Squirrel Friends

Once there were six squirrels who lived with their families in a cluster of trees in a bustling forest. The squirrels would say hello to each other and exchange a few pleasantries when they went about their days, but there was food to gather and mischievous squirrel babies to keep out of trouble, and they rarely had time for more than a quick hello.

Then came a time of great stillness in the forest, when the squirrels kept to their nests, but this wasn’t a time of rest. In fact, there was much to do in their homes, much to keep them busy. But fewer and fewer opportunities to exchange pleasantries with each other.

One evening, as the sun began to dip towards the horizon, two of the squirrels found themselves outside at the same time, taking a moment of space from the demands to enjoy the scenery. They stood together as the sky turned orange, then pink, then purple.

“You know who would like this?” one squirrel asked. 

“The others,” the second squirrel replied.

And so the two squirrels walked towards the trees of their neighbours. As they passed by each tree, the other squirrels ran out to join them.

“How lucky I was to see you!” one of the squirrels said. “I was just thinking how nice it would be to enjoy the sunset with someone, and there you were!”

The other squirrels all agreed. How lucky they were to have seen each other.

The six squirrels stood together as the sun set, and talked and visited long after the day turned dark.

Finally, one of them sighed. “I must go,” she said. “Tomorrow I need to gather more leaves for my nest, and I must rest.”

“We can help,” said another squirrel. “If we all gather leaves, the job will be easier.”

So the next day all the squirrels gathered again to help find leaves. The job went quickly, and afterwards they drank acorn tea and visited while their little squirrels played.

“I must go,” one of the squirrels said, after the second round of tea. “The winds last night rustled my branches, and I need to set things right.”

“We can help,” said another squirrel. “If we all set things right, the job will be easier.”

So the next day, all the squirrels gathered again to set the nest right, bringing their families with them to help with moving the heavier branches. And again, the work went by quickly, and they enjoyed each other’s company (and some acorn cider) once the job was done.

Every day, the squirrels gathered to help each other with whatever was needed. Before long, the work was done, and each squirrel's nest and food supplies were tidy and well stocked.

“I suppose,” said one squirrel, “we’ll all go back to our own homes now. Since there’s no more work to share.”

All the squirrels were quiet for a moment.

“Or,” said another squirrel slowly, “we could just enjoy the part that comes after the work.”

“You mean the drinking tea and cider and visiting?” asked another squirrel.

“Yes, that,” said the first squirrel.

“Oh,” said one of the squirrels, jumping up and down just a little, “oh, that part is my favourite part!”

And so one of the squirrels made the plans. And one of the squirrels offered their nest as a space to gather. And one of the squirrels put the kettle on for tea. And one of the squirrels made sure that there were six beautiful acorn cups ready to drink from. And one of the squirrels picked songs to listen to. And one of the squirrels danced and distracted the others from their tasks (but also helped tidy the leaves into comfortable piles to sit on). And all of the squirrels helped to make the food to eat, for they all understood the size of that job.

And some of the squirrels reminisced about the past and the good times that had already happened. And some of the squirrels made plans for the future to create more good times. And some of the squirrels honoured the present moment they were in right then. And in this way, the squirrels reimagined time not as a line, but as a circle that held them all.

And all of the squirrels said “how lucky we were to find each other.”