Below is the story of how Skelly Hodgepodge met his adventurous traveling partners.
If you would like to listen to the audio version of this story with your kids, you can do that directly over at Skellyhodgepodge.com.
Chapter 1
It all began on a sunny fall day by a crystal clear lake in the woods of Tennessee. I was out gathering some food for winter, minding my own business, when I was startled by the sound of children laughing. This put me on high alert! I never know if a human will be a friend or a foe. I stood as still as I could and held my breath. The noise got louder and the sound of leaves crunching filled the air. “Oh, boy! This sounds like a rowdy crew. I hope they don’t chase me.”, I thought to myself.
The first one to come into view was a young boy with wild hair. He was climbing on fallen tree trunks and pretending to be an explorer looking for treasure. Behind him was a girl, that seemed so interested in the different shapes and colors of the leaves around her. She had a whole handful of various leaves that she was tucking into what looked like a book. I was so fascinated with watching these two that I did not notice the third child.
All of the sudden, I felt something whizz past my face at a supersonic speed. I panicked and ran up the nearest tree. My heart was pounding. I was so scared that I did not know what to do next. As I peered through the leaves to survey below, I saw him. It was a older boy and he was carrying a bow! My mind raced. “Was he shooting at me? Am I going to be squirrel stew? Oh, I knew I should not have come to an area of the forest that I did not know!”
After what seemed like forever, I realized the laughter had stopped and the children where huddled together at the base of the tree talking. With my ears perked, I tried to decipher what they were saying. It sounded like they were talking about me!!
“Was that a squirrel?”, said the girl.
“I think it was a gnome!”, said the smallest.
“Don’t be ridiculous!”, said the boy with the bow. “It was definitely a squirrel, but it had something orange draped over its shoulder and it was wearing a hat!! I have never seen a squirrel like that!! I must have been seeing things. I almost hit him when I was shooting at the target. He was camouflaged by the colorful leaves. I must of scared him to death! I hope he is ok.”
Chapter 2
As you can imagine, I was still pretty scared. One minute I am quietly gathering acorns and the next I am being shot at! I continued to listen while I remained under the cover of the leaves.
“We need to find out what it is and see if it is alright!”, the worried girl said.
“What if it is dangerous? What if it bites us or has poisonous fangs?”, said the cautious eldest.
“I will climb up there. I’m a really good climber and I’m not afraid.”, offered the youngest.
“Oh, no you won’t!”, said the older brother. “If you get hurt, I will be the one in trouble with Mom and Dad. I can’t let you go up there. Get over here and don’t leave my side.”
The girl, still worried exclaimed, “I have an idea!! I have the trail mix that mom packed for us in my sack. We can spread some out on the stump over there and go sit quietly by the bushes while we wait for it to come down for a treat. Then we will be able to see what it is for sure!”
“I don’t know. Do you think it will actually come back down after that scare? Well… I guess it won’t hurt to try. But we all have to stay together and be quiet. Sam, no running towards the creature if he does come down. Ya hear me??”, replied the tall one again.
“Oh, alright. I promise.”, answered the tiny climber.
The children then proceeded to sprinkle a mixture of delicious looking nuts all over the stump right next to my tree. My mouth began to water and my belly let out a growl. “Oh, I can’t go down there. I know it’s a trick. I heard them with my own ears. But those nuts sure do look tasty! SKELLY, GET CONTROL OF YOURSELF! THIS COULD BE LIFE OR DEATH!” I took a deep breath and resolved to stay put, that was until…. I saw the CASHEWS! CASHEWS! Oh, how I LOVE CASHEWS!! You can’t get them in the woods where I live and I only had them twice in my life. Once when my cousin was able to trade acorns with a friend of a friend for them. And once when we had a family reunion and everyone brought nuts from their homes.
Before I knew it, I was halfway down the tree. I stopped there and looked towards the bushes where the kids were crouched. They had their eyes trained on me but they didn’t move. “I’m pretty fast.”', I thought to myself. “I can get down there, grab a handful and get back up the tree before they can get over here.” I continued down the tree trunk slowly with my gaze darting back and forth from the kids to the cashews. Once, I was down there, I quickly grabbed a cashew. But of course, I had to taste it! Once, I had one, I had to have another … and another. I was lost in a cashew coma! That is why I didn’t notice the littlest boy till he was right in front of me! Panicked, I froze. I tried to move but I couldn’t. Just when I thought I had enjoyed my last nut before meeting my destruction, the boy began to speak.
“We won’t hurt you. It’s ok. Don’t be scared. We love animals and we were afraid we accidentally hurt you. Are you ok?”
“Sam! You promised not to run off! You are scaring him again!”, chastised the eldest.
“It IS a squirrel! Awww! And isn’t he cute? Can we keep him?”, the sister implored.
“No, we can’t keep him!! And besides, he is a funny looking squirrel. What’s with that hat!?”, he replied.
At that, I had to speak up. “What is wrong with my hat? I will have you know, this was a birthday gift from my aunt. She crocheted this and my acorn sack.”
The children stood there shocked. Now, THEY were the ones that looked terrified.
Chapter 3
The oldest spoke up first. “No, way! You talk? How do you do that? Is this a trick or something? Is there a hidden camera somewhere?”
“I most certainly do talk! How else would I communicate with my friends and family?”, I retorted.
“Well, I just.. I just never heard of a talking squirrel before. I always hear sounds of chatter coming from squirrels but I never understood what they were saying. How come I can understand you.?
A portrait of Skelly’s parents on their wedding day done by @artbymarty
“Oh, that’s right! I forgot that most squirrels don’t speak human. My father was part of a traveling circus and his master taught him to speak human. My father then taught me and my siblings- all 33 of them. Actually, there are very few of us that can speak or understand the human language, but there are some others scattered around the world.”
“A traveling circus! How fun!”, said the boy with the wild hair.
“This is amazing!”, said his sister. “We aren’t part of a circus, but we do travel. Kind of like the circus used to. We live with our parents in a house on wheels and we travel all over North America learning as we go. We call it road schooling.”
“Road schooling? I think I would like that! My father told me so many wonderful stories about his time on the road. He met so many unique creatures and saw all kinds of spectacular sites. I have always wanted to travel like him. I never go anywhere. This is the first time I have even been in this part of the forest. I never made it past that pond before today.”
The children were still a bit bewildered by the fact that they met a talking squirrel, but that didn’t stop them from asking me all kinds of questions.
“What is your name?” “What circus did your dad travel with? “ “ Do you speak any other languages?” “Why don’t you travel?” “What kind of squirrel are you?” “What is your favorite kind of nut?” “Do you have an hobbies?” “Where is your home?” …. ….. ….
“Wo, wo, wo! Slow down! I can’t answer all your questions at once.” The children apologized and quieted down. We all huddled around the stump and I proceeded to answer some of their questions.
“My Name is Skelly. Skelly Hodgepodge. I am a North American grey squirrel and I live on the other side of the pond in a tall oak tree. The only other language I speak fluently is squirrel, but I do know a little bit of chipmunk and a little bit of Spanish. I picked that up over by the taco stand in the park at the edge of the forest. ‘Yo, quiero elotes!’” With that everyone laughed. “Now it’s my turn to ask questions. What are your names and why did you shoot at me?!”
“I am really sorry about that”, said the boy with the bow. “I was not shooting at you. I was aiming for the target that was directly behind you about 25 ft. I didn’t see you hiding in the leaves.” He pointed to the large red and white target, where the arrow had pierced the center as if someone had stuck it there by hand.
“Well! You certainly do have impeccable aim! Nice shot! And I don’t just mean it because you hit the bullseye, I mean it because you didn’t hit me! What is your name and how old are you?”
“My name is Caleb and I am 13 years old.”
I turned and looked at the wild haired boy. “And how about you? What is your name and how old are you?”
“I’m Samuel Elliott, but you can call me Sammy. I am 7 years old. Almost 8!” “Sammy, you sure are a brave one, but you really should listen to your brother when it comes to staying safe”.
Follow Skelly Hodgepodge on Pinterest! And check out all his amazing resources for families at www.skellyhodgepodge.com
With that, I turned to the girl. “Thank you for sharing your snack with me. I tried to resist coming down from the tree, but I could not resist the cashews! I really LOVE cashews! I was so focused on their delicious, buttery taste that I didn’t even hear Sammy coming towards me.”
“You are very welcome! I am glad you liked them. My name is Norah and I am 10 years old.”
And she stuck out her hand to shake my paw. “Nice to meet you Skelly.”
We chatted for a while, but the sun was beginning to set and the children needed to get home for dinner. I still had so many questions, myself. I wanted to hear more about this how road schooling thing works. I asked the children if they could come back tomorrow. They said they would and that they couldn’t wait to tell their mom and dad about me. So we said goodnight and promised to meet back at the stump tomorrow afternoon.
That night I could not sleep. My mind was racing with all kinds of visions of adventures I could have if I was traveling on the road. Oh, how I wished I could live with those kids! As I drifted off to sleep that night I was imagining the 4 of us exploring a deep cave underground using head lamps to light our way.
Chapter 4
The next morning I was awake earlier than usual. As I ate my normal breakfast of acorns, I secretly hoped that they would bring more cashews. Mmm, mmm, mmm! I was so excited to see my new friends that afternoon!
It was a bit of a dreary day, with a few sprinkles of rain here and there. I was nervous my new friends would not show, but I put on my hat and headed to our meet up spot. I wanted to get there a little early, so I was sure I did not miss them. I didn’t have any trouble finding the right stump because the bright red and white target was to the left. I wondered, “ How could I have missed it yesterday. If I would have seen it, I would have stayed away from that spot! I really need to be more aware of my surroundings! But then again, if I was more aware, I never would have met my new friends! … And I never would have had those CASHEWS!”
Just then, I heard a familiar sound of laughter coming from the other side of the forest glen. It was them! Caleb, Norah and Sammy! They did come! And they brought their parents! “Hi, guys! I’m over here!!
Skelly anxiously waits to see his new friends again!
“Hi Skelly! This is our mom and dad. They couldn’t believe what we were telling them. So, they just had to come see for themselves and meet you in person!”, greeted Caleb.
“Dad, see! I told you he was real!”, Sammy exclaimed.
“Well, I don’t know what to say! I can’t believe what I am seeing! I mean hearing!”
The kids laughed and in unison chanted, “We told you!”
“You sure did!” Said their mom.
“This is incredible! When we started traveling, I knew we would see lots of things that we never imagined, but this is way beyond our wildest dreams!”
The children’s parents seemed so dumbfounded at what they were seeing that I thought I should speak up to put them at ease.
“Hi, Mom and Dad! Is that what your names are? I’m Skelly. Skelly Hodgepodge. You have some really special kids and I am so glad that we met yesterday! They told me a little about road schooling and it sounds so exciting! I wish I was road schooling too!”
Mom and Dad still stood there staring at me.
Norah spoke up.
“Mom. Dad. I know it is crazy to meet a talking squirrel, but he is really nice and he has a whole bunch of stories that his dad told him from his time traveling with the circus. I told him that the way we live is kind of like his dad did. I mean, not with a circus, but traveling all over and meeting lots of new people and seeing lots of new places!”
“Actually, Honey, we are probably more like a circus that you realize!”, said Dad with a smirk.
“Skelly, it is nice to meet you!”, followed Mom.
After that I asked Mom and Dad a whole bunch of questions about road schooling and they asked me a bunch of questions about how I learn to speak human English. About and hour later, Dad announced that they needed to get going. They were leaving town in the morning and they needed to get back to the rig to start packing up. With this news, the kids protested. Especially Norah and Sammy.
“But Dad!!! Can’t we stay a little longer?! We can’t leave! What if we never see Skelly again? No one else will ever believe us when we tell them we met a talking squirrel! Can he come with us? He is small. He won’t take up much room. Please!”, pleaded Norah.
“Please, Dad! Please??”, added Sammy.
Dad was not so keen on the idea and Mom was not so sure either.
Dad replied, “Now kids, Skelly has a home and we can’t just take him with us. I don’t think so.”
With that he turned to me and said, “ Skelly, it was really nice to meet you. And a really awesome experience to be able to have a conversation with a squirrel, but we really must be going now. Besides, we can’t have any more animals in our house or they will really will classify as a circus! No offense, Skelly.”
“No offense taken, sir. But if it helps to know, I actually live by myself and I really don’t take up a lot of space. I can be as quiet as a mouse. If I could come with you, I would be so appreciative. It is my dream to travel!”
Dad just shook his head and gave me a sympathetic look, then glanced at Mom. It was her turn to politely tell me that I could not join them. The kids began to pout and Norah was crying as they said their last goodbyes. They promised to come back and visit every fall and to think of me every time they ate Cashews. As they walked off, Norah continued to plead with her Dad to let me join them. I’m not gonna lie, I was tearful too. But, just as they were about to walk out of site, Sammy turned around and ran back to me and gave me a big hug. Almost too big! I think he forgot I was just a squirrel! But as he hugged me he whispered in my ear.
“Meet me back here tomorrow morning at 7am. Bring a small bag with your stuff for traveling. I have a plan!”
He then ran back to his parents and left me bewildered. Did he really mean what he said? Was he really going to take me with him? Were they really going to let me travel with them? This made me beyond excited! I scurried home as fast as I could and grabbed my orange sack and started filling it with everything I would need. The picture of my parents, my journal, the hat from my aunt and an extra large acorn. Just in case they were all out of nuts when I got there.
That night I slept even less than the night before and the daylight could not come fast enough! At the break of dawn, I scarfed down an acorn and headed out to the meet up spot. As I was coming around the side of the pond, I could see all three kids coming across the glen. My heart was pounding with excitement. All of us ran to meet up. The kids looked much happier than they did the day before.
Skelly hides in Sammy’s backpack.
“Skelly, Mom and Dad have not changed their minds, but we think they will after they get to know you better. So, we talked and decided to bring you with us anyway.”
“Not exactly Sam! I still don’t think we should go behind Mom and Dad’s back. They aren’t going to be too happy with us”, Caleb said sternly.
“Yeah but, they’ll get over it pretty quickly, once they realize how awesome he is!”, responded Norah. “Come on, Sammy! Hurry up, get your backpack ready. We promised we would be back in 20 minutes.”
Next thing I know Sammy was opening his backpack and helping me to climb in while Norah stuffed the front pouch with my belongings. All I kept thinking was, “THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING! I’M GOING TO TRAVEL! I’M GOING ROAD SCHOOLING!”
The kids snuck me into the trailer and had me hide away in a cabinet by Sammy’s bed. The whole time we were sneaking in I didn’t really give much thought to the fact that Mom and Dad didn’t want me to come. But… later that day, was a different story!
… …. TO BE CONTINUED … ….
Hey, kids! If you liked reading this story of how I began my road schooling journey,
sign up for the Roadschool Crew and you will receive a notification when I post the next chapter!
