Once upon a time there was a land with a beautiful green forest. At the edge of the forest there was a huge, beautiful tree, whose branches reaching up to touch the sky. This tree was the home of a kindly and playful chipmunk family. There was a father, a mother, a sister and a brother.
They used to look out across the field that was by the edge of the forest and wonder about the exciting things that might be out there; things they couldn’t see and could only imagine. They had relatives that lived closer to the thick forest, but they never entered the forest because of the killer “Ball Snakes.”
One day the mother and father chipmunk had to go on a trip to visit those relatives. They had done this many times before so they did not worry about leaving the playful and curious brother and sister alone in their wonderful and safe tree. But just before the mother and father chipmunk left they one-again warned their children that their meanest enemy was the Ball Snake and if they saw a brown ball, they should stay safely in their tree because Ball-Snakes can not climb trees.
So the father and mother chipmunk left and the brother an sister played joyfully in the tree for a long time. Soon they got hungry for some nuts. They knew that there were plenty of nuts stored in the tree so they didn’t have to leave the tree to get food. But just as they were climbing from the top of the tree to the middle of the tree they noticed a big, brown nut on the ground, close to their tree.
Brother and sister chipmunk looked at each other happily. They knew that the nut was big enough for them to fill both of their stomachs. But they were cautious when they remembered that their parents had warned them about the Ball Snake.
In those long ago days snakes were round, like a small ball. They were brown like a walnut and three times as big. Because they were shaped like a ball, they could roll fast and easily catch a small animal on the ground. And the Ball Snake’s sharp teeth could kill a small animal easily.
The two chipmunks watched carefully for a few minutes, but when they did not see any movement they decided that since they had never seen a snake near their home tree, then this must truly be a large, tasty nut for them to feast on.
So down the tree they scampered and into the field they rushed in search of that nut. The grass was high and it was not as easy to see as it was from the tree. The chipmunks went farther out into the field until they decided that the nut should not have been that far away. They thought that they must have passed the nut in the tall grass. They started back toward their tree home, still searching for the delicious-looking, nut.
Then, half way back to their tree they saw the big nut. They walked toward it with delight. Their mouths were watering and their stomachs were wiggling while waiting for the taste of that juicy nut.
Both chipmunks were bending over to pick up their large treasure when, suddenly, they jumped backward just as the nut opened its wide mouth. Pointing up and down, like icicles, from its mouth were many long, sharp teeth.
Sister and brother chipmunks fearfully hugged each other as they stared at their worst enemy, a Ball Snake. They did not run for they knew that this snake could easily catch them, even if he wasn’t between them and their tree home.
Then, even though they were afraid, they whispered to each other and formed a plan to escape the deadly teeth of the Ball Snake.
When the snake saw the chipmunks walking straight at him, he was surprised, but he grinned and thought it would be much easier for him to catch and eat the both of them. The closer the chipmunks got the wider the snakes mouth opened and the bigger his pointed teeth seemed to grow.
Quickly, the snake leaped forward upon the chipmunks. But as he leaped the chipmunks jumped to the side. The brother chipmunk bit the nose of the snake and would not let go. He knew that he and his sister’s lives depended on it. At the same time the sister chipmunk bit the snake’s rear-end and she, too, would not let go.
The chipmunks fought hard because they knew that they needed each other’s help if they were to save both their lives. Each of them knew that they must not let go and each knew that they must pull, as hard as they could, in opposite directions, so the snake could not escape and bite them.
The snake was powerful and he pulled back. The chipmunks kept pulling and pulling and pulling. They bit hard and they dug their front feet into the ground. They pulled with all their strength. But it looked like nobody was winning and the chipmunks were losing their strength fast. Each held on, but each knew that their strength was almost gone. The snake had more strength than they had and he was just waiting for the chipmunks to let him go so that he could eat one of them for lunch.
Just as the chipmunks were pulling with their final strength, they heard the rustle of the grass. It was their mother and father. The father helped the son and the mother helped the daughter, and together they were much more powerful than the snake. They pulled and pulled until the snake was no longer a ball. He looked like he was stretched into a piece of rope.
The family let go of the snake and ran when they thought the snake was too tired to come after them. They ran out of the reach of the exhausted snake, but the snake was angry and he chased them.
The family of chipmunks noticed that the snake was so slow that they could easily run circles around him and still not get caught. When the snake was a ball he was fast and dangerous, but now the snake looked like a piece of rope slowly pulling itself through the grass.
The chipmunks stopped and stared at the snake, then they cheered because now they were faster than the snake and could get away easily. The snake would no longer be their great enemy.
When the snake realized that he could no longer catch chipmunks he gave up and crawled away. He went off to live in dark places where he could hide himself with shame.
This happy news traveled fast throughout the forest and soon the chipmunk family and their relatives were having a big celebration party where all the chipmunks learned how to stretch snakes so they could no longer be their worst enemy. Now they could all live happily ever after.
Comments