Squirrel Tales

By Debby Topliff

Agatha is an odd little girl—she’s only six inches tall. When her not-so-nice parents desert her, she finds love and happiness with Mr. and Mrs. Squirrel who invite her to move into their treetop home. Agatha makes friends with all the woodland creatures—and even the boy who lives on the hill. Together they rescue a lonely old owl and bring celebration to the ravine.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Debby Topliff
• Release date: Aug 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465715081

Debby Topliff

Debby Topliff is a painter and teacher whose gift makes the Bible come alive. She received a BA at the University of Michigan and an MA from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Mother of three and grandmother of five, Debby lives with her husband near Lake Michigan.

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Squirrel Tales

By Debby Topliff

with illustrations by Kate Topliff

Copyright 2011 Debby Topliff

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Chapter One: A Tiny Surprise

This is a sad story. And a happy story. It begins one sunny afternoon in early spring. Mr. and Mrs. Squirrel were sharing a delicious pot of honeysuckle tea when they heard a car stop. Doors opened and closed, then the car sped off with a howling screech. That wasn’t so unusual in the woods where the squirrels lived. They’d watched as lazy humans threw all manner of things into the ravine. But today the sound didn’t end; a faint shrieking noise continued.

"What is that? Mr. Squirrel said as he swallowed his last sip of tea. He scampered to the round door opening of their treetop home and cocked his furry black ears. Maybe I’m just getting old, he said to his wife, but that sounds more like a human voice than one of those stinky driving machines."

Mrs. Squirrel finished rinsing the acorn cups and hopped next to her husband. Your hearing’s fine, dear, she said and kissed his graying ears. I think you’re right. That is the cry of a human child.

They looked at one another and twitched their noses. They’d been together for so many years they knew just what the other was thinking. Without a word Mr. Squirrel sprang from the nest and darted up to the highest branch of the red maple. Mrs. Squirrel ran down the trunk and jumped to the shagbark hickory. From those two vantage points they could see beyond the trees in the ravine, all the way to the culvert at the side of the road.

Flick, flick, went Mrs. Squirrel’s tail. Flick, flick answered Mr. Squirrel. For those of you who don’t know squirrel language, what they were saying was they saw the source of the sound. It was a tiny human child sitting on a bed of fallen blossoms under a forsythia bush. Its hands covered its face and the poor thing was sobbing.

Cautiously the two squirrels approached, careful not to snap a twig or rustle any leaves. They didn’t want to scare the child.

Perhaps my hearing still works, whispered Mr. Squirrel, but now I’m wondering about my eyesight. That is the smallest human being I’ve ever seen. It must be a brand new baby.

"It certainly