Lexi's Tale Read Online Free PDF Page A

park. But isn’t it a hundred times better that humans come here daily and leave the most delicious foods for us? Remember:
A variety among nuts helps avoid life’s ruts
. This park doesn’t produce Brazil nuts, or almonds, or cashews, or pistachio nuts. Without humans you’d never have eaten any hazelnuts or pecans—and what about macadamia nuts?”
    â€œAh, macadamia nuts.” Uncle Ninety-nine closed his eyes and began to chew the air. I realized I’d said the one word that could distract him from scolding me. “If only I could have a macadamia nut,” Uncle Ninety-nine said. “They are the most delicious of all the nuts in the world.”
    â€œBut Uncle,” I pointed out, “they grow thousands of miles away from here. Were itnot for the occasional human who brings them to the park, you’d never have tasted one.”
    â€œMacadamia. Macadamia,” Uncle Ninety-nine repeated again and again. “I must go see if I can find one right now,” he said to me. “I love macadamia nuts more than anything in the world.”
    Suddenly my uncle could think of nothing else. He turned and leaped from the tree branch where he’d been sitting. He fled from tree to tree toward the south, where there are often people who bring nuts to the park. I doubted that he’d find any macadamia nuts today. They are a rare treat, and I’ve only eaten one of them in my entire life.
    With Uncle Ninety-nine gone, I looked around and saw with satisfaction that the hungry stranger was walking in my direction.It would save me the effort of trying to drag the wallet to him. I sat patiently on my branch and waited until he passed directly under me. I was ready. At that moment I gave the wallet a little shove and it fell from the tree and landed at his feet. The stranger looked up at me and gave a wide smile.
    But at the same moment another human was running by. He saw the wallet fall from the tree too. Now he reached out and tried to grab the wallet away from PeeWee’s rescuer.
    It was quite a scene: A tall bald man in running clothes was yelling and chasing the bearded stranger in the funny hat. But unlike squirrels who spend hours running and chasing one another in play, this was not a game. These men were serious. Both of them wanted the wallet and all I had wanted to do was help.

CHAPTER SIX
Ruckus in the Park

    The bald man was also a bold man. He quickly caught up with the bearded stranger and grabbed him by the shoulder. I could see it all from my spot in the tree.
    PeeWee’s rescuer tried to push the bald man away, but he was not strong enough. He called out in his strange language and the bald man yelled back at him in return.
    â€œLet go of that wallet!” he shouted. “I saw it before you.”
    I was happy that the bearded stranger would not let go.
    Some people who were walking nearby gathered to see what was going on. I had to climb higher on the tree as more and more people crowded around the two men and blocked my view of the commotion. There were joggers and bikers, walkers and skaters, mothers and nannies, children and dogs. There was yelling and shouting, crying and barking, and above it all I could hear the sound of the two men who were fighting over the old leather wallet.
    It was amazing that an object that I had found in a drift of snow during a day late in thewinter was causing such a fuss now. I didn’t know what to do, but seeing two of my brothers running through a tree across from me, I yelled out to them. “Twenty-two, Twenty-three, call all the squirrels you can.” I didn’t have a plan yet, but I knew that whatever it would be, I couldn’t do it alone.
    Both Twenty-two and Twenty-three are younger than I am, so they didn’t question my command. Quickly they raced off, summoning other squirrels in the area. At any given time there are dozens of squirrels in every corner of the park, so it didn’t take