Chapter 5:  Never Give Up

Scratchy the Squirrel: A Time for Friends 

written by, Paul Yanuziello 

illustrations by, Joshua Miller

Chapter 5:  Never Give Up

Meet Scratchy

“Maybe I should try with two paws,” he said. Feeling confident, like he would not get stung, Scratchy placed both of his front paws under the bumblebee. 

What a strange sensation, he thought. 

Scratchy felt the buzzing throughout his body — it was a strong vibration. A great feeling of warmth came over Scratchy. He felt sadness and concern for the bumblebee. The bumblebee’s wings were shattered, just like tiny pieces of glass.

“Those wings do not look right to me. But, I’ll try again,” said Scratchy. 

He felt like the bumblebee’s chances of flight were not good. 

He told the bumblebee, “I don’t think you will fly today, Miss Bee.” 

Using both his front paws, he flung the bumblebee into the air as high as he could. The bumblebee was buzzing like mad, and upon catching a strong wind current, the bumblebee seemed to fly. Miss Bee soared over Scratchy’s head and then took off in the direction of the farmer’s garden. 

As the gusty wind lessened, the bumblebee dropped out of the air and right into the mouth of a yellow tulip. It was an old tulip, in the late stages of bloom. The petals dropped off, one after another, followed by Miss Bee, who seemed to float down to the soil ever so gently. Scratchy ran over to the garden to make sure Miss Bee was not hurt.

“Are you OK, Miss Bee? That was a great try. I thought you were going to fly. You know what? I think you should stay at my treehouse tonight and try again in the morning.” 

©2021 Copyright by PaulYanuziello – Publisher: PNJ Services