A Squirrel

Raju

You are aware that during winter the trees shed leaves and make the birds and other small animals that live on them to face cold nights.

One cold night a squirrel found it difficult to bear the cold. It was on a search for a place that can protect it from the cold. It ran into the parasol of a hut that belongs to an old man who lives on the outskirts of the forest.

As soon as the squirrel started moving in the parasol of his hut the old man heard the sound of it, came out and found the squirrel shivering with cold. He extended his hand and waved his fingers to come on to it. The squirrel for a moment kept quite and it recalled what all it had seen this old man doing earlier. It appeared from this recalling that this old man is a good one. It slowly crawled onto the hand of the old man who caressed it with his another hand and took it in side.

It was very warmth inside the hurt and it made the squirrel stop shivering soon and fall asleep. It slept for more than three hours and woke up with the sound of the cupboard door opened by the old man. The old man noticed this and came near the squirrel with a hot cup of tomato soup. He fed the squirrel with the spoon and emptied the cup.

The squirrel became active and found the holes in the roof of the hut. The old man slept again. As the day breaks out, the old man woke up and found searched for the squirrel in vain. He thought that it had gone back to the forest. He became busy with his daily chores.

As he was about to rest for a nap after the lunch, he heard a noise on the top of the roof. He looked up and found that the holes on the roof are being filled with a lump of fiber. He went out to find out who was at work and saw the squirrel seriously filling the holes one after the other first with the fiber and topping it with a big leaf meticulously.

The old man came inside and started doing some thing. The squirrel on the top of the roof completed its job and entered the hut to find out if it missed any hole. The old man thanked the squirrel and offered a cup of hot milk. The squirrel drank it merrily.

The old man asked, ‘how did get the fiber and the leaves to fill all the holes at once?’

I came out in the morning when you were still sleeping, started collecting the fiber and leaves from the nearby creeper in small quantities and brought them to the rooftop. Once I felt I had enough material to fill the holes I started doing the job that I know well.

Though you are a small animal you have a big mind to think and great strength to do the job. I thank you for your kind help. You can live with me, if you want – said the old man.

The squirrel agreed to it by waving its tail and the head in joy.

Indeed the holes were well filled and the rainfall that occurred a couple of days later made it further firm and there was no leakage in the hut.

They lived together for a long time in the same hut.