The Christmas Squirrel's Nephew

The forest folk all knew the story of the Christmas Squirrel, how one of their own went off with Father Christmas to help to deliver presents to all folks everywhere on that special night. But memories fade and pass into tradition and tales.  While some creatures spoke of the squirrel who went off with Santa, others talked about the horticultural squirrel who looked after his trees and had the best harvests. The Christmas Squirrel became a family tradition passed down the generations in his family since the young squirrels always seemed to have a special, exotic nut tied with a red ribbon when they woke up on that special morning. The old squirrels who spent more time snoozing than scampering would look at each other and nod wisely, remembering the delicious nuts they'd woken up to when they were young. And the years passed and the memories faded.

The young squirrel moved into the den he'd inherited in the middle of the old woods. It was quite spacious and had many larders and comforts, especially the large bed in the small room off the reception area. This part of the woods had always been a flourishing area but had fallen into ruin and the squirrel knew that his first job was to look after the trees and bushes and bring them back to their best. His family was known for their horticultural skills so it would be a privilege and a joy to carry out this work. Even before he was settled he started pruning the tree, much to the approval of the hedgehog family that lived in the roots of the tree.

He was very industrious and it didn't take long for him to start pruning the blackberry bushes and the hawthorns to encourage them to produce more berries and that autumn he soon had a full larder. He visited neighbours to offer them berries and nuts that were more than he needed, to the hedgehogs, the mice and even to Mr Fox (there is always a Mr Fox).  

The frost arrived, making everyone shiver, and then the snow. The squirrel wore a bright red muffler his mother had made for him and that kept the chill at bay. He was delivering a succulent blackberry to the hedgehogs who lived at the base of his tree when they mentioned that their ancestor had known his ancestor. They mentioned that they remembered his ancestor always wore the scarf in all the colours of autumn and winter when the snows arrived and how he had scampered onto Santa's sleigh one night and never returned. 

The squirrel had heard the family stories but didn't realise that others of the forest folks still remembered his ancestor. He hurried up the tree and into his warn bed as he thought of his great, great oh so great uncle, and he fell asleep. At some point in the night he vaguely heard bells and turned over in his bed to go back to sleep. He had forgotten that it was the special night.

After a deep sleep the squirrel woke up and stretched and opened the front door to his den to find a nut outside on the doormat. Tied with a red ribbon and a bow. He looked at the nut and its shiny ribbon and remembered when he was younger and found a nut on that special morning and here it was again. He looked around so he could thank whoever had left it but there was no-one around so he picked it up and added it to his larder to eat for his lunch. It was the special day, after all. 

That was a long, hard winter, with deep snows and the Great Sickness affecting the forest folks but the squirrel visited his neighbours and always took a small gift of berries or cordial or nuts. He felt it was important to keep in touch with his friends even though it meant going out into the cruel weather rather than keeping snug and warm in his cosy den. And then, one day, he noticed new shoots on his tree and leaves emerging on the bushes on the forest floor and he knew that Spring was arriving. 

He was soon busy once again, as the blossom started to show and the fresh green of new leaves started to fill his vision. He always found time to chat to his neighbours and visitors who came to marvel at his trees and all the colour and growth he encouraged from them. It wasn't long before summer arrived and the squirrel lolled in his trees and watched the life of the woods pass by, with the hedgehogs and dormice and Mr Fox. And suddenly it was Autumn and the busy-ness started again as the squirrel filled his larders and started giving the bounty from his trees to other woodland creatures.

When it became colder the squirrel took his red muffler from the drawer and wrapped it round his neck when he visited his friends. It was surprisingly warm, even on the frosty mornings. The leaves fell and the world was golden. Then the snow turned the world white. The squirrel snuggled deep into his warm bed and drifted off to sleep but then he was woken by a jingling and a merry laugh. 

He looked out of his door and saw a bright, gleaming sleigh in the snow in the clearing outside his tree. He saw a big man in red with a white beard and a squirrel sorting out colourful boxes, some wrapped with ribbons and he remembered it was the special night. He grabbed his red muffler and ran to his larder to pour some cordial into two acorn shells and hurried down the tree to offer them to the two strangers as a welcome to the woods.

The man gulped down the cordial and said, 'I haven't tasted that in years!' while the strange squirrel savoured the taste and said 'Blackberry and gooseberry!' and smacked his lips. The squirrel was wearing a scarf in all the colours of autumn and winter and his bushy tail whisked from side to side. 'Thank you, nephew' said the squirrel.

The squirrel blinked as he realised that this was his great, great o-so great uncle from the family stories. 'O gosh' he said quietly. The squirrel smiled and handed back the acorn cup. He said 'You're doing an excellent job with the trees and I've never seen that bush over there have so many berries. Keep up the good work!' Then he produced a small red and green kerchief full of seeds and handed it to his nephew saying, 'I picked these seeds myself from far off places and all will grow here. The bees will love them!'. With a final whisk of his tail he scampered back onto the sleigh and it climbed up into the clear sky as the man gave a great laugh into the night. 

The squirrel woke up and, after breakfast, he open the door to see a nut wrapped in a red ribbon and another parcel wrapped in colourful paper. He opened the parcel to find a scarf in all the colours of autumn and winter and he clasped it to him. It was true, the old stories were true. The Christmas Squirrel was his uncle and he had visited and left him a special scarf.

The squirrel sat in his armchair clutching the scarf to him, more determined than ever to treasure his uncle's memory and legacy and care for the trees, the bushes and the forest folk. He said out loud, 'Until next year, Uncle...' and then headed to his larders to take his gifts to his friends at the bottom of the tree and show them his new scarf. 

Merry Christmas!

The Tale of the Christmas Squirrel

The little squirrel was busy picking flowers in the woodland glade not far from his favourite tree. He needed the pretty, fragrant flowers to decorate the tree to attract the bumble bees to pollinate the tree so it would produce lots of nuts. Some of the other squirrels and woodland creatures were just lolling in the sun as the squirrel neatly decorated his favourite tree and then started on the tree next door. He was a busy little thing.

Then Autumn came and the leaves began to glow as the nuts and berries ripened and the squirrel tended them carefully, encouraging the growth and looking forward to a bumper harvest. When the nuts were ready he quickly picked them while allowing some to ripen fully and drop to the ground but the choicest nuts were taken to his many secret larders. And he collected the best fruits from the bushes and small trees to make blackberry cordial and other delicacies to see him through the hard winter.

He was diligent and worked hard at filling his larders and sharing some of the bounty with the other squirrels and creatures since he had more than enough for his own needs. And the leaves turned golden and gently fell down in the breeze into great drifts of gold on the woodland floor and the days became shorter and colder

One morning he looked out of his snug den and saw that all the leaves had fallen on the nearby trees and only the deep green spiky leaves of the fir trees at the centre of the forest were still resisting the urge to fall. There had been frost and the squirrel could see the tiny paw prints of the hedgehog who lived in the roots of the tree and the larger prints that told of Reynard's passing as he slinked around the woodland in search of his breakfast. The squirrel grabbed his muffler and wound it round his neck to keep him warm as he breakfasted on a nut sitting on his favourite branch and dangling his legs over the side to swing them in the morning light.

He spent the day chatting to his neighbours, making sure they were warm and snug in their burrows and nests and leaving them a shiny chestnut as a gift before making is weary way back to his own snug den where he fell asleep with his bushy tail wrapped around him.

But something woke him, the sound of hooves and a great weary sigh and a swish and he looked out from his den to see a great sleigh had pulled up in the clearing near his den and a great big man looked weary. The squirrel tied on his scarf and scampered down his tree to welcome the old man and make sure he was all right. The old man turned to the squirrel and gave him a weary smile as his eyes twinkled and he leaned against a pile of colourfully wrapped boxes. He let out another sigh and that decided the squirrel - this old man needs some cordial and nut, he thought, and I have just the right food in my larder in that tree over there.

The squirrel scampered away and poured some cordial into the biggest nut shell he could find and piled some nuts into a sack he carried over his shoulder and returned with his offering to the strange old man with the bushy beard. When the squirrel hopped up onto the sleigh to offer the old man a nut shell of delicious cordial the old man roared with hearty laughter that made the stars twinkle and look down on the woodland glade as he bowed his head to the generous squirrel and accepted the cordial and nuts and his cheeks became rosy and his laughter even more infectious. The squirrel couldn't help but feel the joy from the old man and his bushy tail whisked from side to side as he joined in with the old man's great merriment.

Lifting the squirrel gently off the sleigh and returning the nut shell, the old man bowed and said, 'Thank you Master Squirrel' and flew his sleigh off into the night with a great roaring laugh and a sprinkle of stardust. Well I never, thought the squirrel as he scampered back to his den to continue his sleep but, when he got there, he found a tiny package waiting for him. Hesitantly he opened it and found a lovely new scarf in all the colours of Autumn and Winter and he knew it would be the warmest scarf ever made. He held it close as he snuggled into it and drifted off to sleep to dream of great chestnuts and raspberries.

The Spring melted into a glorious Summer that led to a fruitful Autumn and the squirrel's harvest was good and fulsome. He wore his old muffler as the days got colder. And one day he knew it was time to get out his special scarf with all the colours of Autumn and Winter and he prepared a shell of his best cordial and a little pile of the most tasty nuts and he sat patiently waiting for the old man to return. And return he did with a twinkle of light and a great roar of a laugh and his sleigh pulled down into the woodland glade for a rest on a busy night. He looked over at his little friend and laughed with such joy that that squirrel immediately scampered over and up onto the sleigh and sat on the old man's knee offering him a nut shell of cordial. As the old man drank and chewed the nuts the squirrel told him about the flowers he'd found to sweeten the cordial and how the nuts came from the best crop he'd ever harvested. And all the while the squirrel's bushy tail whisked and twitched from side to side in his excitement.

And so it happened every year on that special night when the stars twinkled brightly and there was joy in the air. The squirrel always greeted the old man with his special cordial and some nuts and the old man sought the squirrel's help to deliver tiny parcels to the woodland creatures and then the humans in the nearby village. The squirrel looked forward to his special work on that night and noticed that the creatures of the woods, and then the villagers, started leaving gifts of food and drink to keep the old man refreshed on his busy night. The squirrel helped the old man when nut or cordial was involved.

The years passed and the squirrel's coat turned from red to rust tinged with frost and his eyes grew weaker but he still wound his special scarf round his neck on that special night and he was warm again. The old man saw that the squirrel could no longer scamper onto his knee so he picked him up and placed him on the warm blanket on the seat so he could sleep a while and the old man delivered the tiny presents to the woodland creatures and accepted their gifts of food and drink, saving some cordial for his little friend.

Before he flew off again the old man asked the elderly squirrel if he'd like to come with him this time. The squirrel smiled and nodded, wanting to see the flowers and nuts that grew in the world outside his beloved woodland and the old man brushed his hand over the squirrel's now thin tail. The frost flew from his tail and it bloomed in its previous bushiness and the squirrel felt the sap returning to his bones and he perked up and jumped onto the old man's knees again and whisked his tail energetically in the starlight. He was ready to travel and off they flew into the night sky, lit by the stars and joy and to the sound of great laughter.

Only the old hedgehog that lived in the root of the squirrel's tree saw what happened and he was happy for his old, kindly friend. He told all his neighbours and his grandchildren the following day and word spread far and wide about the honour shown to one of their own, the squirrel who flew with Santa Claus.

So, if you see a squirrel on Christmas Eve wearing a scarf in all the colours of Autumn and Winter, give him a cheery wave and remember to leave out some nuts as well as a mince pie for the old man. I will.