“Chatty, get up,” called Mrs. Chipmunk.
“Times a wasting.”
Mrs. Chipmunk had
been up for hours, chopping fresh leaves for her family’s nest, making sure
everything in the burrow was neat and in order.
Chatty rolled over lazily and opened
one eye. “Mom, I’m tired. I need to sleep a bit longer.”
“Nope. Can’t do. There’s a storm
coming, and we’ve got to catch some more grasshoppers to store for the winter.”
Yesterday
was a tough day. Chatty almost got caught by his worst enemy, Slink the weasel,
who years ago grabbed Mr. Chipmunk for a tasty afternoon snack. Chatty and his
mom still were saddened by that painful day.
It was only when Chatty heard Mrs. Robin chirp
a warning that he looked up in time to see Slink’s beady eyes staring at him
through a nearby thicket. Chatty took
off like a shot, and dove into a crevice in a rock pile on the other side of
the farmer’s crabapple and stayed hidden until the coast was clear.
Reluctantly Chatty, pushed the leaves
aside from his nest, and made his way through the tunnel to the next opening,
where the breakfast table was set.
“Morning, Chatty,” greeted Mrs.
Chipmunk. “Come sit down and have some strawberries.”
Chatty
sat in front of the little round morsels, but didn’t look up. He sat silently trying to concentrate on the
breakfast before him pondering yesterday’s close call. He didn’t tell his mom, because he knew she
would worry too much.
“We
still have to get more grasshoppers?” Chatty tried to make polite conversation.
“You
know we do. Winter is setting in and we have to fill up the store room.” Mrs. Chipmunk noticed his silence. It wasn’t
like him. “What’s the matter with you? You're not eating anything. You need to
eat. You’ve got lots of work today.
“Okay.”
Chatty ate half a strawberry, pushed the rest aside, got up and started through
the tunnel.
“Wait
a minute,” ordered Mrs. Chipmunk. “You didn’t finish your breakfast.”
“Not
hungry,” he called back.
At the opening of the burrow he peered outside
to see if the coast was clear, and then ventured out toward Farmer Shoestring’s
grape arbor. He never saw Slink only a few feet in the distance.
To be continued…
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The Adventures of Chatty Chipmunk
Chatty Chipmunk Meets Mrs. Gotrocks
A Carnival Adventure with Chatty
Chipmunk
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