The Brave Little Squirrel

Squirrels

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Once upon a time, there was a squirrel named Thomas. Now, Thomas lived in a great big squirrel kingdom called The Lost City of Acornlantus. Thomas was the only child and did not have a wealthy family. His father passed away years ago due to a rare squirrel disease. This was unexpected for his family of three. Therefore, at a young age, Thomas was forced into finding food for him and his mother named Sam. Thomas typically used a bow as his weapon to hunt. After years of using the bow to acquire food, Thomas could hit an acorn from great distances. He became the best bowman in the Lost City.

Thomas always wanted to be in the kingdom's royal army (KRA). However, Thomas was much smaller and weaker compared to all the other squirrels, especially in the kingdom's royal army. Therefore, he had an idea. He would find the strongest and biggest squirrel to help sneak him into the KRA.

Thomas walked around Acornlantus for hours, looking for a great big squirrel that could help him. Then, when Thomas was about to give up looking, he saw a great big farmer squirrel digging holes. He went up to the squirrel and said,

" Hello, brother! My name is Thomas. What is your name?"

The farming squirrel, startled, replied, " My goodness! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Thomas apologetically replied, "I am so sorry, sir. What is your name?"

"My name is Steve. What do you want?"

"I see you are digging holes. Why?"

"Well, I am digging holes for my work. I need to work this tedious job to make money for food."

Thomas replied, "How about I make you a deal? You are a big and mighty squirrel and I am small. However, I am a great bowman and I want to be in the KRA. If you go to King Acorn and tell him you want to help the kingdom's royal army he will surely take you in. Therefore, you can tell him that I am your page and you need my assistance. This will get me in as well. I will perform any duty that the King gives you and we can split the profits. You will never have to dig a hole again."

Steve was intrigued by the idea. He was tired of digging holes and making minimal money. Therefore, he agreed to Thomas's plan and they both went to King Acorn. As they approached the King, they were frightened that they might be caught in their trickery.

The King said in a commanding voice, "Why are you two here today?"

Steve replied, "I am here to join the KRA. I am mighty and strong. I will be of great use to you, King."

The King examined Steve and was impressed by his physicality.

"Okay, Steve, you can be in the KRA. However, who is this small squirrel with you?"

"He is my page named Thomas. I need him to carry around my supplies. May he also join the KRA?"

The King was silent for a moment. "Okay, he may join as well. However, I have never let such a small squirrel into my army."

Thomas and Steve left the presence of the King and were ecstatic.

The King gave Steve his first assignment. He was to kill a cat that was wreaking havoc on his kingdom.

"Please, Steve, kill this cat. The cat has murdered many squirrels in my kingdom. I will reward you greatly."

Steve agreed and went to Thomas and told him the assignment that the King had given him.

"Alright, Steve! This task should be a breeze. I will kill the cat with my bow. Once I do, you need to take the corpse to the King and claim our reward."

Thomas found the cat. He drew back his bow, took a deep breath and released the arrow. The arrow whizzed through the air and pierced the heart of the cat. The beast died instantly. Steve then took the corpse to the King and was rewarded greatly. However, he did not split the rewards with Thomas. He kept it all for himself. Thomas was distraught. Steve also had Thomas removed from the KRA. Thomas was depressed. He went back home and did not know what to do.

Several weeks later, a cat army was knocking at the gates of Acornlantus due to the death of one of their own. King Acorn prepared his army and had Steve placed at the front line. He was to lead the army. Steve was very scared and nervous. Though Steve was big, he was a coward. He typically had Thomas perform his duties. Therefore, when it came to battling the cats, Steve ran home and left the battle.

Thomas saw that the squirrels were needing help. Therefore, he packed up his bow and helped the King's army fight off all the cats! The King recognized his great bowmanship and valor and rewarded him greatly.

Author's note: I did a spin-off from the Jataka tale called The Brave Little Bowman. In this story, there is a small man that has a crooked back. He is a great Bowman and wants to be in the king's army. However, he knows that the king would never accept a small crooked man into the army. Therefore, the Bowman wanders around the city looking for a big man that would be able to help him is his predicament. The Bowman finally spots a very big strong man that is digging a hole. He goes up to the big strong man and asks, "Why are you digging a hole?" The strong man answers by saying "I need to dig all day so I can make money to eat." The Bowman then gives the strong man an option. He says, "You are a big strong man, and I am a great Bowman. Take me to the king as your page and tell him you want to aid him in his army. Whatever task he gives you, tell me and I will execute them and we can split the rewards." Therefore, the strong man took the Bowman to the king and got them both into the army. Their first task was to kill a tiger that was killing civilians. The Bowman killed the tiger and the strong man was rewarded by the king. They split the profits. Their next task was to kill a buffalo, and again, the Bowman killed the buffalo and the strong man was rewarded and they split the profits. However, the strong man started to become selfish and told the Bowman that "Anybody can use a bow! I want the rewards for myself!" Soon, an army began to advance on the kingdom and the king put the strong man on the war front riding an elephant. The strong man was terrified. However, the Bowman climbed up onto the elephant and said, "Don't worry, I will help you." The strong man was too terrified and jumped off the elephant and ran home. The Bowman then led the army and defeated the intruders. He was rewarded. In my story, I changed the characters to squirrels and I gave them names. Overall, I believe I kept the premise of the original story.