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Journey to Paradise
by Trygve

To hear Trygve read this story, click here.

Once upon a time, three squirrels were having a chestnut fight. Poor Runty the flying squirrel got hit in the forehead. He climbed up in his tree and nursed himself. Squirrels were always picking on Runty because he was so small. Runty was the smallest of all the squirrels. He was a very rare breed too. There was only one family of flying squirrels in the forest~~ his. His father was a good glider; he could amaze all the squirrels by going the distance every time. Runty hadn’t even grown into his gliders!

Squirrels always asked him, “Your father is the greatest squirrel of all time! Why can’t you glide?” He would run of to his tree and practice some more.

His mother was an excellent cook. She was known for her nut bread, nut salad, lettuce-tomato-nut soup, peanut butter, and acorn pancakes with maple syrup. She also ran a nursery for all the squirrel kids that wanted to come.

Runty’s brother, Speedy, was known to be fast and was a good boxer and chestnut pitcher.

Runty was none of these things. He pretty much kept to himself except at mealtimes. He knew where the best swimming holes, tree slides, and leaf piles were.

One day he was swimming when he saw something scurry from one bush to another. A little head cautiously popped out. It had stripes running form nose to tail. They were rusty red, white, and black. Seeing that Runty was small and friendly, it go up confidence, put on a strong face, and walked forward.

I’m Charlie Chipmunk,” it said.

“I’m Runty the Squirrel.” Runty replied.

Charlie said that he was an orphan and that hawks had killed his parents. They exchanged stories and soon they were best of friends. They showed each other all over the forest.

Charlie said to Runty, “If you want to learn how to glide I can show you how, If you want me to.”

“But you don’t have gliders!” exclaimed Runty.

“I can use this!” said Charlie.

He held up a large maple leaf. Then he scrambled up a tree. Runty darted up after him. Holding the leaf above his head, Charlie jumped out of the tree. Runty preferred to watch. After Charlie went a few times, Runty took the plunge. He did pretty well! They played the whole day. Soon the sun started to set so Runty decided to go home.

“You can come and spend the night with my family!” said Runty.

“Well, I don’t think I should,” returned Charlie, “I don’t think my father would have approved of me taking charity. He was a proud chipmunk.”

“No, you really should! My mother is the best cook in the forest!” exclaimed Runty.

“Well … Okay!” said Charlie.

So they trundled off towards Runty’s tree.

They were home very late and Runty’s parents were very worried.

“Dear, dear, where have you been? You are home so late!” exclaimed Runty’s mother.

“I was playing and was pretty far into the woods~~ at the swimming hole~~ when he came out of the brush,” replied Runty, pointing to Charlie, “we soon got to know each other, and we were having so much fun telling stories and showing each other around the forest that we didn’t notice the time! He even showed me how to fly!”

“Fly!” gasped Runty’s father in surprise, “Well who is this friend of yours?”

“I’m Charlie, Charlie the Chipmunk, at your service sir.” said Charlie, bowing magnificently.

“Oh, straighten up, you don’t have to call me sir, just call me Lawrence!” exclaimed Runty’s father. Charlie seemed elated at this and gratefully related his story to Runty’s parents.

“Oh you poor dear!” exclaimed Runty’s mother.

“Yes, and then today I was picking raspberries in an area of the forest that was unknown to me when I heard whistling, splashing of water, and I noticed the birds were chirping and the mourning doves were cooing, and I was so caught up in this that I almost forgot where I was. Then I remembered that I had never been there before and that I had no idea what was in the water. So I decided to have a look. I saw, moving through the water, a coarse, wet, bushy tail, stout legs, and flaps of skin under the arms that formed gliders. I had heard stories of these creatures but I had never seen one!”

“I never thought that there would be a creature in the forest that would not know that I am a flying squirrel!” Runty thought.

Charlie continued, “I was staring at him and the surroundings when he spotted me. He turned around and I could see that he would not hurt me.”

“Even though I am the smallest, I am still bigger than Charlie!” Runty thought proudly.

“Then Runty invited me closer and pretty soon I lost all fear of him and we exchanged stories. I liked him even more when I learned that he didn’t seem to mind that I was different. I always felt discrimination when my parents died. Of course I got sympathy from friends at first and I thought I might just live where I was. Then they figured I had forgotten about my parents and they stopped sympathizing. Soon they kind of ignored me and went on with their family dinners, family outings, family picnics, and everything seemed to involve family. Nobody seemed interested in adopting me and so I was continually left out. So I decided to leave my home, my home where I had grown up, played, and had my happy moments with my parents.” Here Charlie started to cry.

“There, there,” said Runty’s mother.
”I’m sorry ma’am,” said Charlie, “It is just that I noticed that you are the only people that have cared about me since my parents died!”

“Please, call me Mama. We will adopt you.” said Runty’s mother.

“I think it is time for you to get some rest,” said Lawrence.

“Yes,” cooed Mama, “I will show you to your room.”

Charlie was led up a spiral staircase in their tree, and into a beautiful room that they kept as a guest room. “This will be your room, you shall stay as long as you wish.” said Mama.

It had a springy bed made humbly of sticks, but covered with the most leaves Charlie had ever seen! It was very comfortable and Charlie lay gratefully down and fell instantly to sleep. In one corner of the room there was a cozy fireplace, a rocking chair, and a stack of neatly piled wood. In another corner there were Runty’s family’s store of candied chestnuts and other preserved goods. On the west side of the room was a large window from which you could watch the sun set, and on the east side was a window with a balcony so that in the morning you could watch the sun rise. It was an utterly perfect room, more beautiful and stately than anything Charlie had ever seen in his life. Yes, he was sleeping in the prize of the forest, the most beautiful house in the land.

That night Charlie dreamed of his parents. He dreamed of all the fun they had had when he was a child, picking flowers, having picnics, and participating in community activities.

He woke up bright and early and was surprised by a new scent that he had never smelled before. He found Runty getting out of bed and they both went down to the kitchen. In the kitchen they found acorn pancakes and maple syrup, something that Charlie had never tasted before. He found them to be quite good. There was also raspberry crumble for dessert.

After breakfast the two of them went outside to play in the sunshine. The dew was glistening on the springy wet grass, and chickadees were singing their loud, cranky song. The meadow larks were sweetly singing, the mourning doves were cooing, and the woodpeckers were tapping and pecking impatiently on the tough oak trees. These trees were starting to rot and the wood peckers knew that the termites were at work. Tapitty tap-tap tapitty tap-tap the woodpeckers toiled away, slaving to get at the juicy termites that they knew were behind the tough bark.

Soon other squirrels came out to play and the air was filled with the sounds of shrieking and fun play. It didn’t take long for the squirrels to realize that there was a new guy in the ranks.

“Runty, who is your new friend?”

“What is it?”

“Where did you find it Runty?”

“This is Charlie Chipmunk,” said Runty over the hubbub, “I met him yesterday afternoon. His parents were killed by a hawk and our family adopted him!”

All of the squirrel children swarmed over Charlie trying to figure out what he was. Charlie seemed to enjoy the attention and soon he was climbing trees with them and showed the older ones how to parachute from the high elm trees. They played till lunchtime, when all the squirrel mothers would help Mama with lunch. Mama would cook, and the other squirrel mamas would do everything else. They did this every mealtime and everyone got enough to eat. The community had a stockpile that they renewed every full moon. Each family was required to give forty-five percent of the food they collected to the stockpile. That way every one would contribute and would have three tasty, square meals a day.

At lunch time all the children would sit under one tree, and the adults at another. Lawrence told the adults the whole story about Charlie and soon the adults mingled with the children and all were sitting in a circle and looking at Charlie, they all had questions for him and they all liked him so much that it was decided that Charlie would be adopted by the community. He would sleep in a different house each night until everyone knew him. They would repeat the cycle anytime Charlie wanted to.

The rest of the day was declared a fun and games day and from then on they celebrated it every year in commemoration of adopting Charlie. It was named Charlie Day. Soon, however, all chipmunks’ lives were celebrated.

That night Charlie dreamed of his parents’ death. They were sleeping on the balcony of their house. It was a cold night, but they had brought plenty of blankets. There was a comet shower that night and it was very beautiful. They fell asleep after watching it for a while. His father had gotten up to get something in the night. Charlie had heard him get up. His father came back out, screamed, and jumped on top of Charlie, telling him to go where it was safe, in the house. Charlie was so scared he couldn’t move. His father pushed him into the house and the last thing Charlie saw were his father and mother being scooped up. Then he blacked out.

After living for a year with Runty, Charlie decided it was time that the two of them journeyed south. They would look for Paradise Gate, the most wonderful place in the world. Their parents said that would be okay so they ventured towards Paradise.

The first thing they had to do to get to the south was to cross the Rambling River. The Rambling River was the largest river in the country.

They were eating some lunch by the river when they heard a squishing noise from behind them. They swirled around and saw a large brown creature with a tail like a rudder.

“Halloo, who is this I have the pleasure of meetin’?” said the brown creature.

“I am Runty the flying squirrel,” said Runty, “and this is my brother Charlie Chipmunk.”

“Well, you two shurr make an int'resting couple, one of youse be a squirrel and one be a blinkin’ chipmunk!”

“He is my adopted brother; his parents were killed by hawks! What is your name?” said Runty.

“My name be Barney Beaver. I be a lonely nomad and I live with my Mother in our dam across this river.”

“A dam across this river, that is just what we need!” said Charlie and Runty in chorus.

“Why youse would be needin’ to get across this river beats me,” said Barney, speaking his thoughts aloud, “But come into my dam and we will talk a lil’ business.”
So they went upstream a little ways until they saw a large wood pile.

“You live inside that!” said Runty, “How do you get in?”

“You swim underneath and then come up,” said Barney, “Watch me.”

He jumped in and went down and disappeared. Runty went next. He went down until his ears hurt and than opened his eyes and looked up to see Barney’s smiling face. He breathed out and swam up. He came out in a large domed area that Barney called home. Soon Charlie came up out of the water.

“This is amazing,” said Runty, “I have never been in a home on top of the water! How did you build it?”

“My little secret,” said Barney, “all I that can tell you is that the sticks are hollow so they float and they are anchored to the shores so I don’t go river raftin’ down the river!”

“Wow!” said Runty.

“Oh, I almost fergot, let me introduce you to my mother, Matilda.” said Barney. He pointed to an old woman lying in the corner.

“She is eighty-five years old. My fadder died five years ago and my mother has been in poor health since then.”

“Oh! That is so sad,” Runty said in sympathy.

“Yaw, but enough of this sad talk,” said Barney, wiping a tear from his eye, “let’s have somethin’ to eat!”

They went to another spot in the room where he had a clean table. From beside the table he took some onions, lettuce, and other vegetables.

“I go out to the woods when my supply of fresh food is getting low,” said Barney, “Today was one of those days and you two are lucky you caught me when I was coming back from looking. My dam is the only safe way across. It is built to look like it is just a pile of sticks. You probably would have disregarded it. However, my home is strong enough for me to walk on top of it. You are much smaller than I am and it will be easy for you to get across.”

After they finished their salad they had a really good dessert. It had bunches of berries and they had never seen some of them. There were blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and others.

Barney asked Runty if he and Charlie would stay over night before they left. Since they were both very tired they graciously accepted. They slept peacefully that night. Charlie didn’t dream about his parents and Runty was not dreaming of home.

That morning they slept in and when they woke up the sun was high on the horizon. Barney was gone but he left plenty of salad and fresh berries. He also left a note. It said:

Please crush some berries into a juice.

Pour the juice into this cup. Then feed it to Matilda.

They did this and they were surprised at how little they had to do. The berries crushed easily, of course, but they were also surprised that Matilda drank it mostly on her own power. They were about to swim out of the dam when they decided to stay with Matilda and wait for Barney’s return.

“Maybe Barney has some information about who we should try to find in our journey,” said Charlie, for it was his idea to stay, “We need all the help we can get to get through the swamps.”

Charlie was right; Barney did have something to say.

“When you get to the edge of the swamp, whistle three times with this.” He held up a small whistle made of a river weed. “That is the signal. A Blue Heron and a Swamp Fox will come. Go with the Heron. The Swamp Fox will create a distraction and all of the animals in the swamp will ignore you and you will get out easily. Goodbye.” said Barney.

They left, safely crossed the river, and continued their journey.

When they left the home of their kind friend, Barney, they came to a strange place. There were many mounds and they heard crickets chirping in the tall grasses. No birds chirped and the sound of a softly flowing stream could be heard. They were now in a marsh land. They would have to cross it to get to the swamp. All around them were cattails and they decided to find a quiet spot to make camp for the night. They soon found a burrow, and they were about to dig it out and make it wider so they could sleep in it when an animal popped out. It was a golden brown and resembled a ferret.

“Oh!” exclaimed Runty in surprise, “who are you?”

“I am Martin the Mink,” replied the creature, “Who are you?”

“I am Charlie and this is my brother Runty,” answered Charlie.

Charlie told Martin their story and asked if he could give them any advice on how they should make their journey. Martin invited them into his burrow and at the bottom of the hole the found a surprisingly large domain.

“This is my humble home,” said Martin, who was a very simple and serious mink, “If you tell me some stories of your homeland, for I like to know about what is happening in the world, and stay with me for a while and I will tell you everything I know about the swamps and marshland.”

They had a long talk and Martin told them about all of the dangers in detail, reptiles, crocodiles, lizards, and snakes. He told them that if they were very polite to the lizards and did not show fear, that the lizards were actually quite reasonable creatures, and could sometimes even be persuaded to lead them through the marshes, for a small fee of course. He also gave them a special stick, which he had made to mimic the stick in the lizards’ oral legends.

“Their legends tell them that the one who finds the stick must be obeyed no matter what,” said Martin, “All you have to do is get their attention and tell them that you killed the Great Heron and beat the Great Adder in a game of riddles. Tell them that you won the stick in that game.”

Charlie and Runty were amazed at that and decided that they would do that. The prospect of trying to trick a dangerous reptile was, although overwhelming, the best way to get through the confusing marshes. Martin told them that the reptiles domain was due southwest from where they were. They had learned a lot that day but Martin said that it was time to sleep and he showed them where they should sleep. It was a pile of reeds and all around them was cool mud, so they were very happy and fell asleep. Martin was, for the first time in years, at peace, for he had friends that needed his help and wanted to stay. He had not seen anybody in years, except for an occasional reptile. He spent most of the night painting the designs from his stick onto another reed. It was painfully slow work, but he now had a purpose for what he was doing. Two creatures’ quest was in his hands and he was proud to contribute.

They stayed for three days with Martin before they moved on. They went southwest, as they had planned, following landmarks that Martin had described. The first was a large ant hill. It looked harmless, but Martin said if they got too close, the ants would bite them and Charlie and Runty decided they would rather follow the directions and ignore the ants.

The second landmark was a large stump, which was covered with maggots and termites. It looked disgusting and they were glad they did not have to do anything with that stump.

Their third landmark was a series of torches leading off in another direction. They had been warned that, even though it was getting dark, they were not to touch the torches, or go down the path in between them. Instead they went to their left and went in the ditch that was just far enough away that they could see the dim glow of the torches. The waded through the waist deep water as quietly as possible, listening for voices.

Soon they came to their fourth landmark, which was a fork in the river, one way continued to their left, and one turned slightly right. They took the one going right, and found it to be slightly shallower. They went that way for a while and they started to hear the voices that they had been expecting. The voices were quite loud and sounded carefree and lazy. Runty and Charlie knew that soon the stream would turn and go right in front of the lizard king’s throne. They had taken that stream route so that they would appear muddy, wet, and humble. This would also support their story, for if they had really killed the Great Heron and beat the Great Adder in a game of riddles they would not be expected to be clean. Besides, nobody could walk down the lighted path unless the King told them they could. The King only let lizards walk down the path. Anyone without a note from the King would be brought before the King, if the King did not recognize the lizard, the lizard would be beheaded.

They soon came in front of the King, and when the King saw that they were not lizards; and therefore trespassers, he called his guards to arrest them. But just before the guards got their hands on Runty and Charlie, Charlie held up the stick and yelled out: “I have the sacred stick!”

All of the lizards fell back in humility and the King was soon down on his knees before them. They negotiated their terms. All the King wanted was to continue his reign. Runty and Charlie talked and decided that it would be okay as long as the lizards would obey them also.

Runty and Charlie found it so comical to see these huge creatures fear them and worship them. They tried out different voices on the lizards, and it was all they could do to keep from laughing at the attentiveness with which the lizards watched them and made sure they were happy. Finally they tore themselves away from the lizard camp, and acquired a score of the best trained lizards to escort them out of the marshes, and to the edge of the swamp.

Finally after a very long journey, they were out of the marshes. They had become so tired of walking that they ordered the lizard guards to build two litters and carry them the rest of the way. About fifty yards off they could see the tall jungle trees of the swamp.

They dismissed the guards and when they were out of sight Charlie blew the reed whistle three times. Almost immediately they heard the thundering sigh of large wings coming towards them. They looked up to see a monstrous bird coming down from the sky. It was so big that it blocked out the sun. It had long, sturdy legs, and a huge bill. Its feathers were a sky blue, with a silky, snowy white coat of feathers underneath the massive wings and body. It landed and the two of them were quite scared of this large creature. This was the Blue Heron that Martin had been talking about. It wasn’t long before a large red fox bounded out of the swamp and came to meet them. The fox was the first to speak.

“Hello, I am the magnificent swamp fox, Foster the Fox,” said the fox, “It would be my pleasure to carry you through the dangerous swamp.”

“No,” the Heron jumped in, “I am Helga Heron and I will take you safely over the treacherous swamp!”

Runty and Charlie both knew the plan but they decided to let the two large beasts each give their side and then Charlie would ease in the suggestion that Foster create a distraction. Helga, being the quiet and sensible one, suggested it for them.

“How about I carry you over the swamp and Foster will do one of his magnificent swamp shows. He will invite all of the swamp animals to come to his show and create a distraction as well as get to show off his profound skill.”

Foster finally agreed and said that he would announce the show right away. In the mean time, Helga showed the two travelers a safe place to sleep. It had been a long day marching and negotiating and they fell asleep right away. Helga slept right next to them to make sure that they would be safe over night.

She gently laid her wing on top of them so that anyone who saw her sleeping would not suspect anything and leave her alone.

It worked, and in the morning Runty and Charlie were both safe and rested. It was then time to put their plan into action. The distraction was set to start an hour before midday. About a half-hour before midday Helga told Charlie and Runty that it was time to go. They climbed up on Helga’s back and sat between the neck and the wings. Helga took off and it was all they could do to hold on to her feathers. She talked to them during the journey and once they got over their fear of heights it was quite an enjoyable ride.

When they had flown over the acres and acres of swamp land they landed, much more gracefully than they took off. They dismounted and they were about to walk off when Helga said, “The mountain is to your right, I can take you no further but take this,” she pulled a feather from her tail. “If you are ever in trouble show the enemy this and they will not hurt you.”

They thanked her and went on their way. Not looking back, they marched forward and found a large tree at the foot of the mountain. They climbed it and found it to be hollow. It was the perfect resting place for the two forest dwellers. They each carved a ledge in the soft, rotting wood, and fell comfortably to sleep.

In the morning they were awakened by a loud pounding from outside the tree. They popped out of the tree, immediately saw what was making the racket, and popped back in.

“It's a bear!" exclaimed Charlie in terror, “What are we going to do?”

“Let’s use that feather that Helga gave us,” said Runty trying to keep his voice calm, “I bet he won’t hurt us because we have it!”

“Well, okay,” said Charlie, “if you say so, but you can do it.”

They agreed and Runty, using the whistle, got the bear’s attention. The bear turned around and looked to see where the sound was coming from. Runty whistled again and the bear saw the feather waving timidly above the stump.

“Please, don’t hurt us,” said Runty, “just let us pass and go over the mountain.”

The bear said “Oh, I won’t hurt you, I just eat berries. Not only will I let you pass I will bring you to my mother up the mountain. She can help you. I am Barry the Black Bear. Who are you?”

Runty nudged Charlie and told him that everything was okay. Then he told him to come up.

“I am Runty and this is my brother Charlie.” said Runty.

They talked and soon they were best of friends. This was the first animal that the travelers had met that was their age and they were grateful for it. They soon started up the mountain, picking berries and sharing stories as they went. About a quarter of the way up the mountain they turned slightly right and soon came to a large cave.

“This is our humble home,” said Barry, “Please come in, my mother is away now but she will be back this evening. You are lucky you saw me while I was out looking for honeycombs, if my mother had been in that area she probably would not have been as ready to bring you to our home!”

Barry’s mother came back with buckets of honey and berries. They told her that they wanted to get to Paradise Gate. Then they had a delicious supper and went to sleep. Barry slept in the far back of the cave. His mother slept a little ways in front of him. On the far cave wall was a spot where they could remove the stone and reveal a secret door. This door led to a waterfall and it was a perfect escape route. If they went behind the waterfall they had a secret hiding place where they kept their primary store of food.

In the morning Barry’s mother got an early start and went out to collect firewood and hiking sticks. While she was out she decided that she would visit her friend the falcon. She hiked to the summit and let out a piercing cry. Soon a falcon dived from the sky, swooped low to the ground, and came up to land on a stump.

“Bambi, my old friend, what can I do for you?” questioned the falcon laughingly.

“Felix, I was wondering, could you fly down the mountain and come back and tell me the simplest way to get to Paradise Gate?” said Bambi, replying with a question.

“Well, I’ve flown that way only a few times,” said Felix, “but I do know how to get there. Do you see where we are now?”

“Yes.”

“Well you fly due south from here, do not turn no matter what you come to you must go straight south down this mountain. If you take any detours you will never find the gate. The animals in Paradise only want animals with enough courage and determination to follow exact directions to enter. If you take an easier route, skip an area, and then go back to going due south, the gate will disappear. It is mandatory that you go due south at all times.” explained Felix.

“It is not I that wants to get to Paradise. It is a squirrel and a chipmunk; they are from the northern woods in the land of the Tree-Dwellers. Could you be here tomorrow at noon to explain the directions to the travelers?” Bambi replied.

“Okay,” answered Felix, but you should do your Falcon mating call so that it can be a secret meeting.”

“Your right,” agreed Bambi, “I don’t want anything coming between these weary travelers and their prize.”

So the two bid farewell, each going their separate ways, and Bambi went off down the mountain with plenty of firewood, and good, sturdy hiking sticks.

When she returned to the cave she noticed a silence. She was scared at first, and rushed to the back of the cave, but she was relieved and elated when she saw what had really happened. On the floor was a pile of fur. Barry was lying on his back, with Charlie and Runty sleeping on top of him. On their beds were plates with bits of berries on them. On their mouths the red juice told the story. Underneath the three of them there was a pile of all of the rugs in the cave. She looked on the wall and saw that something was written in berry juice. She walked closer and this is what the wall read:

Cave Wrestling

Barry: 5 wins

Charlie and Runty: 3 wins

Barry is Champion

To be continued…

The next morning they set off up the mountain. Birds were chirping and raccoons were scurrying about. One raccoon stopped to say hello.

“Hello there, I am Rocky the Raccoon. What brings you to this part of the country?”

Charlie answered,” I am Charlie, this is my brother Runty, and these are our two friends Bambi and Barry. We are climbing this mountain on our way to Paradise. Do you want to come with us to the summit?”

“No, I think I’ll decline on that one, I prefer to stay where I am now. Goodbye!”

Many other animals greeted them and Charlie invited each one to come with them to the summit. Becky the Badger, Dora the Deer, Peter the Porcupine, Robbie the Robin, Champ the Chickadee, and Aaron the Aardvark accepted the invitation and made the climb all the more enjoyable. The ten of them marched up the mountain, chatting, teasing each other, and playing around.

Soon they were at the summit and it was time to say goodbye. Bambi let out the signal and every one ducked as Felix dived in. Felix briefed Charlie and Runty on how to get to Paradise Gate and gave them a directional instrument.

“You must not stray the path,” said Felix, “there will be temptations and it will be difficult but I know that you can do it.”

Runty and Charlie went off down the mountain going due south. They could hear the animals cheering them on from behind, but they did not look back, they were on the homestretch to their prize, Paradise.

They had gone only about three hundred yards when they started to feel very tired. They looked to their left and saw two comfortable looking beds just waiting for them to sleep in.

Runty said, “Let’s go sleep in those comfortable beds!”

But Charlie knew that if they went that way they would never make it to Paradise. “No Runty, only a little bit farther to Paradise,” he said, “We are sleepy but let’s sleep on the path!”

He took out Felix’s directional instrument~~ which we know as a compass ~~and made sure they were headed south, then the two of them lay side by side on the path.

Since they were under the influence of the Temptation of Sleep they slept for sixteen hours, till finally bad dreams roused Charlie from sleep. Waking Runty up, he said “We must move on, we still have a ways to go!” Charlie checked the compass, and they went off down the mountain.

Farther down the mountain, they came to another temptation. To their right were tables and tables of the most beautiful food they had ever seen. It looked delicious. Around the food were animals drinking wine and playing and singing and being merry.

“I’m hungry,” said Charlie, “Let’s go have a feast. It looks so good, doesn’t it Runty?”

“Yes,” said Runty, “but we have food of our own in our pack. Let’s keep going towards Paradise!”

They sat down and each ate a slice of nut bread, a piece of berry pie, and some wine. They finished eating and went back to sleep. Since they had passed the temptation of sleep, they slept for a normal period of time.

When they woke up they had some nut bread and wine, and then set off down the mountain. They noticed that they felt relieved and were feeling happy and wanted to frolic and play. Charlie ignored the temptation, but Runty didn’t ignore it. He was just about to wander of the path when Charlie punched him and knocked him out.

“Sorry my brother,” he said, picking him up and slinging him over his shoulder, “I had to do it.”

He carried Runty all the way down the mountain. He carried him through a river, over tree stumps, and through the nastiest of mosquito hordes and the thorniest of bushes, all the time going due south. When they got to a tree that was in their way of going south they would climb up it, and climb back down on the other side.

Now they were finally at the bottom of the mountain, all that they had to do now was to cross the Paradise Plains. They were almost there. When they came down the mountain the last tree the came to was a large oak. Charlie climbed the tree, carrying Runty, and the two of them sat in the tree.

“Runty, wake up!” exclaimed Charlie, pouring water on Runty’s face and gently slapping him on his cheeks, “We have made it down the mountain! All we have to do now is cross the Paradise Plains and we will be in Paradise! We are so close!”

Slowly Runty came to his senses. He had a huge swelling lump on his head where Charlie had punched him. He smiled at Charlie and sat up.

“I’m sorry I punched you,” said Charlie, “but you had taken the bait of temptation and you would have left the trail!”

“It’s all right,” said Runty, “but boy do I have a headache!”

They stayed there until Runty felt better and then they walked off, hand in hand, due south, to Paradise.

At Paradise Gate

Rising above them were the high walls of Paradise and before them was the famed Paradise Gate. They had finally made it.

“Stop!” said a voice, “Who are you and why are you here?”

“We are two humble travelers,” said Charlie, bowing and trembling with fear and humility, “We have journeyed far to come here. Our home is way back in the land of Tree-Dwellers up north. We wish to enter the Almighty City of Paradise. I am Charlie the Chipmunk and this is my brother Runty the Squirrel.”

He tried but he could not keep his teeth from chattering.

Their story must have humbled the Great Gatekeeper for the massive Paradise Gate opened and blinded them with golden light. When the light lessened they could see the most beautiful land they had ever seen. The Gatekeeper invited them in and now they were finally, truly home.

Epilogue

Paradise was like nothing they had ever seen before. The birds were chirping and the sun was shining and everyone was happy. Once they had gotten to Paradise they were able to do whatever they wanted to do. Everything they could of dreamed of was there. The first thing they did was to send a message to Mama and Lawrence and all of the animals in their community. This is what their message said:

Dear Mama, Lawrence, and all of our friends,

Paradise is amazing. You would like it here. We made it here with barely a hitch. I am part of the local sky diving squad. I am an expert at gliding if I do say so myself. Charlie is on a track team and he loves it. He also works for a mail delivery company and has opened his own Post Office.

Charlie has found a girlfriend. Her name is Christina the Chipmunk and they are really happy together.

I have found a really cool place to live and it is a huge tree. I got it fully furnished and it has things that you have never even heard of. There are things called couches, which are really comfortable lounging places. There is something called a refrigerator. I put berries and pies in it at night and in the morning they are cold. You have to see it to believe it. Then I have this thing called a television. I can go to a certain channel and watch you guys doing your favorite activities. I can check on anybody I want to. I can also make up my own dreams and send them to you in the night. As you can see, I can tell you anything whenever I want to. You can respond to me too. All that you have to do is say ‘Dear Charlie and Runty…’ and start talking to us. The message will go to my Post Office and we can receive your messages.

Charlie lives in his dream house. He has pretty much the same stuff as I do so I wont go into to much detail. His house is a huge tree house complex. You might not think that is too cool, but his house is on top of the trees instead of inside like your houses. He can do this because in Paradise you don’t have to worry about hawks scooping you out of the treetops. His house covers four trees! Life is great here, there is nothing like it. We have no dangers! I am well and hope that you are too.

Remember to talk to us,

Your friend and loving son,

Runty

Journey to Paradise

By: Trygve

Journey to Paradise

By: Trygve

I dedicate this story to Grandma, in loving memory. This story is also dedicated to my family, for their loving support in everything I do.