Ralfie and Jemima

Ralfie and Jemima

Sunday 7 March 2021

Let's Take The Car

 

It was another cold winter's day in Riverside with several degrees celcius below zero, so nobody (who could help it) would go anywhere on foot. 

The Periwinkles decided to go for a little drive. Their car was a convertible and, unfortunately, the roof's mechanism had broken the day before, so they had to create an alternative using a blanket for James and Julie and a scarf for the children.



Jemima's best friend Ralfie Hazelnut was staying over for the weekend, so he came along for the ride, as well as Quackie, Jemima's rubber duck.



The car radio was playing one of Jemima's cassettes and the children were singing to the intro of "Lamb Chop's Play Along", Jemima's favourite childrens' TV show.



Suddenly something furry and orange landed on the car's engine hood. James hit the brakes. 
It was a red squirrel and it seemed to be clamouring about something. It was normal for squirrels in Riverside to seem to be chattering, but this one sounded like it was speaking English!



"I'm late, I'm late - don't burn me on the grate!
I hope you can forgive me love, for I will compensate!"


James and Julie gazed at each other in disbelief and then returned to stare at the squirrel, that had crossed the engine hood and landed on the other side of the street, on top of the high mound of snow.


It turned toward the opposite side of the street again and went on chattering: 

"I'm late, I'm late - bad breaks accumulate!
If you should not believe me hon, then no one will relate!" 

This time, everyone heard it even more clearly. 

"Mommydaddy, squirrel's in a rush!" Jemima exclaimed. Ralfie nodded energetically. Though they were certainly intrigued, they were not as jaw-droppingly amazed as the parents at talking forest animals. 

James and Julie stared at each other one more time. Julie whispered, "Am I the only one getting rather strong Alice vibes here?" she asked, probably referring to the White Rabbit from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. And then, in the unreasonable way adults often have (even when they are rabbits in Sylvania), they shook their heads once more in disbelief and chose to forget all about the incident in a sudden attack of amnesia.



Ralfie and Jemima on the other hand spent a while pondering the squirrel's words. They guessed that Mr. Squirrel was referring to his wife when he said "love" and "hon". 
As James resumed driving, the children saw the squirrel cross the road once more and join another one of his kind on top of a heap of snow. If it was his spouse, they hoped she would believe whatever it was that had happened to him and, more importantly, forgive him for being so late, because they did not want her to fry him. 



10 comments:

  1. Nice to see a new post from you, dear Nina. The tiny red squirrels are very cute and so, of course are the Periwinkles.
    Hugs, Drora

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    1. Hello Drora, the Periwinkles and the squirrels say thank you!

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  2. Es ist so schön, mal wieder einen Geschichtenpost aus Riverside zu lesen! Aber irgendwie sind wir jetzt genau so verwirrt wie James und Julie und wir teilen auch den Alice-Moment... Aber im Gegensatz zu den erwachsenen Riverside-Kaninchen vergessen BiWuBärchen und ihre menschlichen Angehörigen derartige Vorkommnisse nicht so schnell. ;O) Wir hoffen also auf baldige Aufklärung, was es mit den sprechenden Eichhörnchen auf sich hat, ob es sich vielleicht um die führenden Lewis Carroll-Experten in der Eichhörnchen-Community handelt und natürlich auch ob die Beziehung gehalten hat oder ob der Scheidungsrichter bemüht werden musste. *lach*

    Davon abgesehen war dieser Winterausflug mit dem improvisiert winterfest gemachten "Cabrio" toll in Szene gesetzt. Kleine persönliche Info am Rande: Ich finde es zum ersten Mal total schade, dass BiWuBärchen stolze 9 Bärchenzentimeter groß sind und damit zu groß für Playmobil... und zwar seit dem Zeitpunkt, als die ihre VW-Edition heraus gebracht haben. Falls Du die noch nicht kennst... geh gucken... es gibt den Bulli und den Käfer und ich finde die fantastisch. Aber zum Glück für meinen Geldbeutel... Fluby und Rosey können damit nicht auf Tour gehen. ;O)

    Liebe Grüße
    Birgit (und von den BiWuBärchen natürlich auch)

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    1. Liebe Birgit und BiWuBärchen,

      vielen Dank für eure lieben Worte! Ob wir jemals erfahren werden, was es mit diesem Eichhörnchen auf sich hat, kann ich nicht versprechen. Zu sagen, dass es im Riversider Wald das eine oder andere Geheimnis gäbe, wäre wahrscheinlich untertrieben...

      Das mit den Playmobil-VWs kann ich verstehen - die sehen toll aus! Meine Riversider haben sich zum Glück (noch) nicht dafür interessiert, aber ich habe schon gestaunt, als ich die vor einer Weile entdeckt habe. :)

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  3. Hi Nina!

    What a fun story! The Alice-like red squirrel speaking in rhymes was amazing, I sure hope his wife forgives him and doesn't burn him either, haha! A great idea, wonderfully executed! I love how James and Julie forgot about it all immediately, as parents tend to do in stories, haha!

    I hope the family and Ralfie enjoyed their car trip. Love their solution for the broken roof, hehe.

    Have a great week-end!

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    1. Hello Ayrell,

      Thanks so much for reading this story!

      We have not had any bad news concerning Mr. Squirrel, so I believe his wife has not used the grate for anything other than roasting acorns. :D

      The Periwinkles and Ralfie had a great time driving around, as it was very cold but the sky was marvellously blue. Jemima says hi!

      Have a wonderful week-end.

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  4. Hi Nina!

    It makes me happy to see you are back blogging again!

    It´s always nice to read your stories about the Riversiders.
    This one is so cute and fun!

    Using a blanket as an alternative to the broken roof was a good idea.I don´t know if it was enough to keep them warm in such a snowy day but at least it looks really nice as it matches perfectly with the blue of the car and the clear sky.

    Mr.Squirrel speaking in rhyme made me smile.

    I´m sure Mrs.Squirrel was relieved to see her husband safe and sound and forgave him for being late.

    Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
    Hugs!




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    1. Hello Cutata,

      Thanks so much for dropping by!

      Thank you for sending me your thoughts on this story and have a great weekend!

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  5. Hi Nina!

    I've only just spotted you have some new posts! I loved the rhymimg red rodent and the Alice in Wonderland reference. I do enjoy it when you get a little surreal!

    Take care!

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    1. It's awesome that you said you like it when I get a little surreal. I always fear it might put some readers off, but somehow it comes naturally... Riverside simply isn't a "normal" place. :)

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