Herbert and Friends - Handmade Softies by Torunn

I'd like to introduce Basil the Badger, the newest of Herbert's friends

Basil looked timidly on as he watched an alpaca, a wombat and an anteater play badminton over a fallen branch. He'd been observing these three characters from behind a tree, waiting for an opportunity to introduce himself and ask if they might need a fourth player to even out the game. Wombat seemed to be struggling against the long-necked agile alpaca and the anteater who could not only use his racket to hit the shuttlecock but also his long nose.
Basil decided the best way to approach them would be to just pick up a racket and join in so as not to disturb the game and introductions could happen later. Unfortunately it didn't go quite as smoothly as Basil had planned. He ran in, picked up the racket, hit the ball and WHACK! The shuttlecock hit the alpaca right in the nose! (it had been a long time since Basil had played badminton).
Luckily it turned out the alpaca, Jalina, wasn't as badly injured as it first appeared and after a few awkward apologies and introductions the game commenced once again.