Episode 4: The Sleepy Squirrels of the Maple Woods

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Sleepy Starship.

Are you ready to take a space adventure, and explore a new world with me?

Well, come on then. Let's go.

Tonight, you are the Captain of the Sleepy Starship. It is parked in your backyard, right beside the swing.

Your co-pilot is Choo-Choo, a small, sleepy alien friend. She has patterned fur, a long curly tail, and big round ears. Choo-Choo never says a word. She purrs, and coos, and trills instead.

You pull on your warmest socks and tiptoe across the cool grass. The ship's round door slides open, and a little set of steps folds down to meet you.

Choo-Choo is sitting at the top of the steps, waiting. When she sees you, she stands up on her back feet and gives a bright little trill. She waddles ahead of you into the cockpit and climbs into her seat.

"Good evening, Captain," says the ship's calm voice. "Your seat is ready."

You settle in and pull the straps across.

The engines wake up with a low, deep rumble. The swing sways a little as you lift off.

Up past the chimney. Up past the tallest tree on your street. Up, until your whole town is just a sprinkle of tiny lights far below.

Out the front window, a cloud of stars slides by. It is pale and wide, like milk poured into dark water.

Choo-Choo presses both paws against the glass and watches it go.

"Captain," says the ship, "tonight we are flying to Mapleglen. It is a planet of maple trees. On Mapleglen, it is always the very middle of autumn."

A small red and orange planet grows in the window. The ship slows down, and comes to rest in a quiet clearing between the trees.

The door opens. Cool air comes in, and it smells like apples and wood smoke.

You step outside, and leaves crunch under your socks.

All around you are maple trees. Big, tall, wide ones. Their leaves are red, and orange, and gold, and some are the color of a ripe peach.

And the leaves are coming down. Slowly. One here, one there, turning over and over in the air, taking their time.

A red leaf lands on Choo-Choo's head, right between her ears. She doesn't move. She just looks up at you, with the leaf sitting there like a little hat.

You lift it off and let it fall.

Then you hear a tiny sound. Scritch, scritch. Something is moving in the leaves.

It's a squirrel. A plump, gray squirrel with a fluffy tail curled up over its back. It is holding an acorn in its two front paws.

The squirrel stops. It looks at you. It looks at Choo-Choo.

Choo-Choo tilts her head and gives a small, curious chirp. The squirrel twitches its nose. Then it goes back to work.

Now you see there are lots of squirrels. Some are carrying acorns in their mouths. Some are patting acorns into the ground, and sweeping leaves over the top. Each one is getting ready for winter, tucking a little food away for later.

You and Choo-Choo walk slowly behind them, very quietly, so you don't get in the way.

At the edge of the clearing, under the biggest maple of all, there is a leaf pile.

It is the biggest leaf pile you have ever seen. It is taller than you. Red and orange and gold, all heaped up together, soft and round, like a giant pillow.

Choo-Choo looks at the leaf pile. Then she looks at you.

You take a step back. And another.

Then you take a little run, and jump.

The leaves rush up around you with a big, dry whoosh. You sink down, down into the middle of the pile, and the leaves settle over you like a blanket. It's quiet in there. And warm. It smells like autumn.

Then there's another whoosh beside you. Choo-Choo has jumped in too. Only the tips of her ears are sticking up out of the leaves.

You lie very still. Through a little gap above you, you can see the branches, dark against the evening sky, and the leaves coming down, one at a time.

Up in the tree, the squirrels are going to bed. One by one, they climb to a round nest of twigs and leaves, high in the branches. They curl up inside, and wrap their fluffy tails over their noses, like scarves.

The last squirrel looks down at you from the edge of the nest. Then it tucks itself in, too.

You sit up slowly, and the leaves slide off your shoulders.

Just then, one more leaf comes loose from the very top of the tree. It is a deep, bright red, with five pointy tips, like a hand with its fingers spread out.

It turns over and over, coming down and down.

You hold out both hands, open, and wait. Choo-Choo holds very still beside you, watching.

The leaf lands right in your hands.

It's perfect. Not a single tear. You can see every little line on it, like the lines on the palm of your hand.

Choo-Choo leans close and sniffs it. Her eyes are big and pleased.

Back in the clearing, the ship's windows are dim and yellow, like a house at bedtime.

"Captain," says the ship, "the squirrels are asleep. Are you ready to go home?"

You nod. You brush the last leaves off Choo-Choo's back, and she shakes her ears.

You climb the little steps, holding your leaf carefully, so it won't bend. The round door slides shut behind you.

The ship lifts up through the falling leaves, and Mapleglen turns into one small, red speck, far behind you.

Choo-Choo pads over to your seat and turns around once on your knees. Then she settles down, with her chin on your knee. Her eyes close. Her breathing gets slow and deep, and she gives one tiny, sleepy trill.

The stars slide past the window, slower and slower. Then your town comes back into view, all its little lights. And the ship comes down, very quietly, beside the swing in your backyard.

You carry Choo-Choo inside. She is warm and heavy, and she doesn't wake up.

You open your favorite book, and lay the red leaf inside, between two pages. You close the book, so the leaf can rest there, and stay flat, and keep its color.

Then you crawl under your blanket, and tug it all the way up to your chin.

Choo-Choo curls up by your pillow, with her tail tucked over her nose, just like the squirrels.

Far away, on Mapleglen, the squirrels are asleep in their round nests. And the leaves are still coming down, slowly, one at a time, all through the night.

Let's breathe slowly, like a leaf coming down.

Breathe in slowly. Now breathe out. Breathe in again. And breathe out.

You're home now, Captain. Safe and warm.

Your ship is resting. Choo-Choo is resting. And now it's your turn to rest.

Now it's time to say goodbye, but we'll soon meet again on another Sleepy Starship adventure. Goodnight, Captain.