Volume 9, Issue 8, page 4

MORAL: I f you must accept advice, be sure your advisor
isn't a ferret or a mole, if
you're a "squirrel".

By ALBERTA ELLIOTT
NCE UPON a time, there was a carefree
Squirrel cavorting along his highways, jumping from branch to branch,
running up and down tree trunks,
stopping now and then to nip a delicious morsel, or crack a nut, and
having a wonderful time. One day,
he jumped upon a limb that gave
'way, and he fell to the ground. It
was quite a high fall, and Squirrel
was stunned.

Along came Ferret, who admonished Squirrel :
"I often wondered what'd bring you to your
senses. The trouble with you Squirrels is, you
won't listen. I've been telling you it's dangerous to fly high and to make such long jumps.
Perhaps now you will believe me. "
While slightly stunned, and feeling sore,
Squirrel did listen, and thus accepted Ferret
as his authority. So, he began shortening all
his jumps, and kept away from treetops or any
limb that looked the least bit treacherous.

Having danger constantly in mind, and having to watch his every jump, Squirrel became
heavy in his movements, and consequently much
slower. Besides, he was now trying to be very ,
very careful. One day, when the limb on which
he perched rocked a bit heavily in the high
wind, he swallowed a nut that he had been carrying. A whole nut, shell and all. This filled
him with dismay, among many other discomforts.

Ground Mole came along, while Squirrel was
writhing with pain, and said, "I knew something would happen to you sooner or later. The
trouble with you is you won't listen. Anyway,
down yonder, you will find some roots that
will relieve your distress. Follow me," and
Ground Mole proceeded to make himself another
tunnel.

Ferret again came along at that moment and
shouted, "But remember, keep on the ground."
Poor Squirrel. He now had two authorities.
Along the ground he crept, following Ground
Mole's tunnel until he came to the particular
root Ground Mole indicated. He then chewed
much of it. The root produced an effect ao
quickly that Squirrel was lost. Around and
around he went spinning, but he stayed on the
ground. He had been warned about flying high,
hadn't he?
In his spinning, he stumbled into a trap,
and there he lay until a man came along. Since
squirrels were not what the man was hunting or
trapping for, he released Squirrel, but not
before kindly tying a splint on Squirrel's
foreleg, and then putting him on as high a
branch as the man could reach.

On the branch lay Squirrel, shivering from
fear, and bound to a stake. Beneath him yawned
a distance that was now frightening. He was
seven feet off the ground !
"Oh, dear," he moaned. "Somebody please
help me."
Almost in answer to his prayer, Buddy, another Squirrel, showed up at the end of a long
jump.
"What in heaven are you doing with that contraption on your leg?" Buddy asked.
"A kind man did this for me," Squirrel replied. "A very nice, helpful man."
"Bosh!" snorted Buddy. "How can you move
with that tied to your leg?"
"I can' t, " whimpered Squirrel, "but I'm
relatively safe."
"From what?" asked Buddy.
"I'm not quite sure," cried Squirrel, "but
I guess I 'm safe from many things."
"What are you planning on doing next?" asked
Buddy.
"I don't know. If Ferret or Ground Mole
were here, I'd ask them. What do you think I
should do?"
"Obviously, get rid of that stick on your
leg, and get going," Buddy advised. "There are
some fine nuts in a treetop not far from
here."
"Oh, I couldn't possibly reach a treetop. Don't you know treetops are dangerous?"
Squirrel protested.
"Who said so?" challenged Buddy.
"Who said so? Let me see. Who said so?"
mused Squirrel. "Was it Ferret, or Ground Mole,
or... I don't seem to remember. Oh, yes, Ferret
said so that time I fell and hurt myself. H e
told me the dangers of treetops."
Squirrel sat there, shivering.
"Come on. For goodness sakes, JUMP!" Buddy
commanded.
"I don't think it wise," murmured Squirrel.
"Are you going to crawl up and down tree
trunks and along the ground investigating holes
for the rest of your life? Get that stick off,
and JUMP. I'll wait for you, but not for long,"
warned Buddy.

Squirrel chewed off the string that held the
stick to his leg, winced while he got the foot
back into operation, and with a mighty effort,
jumped.
"Gee!" he shouted in glee. "I'd forgotten
how good it is to jump. Do you suppose I could
navigate the next one?"
"Why not?" laughed Buddy. "You used to be
the forest's longest jumper."
Away they went, slowly at first, but gaining momentum.
"Golly!" Squirrel shouted. "Doesn't it feel
good to do what comes naturally?"
From the ground, Ferret and Ground Mole
shook their heads in disapproval. "The trouble
with you Squirrels, you just won't listen to
reason," they said, in chorus.
4 The ABERREE DECEMBER, 1962