Businesisider

 Sharbenau the Squirrel" by Miriam Pia

Part 1

Sharbenau realized at some point that he was not like the bizinspires in a few ways. In most regards he was a normal squirrel. He grew at the same pace, he liked most of the same foods, his tail was bushy the same as all the others. His temperament was also not that different from many of the others of his tribe.

Sharbenau lived in a large colony of squirrels. They had 3 tribes, 2 of these had 15 families and the other tribe had 9 families in it. The older ones taught the young ones how to live and do well in the forest that they lived in. Like it or not, it became clear that some of the older squirrels seemed to 'do better' than the others.

Feeling strange?

There were times that made Sharbenau very sad. When he was young this happened the most when he saw another get injured or sick. He hated to witness their suffering but did not want to turn away from them - he knew that would make him appear cold hearted when he was not. Well, that problem won a lot of Sharbenau's attention for quite a time.

Once, when another squirrel was hurt, he tried to help it. Partly, he just gave the other animal comfort and somehow - he wasn't even sure how; he tried to change things.He tried to help the other heal. Sharbenau wasn't sure it did any good but then his grandmother mentioned it to him once. She complimented him. She told him, "Now little one, that was very creative and quite kind. This is a very rare thing, but it is something that you should feel good about, rather than bad about."

Sharbenau thought that his grandmother meant well but was a little strange. The thing is, because she had been kind to him when he was feeling a bit sad or lonely or something - he remembered the incident. The squirrel children found that they often had enough time to play and to have fun as well as having time to learn how to take care of themselves and one another. Most of the time, they were told to stay home when it was dark. The real reason for this was to protect them from danger. There were other animals. The way that they saw things made it harder for the squirrels to identify danger during the dark time. It made it easier for them to make the young stay close during these times. Sharbenau felt this made sense and didn't fight it. He was actually a very well behaved child squirrel. Most were, but a few of them seemed different. Over what felt like a very long time, he noticed what happened to the different individuals depending on what they did. There seemed to be 2 main effects amongst the more adventurous squirrels. Some had sad fates: they were often injured and many died young in tragedies.

Others had happy fates. It seemed they were blessed with great energy and talents andadept at surviving. So, Sharbenau developed a new understanding of that type of squirrel. Even so, he did not stray far from his elders. It did not seem to be his nature to disobey or to go against sound advice.

Sharbenau and a Crow

One day, when Sharbenau was out climbing a tree in an area where he was allowed he had a most unusual experience. A large crow, at least twice his own size,came near enough to him - they looked each other in the eye. The bird lowered its head and moved it towards the squirrel slowly.

Sharbenau saw this large, sharp, dangerous beak coming at him but for some reason he did not feel the usual fear and he did not skitter away. Suddenly, he reached out one of his front paws, and tapped the bird on the beak.

Well, after that happened, both of them panicked. The squirrel pulled back his hand very suddenly. The bird jerked back its head; this had never happened before! The bird cawed. The squirrel was terrified by the giant dangerous open mouth and horrible sound. Sharbenau began screaming and scampered along a few branches and fled to safety. There he panted, calmed down, resumed his daily life. The experience stayed with him. Because he remembered it so well, he felt it might have deep meaning.