Crickett, the Squirrel and the Tree

“I am never listening to Oscar again!” Crickett, the tri-colored Corgi says as she sits up in a tree. She’s not mad but she is scared. Thankfully it is a small tree that has low branches but she is nonetheless still stuck in said tree. How did she get there you ask? Well it began innocently enough and ended with a Corgi in a tree. Something you’d never think you’d see but see it you will. So here’s the story from beginning to end. See what you think of the Corgi stuck in the tree.

The day began with breakfast followed by playing outside in the warm sunshine. She and her parents even went for a walk at their favorite state park area called Weldon Springs State Park. They had walked for a few miles since the morning was warm but not too warm so just right for man and dog. They try to go to the park as often as possible when the weather is good. Of course Crickett’s idea of good weather is somewhat cooler than her parents' idea of good weather but “That’s what coats are for.” her parents say every time they venture out into the Crickett cool weather for a walk in the park.

When they get home after their walk everyone is a little tired from their excursion. So after grabbing some water they all head to the backyard to relax a little in the warm sunshine. Crickett finds a big tree with lots of shade to relax in while her parents lounge on the deck in some comfy chairs and talk about nothing and everything all at the same time. Crickett doesn’t understand what they are talking about but she enjoys the sound of their talking just the same. As she listens to her parents and the world around her she can’t help but doze off. She has little stubby legs and a very short gait after all. She had walked a lot and quickly to boot so it was inevitable that she would fall asleep and fast.

She wakes some time later to discover that she is alone in the back yard but she is brave. Now if this had happened when she was a baby she would have been scared and cried out. Now she’s older and knows that she is never truly alone no matter where she is. Since she has lived in this house with her parents she has made many friends of all kinds from the neighbor’s dog and cats to squirrels, chipmunks, frogs and birds. She even has a few human friends as well. They all have so much fun playing together but it’s her squirrel friends that sometimes get her in trouble.

Other times she pretty much does it herself with no outside help. With that said while she has gotten into trouble on her own, most of the other times have been squirrel related shenanigans. Although once or twice it has been frog related but that’s another story for another time.

After some big stretches she searches the trees around her yard and finds Oscar, her squirrel friend and part time troublemaker. Oscar is her oldest and closest friend. He found her when she had been just a baby living with her parents for a couple of days. He had heard her barking from the block over and came to check her out. While she may be small she has a very loud bark so no one is surprised he heard her no matter how far away he had been. When she had barked she was out in her backyard with her mommy going to the potty when she spotted a rouge leaf and barked at it. That bark had prompted Oscar to come see what new big dog had come into the neighborhood. She was new to the neighborhood but she was far from big even as a puppy.

He had watched her for about a week before deciding to make himself known. When he came and introduced himself to Crickett she was sitting under her favorite tree and her mommy was reading a book on the back deck. Crickett knew the squirrel had been watching her for some time so when he finally came down to talk to her she was ecstatic. After that first meeting they became instant best friends and were always together. They play every time Crickett is out, ensuring that by the time Crickett goes inside for the night she is completely worn out. She has made so many more friends since that day and continues to do so every time she goes out. They all have so much fun playing and running around ensuring that she is always starving and worn out when she goes in for the night. Having so many friends she has also gotten into trouble a time or two, or three or four but who’s counting. The trouble has been mostly mischievous so nothing too serious. That was until this day and the comment that began it all.

She and Oscar had been talking about things both dog and squirrel related when Crickett said, “You know Oscar I envy your ability to climb trees, lay in nests and look at the world below you as you lounge on a branch.” Oscar had actually laughed, well Crickett thought it was a laugh. Dogs and squirrels don’t really have the ability to laugh, not like humans do mind you but they “laugh” in other ways. Once he finally calmed down he said, “Crickett you can climb trees. I’ve seen dogs in trees before and some quite high. We can find a small tree for your first time trying to climb, then you can see what all the fuss is about.”

At first Crickett wasn’t sure about it being a good idea for her to climb a tree but the more they talked about it the more exciting it began to sound. Even then with all the excitement bubbling up there was a small part of her that knew it was a very bad idea but that part is just a fraction smaller than the other part telling her to live for once and climb a tree. Needless to say after very little debate back and forth up the tree she went without looking back. If she had listened to the wiser part of herself she would have remained safe on the ground but this story wouldn’t be near as interesting.

They begin their search for the perfect tree and find one a short time later. The tree they found is the perfect one and in her own backyard. It is a lovely tree, one that Crickett has always liked. It has the low branches they were looking for, ensuring that Crickett had a place to start her climb closer to the ground thus making things easier.

She ended up having to take a running start after they discovered the branch was still a little too high to just stand against the tree trunk and climb from a stationary position. Even running it took her a few tries before she was able to get enough speed to get high enough to get a foot hold on the bottom branch and pull herself up. Oscar still ended up having to help her though. Crickett is sure it was a sight to behold, a Corgi trying to climb a tree with a fluffy brown squirrel giving her a boost. If her mommy had seen that she was sure there would have been pictures taken as well as a video or two before both of her parents came running out to save her from the vicious little squirrel.

Once up on the first branch she decides to take a break to catch her breath and look around. Although she wasn’t very high she had never seen her backyard from this position and couldn’t believe her eyes. So she sat there taking in the sights until she wondered what her yard would look like from a higher branch. Since all good sense had already flown the coop up she went to another branch just a little higher and luckily easy for her to get to on her own. Up just one more branch she was in complete awe of the world below her. She sat as still as she could to keep her balance and watched as the leaves blew across the yard and the birds pecked at the ground for worms. She is so happy to be able to see so much beauty below her. Beauty that she had never seen before that she thinks she could stay up in the tree forever.

As she sits there looking around Oscar comes to sit on a branch just above her. “What do you think? It’s great isn’t it?” Oscar asks as he too looks at the world around them. Crickett agrees with just a nod of her head, she’s too excited to talk. She wishes she could go higher but there are no other branches close enough for her to get to without help so she goes no further.

This turns out to be a very good thing because about ten minutes later as she is basking in the sunshine the wind decides to pick up and Crickett begins to get scared when she feels the tree begin to sway. She looks down at the ground and unlike the other times she has looked down she isn’t in awe or excited she is scared because it seems so far down. She didn’t want to fall by trying to climb down. She had not thought that part through. She didn’t want to hurt herself so she clings to the branch as best she can and cries out for her parents to come and help her. Oscar is instantly on alert when he hears Crickett begin to cry and tries his best to comfort her but he had not thought how she would get down either and could offer no solution. Since all he could do was comfort her he did so until Crickett’s parents could come out to rescue her.

It didn’t take long before her parents came out to help her. However no matter how much they looked they couldn’t see her at first. They were looking on the ground for her after all. It wasn't until she cried out again that they saw that she was in the tree. At first they could not move. They could not believe or comprehend how their little dog had gotten up in the tree in the first place. “Crickett is a Corgi with little stumpy legs and a long body she shouldn’t be able to get up a tree.” They both think while seeing her up said tree. Her mommy’s first reaction after that thought was to take a picture “so that people will believe us when we tell them about it” she says when Crickett’s daddy looks at her quizzically. They both laughed at the thought of people’s faces then rushed to get Crickett from the tree that she had somehow found herself in.

When Crickett finally had all four of her feet on the ground she does zoomies in her excitement to be out of the tree. Which causes her parents to laugh again and her daddy to say, “I guess she’s really happy to be out of that tree. I bet she won’t try that again.” Her mommy only shook her head in amusement. Crickett paused long enough from her zoomies to look back at her daddy and ever so slightly nod her head. “I definitely won’t be doing that again.” She thinks before continuing her zoomies around the yard.

After Crickett has gotten her zoomie excitement out she and her parents go back inside. Her parents go back to work while Crickett relaxes in her favorite Kong bed to recover from her experience in the tree. As she lay there she couldn't help but think about how much fun it had been in the beginning. She would never try climbing a tree again if she could help it though. The initial fun and excitement had worn off the instant the tree had begun to move beneath her feet. She had been terrified when the tree began to move and is unsure how Oscar or any other creature is able to sit in trees when they sway like that. “They’re probably used to it since most of them are born in the trees and spend a lot of time in them both as babies and adults.” She dozes off as she thinks this and dreams of happy puppy dog dreams and about her happy time in the tree before the wind picked up.

When she returns outside the next day Oscar is waiting for her. He smiles nervously at her and asks, “So what did you think?” Crickett smiles brightly at her friend both to put him at ease and because it had started out fun and replies, “I liked it in the beginning but I don’t see myself going up a tree again, ever. I have a question though. Have you actually seen dogs in trees before?” Oscar looks around a little before saying, “Well I did see one on a television once when I looked in a humans window.” They both laugh at the thought. Then with that settled they go about their day as if nothing had happened.

THE END