Scarlet was worried. She had not seen her chipmunk friend for a long time. Scarlet was in Grade 5 and she did not have a lot of kid friends, so her animal friends were very important to her.
She came home from school every day in December, and Stripey the chipmunk was never waiting for her on the front porch. Stripey always used to wait there because Scarlet gave him nuts to eat.
When it was Christmas, Scarlet kind of forgot about giving Stripey nuts because there was no school. Plus she was thinking about Santa and stuff like that.
But in January, Scarlet started thinking about Stripey again. He was never waiting for her in January.
One day in February, Scarlet was crying in her room and her Mom heard her crying. So her mom came into Scarlet’s room, and asked her why she was crying.
Scarlet said, “I am crying about Stripey.”
Her Mom said, “Why are you crying about Stripey? And who is Stripey?”
Scarlet said, “Stripey is the chipmunk I always give nuts to.”
Her Mom said, “So that is where all the nuts are going!!!”
But her Mom was nice, so she was not mad. She told Scarlet about how chipmunks hibernate in the winter. That means sleeping under the ground in the winter. Stripey was a chipmunk, so he had to sleep under the ground in the winter.
Then Scarlet was glad Stripey was OK. And she was just waiting for spring so she could see her friend Stripey again!
by J. F. (11 years old)
