'Possum Stu

By Donna Fritz and Aunt Gerry Caldwell

Stuart James and Little C in a collection of illustrated short stories about two clever and charming Opossums.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 24, 2005
• ISBN: 9781467045209

Donna Fritz

Donna Fritz lives on a small lake in a cozy cottage with two opossums, two birds, one cat, and one five-foot king snake. She has state and USDA licenses for wildlife rehabilitation, possession for education, and falconry.

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’Possum Stu

Written and Illustrated

by

Donna Fritz

with

substantial help from

Aunt Gerry Caldwell

Title_Page_Logo.ai

This book is a work of fiction. People, places, events, and situations are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or historical events, is purely coincidental.

© 2005 Donna Fritz. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 08/17/05

ISBN: 1-4208-7064-5(sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4670-4520-9 (eBook)

Bloomington, Indiana

Contents

STUART JAMES

’Possum Stu

The ’Possum Papers

’Possum-Napping

Opossum-Talk

Uncle Tom and The ’Possum Wheel

Footrubs

Fingerprints

The Twist

Leg Hugs

Diced Veggies

Let Sleeping ’Possums Lie

Daylight Savings Time

Stuart and the Great Outdoors

What’s a ’Possum Weigh?

Lemon-Scented Opossum

Opossum Alarm Clock

Stuart vs. the Camera

The Nook

Snorfling

LITTLE C

Little C

The Headmaster Kisses a ’Possum

The ’Possum and the Purloined Pantyhose

Happy Mother’s Day

Also by

Donna Fritz:

Valedor

Good as Gold

Gray Angels

Gray Angels 2

Dedicated to

STUART JAMES

and

LITTLE C

with infinite love

With special thanks to:

Dad, because;

Aunt Gerry, for delightful friendship, generously sharing Little C, and all the other wonderful stories; and also

Aunt Gloria, for similarly aiding and abetting;

Lucille, for being a terrific friend, great cook, and emergency taxi with seemingly limitless patience;

Tom, for the custom-made ’possum wheel and scale,

creamed chipped beef, and for just being you;

Dave and the rest of the SK office crew,

for the best birthday present ever;

Dr. Martin and the fantastic staff at CVH,

for professional ’possum medical care

(including scrutinizing those 56,712 fecals);

Rose, for running to the rescue, regardless of species;

Cindi, for friendship, late-night talks, and for

enjoying the Stu stories even before meeting him;

the gang at QPS, for tolerance and time off for vet appointments, presentations, and facility inspections;

Dr. Anita Henness, for saving and enriching the lives of countless opossums, even long beyond her own lifetime;

and the National Opossum Society,

which she founded, for the wealth of information

on keeping a ’possum happy and healthy;

and all opossum friends everywhere.

Image7575.tif

OPOSSUM

He’s calm but capable of sprints,

Has dextrous hands with fingerprints,

Feet with thumbs as well as toes,

Questing ears and wet pink nose.

In front, a quick and clever mind,

A strong and supple tail behind.

Clad in camouflaging silver

He won’t hesitate to pilfer

Anything he deems nutrition;

Eating is his main ambition.

He forages the forest floor

For fruits and insects, nuts and more;

He’ll even munch a flower blossom—

Patient, peaceful, smart opossum.

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STUART JAMES

’Possum Stu

(Author’s Note: This nickname isn’t entirely my fault; he came with the name Stuart James.)

Stuart bluff-bared his teeth in startlement at the human’s touch. Vaguely in his sleep he had heard his human call his name, and since generally she continued calling until he woke and washed and walked out on his own, tonight he had just rolled over and drifted back to sleep. However, this time she reached right into his cozy nest and pulled him out! Stu struggled out of her arms to climb up onto her shoulder, more comfortable when he was hanging onto her, not the other way around. Her gentle hand on his tail lent him a feeling of security as she walked out to the kitchen and sank down crosslegged on the floor by the cricket tank.

Fully awake at the prospect of insects, Stu succumbed to the inevitable. Clever by nature (especially with edible motivation), he had quickly mastered the fastest and easiest way to get a few delicious crickets, even though it meant defying instinct.

Upside-down ’possum, the crazy human said, her delight clear in her tone as she turned him over onto his back. Acquiescing, Stu lay quietly in her arms while she pressed her face to his belly and inhaled the spicy-musky scent of his chest. Patiently he waited, until finally he heard the words he was waiting for:

"Perfect! That was a perfect upside-down ’possum!" She let him turn right-side-up as she rattled the lid of the cricket tank open, and Stu ate several scrumptious bugs from her hand one by one, each time carefully assessing where her fingers were before grabbing the wriggling cricket. After that, she tossed a few onto the floor, and Stu caught and crunched them with an efficiency and economy of movement worthy of a creature so successful that they have remained essentially unchanged for millennia.

When he was sure he had gotten them all, Stu hunched his feet beneath him squirrel-fashion, and began to wash his face and hands, only to find himself scooped into the woman’s arms once more.

"If you’re going to wash up, you can wash up on me," she whispered into one of his satiny black ears. Giving in was less trouble than fighting for his freedom; besides, she might give him more crickets. Stu settled himself on his haunches again, balancing on her legs, then licked his fingers and ran his hands down his face, sneezing into his hands when he got to his nose.

He repeated this half-a-dozen times, occasionally including his ears, then he fussed over his exquisite salt-and-pepper coat. He scratched an itch on his shoulder with his foot, leaving a part in his fur that showed the soft, dense white undercoat. After each few strokes he licked his toes clean: scratch, lick; scratch, lick; until his coat was groomed to his satisfaction.

Taking hold of his tail in both hands, he nibbled his front teeth along its scaly length, including his human’s fingers in his ministrations, to her obvious pleasure. Stu then generously drooled onto her smooth hands, and rubbed the side of his face in ecstasy against her knuckles: first the left side, then the right, until his face was soaked from ear to jawline on both sides, and his human chuckled at the saliva dripping from her hands. He knew she loved this ritual, so as a finale he made sure to splatter her glasses with some extra spit, making her laugh out loud in joy.

No was a word Stu had learned early; she usually said it in a plaintive tone when Stu had had enough of being cossetted and kissed, and elected to pursue his own interests—and it generally meant he was about to be picked up and held. Now when he slid off her lap, he heard her softly cry, Nooo…

Stu walked faster, his tail waving to her with each step. She always set out diced fruits and vegetables in different spots every night, and he enjoyed foraging for it—if he could escape being cuddled again.

Tonight he was lucky, and she just stood up and followed him with the bright light, careful not to shine the light directly in his eyes. Still, it didn’t benefit his nocturnal vision any; good thing he relied on his questing pink nostrils more than his eyes! Stu stretched his wet nose aloft, reading the scents with his signature soft, swift whistly sort of sound, and sniffed out the first cache in a tiny plastic dish, half-hidden by some books.

He snatched the red grape first, and chewed with relish, holding his head high so the juice trickled down his throat instead of dripping out onto the floor. He extracted the last drop, then spit out the dark wad of skin. What, just one? He nosed through the few pieces of assorted diced vegetables, then chose the bite of turnip and chewed it thoughtfully. The radish slice went next, then finally the wedge of zucchini; Stu licked the bowl, then ambled over to where his human often slept—she kept food there to entice him to visit her.

Sure enough, he found a bigger dish, with more fruits and vegetables, and two quail wings! Stu crunched