A Squirrely Encounter

Today was a really nice day, so I decided to cut through the town trails to get to work. As I was walking I could hear the birds chirping, and the breeze rustling through the trees. The sun was poking through the branches reflecting off of a stream of crystal clear water flowing along side the trail. I looked at my watch to discover that I was running quite a bit early, so I decided to sit up against a huge rock on the edge of a clearing and just enjoy the peaceful atmosphere for a while. All of a sudden the birds started to rustle and screech in panic, and I could see them flying above the trees all in the same direction. I jumped to my feet and looked across the clearing to find out what was going on, in the distance I could see smoke rising above the forest, and I began running towards the other end of the clearing and along the path on the other side to try to find the source of the smoke.

After a few minutes of running I could smell the smoke and figured I was getting close. I slowed down to a mild jog and was keeping an ear out for anyone who might be in trouble. At this point I still wasn’t sure if as to the severity of this fire, but I proceeded with caution just to be sure.

Further down the trail I start to see glimmers of fire through some trees, as I drew closer I could see that it was only a small campfire sized flame. Looking around, there didn’t look to be signs of anyone around and the fire wasn’t built properly even if campers had started it. I called out to see if anyone was in the area, there was no response. I then proceeded to put the fire out with soil from a dirt pile a few feet away. Once the first armful hit the fire seemed to disappear. All of a sudden I see this squirrel poking its head out of the dirt and scamper off onto the trail. I chased after hit to see if it had been burned but it just kept running. I figured if it could run that fast then it must be all right, so I gave up and slowed down.

As I was nearing the end of the trail I hear this voice coming from behind me saying “That wasn’t very nice of you, throwing dirt on that poor squirrel like that.” I then began to turn around saying “I didn’t know there was a squirrel there, I just wanted to put out the fi…” There was nobody there. I looked around but couldn’t see anybody. “Down here.” the voice said. And to my surprise, as I looked down, I saw her. It was the squirrel! Sitting on a tree stump looking up at me with these big squirrelly eyes. Shocked by the thought of a talking squirrel I stuttered, “I-I-I-I’m sorry. I saw a fire and was trying to put it out before the whole forest went up in flames.” The squirrel blinked a few times, jumped on my arm and climbed up on to my shoulder and whispered in an eerie tone “That was the point!”

After a moment of trying to figure out what she meant I open my mouth to ask, she cut me off and said “I’ve lived among these trees for a few days now and I have decided that it is time for a change. The birds annoy me, the flies are horrible, and this weather has just been too darn cheery.” She continued, “So I have decided to torch the place and move on.” “Why?” I asked, “and how are you able to start the fire?” She hopped off of my shoulder and onto a tree stump higher up on a hill. “I do it because I can,” she explained, “because it makes me happy, I love seeing lesser woodland creatures running for their lives, the smell burning pine, and the joy of the pure chaos. So stand back as I begin my terror amongst these trees!” I step back and watch the squirrel position herself on the stump, still very curious as to how she would start her fire. Then out of nowhere a flame appears above her head, and I could see a fire burning in her eyes. I looked frantically for some loose dirt to try and put her out again, but there was nothing suitable to be found. “Better run!” she bellowed in a devilish voice. “It won’t be very long now.” As she spoke fire started shooting out of her mouth. I then started to bolt out of the trail, still able to hear the squirrels’ evil laugh as I ran. When I reached the park outside of the trail I rushed over to the park attendants shed to warn someone about the fire and have them call the fire department to put it out.

Later that day on my way home from work the fire crew was still at the park. I asked one of them if the fire was still burning and he said “No not really, we caught it soon enough so we were able to contain it pretty quick, we’re just walking around now to make sure there aren’t anymore embers around that could reignite.” I had a smile on my face when I heard the news and said, “Well I’m glad you were able to put it out before the whole forest went up in flames.” As I began walking away I turned to the fireman again and said, “Watch out for squirrels when you’re in there, they can be pretty crazy.”

Great content, let me share it! »