“Okay,” said Missy as water rushed around her boots. “Let’s crawl out of this cave and write down what we have learned before everything gets wet.”
Missy and the squirrel climbed toward the cave’s opening.
But when they stepped outside, the cave vanished behind them.
They found themselves in the highlands, surrounded by green slopes, ancient stone ridges, and mountains whose snowy peaks touched the clouds. A river moved through the valley below, shining beneath the newly cleared sky.
Beside them stood an enormous oak tree.
Under its branches waited a wooden table with a basket of grapes, a freshly baked loaf of bread, and a glass of red wine.
The sudden change made no sense at all, which was how Missy knew she was still dreaming.
She sat beneath the oak and lifted the wine glass.
The squirrel opened his notebook and carefully positioned a pencil between his paws.
“Ready?” he asked.
Missy took a sip and nodded.
The squirrel cleared his throat and began to write.
Water is always coming.
Learn how to swim.
Gather what matters.
Notice the river before it reaches your feet.
Talking is not the same as seeing.
Seeing is not the same as doing.
Empty baskets rarely solve problems.
Full baskets solve only some problems.
Fish and squirrels will never completely agree.
Acorns are the building blocks of reality.
Missy stared at the list.
“Number ten seems questionable.”
The squirrel looked offended.
“Number ten is the most scientific part.”
Missy laughed.
“That’s great. We have received it from the Ancient Egyptians.”
The squirrel nearly dropped his pencil.
“No.”
“No?”
“We can’t say that.”
“Why not?”
The squirrel thought carefully.
“That doesn’t sound original. We need something local.”
“Local?”
“Yes.”
The oak tree stood above them.
The river flowed past.
A squirrel sat in front of her with an acorn beside his notebook.
Slowly, Missy began to understand.
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes.”
The squirrel turned to a fresh page.
“We shall call it…”
He paused dramatically.
“The Acorn Principle.”
Missy groaned.
Something disturbed the river below. The fish poked its head above the water.
“What happened to the Egyptians?”
“We rebranded it.”
The basket of grapes spoke.
“You can’t just rename ancient wisdom.”
“Watch me.”
The squirrel drew a large acorn on the cover of his notebook.
“There.”
“What are you doing?” asked Missy.
The squirrel looked shocked.
“Marketing.”
The fish sighed.
“The world’s first mystic squirrel.”
“The world’s first successful mystic squirrel.”
The basket considered this.
“He’s got a point.”
Missy folded her arms.
“So let me get this straight.”
The squirrel smiled.
“Please do.”
“The Ancient Egyptians passed wisdom to somebody.”
“Yes.”
“Who passed it to somebody.”
“Yes.”
“Who passed it to somebody.”
“Yes.”
“Who passed it to somebody.”
“Yes.”
“And eventually it reached us.”
The squirrel proudly held up the acorn.
“Correct. This is the local edition.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then the fish nodded.
“Honestly, I’d buy that book.”
The basket nodded too.
“So would I.”
The squirrel returned to his notebook and wrote:
Every world begins with a small thing someone cared enough to collect.
Missy looked at the oak tree above them.
“That one is actually beautiful.”
The squirrel smiled.
“I know.”
“Ahem.”
A voice came from the table.
Missy turned.
The glass of red wine sighed.
“We would like to be included.”
The bread nodded.
“Very much so.”
The squirrel frowned.
“Included in what?”
“The philosophy.”
“Why?”
The bread looked offended.
“People have gathered around bread for thousands of years.”
The wine swirled dramatically in Missy’s glass.
“And around wine.”
“That is also true,” admitted Missy.
The squirrel reluctantly opened his notebook again.
“Fine.”
The bread cleared its throat.
Then a deep voice rolled across the valley.
“AHEM.”
Everyone froze.
Far beyond the river, the mountains sighed.
“We would also like to be included.”
The squirrel buried his face in his paws.
“Oh no.”
“Why not?” asked the mountains. “We’ve been here longer than all of you.”
“That is difficult to argue with,” said Missy.
The mountains nodded.
“Thank you.”
The squirrel sighed and added another note.
Suddenly, a warm golden light spread across the valley.
Everyone looked up.
The sun was laughing.
“What is so funny?” asked Missy.
“You all realize what happens next, don’t you?”
“What?” asked Missy.
The sun smiled.
“You’ll make me the central character.”
Leave a comment