Storytime

How one observant little critter kept his whole family safe from COVID

Once upon a time, there was a smart little squirrel named Sammy.

Sammy and his family lived in the tallest tree on Goodwill Street. In fact the tree is so high, from their nest they could see all over town. Sammy and his siblings loved scampering up and down the trunk. In fall, it was fun playing hide-and-seek, hiding among the coloured leaves.

One morning after breakfast, when their mother sent them out to play, Sammy noticed something strange. The people were walking around with something on their faces. And they weren’t gathering in friendly little groups anymore to chat.

At lunch, Sammy mentioned this to his mother. She turned on the radio and on the news there was a warning about a sickness attacking the people. His parents were concerned. Was this something animals could get, too, they wondered?

Another day, Sammy noticed there were no children in the school playground. He and his siblings missed watching them laughing and having fun together. When Sammy told his parents, they became worried, and decided maybe their children should be covering their faces, too.

So, Grandma squirrel made a colourful mask for each of them. Sammy liked his best, because it was covered with pictures of acorns, his favourite treat. At first, it was fun pretending to be someone else, the way the kids do at Halloween.

But after a while, they became tired of wearing the masks. Sometimes they got caught on the branches and felt too tight on their little ears. When they complained, Grandma made them each a new, more comfortable mask.

One day, Father squirrel heard on the radio that there was now a medicine that keeps people from getting sick. So, soon it would be safe for their children not to wear masks any more. The squirrel children cheered. They were happy to see kids playing in the school yard again, and people smiling at one another.

Grandma made a little banner by sewing together all the tiny masks she had made. She then hung it on a tall branch near their nest to remind the family of how no one got sick because of how Sammy saved the day.