Squirrel’s family (his aunt and uncle and cousins, and his cousins’ children) had trooped to the garden from the woods, arriving in the meadow just as Old Possum and Rabbit were setting up the table for their feast.

Fortunately, Raccoon and Mama Chipmunk had not yet arrived with the food, because Possum and Rabbit and Squirrel’s aunt and uncle all wrinkled their noses at the same time, declaring that the evening air smelled of rain, possibly even snow.

So Squirrel and his aunt and uncle and cousins all helped carry the table and the chairs and the pile of plates and jar of forks and stacks of cups and glasses back to Possum’s house, where they would simply have to squeeze everyone in.

The children ran to Mama Chipmunk’s house and to Raccoon’s tree nest with the news … and, a little timidly, to the cottage to tell the cats.

(Late November 2024)

Story © Jennifer McClain Singleton / Read+Purr

This is another vignette in my ongoing series of Tiny Garden Stories: peaceful 1-minute tales that let you read like a kid again. Click one of the first two buttons below to go to (or back to, if that’s where you fell down the rabbit hole) either the “Public Garden” archive page or (if you’re a Story Club member) to the members-only “Private Garden” page. Or click the third button to learn more about my Tiny Garden Stories.

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