Deep in the forest on the north side of the Old oak tree The Moss grew velvet soft and green. At the bottom of the tree a busy little chipmunk made his home. The chipmunks name was Mr Runzalot.
Miss Kitty was friends with Mr. Runzalot. They talked often. But always talked when Mr. Runzalot was moving around the forest looking for nuts and acorns. He lived a lonely life.
All day long Mr. Runzalot scurried about the forest. He fussed and he fumed when he ran up the trees. He fussed and fumed when he ran down the trees. Mr. Runzalot was always looking for food for the winter. Every little morsel he found was carefully packed into the back rooms of his home.
Miss Kitty came to visit him one day and noticed that his porch was getting really dirty. She also saw that his house was very messy.
But Mr. Runzalot was not concerned about his house. He bustled and he rattled amongst the leaves on the forest floor looking for nuts and berries and acorns to store in his snug little home under the root of the old oak tree. He was much too busy to make new friends or even to talk to his neighbors. About the only person he ever talked to was Miss Kitty.
He did not have time to say things like ‘howdy do’ or ‘nice day isn’t it’ or ‘good morning’ to the animals who lived around him. The rabbits and birds knew who he was, but didn’t say much to him because he was always so busy.
Every morning a little red robin would sing her song and wake Mr. Runzalot up at sunrise, he would get up and out the door he would go looking for berries and nuts and acorns and good things for the winter. He had no time for friends. He was a very busy squirrel but Mr. Runzalot was very lonely.
Then one day after a long day scampering about picking up food for the winter, he came back to his little house. What do you think he saw? Oh my, there was another squirrel and Miss Kitty sitting on his front porch waiting for him to come home. He did not know what to do. He had no time to visit with another squirrel.
Miss Kitty said — Hi there Mr. Runzalot. I’ve brought you a friend who might be able to help you.
Mr. Runzalot said to Miss Kitty — I don’t have time for friends.
Miss Kitty smiled and said — we’ll be back tomorrow.
The next day the Little Red Robin woke Mr. Runzalot with a beautiful song and out the door he went looking for winter food. When he came back at the end of the day he was very very surprised to see Miss Kitty again.
Miss Kitty said — I want you to meet Miss stays-at-home. She thinks you’re a very nice person, and she would like to help you.
Mr. Runzalot said to Miss Kitty — I don’t have time for friends or for someone who stays at home.
Then Mr. Runzalot looked at his front porch and noticed it was all nice and clean. And he noticed that the door knocker on his door was all bright and shiny. And he noticed that the window was clean and he could actually see inside of his house. He went inside and he was amazed, the floor was clean, there was a fire in the fireplace, and there was food on the table waiting for him for the evening dinner. He had no idea what to say.
Miss Kitty said — I’ll leave the two of you to eat dinner, I’ll see you tomorrow.
Mr. Runzalot said — I don’t have time to sweep, I don’t have time to clean, I don’t have time for a friend, all I have time to do is gather food for the winter.
His new friend left after dinner, Mr. Runzalot spent the evening counting his nuts, berries, and acorns. Then he went to bed. But he didn’t sleep very well. Mr. Runzalot kept thinking about how nice his house looked. The next morning the Little Red Robin woke him up with a lovely song and he went out of the house and started gathering more things for the winter. He had a very busy day, but he found lots of stuff. He came back home really tired.
And you know what he found? He opened up his door expecting a cold house. Instead, and his house was all cleaned up, there was dinner on the table, and there was Miss stay-at-home sitting in the chair by his fire, reading a book. The windows were washed and the pictures on the wall were all cleaned up and even the bathroom was cleaned up. He was truly amazed.
He put all of his food up he had collected for the day into the back rooms. Then he sat down with her and they had a nice dinner together. He thought about it for a while and realized that his heart was softening towards Miss stay-at-home. He realized he was falling in love with her.
Mr Runzalot said to Miss Stay-at-Home – I love you. Will you marry me? I do not want to be alone anymore.
Miss Stay-at-home said — what took you so long to ask me? Of course I’ll marry you.
The next morning the Little Red Robin sang his song and Mr Runzalot got up but this morning he wasn’t rushing to leave for the day. He talked with Miss stays-at-home for a little bit and made a plan for the day. Then he heard his door knock. He went to the door and there stood Miss Kitty.
Miss Kitty said — I have heard that you have married Miss Stay-at-Home. I think you have made a very good decision. I know the two of you will be very happy. God will bless this home, God will bless your marriage. God will bring children to both of your lives. God is smiling right now. I pray that you have You have many good days together. You are no longer lonely and Miss Stay-at-home is not longer lonely.
And so, Mr. Runzalot and Mrs Stay-at-Home lived a very happy life. No longer were they lonely. They had each other.
Written by Alvin Tressalt, published in Humpty Dumpty Childrens Magazine, October 1955
Adapted for ShalomTalk by Dan
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