Tales from the Pine Forest

Contents

1. THE TALE OF MRS. NIMBLY KNOCK AND THE H1.Y-ROASTED NUTS

2. THE TALE OF THE 3. BIRTHDAY WISHES

3. THE TALE OF HOPSCOTCH THE RUNAWAY

4. THE TALE OF BIZZY-BETH THE NOSY BEE

5. THE TALE OF THE SNAKE IN THE PAPAYA PATCH

6. THE TALE OF MR. NIMBLY KNOCK’S RETURN

DEDICATIONS

To:

My parents: Lionel and Jocelyn

My sisters: Lynette and Gaile

My brother and his wife: Colin and Suzanne

My friend: Gary

My godchildren: Abbigail, Antonio, Nikolai, Gianni, and Faye

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Lionel and Jocelyn, for their support and love.

Lynette and Gaile, my fearless, rigorous critics.

Gary, who encouraged me to complete this collection of tales.

Thank you all.

ONE

THE TALE OF MRS. NIMBLY KNOCK AND THE HONEY-ROASTED NUTS

Once upon a time in a faraway pine forest on the island of Trinidad there lived a lovely squirrel called Mrs. Nimbly Knock. She had shiny black eyes; smooth fur; and a silky, red tail. Most of the time she wore a dark green dress with black dots and carried a green bag made of woven pine needles and forest vines. She had made her warm and cosy home in a large hole in the trunk of a tall and sturdy pine tree, and her neat little front door opened onto Honey Nut Bough, the lowest on the tree.

Mrs. Nimbly Knock lived with her three little squirrels. They were called Quickskip, Chuckles, and Hopscotch, and they all looked very much like her. Quickskip skipped quickly everywhere, Chuckles was good natured and liked to eat, and Hopscotch liked to hop along the pine forest branches. The three little squirrels wore dark green vests, which their mother had made herself. Every day they played happily up and down the pine tree, skipping, hopping, and bolting.

Mrs. Nimbly Knock kept a very tidy home and was always busy cleaning. She woke early every morning. While her children were still sleeping, she would sweep her charming home with a little broom she had made by tying a large bunch of pine needles to one end of a strong guava switch. She would dust and arrange the cushions, which were stuffed with feathers from Mr. Derry Dove and his friends. Then she would go down the pine tree, gather fresh dew in a bowl from some nearby bushes, return to her house, and mop the floor clean. Afterwards, she would place a new sprig of pine needles in front of her door to be used as a mat. Then she would stick pretty wildflowers into the vines around her front door. Mrs. Nimbly Knock would then wipe the tables and chairs with a soft cloth made from forest flowers. Then she would polish them with cashew oil, which she poured from a clay jar.

Once the house was spotless, she would put the kettle on the coal-pot to boil. When it whistled softly she would put a sprig of mint into a teacup and pour hot water to make mint tea. She would sit in her comfy chair, drink the tea slowly, stretch her legs a bit, and then get up to work some more.

Before she woke her three little squirrels, Mrs. Nimbly Knock would creep down the pine tree again to get their breakfast. She would pick forest bananas, cherries, and mangoes and then return home to make the morning meal. She would fry banana chunks, make sweet cherry stew, and slice the fresh mangoes. She would dip fresh rainwater from a small wooden drum for the squirrels to drink with their breakfast.

Then she would lay the table with banana leaves as tablemats and mango seeds cut in half as dishes. She would peep at the little squirrels in their tiny cots that were made from breadfruit shells, which she had stuffed with flowers and feathers. If they were still fast asleep, she would go outside to gently clean the old lantern hanging over her front door. This lantern was the home of Mr. Twinkle Tip the star.

Mrs. Moon had asked him to come down out of the sky and watch over Mrs. Nimbly Knock and her squirrels. One day, just about a year ago, Mr. Nimbly Knock had gone to gather nuts in the forest. He had never come back. Mrs. Nimbly Knock thought that a hunter might have caught him, for that day she had heard a hunting dog barking loudly in the forest. She missed Mr. Nimbly Knock terribly and wept on Honey Nut Bough every night after her squirrels were in bed. Mrs. Moon had taken pity on her and asked Mr. Twinkle Tip to stay with the squirrel family. He was a friendly, old star who loved the forest animals and did not mind living among them.

Mrs. Nimbly Knock had made a cosy home for him in the lantern. Before Mr. Twinkle Tip came to live with them, she had let some friendly fireflies live in it. The lantern did not work, and the fireflies had liked it for their home. During the night, they would softly light up Honey Nut Bough, giving the tree a charming look. When Mr. Twinkle Tip came to stay with the family, Mrs. Nimbly Knock politely thanked the fireflies for their kindness and sent them off into the forest. To make him comfortable, she made Mr. Twinkle Tip a lovely cushion stuffed with soft feathers given to her by Mr. Brady Bluebird and Mr. Derry Dove. Mr. Twinkle Tip was quite pleased with the gift and promised to use it well. In the old lantern, he slept by day and shone softly by night.

Every day after breakfast Mrs. Nimbly Knock would go to a nearby cashew grove to pick nuts. When she got home, she would make her famous honey-roasted cashew nuts. She was the best nut roaster in the pine forest. After Mr. Nimbly Knock disappeared, she had been afraid to take her little squirrels deep into the forest to forage for the food they needed. Upon learning this, her kind neighbours had asked Mrs. Nimbly Knock to make them her tasty honey-roasted nuts each day. They in turn had promised to pick fruits and seeds for her until the little squirrels were old enough to search for food on their own. She was happy with this plan because it would allow her to spend more time caring for her young. Mrs. Nimbly Knock returned the generous favour by making the most delicious honey-roasted nuts for her neighbours.

Before leaving for the cashew grove one morning, she spoke gently to her three little squirrels. ‘Quickskip, do remember to make your bed neatly. Chuckles, you need to sharpen your teeth some more—but do it on a tree branch and not the table. Hopscotch, do remember to swing from both claws. That’s much safer, my dear,’ she said.

‘Okay, Mom,’ replied Quickskip.

‘Not on the table!’ said Chuckles.

‘Both claws,’ said Hopscotch, holding up his claws for his mother to see as they all looked at her with bright eyes.

Mrs. Nimbly Knock smiled lovingly at them. Then she quickly brushed their faces with a feather from Mr. Brady Bluebird, gently combed their tails with a pine cone, and kissed them goodbye.

To make honey-roasted nuts, Mrs. Nimbly Knock had to get honey from a beehive in a nearby tree. The honey bees rather liked her, for she had lovely manners, would often bring them fresh mango or cashew juice, and would always tell funny tales about her three little squirrels. By order of Her Royal Highness, Queenie-Belle, the queen bee, they would keep the best honey for Mrs. Nimbly Knock. Whenever she visited, the honey bees would buzz excitedly, for they thought of her as fine company. Mrs. Nimbly Knock would listen to their tales as well and knew almost all the bees by name. When she got home from the beehive, Mrs. Nimbly Knock would pour the honey into a jar and then mix in her secret blend of spices. Then she would remove the cashew nuts from the fruit, pour the mixture over the nuts, and roast them on the coal-pot. The delicious scent would quickly rise to the top of the pine tree. All the animals living there would wait impatiently for her to knock on their doors in the evening with their honey-roasted nuts.

One day when Mrs. Nimbly Knock returned home from collecting honey at the beehive, a strange thing happened. She could not find the cashew nuts that she had picked that morning. ‘How very odd,’ she said to herself, looking all around. ‘Where are the cashew nuts that I picked this morning?’

Mrs. Nimbly Knock quickly turned the tiny kitchen upside down in search of the nuts. She even checked the living room. When she did not find them, she called her three little