The Many Adventures of Kiki the Flying Squirrel

By Patty A Spence

The Dirt Hills is a place where many new critters set out on adventures to learn about themselves and the world around them. It is in this wonderland of shade and hiding places where Kiki, the youngest member of the Carreño of Southern Flying Squirrels, conquers her fear of flying and becomes a sma

• Language: English
• Publisher: calicheroadspress.webador.com
• Release date: Jan 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9781736258422

Book preview

Chapter One

August Begins in the Treetops

Eugenia Olivia Carreño lived with her parents and six brothers in the lush green canopy of a Magnolia tree in the Dirt Hills on John Adam’s Drive. Their nest, also called a drey, was spacious, loving, and warm. Mr. and Mrs. Carreño built the three-room nest, using the softest feathers, sturdiest twigs, and prettiest pieces of paper. Their hard work provided all their baby squirrels, also known as kits, a safe and peaceful place to grow and develop into the best Southern flying squirrels they could be. Parents teach their children about the world and how to become independent.

On the magical night that she was born, Eugenia stayed curled up in a tight little ball and just slept. It was only after the late Summer moon peeked through the branches and illuminated the nest that Eugenia slowly opened her eyes and discovered eight pairs of big brown eyes peeping back at her.

Good morning, Eugenia Olivia Carreño. Welcome to the world, said her mother in her sweet melodic voice. I am your mami, this is your papi, and these are your brothers: Beto, Marco, Enrique, Juanito, Miguelito, and Paulo.

Eugenia opened her tiny little mouth and yawned, causing everyone around her to laugh. The sound of her family’s happiness was like sweet musical notes to her tiny pink ears and filled her heart with warmth, despite her not knowing what was happening. Looking at her hands for the first time, she noticed her four tiny fingers and wiggled them curiously. This made her giggle; she then stretched out her little arms and hugged her mami tightly. Soon, everyone was hugging her all at the same time, creating a family hug circle with their new bundle of joy at the center.

For the next ten days, Eugenia and her siblings stuck to their mother as they grew. Their pink bodies developed little tufts of brown and white fur and a webbing between their arms and legs. Their tails became bushy bristles of fur, and they used them to communicate with each other as they learned to speak. Eugenia quickly discovered how to wave her tail left and right when she did not want to do what she was asked to do and would point her tail straight up whenever she was interested in something.

Every now and then, she felt confident and would venture out of the nest with her big brothers and scurry up the tree limbs to explore the big white blossoms and glossy green leaves that could be found all around their home. Eugenia proved to be quite an active little thing. Chasing her brothers across long branches or playing hide-and-seek among the leaves, were just a few of their daily activities that she liked.  Instead of learning to speak, she spent all her time playing out on the tree limbs, hiding behind magnolia blossoms, and touching everything she could reach. Because she was most interested in the world around her, she didn’t learn to speak until her third-week birthday. The first words she learned to say were Mama and Dada. She called everything by those names. If there was something she wanted, she pointed to it and said, Mama. When there was something she didn’t want, she would say, Dada. This made everyone laugh. Eugenia loved to make everyone laugh.

Chapter Two

September Changes the Seasons

The Carreño kits’ days were all the same; their schedule consisted of sleep, eat, play, and sleep some more. Through this routine, Eugenia learned the number one law of squirrels. It was to sleep during the daylight and play at night. This made her wonder what was so special about daytime that she was not allowed to see it. Every day she tried to fight the urge to sleep that took over her and made her eyelids get heavy.

Sometimes she waited for the sun to rise and fought that heavy sleepiness in her eyes for as long as she could, but every day she would lose the fight. On one particular morning on the eve of