This is part av a story I am writing, actually it's the first inna series av short stories.  It's about a feisty squirrel-

Chipper: Ah heard dat, Laura!

Whateveh.  Point is, he's too sassy for his own good.

Chipper: Sheesh.  Jes' git on wid da stowee.

Fine.

I'll post part two later.

May God always guide your pen,

Laura Wylde

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The first story, in which Chipper and Nina meet Laura and the other Inklings, and become Laura’s characters.

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Christopher, also known as Chipper, was a squirrel that lived in the tiny-town of Dale, which is the World of Weird Writers.  This is the story of how Chipper and his sister Nina were raised by Laura, who is one of those Weird Writers, and became her characters.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

A furry grey face with big brown eyes peered over the edge of the nest and squeaked “All clear, Nina!”  A timid voice from inside the nest squeaked back “Are you sure, Chipper?”  Chipper rolled his eyes “Suh I’m suh.  Now cum on, lets go!”  After a second, another face joined the first one, and soon two squirrels could be seen clumsily trying to climb down the tree.  Finally Chipper and Nina reached the ground, and there they sat, unsure of what to do next.

Nina leaned against Chipper and looked at the frozen ground covered with snow, and said sadly “I miss mother.”  Chipper felt a lump in his throat, and he hastily cleared his throat and said “Yeh, me too.  But, hey, we’ll be fine by ourselves!  They wouldn’t have left if they didn’t think we could make it by ourselves, right?”  “I guess.” Nina sighed.  Suddenly her ears perked up, and she squeaked “Chipper, I hear someone coming!”  “Cum on Nina, let’s climb up and sit on this here branch ‘til whoever, or whatever, it is leaves!”

The two young squirrels scampered up and sat on a low branch, and waited to see who was coming.  After a minute, two young girls appeared, deep in conversation.  One was of medium height, had long brown hair and blue-grey eyes, and was wearing a red cloak.  The other girl was taller than the other girl, and had curly hair that was wild and brown with a slight reddish tinge, and she was wearing a green jacket.  Both girls had pens stuck behind their ears, and both carried notebooks. 

As they approached Chipper and Nina’s hiding place, Chipper was able to make out what they were saying.  “Yeah, I havena really been inspired much lately.” sighed the brown-haired girl.  “Wha’ ‘bout you, Pip?” 

Pip shrugged. “Well, Laura, I’ve been a little inspired, but not really enough to write down.  Oi ‘ate it when thet happens.”  She grinned.  “Mebbe we’ll get inspiration at the Inklings meeting tamara.  Are you coming?” 

Laura smiled. “Yep, I’m plannin’ on comin’.  Are you goin’?” 

“I believe so.”  Pip said as she glanced down at her watch and gasped.  “Oh, bother, I have to get home!”  She hugged Laura, who returned the embrace with a smile, and ran off.

Once Pip was out of sight, Laura turned to go too, but then Nina suddenly slipped and fell out of the tree.  “I say!” Exclaimed Laura in a surprised tone of voice. “Wha’ do we ‘ave ‘ere?”  She crouched down beside Nina, who trembled in fear.  “HEY!”  Chipper shouted.  “Leave mah sistah be!”  Laura glanced up at him, and raised her eyebrows.  “Eh, there’s two av ‘em.”  She chuckled. “Ach, squirrel, I won’t ‘urt your sister, dinna worry.”  Chipper jumped down and but his paws on his hips.  “Good, ‘cause iffin anyone tried to hurt mah sistah, they’d have to face my WRATH!” 

Laura smirked. “Aye, you’re a feisty one, lad.”  Chipper angrily squeaked back. “Oh, YEH, well you’re a sarcastic one, missy!”

Laura laughed. “Indeed, you’re right ‘bout tha’!”  She grinned at him. “So, wha’ is your name, squirrel?” 

Chipper puffed out his chest and said proudly. “Christopher T. Squirrel; but mos’ everyone calls me Chipper.  And that’s mah sistah Nina.” He waved a paw in Nina’s direction.

“Mmhm.  An’ wha’ does th’ ‘T’ stand for?”

“The, o’ course!  Chipper The Squirrel.” He replied. “And who might you be, miss?  I thought I heard that other girl call ya Laura.” 

Laura answered “Aye, I am Laura, one av th’ Weird Writers tha’ lives in th’ town av Dale.  ‘Tis a pleasure t’ meet you, Christopher, or am I permitted t’ call you Chipper?”  He shrugged.  “You can call me Chipper iffin ya wanna.  I don’t mind.”

Nina, who had been lying on the ground during the entire conversation, jumped to her feet. “Yes, well, we must be going, Miss Laura.  Nice meeting you.” She grabbed Chipper’s paw and tugged it.

Laura spoke up. “Wait, afore you go,” She cocked an eyebrow.  “ ‘ow is it tha’ two youn’ squirrels are left t’ ‘emslves in th’ dead av winter, wi’out any parents, eh?”

Chipper swallowed hard. “Err, welp, I’m not even really sure.  Y’see, we woke up the other day only to discover that our parents were gone.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “They... they left us.”   Nina’s shoulders drooped and she dropped Chipper’s paw.

Laura turned away; her blue-grey eyes blinked back tears. “Th’ poor thin’s.” She murmured to herself.  Chipper cocked his head.  “Everythin’ alright, Laura?”  She turned back to him and smiled sadly.  “Aye, Chipper; I’ll be fine.” 

She paused for a moment, as if pondering something, then she said “Look ‘ere, ‘ow ‘bout you an’ Nina come wi’ me for a few days?  Seein’ as you dinna ‘ave an’where else t’ go.  I ‘ave some other lil’ critters like you an’ your sister, an’ I know tha’ they would be glad t’ see you.  ‘Sides, ‘tis not safe for lil’ thin’s like you t’ be wanderin’ aroun’; Dale can be a dangerous place sometimes.”

“Well, I...” Nina hesitated.  Chipper reassured her. “Hey, Nina, it’ll be fine!  Cum on, lets go with her, and then iffin we don’t like it, we can leave!”  Nina looked up at Laura, who thought that Nina had the most beautiful brown eyes ever.  Nina slowly climbed up into Laura’s lap and placed her small and slender paws on Laura’s hand.  “Come on, let’s go.” Was all Nina said.

Grey clouds hung low in the sky, and the wind was getting colder by the minute, so Laura wrapped the two squirrels in her red cloak as she carried them to her house.  As they drew closer to Laura’s house, she whispered “Now, you mus’ be quiet.  Iffin me younger brother Ian gets a ‘old on you, well, let’s jes’ say it won’t be good.”  Chipper and Nina silently nodded as Laura entered the house, and walked up a set of stairs.  Reaching the top of the staircase, Laura briskly walked down a hallway until she reached a door, which she slowly opened.  Two squeaky voices greeted her.

“Hey, Laura!  Rockshel, Dandelion, Honey, Anika, Darcy, Edison, and Tumnus, Laura ish back!” 

A pair of mice sat on a desk that was situated in the northwestern corner of the room; these were the squeaky voices Chipper and Nina heard.                     

Out of the closet came a little kitten with fur that looked as if someone had splashed brown, black, and white paint in random areas all over and left it like that.  Behind the kitten, a fuzzy yellow duckling waddled out, and she was followed by two hedgehogs.  One of the hedgehogs, Nina noticed, was albino, while the other one was black and brown.  Coming down the hallway was a big grey dog with black spots, wagging its tail in a cheerful and welcoming manner.  From out under the bed hopped a fuzzy grey rabbit, wriggling its nose.  Laura sat down on her bed and smiled at everyone.  “I ‘ave a surprise for all av you” She said as she set Chipper and Nina onto the bed.  The dog put his paws on the bed and grinned at the squirrels.  “Well now, hey there!  I’m Edison; it’s a pleasure to meet ya!”  Nina squeaked and hid behind Laura, but fearless Chipper grinned back at Edison. 

“Mah name is Chipper! And Nina is mah sistah.  Nice ta meet ya, too!” 

The two mice squeaked “We are Timmy, and Naomi!”  The kitten purred “I’m Rockshel!”  The black and brown hedgehog spoke up “I am Anika, and” She waved a paw at the albino hedgehog. “This is Honey.”  The duckling quacked “Hey, I’m Dandelion!”  The rabbit said “And I am Tumnus the rabbit.  I hope you enjoy it here.”

Laura looked around. “I suppose Darcy is asleep. Well, you can meet ‘im later.  Darcy is me owl.”  Suddenly there was a flapping of wings and an owl landed on the window ledge outside.  “Or... you can meet ‘im now, I guess!” Laura laughed as she walked over to the window and opened it.  Darcy flew in and landed on the desk, right next to Timmy and Naomi.  Nina squeaked, wasn’t the owl going to eat the mice?  But Darcy just ruffled his feathers and glanced around the room with a bored expression on his face.  “Whot ho, you found some more creatures, eh Laura?” Darcy said.  Laura smiled at him, “Indeed I did.  Two squirrels named Chipper and Nina.”  “Well, welcome, hope you like it here, all that jazz.”  Darcy flew over and landed on Laura’s shoulder. “So, little Authoress, have any ideas for a story?”  Laura sighed and was about to say something, when a little Jack Russell Terrier trotted into the room, looking smug. 

“OH, GAH!  IT’S BUDDY!!” Anika shrieked. 

Rockshel hissed, and Edison growled, “Buddy, get outta here.  You know you’re not allowed to mess with any of Laura’s animals.”

Buddy just smirked and trotted over to Laura.  “If ya wanna idea for a book, why doncha write one about,” he preened, “Most Glorious Me?”

Laura but her hands on her hips and frowned at Buddy.  “An’, who is this ‘Most Glorious Me’, eh?”

“What do ya think?  It’s me, of course!  Write about ME!!”  Buddy trotted around the room, giving everyone condescending looks.

“I mean, who else is worthy enough to be put into a book?  No one but me!”

Chipper was not impressed with Buddy.