PeeWee's Tale (4 page)

Something whizzed by me that reminded me at once that I had to be careful. I dragged the food toward my burrow, where there seemed to be less activity.

“I see you woke up,” a voice called out to me. It was my friend Lexi high above. I
watched nervously as he jumped from branch to branch of his tree until he made it down to the ground beside me. It did make me dizzy to watch him.

“Have a bite of this,” I offered when he reached me.

“Apples aren't bad,” he said as he gnawed off a large chunk. “And this is a sweet one. Sometimes they are sour. I don't like sour. Do you know the old saying?
An apple a day keeps the aches away
. But if truth be told, nothing beats a good nut.”

He chewed a bit more and then looked at me. “I wish human beings were as fond of nuts as I am. Wherever there are people, you can always find a good meal, because they leave so much garbage. They love to sit on the grass and have picnic meals. Then they drop bits of
sandwiches, ice-cream sticks, paper cups, candy wrappers, newspapers, and whatever other junk they brought with them. I once overheard a park worker say that visitors to the park create fifteen thousand tons of garbage each day. I just wish it were fifteen thousand tons of nuts instead.”

I took in this information and all the new words that Lexi kept using: apple, sandwich, garbage. There was so much for me to learn about here in the park. These were things I never even knew existed when I was with Robbie.

And that made me think of my owner. “Listen,” I asked Lexi. “You haven't seen Robbie Fischler yet, have you?” I knew Robbie would be worried about me when he discovered that my cage was empty.

Lexi scratched himself and shook his head. “I did see a group of boys playing ball when I was up in the tree. But to tell you the truth, all the boys who come to this park look alike to me. I can't tell one from another.”

I wished I could climb to the top of Lexi's tree and have a good look around. I would know Robbie the minute I saw him. Then I suddenly had a new thought. Perhaps if I ate nuts, the way Lexi did, I would grow a tail too. And with a tail, I could balance myself and climb up a tree. Then I could watch for Robbie. On the other paw, it might take too long waiting for my tail to grow.

“I'm going to have to travel about the park searching for Robbie,” I explained to Lexi. “He's a great kid. He really wanted a puppy for his birthday. But once he got me he was a
good owner. I'm sure he's out hunting for me right this minute.”

“Why would he think you're in the park?” Lexi asked.

“Where else would an animal go?” I asked him.

“Suit yourself, if you want to go looking,” Lexi said. “But this park is pretty big. It has eight hundred and forty-three acres. I don't even have that many brothers and cousins.”

I thought about what he'd told me. I didn't even know what an acre was. But from my knowledge of letters and numbers, I did know that eight hundred and forty-three was a very big number.

Lexi ran around in a circle and came back to me. “I have to warn you. The park can be very dangerous. You've only seen one dog in action. But there are things worse then dogs. Out on
the roadway, big motor cars come with heavy wheels. I'm sorry to say that I've lost more than one of my relatives when they were flattened on the roadway.”

He stopped speaking while he scratched himself. And then he continued. “Like I said before, you're better off just taking care of yourself and not worrying about others. Fill your own belly first. That's the law of nature.”

I looked fondly at my new friend. He might pretend not to care about anyone but himself. But look what he'd done to help me. Already he had saved my life, taught me a bit about the new world around me, and he'd even given me a nut.

“I'll be extra careful,” I promised Lexi. “Where did you see the children playing?”

“They were in the ball field near the lake.” He pointed with his nose.

“I've got to go,” I told him.

“Be careful you don't get caught,” Lexi warned me again. “Everything in the park seems to move faster than you.”

“I'll watch out,” I told him as I started off. I felt a bit sad. I liked Lexi, and I knew that if I found Robbie, I'd return to my old cage and never see my new friend again.

I tried to run with a confident step, but inside, I was quivering. Would I find Robbie? Or would something find me?

Because I had spent more time reading the paper scraps in my cage than using the exercise wheel, I wasn't very strong. I often had to stop and rest. Remembering Lexi's warning, I took care to hide myself behind stones or tree trunks. I discovered that I could squeeze myself into the small spaces where the trees grew out of the ground. I felt very safe resting in those cozy holes.

The best thing about my travels was that I could always find something good to eat whenever I felt a little hungry. I could nibble on some of the grasses or other plants that were growing wild all around me. I also found something that I couldn't identify, but that tasted especially delicious. It was made of three parts, one on top of the other. The outer sides were the same, but in the middle was something sweet combined with a taste that reminded me of the nut Lexi had given me.

While I was resting in one of the tree holes, a breeze brought a large piece of paper through the air. It landed nearby, and I was so excited to see such a large piece of paper with so many connected letters that I forgot myself and ran out into the open to investigate. For the first time in my life, I was seeing letters
that formed real words. Suddenly I became very excited by the skill I knew I had. At last I would be able to read a complete story. I walked along the paper, sounding out the words and trying to learn their message:

YANKS BEAT RED SOX 7–4
IN 12-INNING GAME

I was able to read the words but they made no sense to me whatsoever. I crawled along the paper looking for another message to read.

METS SCORE HEAVILY
IN DOUBLEHEADER AGAINST BRAVES

It was another meaningless story. What was the point of knowing how to read
if the story had nothing worthwhile to say?

I walked off the paper, disappointed. But at the moment, a breeze flipped another page of the paper into view. I looked again, and this time I found a story that I could understand.

NEW PLAYGROUND PLANNED
FOR CENTRAL PARK

Within the next few days, construction will begin on a new play area for the city's children. Designed by Steven Zalben, this playground will have ingenious climbing structures and imaginative cubicles in which children can create hiding places and clubhouses for their games. The project has been funded by private money raised by The Friends of Central Park
.

Only eight maple trees, at 73rd Street near
Fifth Avenue, will be affected by the construction. They will be cut down to make room for the play area. “We are always sorry to lose one of our trees,” the park commissioner was quoted as saying at a press conference announcing the new playground. “But we know the play area will bring much joy to the city's children. And that, of course, is one of the primary goals of our park.” The public is urged to keep out of the construction area until this project is completed
.

My first thought was how much Robbie would enjoy climbing and playing there. But then I realized something terrible. Wasn't Lexi's tree near 73rd Street? Wouldn't his home be in danger now? What would happen to all the nuts that he stored there? Wouldn't his entire food supply be lost when they cut down
his tree? I was about to turn back and warn Lexi that he was going to lose his home. But just at that moment, I heard the sound of shouting and cheering children playing nearby. I wanted to turn back, but at the same time, the voices of the children made me long for Robbie. And so I continued on, away from Lexi, toward the children.

As I neared the children, I could hear their voices getting louder and louder. But soon a group of fat pigeons blocked my way. “Food, food,” they mumbled as they pecked at the dirt. The pigeons were bigger than any of the birds I'd known at Casey's Pet Shop. They ate a lot more too. And unlike the parakeets at the pet shop, who could speak entire sentences, the pigeons had a very limited vocabulary.
They said the same word over and over. “Food. Food.”

“I don't want your food,” I shouted to them, although I was getting hungry and tired once again.

Finally, I could see the lake. It was like a huge shining water dish that could provide drink for every guinea pig in the world. In the play area, there were many children who were busy in a game of ball. Off in the distance, I could see Robbie running with the others. My heart beat fast with delight. As I rushed toward him, a breeze blowing the leaves sounded like cheers and applause.

“Hey, what's that?” one of the children called out.

“It's a rat!” shrieked one of them.

“No it's not. It's a guinea pig like we have at school.”

Someone scooped me up and held me tightly. All of the other children came running to get a good look at me. I could see their faces better now. When I looked at the boy who I'd been sure was Robbie, I saw I was wrong. He was the same size and had dark hair, but he didn't have freckles. I know you can't wash freckles off, because Robbie had told me that one evening when he was talking to me.

“What should we do with him?” the boy who looked like Robbie asked.

The boy who was holding me squeezed me painfully. It had never hurt when Robbie held me.

I didn't wait for them to decide what they wanted to do with me. If Robbie had been there, it would have been different. But he wasn't, so I knew I had to get away. Without even thinking, I did something I'd never done before. I nipped the hand of the boy who was holding me.

“Ouch!” he shouted, and dropped me.

My fall to the ground hurt, but I didn't stop to think about my bruises. I ran as fast as I could to get away.