The Squirrels Have Gone Nuts by Joe McGee

Author:Joe McGee
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 2022-09-06T00:00:00+00:00

Dillon’s and Mikey’s eyes widened.

“How did—”

“But she—”

Samantha von Oppelstein raised her eyebrows and smiled. Madeline scratched her head. They’d only turned around for half a second.

“Well,” said the Librarian, “are you all going to stand over there all day, gawking, or are you going to come get the answers you seek?”

All four kids rushed to the long, curved counter.

The Librarian flipped a few old pages, dragging a yellowed fingernail along the old, typewritten text. A picture of a gray squirrel stood out from the dense passage.

“Yes, here we go,” said the Librarian. She pulled her glasses down to the edge of her nose and practically pressed her face into the book. “Oh, that’s interesting….”

“What?” asked Dillon. “What’s interesting?”

The Librarian jabbed her fingernail at one paragraph. “The gray squirrel normally lives alone, and not in groups. But sometimes, especially in severe cold spells, they form groups, called ‘scurries.’ ”

Dillon scrunched his eyebrows. None of this made sense. It was summer, it was hot… why would all these squirrels form a scurry now?

“Good question,” said the Librarian. “They must be preparing, storing food early. Looks like we’re going to be in for a very, very cold winter.”

Dillon’s jaw dropped. “Did you just read my mind?”

The Librarian grinned and leaned forward over the book.

“You took something from them,” she said.

Dillon nodded. “Sour Sugar Snakes.”

“They also form their own chain of command,” she said. “The toughest is the boss.”

“That’s silly,” said Madeline. “It should be the smartest.”

“Or the spookiest,” said Samantha von Oppelstein. She tugged at her bat earrings.

“The squirrel with the white patch on its chin,” said Dillon. “That must be the leader.”

“The one you knocked out of the tree?” Mikey asked.

The Librarian frowned.

“It was an accident,” said Dillon. “I just meant to scare it into dropping my Sour Sugar Snakes!”

“Well, you have to make things right with that squirrel,” said the Librarian. “Find that squirrel and offer it your Sour Sugar Snakes, and perhaps you’ll be done with this whole business.”

“But we haven’t seen that squirrel since the Fresh Mart,” said Dillon.

“Follow the squirrels, and they will take you to him,” said the Librarian. She turned the book toward them and pointed to another passage.

All four kids leaned over to read the text.

“Red foxes are their biggest predator,” said Samantha von Oppelstein. “If we get foxes to come chase the squirrels, the squirrels will run to their nest.”

“And that’s probably where the king of the squirrels lives,” said Mikey.

“Could be a queen, you know,” said Samantha von Oppelstein.

“But how do we lure foxes?” Dillon asked.

When he looked up, the Librarian was no longer standing there. A small bowl of berries sat on the counter.

“Where’d she go?” Dillon asked. “She was just standing here.”

“Blackberries!” said Madeline. “I remember my grandmother talking about keeping the foxes away from her chickens by planting blackberry bushes!”

“And the woods are filled with blackberries,” said Mikey. He was a Wolf Scout, and he knew just where to find ripe blackberries.

“And foxes,” said Madeline.

“And ghosts,” said Samantha von Oppelstein.

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