They get their name from having the appearance of being in a state
of confusion. Thought to be extinct, the common forest schnook was
known to hide in dense woodlands most of the day, usually buried in the
ground. Covered with a thick layer of hair, small trees and brush often
grow out of indentations in their misshapen heads (which is great
camouflage). A full size schnook can stand at a height of 15 meters.
On an autumn afternoon, Claire found a forest schnook in the woods
behind her house. They became fast friends. She spent the rest of the
fall romping through the woods, singing out of tune, and learning magic
tricks, which he was quite adept at despite his large clumsy hands.
When Winter came, he told her that he had to go into hibernation (which
consisted of him pretending to be a small hill). This made her very
sad. Her father built a large barn over him to keep him warm and he
never went into hibernation again. She entered her Schnook in the
Secret Pet Society's Curious Pet Show of 1898 and won first prize in
the category of "mostly extinct creatures". It was his sleight-of-hand
tricks during the talent portion of the event that won over the judges. |