Pertelote, widow of Chauntecleer the Golden Rooster, takes up his mantle as leader of the Animals as they seek safety from the great evil of the Wyrm and his children. Desperate to keep safe those she's responsible for, Pertelote is travelling blindly, suffering the purposeless, undirected, but insistent journey as the new leader. Two other groups of Creatures are making their own journeys through the perilous land: Eurus the merciless yellow-eyed Wolf and his pack, and the sociable pair Wachanga the Cream-Colored Wolf and her friend Kangi Sapa, the Raven. When Pertelote and her band of Animals meet Wachanga and Kangi, she finds much-needed allies in her travels. Allies that become all the more valuable after cruel Eurus begins following the weary Animals with a murderous intent. When the disparate bands of Creatures converge on a hidden crater high in the dangerous mountains, they make a monumental discovery that may finally mean an end to their trials and tribulations.
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The epilogue is a travesty. Until then, this book would have received 2 stars, even in spite the indulging in canine procreation. Because there are some nice points. I like the Raven and the light wolves, even though... Uh. Christian allegories.
The twisting of real animals to fit as characters of his story continues, making grotesque caricatures of both real animals and their human counterparts, so grotesque they become incongruous. This means that people reading the story cannot identify people in the story and the fable loses its power.
This also makes the actual facts of animals and their behavior unnecessary and confusing, not adding anything to the story. This is a short book, only about 150 pages, but... apparently it wasn't short enough. So much could - and should - have been cut out.
