Lucky Tree by Iris Weinstock
Swish swash, Charlie heard the squirrels playing in the leaves. So many leaves were on the ground, and more and more were falling every second. Charlie watched from his favorite tree, wondering why he doesn’t play in the leaves, just like all the other squirrels. Charlie was a small, brown squirrel, and he didn't do a lot. He mostly spent his day collecting acorns, and sleeping in his favorite tree. Strong winds were coming, and he heard someone say something about a “hurricane.” Charlie had no idea what it meant, but he didn't really care. All he needed was food, and his tree. Now, you might just think that this tree is important to Charlie, but you’d be wrong. Without this tree, Charlie would be left with nothing. Absolutely nothing. So, this tree isn’t just important to Charlie. This tree is crucial to Charlie. Not just that, but Charlie also has a favorite place in his favorite tree. That was the hole between where two big branches separate. No matter what happened, he always liked to curl up in that small hole. Charlie soon started to realize what the word “hurricane” meant. At first, he thought it was just a lot of rain. After about an hour, he realized that it wasn’t only rain. He looked up at the sky, and it was so dark. It was monstrous, and it freaked him out. It was like a monster looking down at him. The squirrels weren’t playing in the leaves anymore. They were in their tiny tree, with Charlie’s favorite tree right in front of it. As he was looking up at the sky, wondering why it was so dark, he tried to come up with a name for his favorite tree. He had done this before, but his mind kept on trailing off. This time, he really thought hardabout it. He was
thinking of a name that would fit his tree, but after all, his tree was just a normal tree. It was just like all the other trees, although it had a little hole in which, as you know, Charlie liked to curl up in. Charlie tried to think of a normal name for his normal tree, but all he could really focus on, was the “hurricane.�
A few hours passed, and the weather was getting colder, and colder, the sky was getting darker and darker, and the wind was growing stronger and stronger. Most of all Charlie was getting more and more frightened. He snuggled on his favorite tree, as it swayed back and forth. Charlie heard the tree crack, and he was horrified. Soon, he could not only hear the crack, but also feel the crack. Charlie wondered if he should get off of the tree, just to be safe. But Charlie and his tree were best buds, they didn’t let each other down. He hung on to his tree, hoping the storm would pass by quickly. The tree was swaying back, and forth, and of course, so was Charlie. He made himself a pillow and blanket, and went to sleep. It was his hope that the storm would go by quickly. “Woaw... Ah!” Charlie screamed. He was wide awake now. He was also on the ground, and so was his tree. He couldn’t believe it. All that was left standing... was just a tree stump. “No! NO! Th...th..this can’t...can’t happen! NO!” The rain was pouring. Hard. Charlie was alone. No tree... anymore. Charlie was left in a puddle. Of tears. The rain cleared quickly, but that didn’t cheer up Charlie. The sun came out, and he saw a rainbow, but that didn’t cheer him up either. He.... he was homeless...after all. In the duration of crying and thinking really hard about what to do, Charlie decided to ask some “real estate agent” squirrels. All the squirrels that he saw, either didn’t know a real estate agent, or didn’t even know what a real estate agent was. He asked and asked with no luck. Well, Charlie didn’t exactly expect luck, after what had happened. As Charlie was laying on the uncomfortable grass, another squirrel walked by, with a clipboard leaning against his arm.
“Excuse me, do you know any real estate agents around here?” Charlie asked. “Sure I do! You are looking at one right here! My name is Billy, nice to meet you, what is your name?” Billy had a western accent.
“I’m Charlie, it's nice to met you too. I'm looking for a small home, just for me.” “That’s no problem. I have a few trees around here I think you would like!” Billy brought Charlie to so many trees, but none of them were good enough. Some were too big, some were too small, and some were too ugly. Charlie couldn’t take it anymore. He started bursting into tears. Charlie was left with nothing but himself. Crying, he dragged himself into a bush. He felt like he was overcome with tears. Charlie could feel the thorns of the bush pricking into his skin, like a tiger's claw. “Why, why did this happen to me?!?” Charlie said to himself. Charlie sunk into the mud, and he felt sorry for himself. He closed his eyes, not noticing anything, and then his eyes shot open. Charlie remembered what he just saw. He saw a tree. No, he didn’t see a tree. Sorry, I'm messing up the story. Charlie saw a magical tree. It grew Charlies favorite treat, acorns. It was an acorn tree. Charlie couldn’t believe his eyes. He wondered if this was a dream, but he knew he was awake. Just to make sure, he tried to wake himself up, but he had to be awake. “What am I waiting for?” Charlie said to himself. He ran out of the annoying bush, and ran around the tree. He noticed the pleasant aroma, and not even noticing the female squirrel that was resting on the tree. She was very beautiful. “Hello, ” Charlie eventually said to the female squirrel when he finallly noticed her. “Ummm, I'm sorry, you were here first, I should probably go....” “Wait, you can stay.... if you want, we can share the tree!” Charlie was very surprised, she wasn’t just beautiful, but she was also kind! Charlie ran up the tree, where the female squirrel was sitting. He wanted to start a
conversation. “So, what is your name?” he asked. Charlie was shaking. What if she was disgusted by him? “Rosy,” she told him. “My name is Rosy, what is your name?” Her voice was so beautiful, just like her name. Charlie couldn't focus. “My name is Charlie,” he said finally. “Let me just say... your eyes are beautiful!” Now Charlie was sweating. He had to say something else before the conversation got awkward. “Are you sure you want me here?” Charlie asked as he looked down at himself.
“Yes, of course I do!” Rosy exclaimed. “How did you find this place?” she asked. “It is a long story, but if you really want to know...” Charlie told her everything. As Charlie told her his story, he realized that without the whole “hurricane” thing, he wouldn’t of met Rosy. After he finished all of his talking, he
asked her how she found this magical tree. “I used to live here, with my great grandma, but she died before I.....” Rosy started bursting into tears. Charlie felt bad about asking the question. “I'm sorry...” Charlie whispered under his breath. “no... no... its not your fault,” Rosy sniffled. “Since we are sharing this tree, let me show you around!” Rosy and Charlie ran down the tree, as she showed Charlie all the cool places on the tree. When they got to the bottom, she showed him a small pond next to the tree. Then they walked around the tree, and Rosy showed Charlie all of the awesome hiding places. Day by day, they became more and more friendly. They spent most of their days going on dangerous adventures together and having a lot of fun. Now, Charlie looks back at the older days, when he was still in his old favorite tree, and he is happy that his tree fell down. Without all these obstacles, Charlie would still be alone sitting on his tree, alone. 3 YEARS LATER “Daddy, daddy, look what I found!” Charlie went over to the bushes around the tree to help his oldest son, Oscar. Oscar was 3 years old. Rosy and Oscar’s younger sister, Ivy, came trailing along. “What is it, Oscar?” Charlie asked. Oscar was a very adventurous squirrel. “Look, there's a hole in the ground!” Oscar has found one of the holes that rosy showed Charlie, that led to the tree.
“Go inside the hole, and tell me what you have discovered.” Rosy told Oscar. Oscar slowly went into the hole. “It is dark in here!” Oscar said loudly. “Don’t worry son, there is nothing to be afraid of” Charlie assured him. About 5 seconds later.... “whoa... cool! The hole led to our tree!” Oscar exclaimed. “I wanna try! I wanna try!” Ivy was anxious. About 5 seconds later... “WOW!! It really does lead to the tree!” Ivy was only two years old. Oscar soon found a lot of the other cool holes and hiding places, as well as Ivy. Charlie and Rosy built a happy family, and all I know is that Charlie, was very happy with what he had.