by
Rachel
ong ago, when I was very young, I found a small animal. It was living inside a space in a large tree. Early one morning I saw the animal in front of the tree. I went to the tree and thought, "Has another American ever seen an animal like this?" I got closer. The animal had a long, bushy tail like a squirrel and long ears like a rabbit. When it ran, it hopped, but it could also climb trees.
I squatted down and laid my open hand filled with seeds and carrot slices gently on the ground. When it hopped over to eat I peered closely at it and saw a plastic, yellow tag dangling from a cord around its neck. The tag read: "squijum, a rare animal". Yes, another American has seen this animal and tagged it. I didn't try to capture him because he deserved to live freely in the wide woods. I felt grateful the squijum had trusted me and hoped to befriend him.
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