Chapter 2

Tree Topper Clive happened to be dandering along the outskirts of the meadow, one day, which also happened to be the outskirts of the forest depending on which way you heard it. Pixie Pod tended to hear it every which way, but that was neither here nor there. Tree Topper Clive was examining all the nut trees, pondering which one to climb next, as they all seemed to have spikey green round things on their branches. Tree Topper Clive did not fancy the idea of being launched to the ground by a low velocity conker shell.

The dangers of being a squirrel are not entirely apparent to the casual pixie, but upon inspection, bigger animals with hungrier tummies and even bigger winds with their warms and chills are all prone to perilous situations for the wayward squirrel. Tree Topper Clive thought to himself, ‘What I should really like now, more than everything else in the whole forest, is a nice dry branch in the sun’s path, some nuts that carry no price, and perhaps only for the night, another squirrel to want for my company. “Sigh”, said Tree Topper Clive, “I know if I wasn’t me, I’d like me for a friend”.

Suddenly, there it was, a tree without any spikey green things growing from it. So he climbed with haste, to deep within the tree, where he found an empty nest. The leaves and the branches formed a clearing upwards from the nest to reveal the sky. Tree Topper Clive climbed into the nest and he could feel a warmth, just as if there were someone there a few moments previous. The nest was shaped just as if it was meant to be an armchair built for someone with a body like Tree Topper Clive’s. just so such a body could sit in warmth and comfort while at the same time look through the tunnel in the tree to the sky.