52 pages • 1 hour read
Brian JacquesMossflower
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1988A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Book 1, Chapters 19-26Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Book 1, Chapters 19-20 Summary
Gingivere wastes no time hacking a hole in his other prison wall. He’s now made two openings so the hedgehogs can converse with each other. The wildcat also alerts Chibb to their plight. Meanwhile, Tsarmina is scheming to use the hedgehogs as bait. Her soldiers are ordered into the woods to waylay any rescue parties.
Back at Brockhall, Bella finishes translating the directions to Salamandastron. These were given by a migrating goose, so all the landmarks are from an aerial perspective, which makes them hard to understand. Gonff says, “So, mateys, we walk through the woods, heading west, and cross the path below Kotir. Then there’s only one way we can go. Straight out across the flatlands and the open plains” (147). The travelers decide to figure out the rest of the directions as they travel along.
During this time, the Corim comes up with a plan to send provisions to the imprisoned hedgehogs, so they won’t starve. A party carrying haversacks will travel close to Kotir and leave their supplies under a tree for Chibb. Then, the robin will fly the food inside, one small load at a time. A rescue operation will be planned later after the prisoners are stocked with supplies.
The following morning, two expeditions set out from Brockhall. Martin, Gonff, and a young mole named Dinny will head for Salamandastron. The other party will carry supplies toward Kotir. Unbeknownst to the woodlanders, two of Tsarmina’s soldiers are observing their movements. Captain Cludd orders his underling Scratch to take two soldiers and follow Martin’s group. Cludd and his patrol will follow the other party.
After dark, the provisions party arrives at the walls of Kotir, but Tsarmina spots them and plans an attack. She marshals all her forces to confront the woodlanders. The groups join in battle until the Mossflower contingent runs low on ammunition. During the fight, two squirrels carry a load of provisions to the other side of the fortress, where Chibb will airlift the food to the captives.
Book 1, Chapters 21-23 Summary
As the battle winds down, the woodlanders retreat, but Tsarmina is displeased with her victory and says, “Fools, can’t you see it’s an empty triumph: no plunder, no slaves, no submission. They’ve vanished completely, and what have we gained? A few yards of woodland that belongs to me anyway” (166). The woodlanders counterattack in a final ambush that sends Tsarmina’s troops into retreat and ends the battle for good. Back inside Kotir, Tsarmina flies into a rage at her defeat.
Changing tactics, the queen plans to use the two hedgehogs to force the woodlanders into submission. Fortunately, Chibb overhears her plan and gets word to Brockhall. The Corim decide to make it appear that the hedgehogs have escaped. They will disguise two other young hedgehogs to look like Ferdy and Coggs and let Tsarmina get a glimpse of them.
Back in prison, Gingivere has succeeded in widening the holes in each wall to allow the hedgehogs to join him in his cell, where they can all share food and news. When Chibb comes back with the fake escape plan, Gingivere proposes hiding the hedgehogs in his own cell, which is unlikely to be searched.
At the same time, the travelers have reached the edge of Mossflower Woods and must now cross the flatlands with Scratch and his patrol picking up their trail. Martin, Gonff, and Dinny trot at a pace that keeps them well ahead of their pursuers. When they reach some low hills, they make camp for the night.
The next day, the three companions travel onward until they come to a pond where Dinny wants to catch a fish for supper. Seeing a nesting swan and her protective mate, Martin advises keeping out of their reach. The travelers skirt the pond to avoid the swans. The Kotir soldiers arrive soon afterward and foolishly decide to steal the swan eggs for food. Scratch is killed by the male swan while his two soldiers run away in terror.
Back at Kotir, the hedgehog escape has been discovered, and everyone is in a panic. The entire fortress is searched, with the exception of Gingivere’s cell. When Tsarmina gets suspicious of her brother, he pretends to be “crazy,” and she withdraws in disgust.
In the woodlands, Skipper calls on his brother. His otter sibling is known as Mask because he can disguise himself as any woodland creature. Skipper believes that Mask can help fool Tsarmina about the missing hedgehogs. Skipper brings Mask to Brockhall, where the Corim devises a plan to get the disguised otter into the castle.
Book 1, Chapters 24-26 Summary
That evening, Martin and his companions camp by a river and enjoy a meal of fish and some other provisions they’ve brought along. After they fall asleep, they are captured and bound by the two remaining soldiers, who eat all their food and begin to quarrel. One spears the other, who falls into the river and drowns. The survivor disappears into a sinkhole. Gonff then frees his two friends, and they continue on their way.
The travelers eventually come to a narrow part of the river where a rope is strung across the banks to steady them as they move through the shallow rapids. On the other side, they are confronted by a snake and a newt who insist on payment for allowing them to cross over. Instead, the river pirates receive a beating.
A shrew named Log-a-Log Big Club arrives to lend a hand. He lives nearby and knows the route to Salamandastron. Since Log-a-Log owns a boat, he proposes to sail the travelers to their destination, hoping to find his friends who were captured by sea rats, and says, “We’re going to see if that old stream will take us under the mountain. That’s the shortest route to Salamandastron. I wouldn’t chance it on my own, but now that I’ve got a crew” (210).
Back in the forest, Tsarmina instructs Fortunata to disguise herself as a pilgrim healer in hopes of finding the woodlanders’ hideout. She is spotted ahead of time, but the Corim decides to let her in. Mask disguises himself as a wandering fox and intercepts Fortunata. Under the alias of Patchcoat, Mask then leads her around in circles before bringing her to Brockhall. Once inside, the foxes are given food. Fortunata assumes that Brockhall would be easy to attack. She offers Patchcoat the job of squadron leader if he will ally himself with Tsarmina: “Now listen carefully and stick by me. We can both come out of this as two rich and powerful foxes if we play both ends against the middle” (207).
Book 1, Chapters 19-26 Analysis
This segment marks the divergence of the narrative into two separate plot lines. Once Bella translates the directions to Salamandastron, the questors are on their way. As they stand on the edge of Mossflower Woods, they are about to emerge from a familiar environment and out into the wider world, where they may encounter unknown hazards. For the balance of the book, The Making of a Hero will be illustrated in all the episodes that feature the travelers.
As the questors begin their journey, they are forced to deal with several threats. When Dinny wants to catch a fish, Martin advises him to steer clear of the swans. He does so, and the questors are saved. In contrast, the greedy soldiers who are pursuing them try to steal the swan eggs for their dinner. A member of the group dies as a result. Greed continues to drive the behavior of the remaining soldiers. Even after they briefly capture the questors, they get into a fight that results in the death of both.
Greed appears in a different form when the questors attempt to cross a river. An avaricious snake and a newt demand payment as a toll but are beaten up instead. At this juncture, the travelers gain a new ally in the shrew named Log-a-Log. His appearance introduces the story arc of sea pirates, enslaved galley workers, and his missing villagers. These elements supply Log-a-Log’s motivation for traveling to Salamandastron. The shrew’s generosity toward the travelers helps bind him to their established community.
At the same time, new threats emerge on the home front that display both the tyranny of Kotir and the solidarity of Brockhall. For the most part, the emphasis is on how Generosity Builds Cooperation. This is immediately demonstrated by Gingivere’s generosity in scraping holes in the walls of his prison cell so that the little hedgehog brothers can speak to each other. He is eventually able to strengthen the bonds of community by sharing the food that Chibb brings. Gingivere also widens the holes in the wall so that Coggs and Ferdy can join him in his cell for their meals.
In this segment, the hedgehogs become central to the narrative as Tsarmina uses her familiar tactic of divide and conquer. She hopes to hold the brothers hostage until the woodlanders agree to her terms. She also tries to starve the hedgehogs into giving her tactical information about their family’s hideout, but Corim sends food to the captives so they can withstand Tsarmina’s interrogations. What Tsarmina can’t accomplish by intimidation, she hopes to achieve through stealth. Fortunata is sent in disguise to penetrate Brockhall. She is promised great favor by the queen if she succeeds. Of course, Tsarmina dangles this bait in front of all her minions. Their own greed makes them susceptible to her temptations. As a countermeasure to Tsarmina’s schemes, the woodlanders recruit yet another ally when Skipper’s brother, Mask, agrees to infiltrate Kotir on behalf of the Corim.
