Free Crisis in Crittertown by Justine Fontes

light, a scout told me, “There’s a squirrel asking to see you.”
    I offered Chitchat a few acorns for his trouble. But all he wanted was to hear about our trip home and our plans for the future.
    â€œSave the post office,” he repeated thoughtfully. “That would be good for the town. Maybe some of us can help.”
    â€œWho’s us?” Nilla asked.
    â€œThe red squirrels and perhaps the grays.” Then he added, “Raccoons are selfish loafers, but chipmunks are hard workers and they won’t go to sleep for another month. Some of the birds might help. I can talk to a few.”
    â€œWould you?” I asked. “That would be so kind!”
    When Chitchat scurried off, Grayson asked, “What can birds, squirrels, and chipmunks do to save to the post office?” He kicked one of his paws against the floor. “For that matter, what can children do?”
    â€œI’m not sure…yet,” I replied. “But we’ll find out.”
    Nilla understood, because she added, “We have to try!”
    The three of us slept most of that day, until a scout came to say, “A dog’s waiting outside for you.”
    â€œButtercup!” Nilla exclaimed.
    As we scrambled to the hole, I said, “I bet he’s come to take us to the children!”
    Nilla felt afraid to go back to the tree house. But Grayson, Buttercup, and I convinced her that the fox and other predators wouldn’t come near the children and the noisy dog.
    In daylight the place looked more shabby than scary. Buttercup peed against the base of the tree.
    Bill scolded, “Aw, Buttercup!”
    But the dog explained, “That ought to discourage the fox and cat!”
    â€œStop barking!” Jill said.
    Then she and the other children told us what had happened at school that day. “We got your note,” Tanya began.
    â€œSo we told Mrs. Olson we want to save the post office,” Hannah went on.
    â€œAnd she asked, ‘How do you propose to do that?’” Jane added.
    â€œGood question!” I squeaked.
    The children seemed to understand, because they all answered at once.
    Wyatt said, “I suggested we start a stamp collector’s club, to encourage people to buy more stamps.”
    â€œI said maybe we can write letters to politicians,” Ian added. “Maybe even to the President!”
    Jill said, “April suggested we get people to sign petitions, so the politicians know that the people of Crittertown want to keep our post office.”
    I got so excited, I squeaked, “We should send letters, too!”
    Nilla laughed. “Who would care about letters from mice?”
    â€œOther mice!” Grayson exclaimed. “Ever since we visited the library colony, I’ve been wondering about uniting the local mouse colonies.”
    Nilla understood, “You mean like the United States of America?”
    Grayson smiled and amended, “The United Colonies of Mice!”
    â€œI doubt the store colony would want to join,” I said. “But I bet we could find others.”
    â€œAnd not just mice!” Nilla added. “You saw how eager Chitchat was to help. What if…”
    I felt too excited to wait for her to finish. “We should get all the critters in Crittertown to work together and create our own post office. We could call it ‘The Critter Post!’”
    By the time I finished squeaking, everyone was staring at me. Jill pushed her assignment pad toward me. April tilted her head like a curious puppy.
    It was hard to write neatly with so many thoughts racing through my mind. Javier read aloud as I finished the first words. “Cheddar wants to create a post office for animals called ‘The Critter Post.’”

    Jane loved the idea. “I wonder if Flopsy would join. I caught him watching TV last night—and I swear he changed the channel when I left the room.”
    Jill shrugged. “Maybe he