16
Revver sped off as fast as he could run. Front paws, back paws, front paws, back paws. He practically flew!
He was so deep in thought about his exciting, fast life ahead at the track that he ran right into it at full speed, and he was almost knocked out. When he shook himself off and slowly looked up, his mouth hung open with shock. There, like a huge beast, just waiting to end all his hopes and dreams, stood the WALL.
From their nest high in the tree, the wall that surrounded the track was barely noticeable. But once Revver faced it at ground level, he realized: IT WAS HUGE. Bigger than he’d ever imagined, SO MUCH bigger than it looked from their old nest so far away. This would be a challenge.
Rising up, up, up from the ground was a tall mass of smooth, thick concrete. On top of the concrete stood metal fencing, a mesh of tight steel cables. On top of that was even MORE woven cable, bending inward toward the track at a dangerously sharp angle—ensuring that anything that flew around during a race would stay in. Or, in this case, making good and sure that a squirrel would stay out.
Revver ran long lengths of the wall, hoping for a just-right squirrel-size hole that he could squeeze through. He could not BELIEVE how big the track was! When he looked at it from the nest, he could cover each turn with his paw. But, up close, it was SO ENORMOUS!
He had no luck finding a way in. He ran the entire route a second time, just to be sure he didn’t miss anything. Again, nothing. Sprite was probably small enough to fit between the links and, for a second, Revver thought about getting her to help. But what good would it be to get HER in if HE couldn’t get in? Plus, he HAD to figure this out himself. He had something to prove.
He covered the same route again, but this time he crawled low along the ground. Maybe there was a hole at the bottom . . . or some way he could dig under? Nope.
By now, he had run MOST of the track several times. He was getting really, really tired.
Revver sat with his back against the wall and looked toward his old nest and tree. He felt homesick, which surprised him. The day had started out with such promise . . . He had expected that he’d already be living a life of speed and excitement at the track by now, and he had not even made it inside. He felt heavy with disappointment.
“Vr-vr-vr-VROOM!” he said to try to motivate himself. But it was a half-hearted effort.
Finally, he decided that the only way through this was OVER the wall.
He tried a fast running start and a big jump. His claws almost got a grip into the concrete, but he slid back down to the ground like slow-melting ice. He tried again. And again. He tried until he was panting and bruised from bashing his face into the wall on tries twelve and twenty-two.
This wasn’t working. Trees were perfectly designed for squirrels. Or maybe squirrels were perfectly designed for trees. Either way, bark was rough, with lots of places for squirrel paws and claws to grab. And branches always seemed to come along at just the right place to help the climb. This wall was exactly UNLIKE a tree in every way. The concrete was too smooth. The steel cable was sharp, and the spaces between the metal links were awkward—a paw would easily slip right through.
He studied the wall more closely. Hmm, there were some tiny cracks and dents where he might be able to grab. He started up, carefully looking and deciding where to place the next paw. He had made it about halfway up when he missed and fell back to the ground, right onto his furry butt.
But Revver was determined. He tried again. He was almost to the top when he fell again.
On the sixth try, he finally made it to the catch fence. He began climbing up the links, slowly and carefully. At about halfway, he slipped and fell all the way back to the ground. It suddenly occurred to Revver that he might be much better at this if he had spent more time doing “squirrelly” things. He took a deep breath and started again from the beginning.
By evening, Revver had no more tries in him. He was more tired than he’d ever felt, and every muscle ached. Even his tail hurt from getting caught in the links during one of the falls.
He slumped against Turn One, picking up a few old nuts that had fallen there, and nibbled sadly. Then Revver buried his face in his paws. After a long time, he fell asleep.
17
Morning came, warm and sunny. Revver was still tired and sad. Watching the cars might make me feel better, he thought. Speed and power always brought him joy. He found a small crack between the concrete slabs, pressed one eye up against the wall, and settled in to watch.
There, something giant and black stared back at Revver, and it was coming right toward him, FAST! Then it blurred past him, growling a LOUD warning: “Vruuuu-uuum!” which he knew for sure meant, “STAY OUT!”
“Aaaaaaaaahhh!” Revver screamed. He jumped back from the wall and started running away, shaking with fear.
He ran and ran, and he didn’t dare look back. A MONSTER AT THE TRACK! The monster KNEW that Revver was trying to get in! A squirrel-eating, track-guarding monster! Why does it seem like EVERYTHING wants to eat squirrels?!
Without thinking or even knowing why, Revver started sprinting toward the walnut tree, screaming, “Sprite!” as he ran. “Sprite! Sprite! Help me!”
He ran as fast as he could, checking back over his shoulder to make sure the monster wasn’t following him. Then SMACK! he was on his side, curled up into a ball in pain.
Ughhhh!
He had crashed into the walnut tree trunk.
When he looked up, he saw Sprite sitting peacefully at the base of the tree, weaving something out of some long yellow stems. Revver was out of breath. “Mon-mon-mon-monster!” was all he could pant out.
“Oh, brother, you’re back already?” said Sprite as she looked up. “What now?” She sighed, set down her weaving, and sat next to him to listen.
“At the t-t-t-track,” Revver stammered. “M-monster! B-b-b-BIG!”
Revver finally calmed down enough to tell her everything—about the wall and the sad night he’d had. He told her about his morning, about seeing the monster staring him down and chasing him away. Sprite stood up.
“Okay, come on,” she said, and she started tugging him by the wrist.
“Where?” he asked.
“Where do you think? The track!”
“No! I told you!”
“So what, then?”
“I guess I’ll just stay here with you.”
“No WAY, little brother. You HAVE to go back. You can’t give up your dream.”
He really hated when she called him that. She could be such a know-it-all. He hated that, too. “I’m not going back.”
“RIGHT NOW!” she yelled. He knew better than to question her when she used that voice with him. But she still had to practically drag him, using all her strength. “Come ON!” she scolded every once in a while as she pulled harder. Revver realized again, she was stronger than she looked.
Finally, they were back at the track, staring up at the wall.
“Now, think, Revver! Stop and THINK! Remember when you were going to jump into the nest from the top of our tree? How did the nest look to you from up there?”
Revver thought back to that day. He had to think for a long time, because it was hard to remember anything besides Sprite ruining his fun that day. He finally said, “It looked really small?”
“Right! YES! That’s right! And what did you notice about this wall when you got to it yesterday?”
Revver thought hard again. “It was HUGE! SO MUCH bigger than I thought.”
“Yes! Yes, that’s right! Now, come here . . . Show me where you saw the monster.”
“No.” Revver took a seat and crossed his arms. He was NOT moving any closer.
“Revver, just point. I’ll go look.”
“Over there.” He pointed.
Sprite went and pressed one eye to the crack between the concrete slabs at the corner. Revver heard the monster coming again! “Sprite!” he screamed. “Watch out!” But Sprite stood, calm. Revver was curled up, hiding
his eyes. Sprite walked back over to her brother.
“Did you see it?! D-d-did you?! Did you see the monster?!”
“Revver! No! No, OF COURSE I didn’t see it! Just stop! Just STOP AND THINK! You’ve NEVER seen a monster at the track before, have you? It’s not a MONSTER, Revver.” She put her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. She spoke more softly. “Listen to me, Revver: It’s. A. CAR!”
Revver’s mouth hung open. He shook his head. He was very confused.
S-l-o-w-l-y, his confusion went away. Just like the wall, a car would look A LOT bigger to him from down here. And it would probably sound a lot different, too—a lot louder—when he was so much closer . . .
He stood up and slowly decided to look for himself. He pressed one eye against the crack of the wall. Sprite squeezed in under him. He heard the growling again. He reached out and grabbed Sprite’s paw for safety. He forced himself to be brave and to keep his eyes open. Soon, he saw it, coming closer: the scary eyes and mouth—or maybe, on second look, it was just the front grill—coming closer and closer. It WAS, in fact, a car. But it was MONSTROUSLY HUGE.
He jumped back. He let out a little chuckle. “You know what, Sprite? I’ve changed my mind about this. I don’t think the track is the place for me after all. Let’s go.”
Sprite gently turned him back. “Revver, you LOVE cars, remember?”
“I think . . . I might only love them from far away.”
“Little brother, I’ve been hearing about the track since we were three days old! I’m not letting you back out now. IT’S YOUR DREAM.”
“But, but—”
“Nuh-uh. Nope. Never. No WAY. Now, get in THERE.”
“Okay, well, even if I COULD get in there . . .”
“Of COURSE you can get in there!”
“Sprite! I already told you . . .”
“About?”
“The WALL!”
“Revver: STOP and THINK. How big are you?”
Revver rubbed himself from his head to his feet. “THIS big,” he said.
“And how big was that car you just saw?”
“HUGE! GIANT! GINORMOUS!”
She held each of his wrists and shook him. “Now, again: STOP and THINK. If that GIANT car could get into the track . . .”
Revver felt like he’d been zapped! “The CARS!” He jumped and screamed. “Of course!”
He felt so stupid! It was so obvious! If there was a way for all those BIG CARS to get in, there was DEFINITELY a way in for someone his size! He hadn’t looked far enough! He hadn’t thought hard enough! He hadn’t gone completely around the ENTIRE track!
“Okay?”
“Okay!”
“All good?”
“All good!”
“Okay, Revver. I think you can take it from here. I’m going home.” Sprite started back toward the walnut tree.
“Sprite! Wait!”
“Revver, you’ll be fine. It’s okay.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“What now, then?”
“It’s just that . . .” Revver ran toward Sprite, picked her up, and hugged her tightly. “Thank you, Sprite,” he whispered. “Thank you.”
Even Revver had to admit that being Sprite’s “little brother” was a good thing sometimes.
18
He felt light as air as he started the trek around the outside of the fence—around Turn One and toward Turn Two, where he had turned around yesterday. But he kept going, scurrying to get there as fast as he could.
And there, beneath Turn Two, he saw THE TUNNEL! The tunnel led under the track and right into the infield. Of course! From the nest, he’d seen long lines of trucks and trailers coming into the track from here, almost as if they’d magically appeared from underground.
He thought of yesterday, and he was so angry at himself for not taking the time to stop and think! Right then and there, Revver knew he needed to start keeping important ideas that might help him out later. He thought awhile. Near the nest, Mama had scratched out a hole in the tree trunk—a “burrow”—to hold food for safekeeping. That’s exactly what I need! Revver decided. He closed his eyes and cleared out a little hollow in his brain.
Then he put his first important idea, Stop and think, right into his brain burrow. He thought over the last few days, and he remembered the scene with the hawk. He thought of another idea, Revving is good! and he safely tucked that idea away, too.
Now he sat near the base of the tunnel, waiting and watching. A truck drove up to the gate. The truck was REALLY ENORMOUS! Just like Sprite said, things looked a lot bigger once you got close to them. Revver had to force himself to watch and to be brave, because the size and sound of the truck REALLY made him want to run and hide. Revver held steady.
The driver stopped, opened his window, and waited. A human was standing at the gate, and he went over to talk to the driver. The driver showed him something, and the guard went back to his station and opened the gate. Revver watched carefully as two more trucks did the same thing.
Revver took a deep breath for courage. When the next truck got to the gate, Revver waited until the guard was busy talking to that driver; then he ran to the opposite side of the guard stand. When the guard opened the gate, Revver took another deep breath and ran through, unnoticed.
At last, Revver was in.
19
He found his way through the infield and toward the track. From a safe spot behind the inside wall, Revver peeked over and watched the car. He felt the familiar tingle in his insides when he saw it! It WAS so much bigger than he’d expected! But being this close to it was so much BETTER than he had expected, too. He could feel the vibrations of the engine through his whole small self.
The car squealed off and zipped around the track for some practice laps. When it came in, the crew jumped into action with some quick adjustments and then sent the car back out for more testing.
Revver watched everything. Every. Single. Thing. He stopped feeling afraid and started feeling really, REALLY excited.
After a few more laps, the driver slowed and headed to the nearby garage and shut off the engine.
Revver ran to follow, being sure to stay hidden. The driver lowered the net, slipped out of the window, and removed his helmet. He stood around the car with the crew chief and the rest of the team. So many humans all gathered around the car, all talking about the car, all caring about the car . . . Revver suddenly had a terrible longing to be a part of that group.
The humans moved away from the car and huddled together, still talking. Some motioned with their hands. Some talked. Some nodded. Every once in a while, Revver could make out a word, like “loose” or “vibration.”
None of the crew members were looking at the car. Without even thinking, Revver jumped closer.
He was right next to it now!
It was BIG.
It was BEAUTIFUL!
Now that he was so close, he could almost reach out and touch it. He had never touched a car before! It was so colorful and shiny, so wonderful . . .
He felt very brave. He did NOT “stop and think.” His thoughts were speeding too quickly around his brain. The car was not moving, so it certainly could not flatten him! It seemed very safe. He just wanted to touch it. Just. One. Little. Touch.
He scurried toward the side of the car and took a moment to take in the full view. His mouth hung open as his eyes looked up at the glorious machine.
He rubbed his paws gently over the colorful decals. He got braver. He pressed himself up against the side of the car with his arms out wide, giving the car a big, long hug, so he could feel as much as he could, all at once.
“Wooow,” he whispered in awe.
He jumped over toward the driver’s side window opening, running his paws along the car the entire way. He tried to look inside, but it was too high. He tried jumping up and down to get a better view, but he could not see much.
I need to see inside!
Revver hurried back to the front
of the car. He jumped on the bumper and then onto the lid. Ouch-ouch-ouch-ouch! The lid was fiery hot! Revver nearly burned his paws! The rumbly-ma-jingy thingy gets HOT! This was new news. Trying not to yelp, he jumped onto the roof and quickly flattened himself to avoid being seen. Then he inched back over toward the driver’s side and looked inside, hanging upside down from the roof.
The steering wheel, the controls, the shifter—they were all unfamiliar to him. “So THIS is how they make it work! Awesome!” he whispered again. He quickly thought about the car he had tried to make. I didn’t have a circle-stick in my car! I have a lot to learn . . .
He leaned over to see more . . . leaning, leaning, leaning . . . until he started to slip off the smooth roof. His head dangled above the driver’s seat now, but his rear paw was tangled in the window net.
“Errrrrrr-err!” With some grunting and twisting, Revver quickly untangled himself and fell onto the seat, head and front paws first. He righted himself onto his back paws. It took him a few moments to really realize where he was.
I’m INSIDE a real race car! I’m here! I’m really here! He could feel his heart pounding right up through his ears. His insides felt electric and excited.
With his back paws on the seat, he was able to place the very tips of his front paws onto the lowest part of the steering wheel. “Vroooom-vroom!” he said quietly, pretending to drive.
He jumped onto the floor to admire the pedals, and touched them gently, with great respect. These must be important, too! he thought. He was just starting to put the pieces together. Then he jumped back onto the seat to feel the shifter with his paws.
He was so excited that he did not notice the crew coming back toward the car.
20
Someone opened the lid to inspect inside. Just in time, Revver jumped out of sight behind the driver’s seat and tucked into a tiny, tight space between the roll cage bars and seat.
In a blink, the driver was harnessed back in the seat, the net was back up, and one of the crew members slammed the lid shut. The driver started the engine—and it roared like thunder.
Revver the Speedway Squirrel Page 4
