Hello,
My name is Jacqueline and I'm a very proud grandma.
I write stories for my grandchildren and I'm very happy to share them with you too.
So make yourself comfortable because my next story is about to begin.
The White Squirrel Horace knew most of the animals who came to the park.
There were two dogs,
Lucy and Sky,
Who played together most mornings and evenings.
Two squirrels,
Sydney and Sammy,
Who were brother and sister.
A tiny dog called Duggee,
Whose owner was a girl called Kelty.
A horse called Blue,
Whose owner Fiona often rode him around the park.
But there was one animal Horace did not know,
And that was the White Squirrel.
Horace was a friendly hedgehog who lived in the park.
He knew everything that went on in the park,
Even though he often couldn't be seen.
He liked to hide under leaves or in the small tunnels he dug in the soft earth.
But,
No matter where he was or whatever he was doing,
He either saw or sensed what was going on around him.
Horace was a very wise hedgehog.
It was well known in the park that he would help solve another animal's problem and make things right.
Horace enjoyed strolling around the park as he looked for new places to sleep which were out of the way.
But he especially enjoyed seeing animals getting along together and having fun as they played.
Just lately,
Horace had been watching the White Squirrel.
He noticed the White Squirrel always seemed to be alone.
She didn't appear to have any friends to play with and like the other squirrels in the park.
The White Squirrel would run up and down the trees by herself.
She would run for ages across the grass,
Sometimes chasing butterflies by herself.
She would scratch around in the leaves,
Searching for food by herself,
And then sit quietly munching on the nuts,
Seemingly lost in thought.
But whatever the White Squirrel was doing,
She always looked happy.
But this didn't stop Horace from worrying about her.
He had tried to talk to her on numerous occasions,
But whenever he nearly got close enough to catch her attention,
She would run away,
As if she was scared of him.
This did puzzle Horace,
Because he had never scared an animal in his life.
Well,
Not intentionally.
One day,
Horace was coming out from a pile of leaves he had been taking a nap in when something landed on him with a thud.
Oh,
Sorry,
Said a little voice,
Very apologetically.
Horace looked around and saw the White Squirrel staring at him.
That's okay,
Said Horace.
You didn't hurt me.
But did I hurt you with my spiky spines?
No,
I'm fine,
Replied the White Squirrel.
It was totally my fault,
As I wasn't looking where I was going.
I was chasing a butterfly and I didn't see you amongst the leaves.
I just took a quick nap,
Said Horace,
Shaking off some leaves which had attached themselves to his spines.
I often take a nap after lunch.
I'm sorry to have disturbed you,
Said the White Squirrel.
My name's Lulu.
My name's Horace.
I'm pleased to meet you at last,
The Hedgehog said.
I've often seen you around the park.
Lulu smiled.
I've seen you around too.
Why haven't you ever come over and said hello?
Asked Horace.
I could never get close enough to you to introduce myself.
You run so fast.
I didn't think you would want me to,
Said Lulu.
Well,
You should have tried,
Said Horace.
Guessing doesn't always give you the right answer.
I suppose so,
Said Lulu shyly.
I notice you don't seem to play with the other squirrels,
Said Horace gently.
Do you not like making friends?
Oh,
Yes,
Said Lulu.
I would love to make friends,
But the other squirrels don't want to be friends with me.
Oh,
Exclaimed Horace,
A little surprised.
Why would that be?
You seem very friendly to me.
Well,
Thank you,
Said Lulu,
Appreciative of the Hedgehog's kindness.
I don't know for sure,
But I believe the other squirrels think there's something wrong with me,
She said sadly.
But why?
Asked Horace.
I don't understand.
Lulu tried to explain.
They tell me it's because I am a different colour to them.
They're scared that if they spend time with me,
They may catch something from me,
As they believe I have some strange disease.
Well,
That's daft,
Said Horace,
Shocked by Lulu's answer.
I know that now,
Said Lulu,
But at first I used to believe them.
I really thought my difference would cause them harm if I got close to them,
So I kept away.
But then I realised I didn't feel sick or strange,
So how could I give anything to others?
I feel full of life and I love to run,
So I must be healthy.
The only thing wrong with me is I'm just a different colour to the other squirrels.
And that doesn't make it wrong.
It's just different,
Said Horace.
But I like your way of thinking.
It would have been so easy to feel sad and hide away.
Oh no,
I couldn't do that,
Said Lulu.
Although I did at first,
She admitted.
I would hide in the trees until it was dark and then no one would see me as I ran about searching for food.
But that just made me feel miserable,
Sad and lonely.
You see,
I love running and climbing so much and I can't really do that when it's dark.
So I decided I needed to do things that made me happy.
And now I have fun during the day and keep myself to myself.
I'm happy being on my own and I kind of like being different.
I'm proud of who I am.
Well,
I love seeing you enjoying life,
Said Horace.
And I would like to be your friend.
That's great,
Said Lulu happily.
I would like that very much.
But it would be nice to play with other squirrels who like to run and climb.
No offence to you,
Horace.
Non taken,
Said Horace.
I understand what you mean.
Lulu and Horace spent time together each day,
Chatting about things that made them happy.
But Horace was saddened that Lulu didn't have anyone to play with.
One afternoon as they chatted,
They could see in the distance some squirrels playing happily together.
Lulu watched the squirrels and Horace watched Lulu.
Lulu smiled as she watched the squirrels play.
But Horace could see the sadness in her eyes,
If only he could do something to help her.
A few days later,
After waking from his afternoon nap,
Horace crawled out from one of his tunnels just as two squirrels,
Sydney and Sammy,
Came scuttling along during one of their games.
Hey,
You two,
Said Horace.
Looks like you're having fun together.
Yes,
Replied Sammy.
I can run as fast as Sydney now,
But he still manages to get away from me when I tumble him to the ground.
Horace smiled as he remembered how Sammy used to struggle with running.
It's good to see you both enjoying life.
Thanks,
Horace,
Said Sydney.
We certainly try to.
What have you been doing lately,
Horace?
Asked Sammy.
I've been spending time with a new friend called Lulu,
Horace said.
Do either of you know her?
No,
We don't,
Said the squirrels.
Is she new around here?
No,
She's lived here a while.
You may have seen her.
She's the white squirrel,
Said Horace,
Noticing the surprised look on Sammy's face.
Oh,
Yes,
Said Sammy,
Glancing over at her brother.
We've seen her around.
Why don't you play with her?
Asked Horace.
She's different to us,
Said Sydney.
In what way is she different?
Asked Horace,
Curious for his response.
She's a different colour to us,
Which makes her weird,
Said Sydney.
And we don't want to catch anything from her.
Just because she's a different colour from you doesn't mean she's weird or that you'll catch anything from her,
Said Horace,
As calmly as he could.
Have you ever spoken to her?
No,
Said Sammy,
Quietly.
So how do you know these things are true when you've never taken the time to talk to her?
Asked Horace,
Noticing the squirrels becoming a little agitated.
It's just what we think,
Said Sydney sharply.
In other words,
You're just guessing,
Asked Horace.
Yes,
The squirrels whispered together.
Well,
Lulu is a very kind,
Fun and loving squirrel,
Just like I thought you both were,
Said Horace.
We are,
Exclaimed the squirrels,
A little upset by the hedgehog's harsh words.
Well,
You don't appear to be by your behaviour,
Said Horace.
If you judge others by their appearance and come to your own conclusions about them with your thoughts instead of facts,
How can you be?
The squirrels couldn't look at the hedgehog as they suddenly realised they had not been acting very friendly towards the white squirrel.
They felt so ashamed of themselves.
How would you feel if you were being ignored and left to play on your own?
Asked Horace,
A little gentler now as he could see the two squirrels were beginning to understand.
We wouldn't like it at all,
Sammy said,
Remembering how Sydney used to be mean to her before he changed his ways.
But we really thought there must be something strange about her because she looked so different,
Said Sydney,
Trying to justify their behaviour.
Would you toss a nut away because it didn't look the same shape as all the other nuts you eat?
Asked Horace.
Oh no,
Said Sammy,
Who enjoyed her food.
We love nuts.
They are all delicious no matter what they look like.
Exactly,
Horace said.
We are also all different in our own way.
You shouldn't judge someone just on their appearance.
None of us can help being different.
Most of the time we are born that way.
But we all have a beating heart and feelings.
Sammy and Sydney looked at each other as they thought about Horace's words.
What should we do now?
Asked Sammy,
Who really didn't like to upset anyone.
Maybe you should give Lulu a chance and find out if your thoughts are correct,
Suggested Horace.
Go and find her and get to know her.
I feel terrible,
Said Sydney to Sammy.
How could we have been so cruel to Lulu?
We just didn't think,
Said Sammy.
I agree with Horace.
We should go and find Lulu and apologise for being mean to her.
That sounds a good idea,
Said Horace.
Let's go and take her some of the big juicy nuts from the trees on the other side of the park,
Said Sydney.
Just before they ran off,
Sydney turned to Horace and said,
Thank you for helping us see the errors of our ways.
We have been so busy having fun with each other that we really didn't think we could be hurting Lulu by ignoring her.
We will do our very best to put things right,
Said Sammy.
Wonderful,
Said Horace,
Suddenly feeling awfully sleepy.
I'm sure you will all become great friends,
He said,
Trying not to yawn.
Thanks Horace,
See you soon,
The two squirrels shouted as they ran across the park to find some big juicy nuts for Lulu.
A few days later,
Horace was just finishing a scrumptious meal of grubs at the bottom of a tree when he heard squeaking noises close by.
He didn't have to look around because he knew it was Sammy and Sydney.
Within seconds,
The two squirrels had clambered down the tree and landed in front of him.
Hello,
You two,
Said Horace.
What are you doing?
We're playing chase with our new friend,
They both said together,
Just as Lulu appeared from behind the tree,
Grinning cheerfully.
Oh,
That's wonderful,
Said Horace happily.
I'm pleased to see you all having a great time together.
Lulu is so much fun,
Said Sammy joyfully.
We love playing with her,
Said Sydney brightly.
Oh,
You two are just as much fun to be with,
Said Lulu,
Smiling at her friends.
We are glad you made a sea sense,
Said Sydney to Horace.
Judging others because of the way they look is not cool.
We not only hurt Lulu's feelings,
But we nearly missed out on having the best friend ever to play with.
The three squirrels hugged each other and Horace watched and smiled.
I'm happy you have connected with each other,
Horace said.
When we try to guess at anything in life,
Especially when it comes to other animals,
Who they are or how they're feeling,
We can get caught up in our own imagination.
Four times or not,
We create negative scenarios,
Just as you two did,
He said,
Looking over at Sammy and Sydney.
But by being kind-hearted and not making our own judgment based on our thoughts,
We can get to know who an animal truly is and make our decisions that way.
The three squirrels smiled at Horace.
You are so wise,
Horace,
Said Lulu.
We have learnt a lot from listening to you,
Said Sammy.
Thank you for being honest with us,
Said Sydney.
By helping us see our flaws,
We were able to put things right.
I'm very glad I could help all three of you,
Horace said a little sleepily.
Now you'll have to excuse me as it's time for my afternoon nap.
They all said goodbye as Horace walked away,
Heading towards a pile of comfy-looking leaves hidden under a nearby hedge.
Come on,
Shouted Sydney to Sammy and Lulu,
Let's race across the park.
And like grease lightning,
The three squirrels ran as fast as they could,
All of them happy and squeaking with delight.
I hope you enjoyed listening to my story.
Before you go,
I'd like to ask you a question.
What do you do to make others feel happy?
Thanks again for listening and come back soon to hear another story from Grandma.
Bye for now!
