Squirrelsville
by
Sami S. Khalil
He called for an emergency board meeting up in the
trees. It was urgent and life-threatening. “The Chief” squirrel, as he was
called, wanted to warn his vermin clan of the upcoming danger, soliciting their
help. Above the canopy filled with moss, they gathered around and, across it, a
watermill stood silently with trickling water cascading rusty wheels; a
testament to bygone days.
The Chief narrated one recent day, while hiding above
a tree over town square, he overheard ominous news from the local village folk
concerning ways to exterminate the squirrel population, by any means. One thing
they were extremely harmful, carrying diseases and another thing a nuisance to
all. They were fed up and saw the need to eliminate them. The Chief concocted a
clever plan to save his people from this upcoming genocide by a basic strategy:
“If you make people feel good and happy about something, using sly marketing
tools, you can sway them to your side, ultimately changing minds, hearts and
ways.” He encouraged his clan to sneak into stores, steal all the toys they
could find, go around houses, knock on people’s doors, then upon seeing them,
leave the toys for the kids to enjoy. Why not, for you can get the parents
through their kids. He even made a pact with the local cats to have a truce,
conditioned on bringing deceased squirrel bodies as free meals to them in
exchange for their support. This way cats did not have to “hunt” (although they
had a natural affinity) while the squirrels had ulterior motives; a win, win
situation. The pact did hold up and there were instances and days where squirrels
were spotted riding above cats’ bodies or walking side by side as comrades to
people’s astonishment.
Things quieted down. Peace and harmony prevailed
for a while until the town realized they had another problem. Those cats won’t
even hunt for mice contributing their population to exceed fearfully. Mice can also
carry many diseases. One day, the head mouse overheard plots and plans of the town
folk on an all-out war on mice. The head mouse sought help from “The Chief” for
it was rumored he was so wise. He gave the mouse the same advice he shared with
his people before and it worked. Things quieted down. Peace and harmony
prevailed. A while passed and people realized they had a bigger issue at hand now.
Snakes abounded when they lost one of their main predators. Cats were not
interested in hunting them for why kill the cows when you can get their milk
free. Days went by and things got worse and worse.
An elderly man had a solution. Introduce multitudes
of “King Snakes” to the town’s alleys and fields for they are notoriously known
to be great predators to other snakes, seeking them out as cannibals. The town
liked his idea and so it was. King snakes went on hunting binges, sending other
frightful and hungry snakes into caves and houses to attack and eat all the
mice they could find to survive too. Cats lost their free meals when the
squirrels got afraid to come down. So, the cats went back to their nature. They
hunted and killed all the ones they could lay their hands on.
In a matter of weeks, all those problems vanished
from the town sending people on mass celebrations. But by these dead vermin and
snakes, the town folks woke up to a new realization. Thousands of “Snake Eagles”,
owls, hawks, falcons and herons swooped in to feast on them. Unfortunately,
they picked up many infants, too. The “invaders” became the “invaded” with
little recourse. Is the survivor now who can clamber on top of the food chain?
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