STORIES

the stinky skunk
walked through the woods
he was very lonely
though he once had many friends in the forest
he sulked and whimpered
but no one came to comfort him now
why had everyone grown so bitter?
he stopped by the stump of a tree
and decided to rest awhile
for he was really very tired now from complaining
and trying to think of more to complain about
and how to complain about it all
if ever he encountered another friend
a shy chipmunk pattered swiftly up to him
and startled him
as he daydreamed
"hi!
my name is Gracie!"
she said
extremely cheerfully
to the black and white mound of fir slumped
outside her home
he mellowly introduced himself to her
then
with a soft, dismayed sigh
slowly began to walk away
as he hoped in his skunk-heart that she would stop him
and ask him what was wrong
"what's the matter, sweetie?"
a high-pitched voice from behind him called
the skunk turned around with a hidden smile
and started to tell her his sad fable
tears welled in his eyes, then in hers,
as he slyly spoke:
"I have traveled a thousand miles
through marshland
and fields
with snakes and wolves of the fiercest kind
to seek my true family
for I was orphaned at birth
due to a wild storm
and have been raised by bears
and wild creatures
I long for friendship
and for some word of sympathy
but have found none in this lonely land
of trees and ferns and rocks and dirt
will you love me and help me find my way?
I will ever be loyally indebted to you if you will . . ."
her heart beat sadly
and quickly
for him
and she was filled with compassion
and fear for his safety
"why don't you come inside my hollow little home
and stay for a while"
she said gently
then she led him inside and gave him some walnuts
and a fortune cookie for encouragement
he felt quite at home
and didn't want to leave
but could see by now that she thought
he had his strength back
and was about to send him on his way again
he wondered how he could keep her interested
since she might grow weary of him
if he repeated his problems again
suddenly
an evil
twisted thought
entered his mind . . .
"perfect!"
he thought it was the greatest idea
and would work out just how he wanted it to
she walked him out
and a few yards away from her home
to start him on his way
before he grabbed his leg
as if a sharp pain had struck
he started to howl
and rolled into a faint
as the small friend stood helplessly watching
and hoping for the best
she crept up to his motionless form
and shook him a little with her small nose
"what happened?"
she asked him as his eyes fluttered open
"I . . . I don't know"
he stammered pitifully
"I was walking and then felt the worst pain
in the whole world shooting down my leg . . .
I . . . I'm so scared
help me"
she felt terribly for him
but remembered the time she was stung by a bee
and told him that might be what happened to him
"no!!!
that's not it . . . that's different
this is worse"
he told her stubbornly
she felt embarrassed for trying to help
and turned her gaze toward the ground
what in the woods is that?
she saw something clasped secretly in his foot
she reached out
and slowly opened his claws
she gasped with shock
it was a short branch full of thorns!
he had stuck himself with the thorns
to make her feel sorry for him
and then outright lied
she told him it was wrong
what he did
and that he should be ashamed
he didn't want to believe her
and didn't know why it mattered so much
to her what the cause of his pain had been
after a long argument
he sprayed the tree stump where she lived
and left in search of another friend
to comfort him for what had happened
as he walked away
he missed her exuberant voice and pretty face
more and more
he was sorry he had lost her
and thought maybe
he could win her affection back
if he returned
so he turned around
and looked for 3 hours
in the area surrounding her house
until he found her crying beneath a willow tree
near the water
he loved the lake sounds in the summertime at night
and started to try to cheer her up by imitating them
"you still haven't apologized, you know"
she said
as she turned to him with the angriest look he had ever seen
wow - she looked so sweet before . . .
"I'm sorry"
he said slowly
she looked at him
and tried to figure out if it was genuine . . .
"thanks"
she nodded
still unsure of his motives
she would try not to hold it against him
but she knew she could never trust him again
how could someone proven to lie
prove to be true again?
and he had only apologized
because she had asked him to
she sat quietly next to him
for she had nothing to say now
that she was beginning to guess his motives
soon he was bored
and said goodbye
walking away with his head low
and his eyes empty
she was a little glad
for the way he smelled now bothered her
and nearly gave her a headache
she dared not tell him the reason he smelled so bad
or why he had no friends
or any form of the truth anymore
no
he would have to learn the answers
to his questions
and find the solutions
to his problems
on
his
own
she felt peace
about this
it was the way it had to be
it was the way he had chosen for it to be
as she watched him disappear
into the blackberry bushes
at the foot of the thick woods
he wondered that she did not stop him from leaving
"why didn't she care?
why didn't anyone care?"
he stopped and stuck his nose in the air
trying to get a deep breath
of fresh, pine-scented air . . .
"and why does this smell follow me
everywhere I go?"
after a moment of thought
he said aloud to himself with a tone of annoyance,
"I'm tired of people stinking up my life!!"
the grumpy skunk walked through the woods
and saw a larger creature
with black fur and a white stripe
walking just ahead . . .
maybe this new friend would care


five