Badir is a badger. She’s a fearless-wearless badger. She’s actually a special type of badger, called a honey badger. Honey badgers just love, well, you’ve guessed it…honey!

Badir lives on a plain which is very dry (not far from the Arabian sea). It is covered in sand, stones and the odd plant or bit of long grass. Badir’s home is in the crevice of a rock.

Badir is not scared of anything. For example, she’s not scared to approach animals which are much bigger than her, like wolves or leopards.

Just like a skunk, Badir also keeps a special liquid in her tail which is really stinky. This is to frighten away predators (that’s animals who might chase her!)  When she releases the liquid, it makes a really bad smell. Because of this and her fearlessness, sometimes Badir finds it a bit hard to make friends.

Nevertheless, Badir has one best friend. His name is Omar. Omar is an Arabian oryx. An oryx is a kind of antelope. Omar isn’t scared of much either. That’s why he and Badir get along so well. Omar lives in a cave right beside Badir’s home.

One hot night, as Badir goes out to look for food, she meets Omar.

“Hi Omar. What are you doing?” asks Badir.

“I’m looking for plants to get a drink from,” replies Omar. “I can manage a long time without water. But it’s been a few days and I’m really thirsty now.”

“Do you mind if I come along?” asks Badir. “I’m looking for plant roots because I’m hungry.”

“Not at all,” says Omar.

So they start to forage the ground together. Badir paws at the earth. She digs up roots and the odd insect to eat. Omar pulls small plants out of the earth. He eats them and the water they contain quenches his thirst.

The night breeze around them feels really warm. Soon, however, it starts to feel more like a wind. Bits of sand and tiny stones blow along in it. Before long, gusts of wind whip up heavy swirls of sand which surround Badir and Omar.

“Wow!” says Omar. “What’s happening?”

“I think it’s a sandstorm,” replies Badir. “There must be a cyclone close by. They’re the worst kind of storm we get here. And they come really quickly. We have to get home.”

Within moments, the speed of the wind increases and Badir is glad her clawed paws are buried in the earth. Otherwise she would blow away. She hangs on tight.

Omar is much taller and his hooves can’t cling to the floor. In one swift movement, the wind sweeps Omar off his feet and lifts him up into the air. The sand carried by the wind has become as thick as a curtain. Badir can’t see where Omar has gone.

After a few seconds, Badir hears Omar’s voice shout out to her: “Badir!”

“I’m here!” Badir shouts back.

“I can’t see you!”

Badir still can’t see Omar either. But she knows they are not far from home. She is low down on the ground, so she digs her paws further into the earth. She uses them to slowly start crawling her way back home. She has to fight very hard against the cyclone wind to be able to move at all.

Bits of tree branch and larger rocks fly over her head. She knows she needs to help Omar before these things hurt him, or the wind carries him far, far away.

Suddenly, Badir has an idea. She remembers the stinky liquid she stores in the base of her tail to warn away predators. Of course!

“Use your nose Omar!” Badir shouts out. “You can’t see me. With this wind soon you won’t be able to hear me. So you’ll have to smell me!” And with that, she releases some of her stinky liquid.

Within seconds, she hears a faint voice carry across the howling of the storm.

“Yuk! That smells so bad!” Badir knows Omar can smell her. So she releases a bit more of her special, foul scent.

Badir finally reaches her rock crevice home and hauls herself into it. She can’t see anything because the sand swirling in the cyclone storm is so thick. She hopes Omar is OK. She knows the storm could have blown him a long way away by now. The only sound she can hear is the whistling, screeching and roaring of the cyclone. It has become deafening.

After what feels like hours, but might just be a few minutes, Badir sees a shadow appear through the swirling sand. It gets darker and darker, until…GRUNT, GRUNT, GRUNT! A different noise accompanies that of the storm. It’s Omar! He’s safe!

Although he’s big and strong, Omar is having to heave his huge body with all his might against the storm winds. He looks exhausted.

He takes a final few steps and collapses into the entrance of his cave. As he sits down to shelter against the wall, he looks over towards Badir. He is grinning. Badir is so relieved to see him.

As they look out from the safety of their homes, the wind seems to drop just a little. The cyclone is calming. The noise also seems to die down.

“Bet you thought I’d got lost!” Omar shouts at the top of his lungs.

“Not for a second!” Badir shouts back. “I was just wondering what was taking you so long!”

Omar chuckles at this.

“Badir, I’m so grateful we’re best friends and nothing scares us.”

Badir is brimming with happiness that she’s been able to help save her friend from the cyclone sandstorm. Being fearless and smelly can sometimes be the ideal combination!

Questions for discussion

Why is a cyclone dangerous?

How could you help shelter someone from a bad storm where you live?

What things could you do to help a friend who is blind or deaf and can’t see or hear you?