The Bravest Squirrel Ever
by Sara Shafer
Copyright 2011 by Sara Daniel
Revised 2014 by Sara Daniel
https://www.SaraShafer.com
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any form, or by any means without the prior written permission of the author, excepting brief quotations used in reviews.
All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.
Dedication
For the real Natalie, who loves all animals and was excited about this book from the very beginning.
Chapter 1
MAX’S DISCOVERY
“I’m going to be the bravest squirrel ever, just like Uncle Louie,” Max bragged from his perch on the highest tree branch.
“Uncle Louie flopped.” Lana nibbled on an acorn from the pile in front of her. “Do you want to get caught in a trap and flop?”
“I won’t flop. I’m too smart and too fast. I’m going to steal every single seed the humans put out. They’ll never catch me.”
“But Mama said we can’t go near those seeds.”
Pippi covered her head with her paws as her brother and sister argued on the branches above her. Unlike Uncle Louie, the champion birdseed eater of all time, she wasn’t brave enough to climb on a birdfeeder. And flopping scared her even more.
She peeked through her claws as lightning flashed in the distance. Immediately, she ducked but couldn’t get away from the awful thundering noise. The sound reminded her of the truck that had taken away the bag with Uncle Louie flopping around inside.
“We have to build our own nests. It’s going to rain soon.” Lana glanced at the dark sky. Then she picked up another acorn and shoved the whole thing in her mouth.
“Uncle Louie said sticks and leaves make leaky homes,” Max said. “I’m not living in anything that leaks.”
“We could go back to Mama’s hollow tree,” Pippi suggested. With Mama, she didn’t have to worry about scary noises, and she always stayed warm and cozy.
Lana shook her head and pushed the acorn against the inside of her cheek so she could talk. “We’re big kids now. I don’t care what Uncle Louie said. We have to build our own nests.”
“I’m not going to,” Max announced. “I’ll find a dry, warm place, something bigger and better than Mama’s hollow tree.”
“Well, you better find it quickly because the rain is almost here.”
Max scampered down the tree, jumped onto a fence and ran along the top.
Pippi watched him until drops of rain blew into her eyes and she couldn’t see him anymore. She tried to hold her tail like an umbrella over her body to stay dry.
“Help me get some sticks for a nest,” Lana said.
Spotting one at the bottom of the tree, Pippi dug her claws into the bark to run down headfirst, but she couldn’t run with her tail over her head. The rain splattered against her face and inside her ears.
She ran faster, but the rain splashed harder. With the stick between her teeth, she dashed up the tree trunk to Lana’s branch, her fur sopping wet.
Shivering, she held out the stick to her sister. Lightning flashed much brighter this time, followed by a crack of thunder so loud Pippi jumped. The stick fell all the way to the ground.
Lana didn’t notice. Huddled against the tree trunk with her stack of acorns, she nibbled on one after another while staring at the sky.
A gust of wind roared through the treetops. The branch shook, rattling Lana’s acorns. She caught one, but the rest rolled to the ground.
Trying not to fall in the strong wind, Pippi squeaked and hugged Lana’s back.
“Ow! You’re clawing me.” Lana batted her with her paw and then shoved the last acorn in her mouth.
“Sorry.” She pulled her claws back but kept her paws on her sister’s fur. She hadn’t meant to hurt Lana. But the lightning, thunder and wind scared her. Plus, she was soaking wet. And cold.
“Keep your tail up, and cuddle with me,” Lana said. “We’ll stay warmer and drier if we’re together.”
Letting the rain soak them didn’t seem like a good plan for staying warm and dry. “Let’s go see Mama.”
“We can’t. We’re old enough to take care of ourselves.”
A water droplet hit Pippi in the eye. The rain poured so hard her tail umbrella created a giant waterfall down her back. “I could help Mama with her new babies.”
“She doesn’t need your help.”
But Pippi needed her. Light flashed, hurting her eyes with the intense brightness. The giant thundering hurt her ears. She dug her claws in again. Lana didn’t yell or hit her this time. She sat frozen on the branch.
Pippi ran headfirst down the tree, tripping on the acorns scattered in the wet grass at the bottom. She rolled onto her back, then flipped over and jumped up, running through the wet grass to the fence.
A stick fell, bouncing off the fence and scraping her cheek. The branch over her head hung low like it might break off and crush her. She had to get away from here.
Dashing off the fence, she zigzagged across the yard until she came to another tree. If she went all the way to the top, no sticks could fall on her.
So, she did. But clinging to the wet bark at the top, she didn’t feel safer. The branches shook more than when she’d cuddled with Lana. The lightning flashed brighter. The thunder boomed louder.
“Help me.”
But no one did. No one could hear her. She couldn’t see Mama’s nest or Lana’s tree. She was lost.
The shaking branch scraped against something. She blinked away her tears to study it. The end of the branch rubbed the top of a building. Now she had to worry about humans too.
She lay flat on her perch and stared at the building. No matter how much the wind blew and the branch slapped at it, the building didn’t move. For the first time in her life, a human thing seemed like the safest place.
Pippi jumped on top of the roof next to a metal pipe sticking out of the building.
Suddenly, a squirrel head popped up from the pipe. She screamed and clawed backwards.
The rest of its body jumped out. The squirrel was alive. Max! “Hey Pippi, come check this out.”
“Are you crazy?” She gasped. “I thought the people chopped your head off.”
“They could never catch me. Come see the awesome nest I found.”
“Is it in a tree like Mama’s?” The rain pounded harder, making the roof slippery. She dug her claws in as she took a couple steps toward her brother. She couldn’t wait to get somewhere warm and dry.
“It’s better than a tree,” he promised.
“Pippi, where are you going?” Lana yelled from the tree branch.
Her sister had followed her. Instead of being alone, she had her siblings around her. Even though she hadn’t found Mama, she felt safer.
“Max says he discovered a better nest than the hollow tree we grew up in,” Pippi called. “Is it as dry and warm too?” she asked her brother.
Instead of answering, he scurried up the top of the brown pipe and then disappeared inside. Only his tail stuck out.
He couldn’t have made a nest inside dangerous human territory. “Where are you going?” she called.
“You’re going to love it. Follow me.” His voice echoed in the pipe.
“No,” Lana shouted. “The humans will stuff you in a bag, and you’ll flop around while they take you far away from here.”
Pippi’s heart beat fast, and her tail quivered. She didn’t want to flop.
The tree branch shook so badly Lana sank her claws into the bark to hang on. Another raindrop hit Pippi in the eye. She couldn’t stand being cold and wet any longer.
&n
bsp; She put her tail over her head and glanced around for danger. With the terrible storm, the people left their territory unprotected. She lifted her front paws up to the top of the pipe and peered down the tube.
Inside, Max pulled at a piece of wire with his paws.
“Are you sure this is safe?” she asked.
He pulled the wire with all his strength and then wiggled underneath it. For a second, she studied his trembling tail. Then it disappeared too.
“Max!”
Lightning flashed. The booming sound vibrated through Pippi’s body. “Max, are you alive?”
No answer.
“The humans trapped Max!” Lana cried.