A new friendship

Once upon a time there was a small female squirrel born into a family of six others. She was the last to be born and as such was the lowest in the pecking order. Everyday, her family would go searching for food and visit the neighborhood bird feeder. Being the littlest, she would routinely get chased from the feeder by her larger brothers and sisters and have to root among the husks of seeds at the bottom of the table.

One day the human that filled the feeder came out as she was on the floor. The little squirrel shrank back in fear, but the man seemed kind. He gently threw a small handful of sunflower seeds to her after he filled the feeder. The hungry little squirrel was stunned but settled down to eat while keeping a wary eye on the human. Her brothers and sisters quickly returned when the human went back inside and she was chased from her small pile of seeds from an older sibling only being able to consume a few in the short time the man was outside.

The little squirrel continued to root through the husks occasionally gleaning a small nut or seed that had fallen to the ground or gone unnoticed. Over time she looked forward to the time each day the man would return to fill the feeder. She would edge a little closer and each time he would throw her a small handful of seeds or a small nut or two.


Because of that, she started to put on a little weight and her position in the family hierarchy started to rise. She was not left to root among the husks and was able to hold her own on the table. She continued to fill out as she had more access to the additional food on the table. The man continued to return each day to fill the feeder, always kind with soft soothing words for her.

Until finally one day, she chose to simply watch as her brethren ran off when the man returned to fill the feeder. He poured a small pile in front of her of sun flower seeds and then proceed to fill the feeder. The man remained outside within a foot or so of her while she made short work of the food. The man held a large peanut out to her in his hand. Her whiskers twitched and her gaze remained on the man. Tentatively she reached for it taking it in her mouth and then sat back on her haunches using her front paws to hold the nut while she eagerly tore at it.

A new friendship had formed...