Sally the Squirrel here! Today was supposed to be the happiest day ever. I peered out of my treehouse early in the morning, hoping to see mum and dad waiting with a big acorn cake. But guess what? No one came!
“I’m all alone,” I sighed. “Maybe everyone forgot my birthday.” So I planned on having an adventure instead. I decided to search the bushes today, maybe I’d find some delicious red berries to fill my tummy. As I hopped outside, I noticed something on my front porch.
“Huh, what is that?” I wondered.
It was a big present with bright ribbon on it! I jumped up and down with joy! Mum and Dad had come after all! As fast as I could, I tore the big ribbon apart and unwrapped the present. It was a shiny, red sleigh! I had been wishing for one for the whole year!
I jumped in the sleigh, hoping on a good hill and “whoosh!” down I went, through the bushes to the bottom of the hill. But oh oh, I whizzed right into a prickly bush full of nasty thorns!
Before I could shout “Mum! Dad!” a whole gang of raccoons spotted me and came rushing up.
“Whew Sally! We saw you zooming by. We thought maybe you were flying!” said Rita, one of my oldest buddies. “Come on, hop in, we’ll help you.”
The raccoons pulled and pulled, backwards Rattleface (that’s what we call him because he rattles so much when he talks) pushed my sleigh forwards and finally I was loose.
This had turned into a whole raccoon birthday party! We played games all morning, tag in the bushes and racing between the trees. Then it started to grow dark.
“Time to go,” said Rita, “but come back tomorrow and we’ll have the berry hunt.” She gave me a whole bag of ripe raspberries to take back home. I waved goodbye, heart full of joy.
When I got home it was quite dark but there was a light in my treehouse, hmm? As I opened the door, guess what I found! Mum, Dad, Uncle Jumpy and Grandma Betty were all singing “Happy Birthday to you…” and blowing out of funny little things they held in their paws.
Dad was carrying a big birthday cake piled up high with delicious acorns. I’d never seen so many candles on a cake before!
“Oh thank you, thank you!” I cried, nearly bursting with joy.
“Sally, we may have forgotten for a little while, but we would never forget your birthday,” said Mum. Oh, what fun we all had! I gave each one of my family a juicy raspberry.
And to think all this fun was planned as a surprise for me!