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illustration by Lois Longbrake Ellie peered out of her hole high in the tree. Her brothers and sisters were already at the bottom of the tree looking for food and playing. But not Ellie. "It’s too scary," she whispered. Father squirrel sat on the branch under the hole. "Come on," he said. "You’re a big squirrel now. You have to come out of there sometime." "But I can’t, Father," said Ellie. She hid her face in her paws. "It’s time you joined us to find food," said Father Squirrel. Ellie looked down. She felt a little dizzy and her tummy grumbled. "Maybe you can bring the food up to me," she said. "That would be a lot of food, Ellie. Besides, I’m too busy finding and storing food for us to eat in the winter. You need to help us and learn to store your own food." Father Squirrel scampered down the tree and joined the others. "It’s too scary." She rushed back into her warm, safe hole. Just then, her brother Mel peeked in. "What’s the matter, Ellie?" Ellie crept to the edge of the hole. "It’s too scary," she said and her entire body shook like the trees. "But you need to learn to find food and store it for the cold winter months," said Mel. "Maybe you can bring me the food?" asked Ellie sheepishly. You have to come down on your own," said Mel. "I can’t look for food for you too." Mel raced head first down the trunk of the tree. "It’s so scary," cried Ellie. She backed into her warm, safe hole. "Ellie," said a soft voice." Come out and play." Ellie looked out but saw no one. "Ellie. You can do it!" said the voice. Up in the branch above her hole was her little sister, Thelma. How did you get up there?" asked Ellie. "I climbed, silly," said Thelma. "It’s so scary," said Ellie. "I don’t like it one bit!" "Oh, Ellie. It’s not so bad once you try." Thelma jumped down to the branch by the hole. "What are you afraid of? Cats?" asked Thelma. "No." Ellie trembled. "I’m smarter than a cat." "Dogs?" asked Thelma. "No, I can run faster than a dog." "People?" asked Thelma. Ellie laughed. "No, I am smarter and faster than people." Thelma sighed. She could not imagine why Ellie was so afraid to come out of her hole. "Why won’t you join us below?" Ellie looked down and shook all over. "I’m afraid of heights," she whispered. "Afraid of heights?" Thelma looked down. "I never thought of that before." "It’s so far down," said Ellie. "But, Ellie. You’re a squirrel. Squirrels aren’t afraid of heights. "We’re not?" asked Ellie. Thelma smiled. "We have sharp claws to hang onto the trees, and small bodies so we can jump from branch to branch, right?" "Yes," said Ellie. "We live high in trees, and find much of our food on the ground below, right?" "Of course!" said Ellie. "And squirrels aren’t afraid of heights, right?" Thelma crossed her arms. "Yes, yes!" screeched Ellie. "Follow me," said Thelma. Thelma slowly backed down the trunk of the tree. She took a few steps and looked up at Ellie. "Come on, you can do it! Just don’t look down." Ellie crept out onto the branch and didn’t look down. She closed her eyes tight and grabbed onto the bark with her sharp claws. She held on tightly with her paws and, little by little, she crept down the side of the tree. The trees swayed back and forth and the wind brushed her fur. "I’m scared!" she shouted. "Don’t look down," said Thelma. "Remember, you’re a squirrel." Slowly they made their way to down. When they reached the bottom, her family burst into cheers. "You did it!" shouted Father Squirrel. Ellie opened her eyes and saw the ground just inches beneath her. She hopped off the tree and felt the dirt and leaves for the first time. "I did it!" "Do you still want to stay in the hole in the tree?" asked Father Squirrel. "No way! Because squirrels aren’t afraid of anything."
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