A Squirrel named Jellybean

I'm sure every parent that reads this post can relate to the following story in some way.

Once upon a time there were 4 very happy children who loved playing outdoors. One day as they were playing the youngest came running in yelling "Daddy, Daddy - come here - I want to show you something."

And as a very attentive father would do - he followed his youngest daughter outside - curious about what she wanted to show him. She took him to the side of the house and down on the ground were 3 "somethings" lying on the ground. To Daddy, they looked dead so he came back in to get gloves so he could get rid of them.

"There are 3 dead puppies outside!" He exclaimed to his rather astonished wife as he walked back inside.

"3 what?" She said as she quickly ran outdoors.

As she looked at the "puppies" she noticed one was still breathing. So she quickly ran back in and got some gloves to handle it. With the children's help, they made a little bed out of a shoebox and gently placed the baby in it.

After showing it to the neighbors and doing some research online, it was decided that this wasn't a puppy at all, but a squirrel. Evidently they had fallen out of their nest earlier that day due to some very high winds.

Now Mommy and Daddy didn't want any squirrels in the house! Just imagine the shredded furniture and chewed walls. They both shuddered just thinking about it. But on the other hand, they couldn't let this poor innocent creature die.

Mommy, knowing that this squirrel didn't have much of a chance told her children that he probably wouldn't survive through the night, but she would do what she could to keep him hydrated.

The oldest daughter imediately named this little squirrel - Jellybean. "Because," she said, "He's not much bigger than 4 or 5 jellybeans."

Miraculously, Jellybean survived through the night. So the family decided they'd better buy some animal formula and a bottle to feed it. So off to the pet store they went. While there, a veternarian assistant told them about an animal shelter that could take the squirrel and help it to be able to survive on its own in the wild. Now that was great news for Mommy and Daddy!

And so Jellybean was taken to the animal shelter where he grew and grew until he was strong enough to go back to his environment.

The End.

Okay - we don't really know the ending so far, but the kiddo's were very glad that someone would be able to help him grow up. And boy are we glad we're not having to raise a squirrel!