This was the time Watson and I took a relaxing hike through the deep woods of Squashpine Valley (which aren’t actually blue) to gather flowers. At least, it was relaxing until we heard a BOOM!! BANG! CRASH!!! out of the green. We both freaked out and jumped, only to find that there was a tiny Pumpkin squirrel behind us.
“Thank goodness,” the Watermelon Punny sighed in relief. “These squirrels are practically harmless, although -”
“Aww, that squirrel is so cute!!” I squealed, running up to the little baby with open arms. After I met Bamboo the eggplant panda, I momentarily became obsessed with petting cute animals in Punny Garden.
“Eden, no -” Watson started, only to find that I was too fast and too blinded by cuteness to hear.
BANG!!
POWWWW!
WOOSH!
PEW PEW PEW!!
SMAAASH!!!
WEE-OO WEE-OO WEE-OO!
Loud and thunderous noises rebounded through the forest as I jumped back, covering my ears. “YOWW!!” I yell, shocked at the sudden noise.
The squirrel, with a silly and mischievous look in his eye, started giggling (in a squirrel way) and ran up a pine tree.
Watson, with his hands covering his ears, sighed. “I was going to tell you that Gourd Squirrels can use their gourd-shaped vocal cords to produce loud noises when alarmed once a day. Except this one looks like it wanted to play a prank on you instead!”
“Wow!” I exclaimed, the noise of PEW PEW PEW! still ringing in my ears a little. “That’s an amazing ability!” Fascinated by the small creature, I devised a plan. The next day, with tiny noise-cancelling earplugs in my ears, I came back to the same spot with a huge basket of squirrels’ favorite acorns and seeds and sat down.
The squirrel saw me, and suspiciously inched over to me, wondering if it was a trap. Then, he plopped down on his bottom and started stuffing my seeds into his mouth at the speed of light! He eyed me suspiciously, but I quickly looked away and whistled a funky tune. As he started to eat the piece of kabocha I prepared, I slooooowly reached over and gave him a tiny pat on the head. He didn’t seem to mind, so I petted him more. We proceeded to do this for the rest of the time he was here (about 10 minutes).
Even though animals tend to be friendly in Punny Garden, I learned that like other Punnies and people, it can take time (and food) to earn their trust. I named this squirrel Boom because he sounded like a loud drum, and over more time we became the best of friends!