Checkie's Best Nut

Checkie. Checkie was your average squirrel with a craving for nuts. His favorite? Peanuts.

The summer sun bloomed high in the sky. The breeze that came with the season drifted around the landscape rustling leaves and hair. Small squirrels, cats, and birds hustled about the place playing, hunting, and just going about their daily tasks. One squirrel, named Checkie -for the funny pigment pattern on the pads of his paws and who is also our main character- ran about the grassy green land chanting his business to himself.
    “Gotta get home, gotta get nuts, gotta stay away from danger, gotta be smart, gotta get nuts, gotta get nuts…” he huffed, dodging dandelions and twigs.  His itty bitty hunting eyes look this way and that.
    He came to a halt, sniffed the air, and peered around him. Off he ran in fierce pursuit of a distinct memorable smell. He bolted through trees, over roots, twigs, bugs and stems alike. Heading and hunting down this scent, he went.
    Abruptly he found himself before a tall acorn tree. He looked up it, for just a second of hesitation, before grasping his inner instinct and making his way aloft in the tree; stopping every few feet, as any good squirrel does. He climbed higher and higher, till suddenly the green foliage around him, started to hold tiny green acorn bulbs.  He frowned in exasperation.
    “They gotta smell so good so soon.” he said, “and yet they are still sours and… not tasty yet.”
    He climbed high, maneuvering up the tree to the highest point. His little beady eyes searched the lands far and wide, his nose smelt all the scents of the day. He looked for a yummy nut scent-the one his instincts, and high craving for called out too.
    He sniffed towards the park. A beautiful aroma rose from it, it was so familiar-the distinct honey coated scent of nuts. He licked his lips, but knew it was two sunny to get himself any. And with his luck, the man selling those nuts would be a horrible experience. Like tasting a rotten nut!
    He huffed, think he might as well chance it. How bad could it be? The best he could imagine happening would be his success in lovely chestnut heaven. Or maybe that man would be cruel n give him the yucky burned thoroughly ones that don’t even smell like a nut anymore. Or worse, he could get nothing. But hoping was the best card he had at the moment, so off he went.
    “Nut, nut nut-nut-nut, gotta get a nut. Stop!” he paused. Something prickled his senses.
    A mighty cat claw slashed inches from his tail.
    “YIKES!” Checkie cried, sprinting from the danger. He was fast, but so was a cat.
    That was his worse enemy, the cat. They were the fearsome adversary of the squirrel population, a creature to be reckoned with. And yet a cat could be dealt with. Not like a human. No the worse a squirrel could do to a human was throw a nutshell on him accidentally, or maybe bit her. But I cat…well, on the other paw, they just had claws, and could hurt any squirrel within distance. Sometime a human would hardly do. But I cat would. With those sharp teeth, and fearsome blades of doom. The worst about them was their ability to climb. Humans were slow, fat and to big to climb fast, but a cat had agility. Only a squirrel was better.
    A black cat looking like he had a tux on chased Checkie across the park. Even beyond the good smelling nuts, which was what killed him. It got him so angry that he had half a mind to run to the pond and try a paw at swimming. But that sounded foolish, very foolish. So he kept running on his better instinct.
    Just then Checkie had a thought, and pulled a hairpin turn, running for the people. Maybe they could help.
    He ran between legs. His fluffy and neat tail grazing the former. Some people screamed, others cried an interjection, or yelled at the silly animal that Checkie was. He was being a very silly squirrel. He was far to close to the humans, that he might get hurt. But the cat was bigger and slower, by a bit. If anything cold stop him, maybe people. For if he climbed a tree, maybe he could get cornered, after all, Checkie had a bad experience with cats and trees when he was younger. Something that forever left shorter hair on his left flank.
    Yet as soon as he closed in onto the sidewalk and road way, Checkie looked behind, seeing the big mean cat still chasing him. His plan wasn’t working.
    “Gotta run faster!” Checkie ordered himself, sprinting towards the street. He was going to risk his life, to try and survive. It was suicidal, even for a quickie like him, but he felt he could lose the cat this way. And on ward he ran, nearing the road.
    He looked to his right and left as he got closer. Misfortune seemed to have his luck at that moment, squeezing it lifeless. In one lane rolled a steady car with an old man-presumably one with slow reflexes in Checkies eye. In the other lane, roared a great town bus, an enemy to crossing animals. It was pure suicide. But Checkie, he took the leap of faith.
    Wheels screeched, the cat let out a cry. And everyone looked. Checkie. Checkie. Checkie. No one knew the name of the brave little squirrel that had ran from the cat. Not even that cat that had turned from the car that hurdled off the road. Nor the little girl who had cried out as the bus driver slammed on his breaks. No one knew the brave squirrels name. They simply feared his lose.
    That was untill a furry and very squirrelly blur propelled its form up the fence in only the greatest squirrelly fashion. He was safe on this side. No more cats or cars, or humans to worry about, just nut hunting, sniffing, maybe a chance to lay in the sun. m
Maybe he’ll get lucky and-
    A smell tingled his nose. A peculiar, warm nutty smell. He sat up on his hind legs, sniffing the air, where was it coming from?
    He dashed after it, towards a house with a deck, and bound up wooden railing. That’s when he saw IT. Sitting there in a glorious light, sat a peanut, shell and all, happily and enjoying itself on the wooden deck. Entranced Checkie neared it, sniffing lightly. His nose was too overwhelmed by this delightful scent to possible smell anything. He didn’t even notice the little boy, the little human boy watching him intently from just a foot away.
    He stepped up to it, and picked the peanut up in his mitts. He flipped it around sniffing and examining it. That’s when he hurriedly put it in his mouth, finally sensing the danger. The little boy reach out for him, just touching the tip of Checkies tail, as the springy squirrel bounded down the railing. He paused, looking back at the boy, whose big blue eyes were happy and curious. Checkie seemly nodded to him, and scampered off, chanting a new routine for himself.
    “I got me a nut, I gotta go home, I got me a new nut, smelling so good, smelling so tasty. I got me a nut.” all this was mixed with squirrel saliva and jumbled by the peanuts presence.
    As he reached his home, Checkie found a place to stop and eat his nut. The most delicious nut he was sure the world has ever seen.
    “It’s beautiful it is! The Peanut!” Checkie proclaimed. “And it’s all mine.”

 

Author's Note

Took a while. but i'm quiet content about it. btw, yes Checkie is the squirrel in the picture XD