The squirrel lady

 

A few days ago I visited my Australian friend Matilda. You remember her? An elderly lady living on a farm with all sorts of animals like cows, pigs, chickens and ... even a kangaroo; or a wallaby as she pointed out at the time I was there.

This time I was very careful not to help her feed the pigs. I remember falling flat on my face in the mud.

It was a pleasant evening catching up on old times and I stayed the night there ready to travel back on business the next day. It's more convenient staying at Matilda's rather than go in a hotel, especially since her farm is so close to the motorway and out of town.

As I got ready for bed, I noticed there was a large cage in the corner of the room. The sort of cage you would use for a medium sized dog when travelling in a car. It was empty. 

I got into bed and there was a knock on the door. "Are you decent?" asked Matilda. 

I'm always decent, and I asked her to come in. She entered with a squirrel in her hand. "I hope you don't mind sharing the room with Superman," she said as she placed him in the cage.

"Superman?" I asked.

"Yes, the poor fella injured himself," she said in her Australian accent, "he had a wife and is now all alone the little mite!"

"A wife?" I asked again.

"Yes," she said, "I used to see him with his wife in the woods at the back, both of them playing together. But lately he's been alone and has injured his leg. I let him stay the night indoors until he gets better,  and let him go in the morning."

"What happened to his ... wife?" I hesitated.

"How should I know, cobber? Maybe they divorced, or separated or perhaps she's dead. What kind of stupid question is that?"

I decided to say nothing. She's the one who mentioned a wife and I'm the stupid one.

"I normally let him loose in this room," she said, "he likes to hide under the covers. But seeing you're here tonight I thought you wouldn't want him in bed with you searching for nuts!" 

"So that's what those acorns were doing under the sheets?" I asked.

"Yes, I put them there in case he wants a snack at night. But tonight he'll be in this cage, and you'll be safe!" she said as she left the room.

I must admit I was nervous all night. I did get some sleep, but every so often I could hear Superman rattling in his cage. Perhaps he was trying to get out. Who knows!