The Magic Pinecone

Cocoa was a fox. She lived in the trunk of a big dead tree with her mom, dad, and younger brother named Zippy. The tree was in a field of tall grass. Whenever Cocoa had free time, she would run around and sometimes she would catch a rabbit or a field mouse. The field was not at all lonely. There were Mr. And Mrs. Coyote with their four baby coyotes, George, James, Jeremy, and Jingle. There was Mrs. And Mr. Hyena whose children were all grown up. And there was Mrs. Fox and her daughter Fern, who was the same age as Cocoa. 

One day when Cocoa and Fern were playing in the tall grass. Cocoa almost pounced on something. It wasn’t a rabbit or a mouse; it was pinecone. But it wasn’t just any pinecone; it was a glowing pinecone. Both girls sat there staring. Finally Fern broke the silence. 

“What should we do?” asked Fern. 

“Tell our parents?” answered Cocoa.

“No, I think we should keep it a secret,” said Fern.

Then Cocoa started to pick it up. Suddenly Cocoa shrieked. The pinecone had burned her paw. 

“Well, at least we know not to pick it up.” said Fern.

“Wait! I have a big shovel. We can pick it up with that,” said Cocoa. 

So she went in her tree and grabbed the shovel. She started to scoop it up. It was working. She carried it to a tree with split trunks. Cocoa placed it in between them.

“You should be safe there,” said Cocoa. 

Then Cocoa and Fern went home to have dinner.

The next day Cocoa and Fern went to see the pinecone. It was still there. It was brighter this time, but Cocoa and Fern didn’t notice. As soon as they saw that the pinecone was there, they went on with the rest of their day.

The next day, they did it again. And the next. And the pinecone kept getting brighter and brighter until one day the girls noticed.

“It got brighter!” said Fern.

“Do you think it’s been getting brighter this whole time?” asked Cocoa.

“Yes! I think it’s getting brighter because of the sun,” said Fern. 

“Let’s bring it inside,” said Cocoa. 

“Okay, but we should still keep it a secret,” Fern insisted.

So they brought the pinecone into Fern’s house and went on with the rest of their day.

When the two foxes went to Fern’s house to check on the pinecone it was not there! 

“Where did it go?” asked Fern.

“I don’t know, but let’s leave it alone” said Cocoa. 

So they left it alone. 

That night Fern and Cocoa felt something poke them in their sleep. They woke up immediately and caught a glimpse of a pinecone silently but quickly scooting out the door. They were both stunned. The next day they met each other in the field where Zippy was playing. They both rapidly told each other about what happened that night.

“Catch it” said Cocoa, out of breath from speaking.

“Yes,” answered Fern, also out of breath.

So the next night they both slept together at Cocoa’s house.  They pretended they were sleeping but really they were lying in bed with their eyes slightly open. Fern had a net tucked into her covers. Soon enough, the pinecone came in and Fern jumped up and caught the pinecone. She took it up in her hand and threw it.  It landed in a forest in a wolf’s cave. The wolf had bad eyesight so he thought it was a little baby chick that had lost its way. So he swallowed it and it bounced around in his tummy very violently.

He got very angry and sat in his cave moaning and howling and he is still sitting there today.

THE END

Chatter’s Treasure

Once a little squirrel went scurrying among the trees. Her name was Chatter. Chatter was trying to find a place to bury her nuts. She looked down. Chatter saw the perfect place to bury her nuts. It was shady with no roads nearby. She buried her nuts, then she looked at the sun. It was almost dinnertime! Chatter scurried home.

There, Chatter’s mom was setting a plate of walnuts on the table. “A letter came in the mail for you today,” her mom said as they ate dinner. “It is from Mr. Peanut.” 

“Mr. Peanut!” thought Chatter. “He is the best movie star in Pinecone City! I wonder why he would write to me,” thought Chatter.

“Here is the note,” said Chatter’s mom, giving it to Chatter. It said:

DEAR CHATTER,

 

I KNOW OF A TREASURE YOU CAN FIND FOR ME. COME TO MY HOUSE AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE MAP. I PICKED YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE BRAVE.

SINCERELY,

MR. PEANUT

Chatter was surprised. She couldn’t wait to go. She quickly gobbled up her dinner, brushed her teeth, and went to sleep. She would need a good night’s rest for the wonderful day ahead of her.

The next day Chatter awoke to the smell of breakfast. She gobbled it up, put some almonds and an apple in a backpack and started off.

First, she walked a short time to get to Mr. Peanut’s house. Chatter knocked on the door. Mr. Peanut came to the door. He invited Chatter in for a cup of tea.

“Well, I see you have decided to come,” Mr. Peanut said. 

“I don’t know why I wouldn’t come,” said Chatter. They talked for little longer. Then Mr. Peanut gave Chatter the map.

She read it. It said:

LOOK BY THE SEA AND SEE WHAT THE MERMAIDS SEE.

“I can do that,” thought Chatter.

But first, I’ll sit down somewhere and eat. She climbed up and sat down in a tree by the road. The tree was skinny, so it rocked in the wind. Chatter pulled an almond out of her bag and ate it. Then a big gust of wind came. It launched Chatter out of the tree and onto a car. Chatter rode on it until it stopped. They were at the beach—just what Chatter needed!

She hopped off the car and dove into the water. When Chatter opened her eyes, she was with the mermaids. Surprisingly, she could breath. All the mermaids were crowded around a small tube made of sea glass at the bottom of the ocean. 

“What is happening?” asked Chatter. 

“The air tube isn’t producing air very well for us to breath,” said a mermaid with blue hair and a purple fin. “You!” said the mermaid. “You can go down and see what is clogging it.”

So Chatter went down the dark tube. She found a piece of paper clogging it. The next clue! Chatter swam back up the tube to the mermaids. “I did it, but I need to go back,” said Chatter.

So Chatter swam back up to the surface with the clue. She read it. It said:

AT DAWN LOOK FOR A SPECIAL SWAN.

“I can do that after I get some sleep,” said Chatter. She climbed up a palm tree, ate an almond, then fell asleep. Suddenly, Chatter woke up. A loud car had rushed by. It was 5:00 in the morning, but Chatter decided to get up anyway. She jumped out of the tree to take a little morning stroll. She started walking. Then, a big wave came and carried her to another pathway. Chatter was curious, so she walked up the path.

The path lead to a beautiful lake. By now it was dawn. There were swans swimming in the lake. One of them was a golden swan that only came out in the morning. It had a piece of paper caught in its feathers.

 The third clue! Chatter reached out and grabbed the clue. It said:

IN THE TREE HOUSE LOOK FOR A LITTLE MOUSE.

“That should be pretty easy,” thought Chatter. And she began walking back down the path. When the path ended, which was in the woods, Chatter leaned against a tree and ate her apple. When she finished, she noticed there was something hard on her back. It was a rope ladder leading to a tree house! She climbed up the ladder.

In the tree house there was a cat sleeping. And right beside the cat, there was its toy mouse. And under the toy mouse was a piece of paper. Another clue!

Chatter tiptoed toward the toy mouse. The cat stirred in its sleep but did not wake up.  Chatter tiptoed closer and grabbed the piece of paper. Chatter had just escaped out the door when the cat woke up. Chatter read the clue. It said:

IF YOU’R LOOKING FOR THE TREASURE LOOK IN WATER THAT CANNOT BE MEASURED.

“Water that cannot be measured. That must mean really deep water.” said Chatter to herself. I’ll solve that in the morning. “For now I’ll get some sleep,” thought Chatter. So she found a shady spot under a tree and went to sleep.

When Chatter woke up, she ate an almond and then started walking. She was trying to find deep water. After walking for an hour, Chatter stopped in front of a cave. She hadn’t come across any water except for little streams.

Then, Chatter decided to go into the cave. When she went in, it wasn’t dark because of all the shimmering diamonds. She walked deeper into the cave. Soon there weren’t just diamonds, but there were all kinds of gems. It was very beautiful, and there was a big, deep lake in the middle. 

“Water that cannot be measured” said Chatter “That’s it!” Chatter dove into the lake and came out lugging a big chest behind her. Chatter dried herself off and walked all the way back to Mr. Peanut’s house. When Mr. Peanut saw Chatter with the chest, he asked her to tell the story.

So she did. “So there is your treasure,” said Chatter. 

“My Treasure?!” exclaimed Mr. Peanut. “You did all that for me?! It should be your treasure.” So Chatter took the treasure, and she and her mom lived happily ever after.

THE END