Story: Pickles In The Watercolor Woods

“Who’s there?” Pip, the deer mouse, hears rustling noises nearby.

“I see someone through the reeds,” Pip spots movement near the riverbank.

“Pip?” Mia, the blue jay, swoops down and lands beside Pip. “What is it?”

“I don’t know. I saw something black and white over there,” she says, creeping closer to the noise.

“Braa! Braa!” Pip and Mia hear.

“It’s alive!” Pip jumps back and shouts.

Mia hops closer, “It’s… It is a bird? I think!”

“Where…. Where am I?” The bird stutters.

“In the Watercolor Woods,” Mia tilts her head. “I am Mia, and this is Pip.”

“H… H… Hello. I am Pickles,” the bird steps out of the reeds to the river’s edge. “Pickles, the rockhopper penguin.”

“A penguin?” Pip is confused. “Penguins do not live around here.”

“I am lost.” Pickles looks down at his feet and frowns.

“Come with us,” Mia offers. “I bet you have not eaten in quite a while.”

Pickles adds, “I am tired and can use a rest.”

Boone, the raccoon, sees the trio talking along the river, “Who’s this?”

“This is Pickles,” Pip shares. “She is lost, hungry, and tired.”

“Hang tight,” Boone darts off. “I’ll grab some fish from the river.”

“Fish!” Mia squawks. “We do not eat fish!”

“Penguins do!” Boone shouts from the river.

Pip sits down to wait for Boone, “Pickles, how did you get here?”

“It’s a long story,” Pickles looks at Pip. “The short version is this. I was born in an aquarium at the zoo. When the zoo shut down, the caretakers sent all the animals to other zoos.”

Pickles continues, “When the truck arrived to take the penguins, I hid in the rocks.”

“Why? Why did you hide?” Mia asks.

“I want to go to the land of my ancestors, coastal areas of the South Atlantic Ocean.” Pickles shuffles his feet, “I have been wandering ever since.”

Pip’s whiskers twitch, “That’s adventurous!”

“Here are a few fish,” Boone delivers his catch to Pickles.

Pickles perks up with a smile, “Thank you!”

Pickles, we can’t leave you like this,” Boone declares.

“But what can you do? I have to find the ocean and head south,” Pickles says.

Mia fluffs her feathers, “I could fly you to the ocean since penguins do not fly.”

“I’m too heavy.” Pickles reminds her.

“Let’s find Ember. He will know what to do,” Pip suggests.

“Ember?” Pickles is curious.

“Ember, the owl,” Mia explains. “He is sleeping now, but we can ask him this evening.”

Pickles, feeling better, dives into the river, “Let’s swim while we wait.”

“Do all penguins swim this fast?” Pants Mia, flapping her wings in the shallow water.

“Yes,” Pickles laughs. “It’s what we do best!”

After hours of swimming and sharing tales of adventures, Boone points out, “It’s dusk. We can find Ember now.”

“There is his hollow. It’s in the tree ahead,“ Mia points from the trail to Ember’s home.

“Hello! Hello! Ember?” Pip calls from the trail.

“Hello, Pip?” Ember’s head pops up from the hole in the tree. Stretching his wings, as is his wake-up routine, “What can I do for you?”

“How do we get to the ocean?” Pip asks.

“The ocean?” Ember notices the stranger, “Who is this?”

“This is Pickles, the penguin. He is lost and looking for the ocean.” Mia explains.

Ember chuckles, “Lost indeed! Hello, Pickles.”

“The ocean is easy to find, but it will be a long journey,” Ember warns.

“I must find my home, the land of my ancestors,” Pickles expresses his determination.

“Follow the river. It will lead to a tributary of a larger river. Follow the tributary to the larger river, and continue to follow the big river. It will take you to the ocean,” Ember instructs.

“Thank you!” Pickles hops up and down, clapping his fins.

“I am a great swimmer, and I can find food in the river, like Boone did.” Pickles smiles and waddles back towards the river.

“Remember to rest, from time to time,” Mia waves and shouts.

“BYE!” They all shout and wave.

Pip grins and glances at Mia, “It’s not every day we meet a penguin!”

“No, it’s not!” Mia smiles.