THE SQUIRREL WHO LOVES PIZZA AND OTHER NUTTY STORIES

By Bonita Durham

After receiving treatments for stage III breast cancer, Mrs. Durham enjoyed watching the wildlife in her yard, and so began her writings. These stories are based on true incidents that she witnessed and then embellished for her grandchildren. Each day is a joy and blessing from God, to whom she gives thanks.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781646541621

Book preview

Dedicated to my grandchildren

Claire and Ben

The Squirrel Who Loves Pizza

There is a young grey squirrel who lives in the tall oak trees outside the Durham household. He lives in the backyard and happily scampers around, gathering seeds, nuts, and bugs to eat. He spends the day running up and down the large tree trunks, sometimes going in circles around and up and down the large trees. It is fun to hide behind the large leaves blowing in the wind. And when he feels brave enough, this lively little squirrel jumps high in the trees from limb to limb, chasing other squirrels as he giggles because he is the fastest squirrel in the neighborhood.

One sunny, hot day, the grey squirrel jumps from a safe tree limb onto the Durham’s deck. It has a table and chairs, enough space for Pops and Grandmama Durham and Uncle Joe to sit and eat and enjoy the beautiful weather.

They love it when Josh (Daddy Durham) and Rachael (Mama Durham) bring Claire and Ben to Virginia to visit. The weather is nice and pleasant during the summers, and Claire and Ben can run and play in the yard.

The squirrels love it too, especially when Winston, the dog, comes to visit. Winston must go outside to potty, and he leaves his new smell for the squirrels to investigate. They jump around the yard, gathering acorns in the grass, and investigate where Winston has been. When they see Winston, they love to run and play with him. They run up and down the trees, tricking Winston to try to climb the tree after them.

One day the grey squirrel gets a surprise. Winston is chasing and playing with the squirrel. Oh no, the squirrel makes a big mistake. He has run too far out in yard away from all the large oak trees. The closest one is by the driveway, and Winston is in the driveway, blocking the squirrel’s escape path. He tries to trick Winston and run around him, but Winston is not so easily tricked.

Winston charges and chases the squirrel. Even though the squirrel tries to trick Winston like he has before and run in circles, Winston surprises the squirrel and leaps on him. Winston quickly grabs the squirrel with his mouth.

Wow! What a surprise! thinks Winston. I caught a squirrel!

Winston quickly looks around. What do I do with this grey squirrel in my mouth? How can I play with him now? thinks Winston.

Mama Durham has the answer! Winston! Put that squirrel down! she commands. Immediately, Winston does as she says and gently places the squirrel on the driveway.

The grey squirrel looks around, quite surprised, and quickly runs up the large oak tree near the driveway. Halfway up the trunk, he turns and looks at Winston.

Chip, chip, chip, chip, chip-er-roo, he scolds. He sounds as if he is fussing at Winston for getting too rough when they were playing tag. The squirrel didn’t think Winston would actually catch him. Why, the grey squirrel is the fastest squirrel in the neighborhood!

This will certainly ruin his reputation. Winston, the dog, has outsmarted him! What shame he brought to his friends! From now on, all the squirrels avoid Winston. He is too great a dog for the squirrels to play with, for Winston has now won the tag game! All the squirrels talk about Winston, the great squirrel catcher! Poor grey squirrel. He is so embarrassed!

Later that same summer, things have calmed down. The squirrels have not seen Winston for quite a while, and all the squirrels have forgotten about his famous feat. Things are back to normal. All the squirrels are busy gathering nuts, seeds, and bugs. The grass is now a dark, rich green, and when Pops mows the lawn, the aroma of newly cut grass fills the air.

Pops is very handy around the house, keeping things neat and trim. Grandmama loves to do inside stuff and sits out on the deck in the evenings when things are nice and cool and there aren’t many bugs around.

Uncle Joe loves to cook and is always busy in the kitchen, fixing special dinners for Grandmama and Pops. One warm evening, Uncle Joe fixes a huge pizza with lots of cheese and pepperoni.

Grandmama and Pops have seconds and thirds. It is so delicious! But this pizza is huge! They eat and eat, and still there is pizza left over.

Uncle Joe says, That is fine. I’ll eat some for breakfast. And so the next day, Uncle Joe has a big pizza breakfast. But still he cannot eat it all. There is one more slice of pizza left to eat.

By this time, Uncle Joe is quite full. Knowing that Grandmama will fuss if he leaves a dirty, messed-up kitchen, he decides to take the last pizza slice and places it out on the deck rail. No one will see it here, he thinks. Pops is outside, getting ready to mow, and he’s picking up sticks. All the squirrels scatter and run up the trees, but not the grey squirrel. He is a brave, fast squirrel, and he needs to earn his good reputation back.

So the grey squirrel decides that he will go a different way. He will show all the other squirrels how fast he can be. Besides, that dog, Winston, is not around, and the grey squirrel can leap from limb to limb and even more! He will show all the other squirrels that he is not afraid to climb onto the deck, where the people are.

And off he goes! Leaping on to the pole that goes straight up to the hummingbird feeder and onto the deck rail, he turns and looks at his friends. No sooner has he arrived than he smells something different! Wow! What is that aroma? It has a meaty kind of cheesy smell. That is so awesome and different! And the grey squirrel is ever so hungry!

So the grey squirrel grabs the pizza with his little paws