Seedler was a well-educated squirrel. He had attended the finest squirrel university, and he carried his diploma around with him. He was proud of his achievements. Majoring in Squirrel Studies, with a master’s degree in Law, he had made straight A’s, and graduated at the top of his class. When he finally left the university, he had set out to make his mark in the world. He was young, likeable, wise, and well spoken, and he found that the less-educated creatures of The Land tended to listen to him. During his early years, he discussed his studies with his fellow graduates, and they encouraged him to branch out and share his wisdom.
Prior to his travels, Seedler had learned of The Woods, a great city at the center of The Land, where acorns were abundant. Thousands of munks lived there, but they did not share the acorns equally. One munk could have a thousand acorns overflowing his burrow, and another only a few. Some lived richly, some modestly. Seedler was surprised it was so densely populated, and believed he would be able to help them see a better way, one that was just and fair.
He came across a small path and followed it for a while. After a while longer, he saw a small sign that read “Roswell Grove”. He began to see burrows lining the path, all with little welcome mats and acorn-shell mailboxes. A nice touch, he thought. Every now and then, he passed by a munk or two on their way back from The Woods. Some of them gave him a friendly nod or a “Good day, sir.” On a few occasions, he passed by mother munks walking their munklings home from the school burrow.
As Seedler continued, the burrows became denser, and some had multiple mailboxes. Maybe there was more than one munk family in a single burrow. Perhaps they divided it up into units underground. He stepped over what appeared to be a makeshift border, and he saw another sign, “Cumming Grove”, and then, later, another, “Dunwoody Grove”. Each grove he came upon was more populated than the last. He started to see a few munk busses, made of sticks held together by strong twine made of grass, with leaves as seats, acorn shells as tires. They were powered, of course, by a munk in the rear, running in place in a wheel that was connected to the tires. When the munk in the wheel stopped running, the bus stopped, and several munks would step out and make their way to their munk holes. As he continued, the munks seemed busier, and fewer of them greeted Seedler. They were just too busy hustling and bustling off to wherever it was they were going.
Finally, Seedler approached the entrance of an enormous grove. It was actually far too big to be called a grove. Oak trees, chestnut trees, hackberry trees, trees of all types sprawled away from the path on either side. There was no way to tell how deep they were. As he approached the great forest, the path leading up to it became even more crowded. There were munks all over the path, and he must have passed a dozen munk busses. Along either side of the path there were salesmunks selling nuts, seeds, and berries. Brawny gophers peddled long, tough looking blades of grass by the bushel. Beady-eyed lizards sold rocks, pebbles, and various gadgets made of twigs, stones, shells and leaves. Overhead he saw dangerous looking hawks entering and leaving the trees from above. They carried harnesses made of grasses, sticks, and leaves with their menacing talons. Seedler thought it a bit strange that they didn’t try to eat the munks. And as he stepped into the trees’ dark shadows, he spied a large group of cave bats hanging upside down from one of the lower branches. There was a bigger bat, right side up and pacing up and down the line-up, barking orders to his platoon like a drill sergeant.
Seedler turned and looked behind him. He was exhausted from his restless night, his long walk, and his new experiences, but he was excited about the possibilities. He slowly rotated his round, gray head and scanned the great Dunwoody Grove in all its panoramic glory. He turned around to view the entrance to The Woods, and imagined that it must be ten times the exciting city that the suburban groves were. This was the hub of all the activity in The Land. He would have an enormous opportunity here. This was where he belonged. This was where he would make his mark. This was the world with which he would share his wisdom. He forgot all about Cuffy and Carol and The Tiny Grove.
Finally, Seedler noticed that the sky was turning red, and the sun was bearing down on the horizon. He decided that he had better get indoors before it got completely dark. He would need to find a good meal and a good night’s sleep. There was a lot to explore. And with that, he stepped inside The Woods, hoping to find a nut, some shelter, a soft leaf or two, and a way to make the world a better place.
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