Mr. Squirrel and His True Friend?!

Mr. Squirrel was an exciting animal! He had the most daring adventures with his best friend, Mr. Rat. One day, they would be escaping a python. The next day they would save a bird’s nest from a hawk. Sometimes, they would save some animals from drowning in the river. Mr. Rat was a true friend, at least that’s what Mr. Squirrel thought.

“Thank you so much for saving my eggs from the snake!” cried Mother Robin. It was the fifth time it had happened. Mr. Slither (the bird-eating snake) had to learn he wasn’t getting the eggs.

“Oh, of course! Mr. Rat and I love to help! Isn’t that right, my friend?” asked Mr. Squirrel. He glanced at Mr. Rat with a warm smile.

“Yes, yes! It was quite fun!” answered Mr. Rat.

As they said goodbye to Mother Robin, something hit Mr. Rat hard on the head. He grumbled and rubbed his head. Why couldn’t they throw something at Mr. Squirrel sometimes?! It was that donkey again! He was the mean mailman! Hitting Mr. Rat on the head with the newspaper but acts gently with others. It was like that donkey mailman had it out for Mr. Rat. Like a stalker. He always was sure the newspaper was extra hard. Just Mr. Rat’s luck! He filled the newspaper with rocks! Of all things!

“YOU GET BACK HERE, DONKEY!! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU?! I DON’T LIKE THE NEWSPAPER ON MY HEAD!!” yelled Mr. Rat, full of rage. He sprayed spit in every direction. 

“Oops. Sorry Rat. Didn’t see you there,” replied the donkey. He went back to his bicycle and started riding away.

“IT’S MR. RAT TO YOU!!!” exclaimed the frustrated Mr. Rat.

“Why do you pick on him?” asked the gentle Mr. Squirrel.

“Oh, I’ll get him back for this, I will. Ten years of being harassed, and I’ll do something about it,” growled Mr. Rat. He was too absorbed in his thoughts to think about what Mr. Squirrel was saying.

Mr. Squirrel sighed and picked up the newspaper. As he scanned through it, Mr. Rat was still muttering about the donkey. (Ms. Swan’s Restaurant Hire Today, Mr. Bull Fitness discount, Monkey’s Music Show, Shining Stars Salon, Juice Store Open for Business). Mr. Squirrel found nothing interesting as he flipped the page. He had given up on the newspaper and turned to put it away, but something caught his eye. It was the last column, finding a true friend! The person with the most trustworthy friends would win a prize. Mr. Squirrel snorted. This competition would be easy. Who else would he need?

“Hey, Mr. Rat! Stop ranting about the donkey. Come over here,” Mr. Squirrel called out. 

“Yeah, what?” grunted Mr. Rat.

“Look at this column. I’m going to enter! Will you help me?” Mr. Squirrel told Mr. Rat.

“Mmm, can I look at that column?” asked Mr. Rat.

“By all means! I need to go to my abode in the pine tree, but I’ll be sure to stop by in your burrow. I’ll print an extra for you,” assured Mr. Squirrel.

“That’d be great! I’ll phone you later, then. Bye!” said Mr. Rat.

“Bye, Mr. Rat!” replied Mr. Squirrel.

Mr. Squirrel walked home in sheer excitement. He read the column and wrote a letter to the bear hosting it. He had ten days until the contest to make a new friend. Easy enough. The competition enrollment was tomorrow. Once you signed in, you couldn’t drop out. Mr. Rat was happy. Now, he got to show his true colors. He would dump Mr. Squirrel and enroll in the competition himself. Anyways, he didn’t like Mr. Squirrel one bit. Everyone paid too much attention to him, liked him too much, and was nice to him too much. Where did that leave Mr. Rat? He wanted everyone to pay him the most attention, like him lots, and be nice to him, like that donkey. It had never been an authentic friendship between Mr. Rat and Mr. Squirrel. Mr. Rat despised him and only became his friend for the attention.

“Knock, knock!” Mr. Rat walked to the door and opened it.

“Hello! I’ve got that last newspaper column for you,” said Mr. Squirrel. He handed out the piece of paper.

“Why thank you,” replied Mr. Rat. He accepted the paper and waited until Mr. Squirrel left to close the door. It took about a minute.

“Finally! That rodent is gone! Now, time to find a new friend to replace Squirrel over there,” sighed Mr. Rat.

The next day, at the competition, Mr. Squirrel went over to Honey (the bear) and signed a slip to get started. Mr. Squirrel didn’t expect so many people to be there. In all the commotion, he saw Mr. Rat sitting by a black and white badger.

“Hello, Mr. Rat! Guess what the PRIZE IS!! TEN MILLION DOLLARS FOR A TRUE FRIEND!!!!!!!” squealed Mr. Squirrel in joy. “Hurry up! Let’s go get ready!”

Mr. Rat lingered and sighed, “Oh, poor Mr. Squirrel. You haven’t realized it yet, haven’t you? We are not friends, do you get that?”

The badger laughed in glee.

“WHAT???????!!!!!!!!” panicked Mr. Squirrel.

TO BE CONTINUED…