Tasmanian Devils travel far!
Once in a while a wallaby (a smaller kangaroo) would pop its head up. As soon as I said "hello" the wallaby would run away.









I found a big hole in the ground. could it be a Tasmanian Devil den?









Then I heard a noise in the bush- and out came a big, old wombat.
I could tell it was his den. So I moved on.









Then I came upon some thick brush. Surely, a Tasmanian devil might like it in here.









Someone peeked out their head.









It screamed at me. Yes indeed, it was a Tasmanian Devil- and just a baby!












I was surprised that a baby would be so loud and territorial. I moved back several feet and the pup ran back into the den.
I sat down and drew my experience, but I could hardly capture the excitement.












I wondered if there were more pups in the den.









I wondered if they all cuddled up together, like marsupials do- even scary screaming ones!











And as I drew sketches I wondered- Where was their mother?
Were the pups alone?
Was the mum out getting food?
Or- was she maybe sneaking up behind me?!
Then I wondered if the mother wasn't coming back- maybe she was hurt, or caught in a trap, or hit by a car out on the road some three miles away.
What if these pups were all alone? What would they do? That's when the idea for a story began to come to me.