Free Squirrel World by Johanna Hurwitz Page B

me,” I bragged. PeeWee is the only nonhuman in the park who has mastered the art of reading. “He—”
    “Forget him,” said Lenox, interrupting. “I’m looking for something more exciting than a tailless creature. And I have a plan.”
    “What sort of a plan?” I asked, puzzled. It was not like Lenox to make plans.
    “I want to take a journey, and I want a companion.”
    “Where do you want to go?” I asked my cousin.
    “All my life I’ve been called Lenox. You’ve been called Lexington. Haven’t you everwanted to see the street that shares your name?”
    “I don’t know,” I said. “Are there nuts there? Are there seeds?”
    “Of course there are nuts and seeds on Lenox Avenue. It’s covered with nuts. And so is Lexington Avenue,” Lenox said confidently.
    “How can you be so sure?” I asked him. “You’ve never been there.”
    “Why would our parents have named us for barren soil?” said Lenox. “I know these are fine places, and I want to go and see them. I want to go to Lenox Avenue. And I’m inviting you to join me.”
    “Thanks very much,” I told him, “but no thanks. I’m staying right here.”
    “How can you give up this chance for an adventure?” Lenox demanded.
    “It’s easy,” I said. “I’m satisfied with my life in the park.”
    “Please come,” Lenox begged me.
    I shook my head. I had no interest in Lenox Avenue at all.
    “All right, then,” he said. “I’ll make a deal with you. We’ll go to Lexington Avenue first. And after that, we’ll go to Lenox Avenue.”
    “I’m still not interested,” I said. “It’s a long distance from here. It might take us a whole day. Maybe even two whole days.”
    “Of course. That’s part of the adventure,” my cousin said. “Think of all you’ll see and taste along the way. Aren’t you even a little bit tempted?”
    I sat there thinking. In recent days, as spring arrived in the park, flocks ofmigrating birds had returned, too. I had scanned the skies, watching for old friends. In some ways, I wasn’t so different from the human bird-watchers who came to the park, carrying their peculiar devices for spying birds. I didn’t need binoculars to see who had come home again. I also enjoyed sitting on a tree branch and eavesdropping on the conversations of the robins and some of the other birds. I heard them discuss their journeys to the south and back again. I’d never seen any part of the world except thepark, and I admit that sometimes I envied the birds their opportunity to travel. I thought it must be wonderful to see other places, meet others of my species, sleep in new holes, and taste new foods.

    I looked over at Lenox. It occurred to me that I’d never seen him show even a little bit of enthusiasm about anything. When the sun shines, he usually complains that we need rain. And of course when it rains, he grumbles that it’s too wet. His usual attitude is not pleasant, and I guessed he’d been turned down by some of our other relatives before he arrived at my tree. I didn’t believe I was his first choice for a traveling partner. And yet I began to realize that I was more than a little bit tempted by thisidea of an adventurous journey to the street that bore my name.
    I let Lenox nag a bit more while I thought about it. The average squirrel has a home range of about seven acres, but I have never been considered average. I’ve traveled all over the acreage of the park. Why shouldn’t I travel still farther afield, like the birds? And so when Lenox finally stopped for breath and for new arguments, I found myself agreeing to accompany him. First we would go to Lexington Avenue, and afterward we’d travel to Lenox. He had won me over.

CHAPTER THREE
Pee Wee Comes Home

    “I’ve waited my whole life for this moment,” Lenox declared triumphantly once I had agreed to accompany him. “Let’s get going.”
    “If you’ve waited that long, it won’t make much difference to wait another day,” I told