Making and Keeping a Friendship Journal
A friendship journal is a wonderful way to keep track of and celebrate your friendships. You may use any notebook you like, or you may make your own. (Instructions for making a journal can be found in the “Make a Difference” section of this handbook.)
When you have your notebook, divide it into two sections. In the front section, write a page about each of your friends.
A sample page may look like this:
You may also include pictures or drawings of your friends and things that remind you of them.
In the second section, keep a daily diary of your friendship activities.
Tigerlily spent the week building a canoe with Thorn. The Maple Scouts had made one out of birch bark for a badge a few months before, so Thorn knew what to do. First they found some birch bark. Thorn showed Tigerlily how to fold it up so that it was shaped like a canoe. Then they used pine needles to sew the front and the back edges together. Tigerlily was suddenly glad that Violet had taught her how to sew. Who knew that sewing would actually come in handy?!
When the canoe was finished, they found some sticks. Thorn showed Tigerlily how to carve them into paddles. Finally they were ready to put the canoe in the water.
On the morning of the Mouse Scout meeting, Tigerlily and Thorn met at the stream. They dragged their canoe to the edge of the water. Tigerlily got in first and steadied the canoe with her paddle. Then Thorn pushed the canoe away from the bank and jumped in.
The current was strong, and they glided quickly down the stream. Tigerlily loved feeling the wind on her ears. Then she saw a group of rocks up ahead. She tried to steer with her paddle, but they were moving too fast. They were going to crash! There was only one thing to do. “ABANDON SHIP!” she shouted.
Tigerlily and Thorn jumped out of the canoe into the water. Then they swam as hard as they could for the edge of the stream. They pulled themselves onto the bank just in time to watch the canoe bounce through the rocks.
Tigerlily’s heart sank. They had worked so hard on the canoe. If Violet were here, she would be in tears. Tigerlily felt close to tears herself. She blinked and looked at Thorn.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “We can always make another one.”
Tigerlily smiled and stretched out to dry in the sun. It was nice being friends with a Maple Scout.
Tigerlily’s thoughts turned to the Acorn Scouts. Some friends they were. She had hardly seen them since their last meeting. Hyacinth and Petunia had ignored her in the park. Junebug and Cricket had walked the other way when they saw her coming. And she hadn’t seen Violet for a few days. Tigerlily felt a lump in her throat. Then she felt a little mad. They were supposed to be working on the “Make Friends” badge together, but there wasn’t much together in sight!
“I’m glad you’re coming to our Mouse Scout meeting today,” Tigerlily said to Thorn. “You might be my only friend there!”
Thorn laughed. “The Maple Scouts aren’t happy about it, either,” he said. “But they’ll get over it.” He took a piece of cheese from his backpack and handed some to Tigerlily.
“Holy moly, Gorgonzoli!” Tigerlily said.
Thorn gave her a funny look. “It’s called Gorgonzola,” he said.
“I know,” Tigerlily said, “but it didn’t fit the rhyme.” Tigerlily was surprised. She never had to explain cheese rhymes to Violet.
“That’s silly,” said Thorn.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” said Tigerlily. But she didn’t think it was silly at all. She had a sharp pang of missing Violet.
Thorn interrupted Tigerlily’s thoughts. “Race you up that tree!” he said, and jumped up. Tigerlily forgot about Violet and ran after Thorn.
They raced neck and neck to the tree, then climbed up to the very top. Thorn jumped across to a branch on the next tree. Tigerlily was standing right behind him, and the bounce Thorn made when he jumped almost made her slip!
She grabbed on to the branch and held tight while she caught her breath. She thought again about Violet. Tigerlily had been so proud of her the day they played on the mini-blinds. Violet had been fearless!
Suddenly it seemed important to see Violet before the Mouse Scout meeting. Tigerlily wanted to tell her that Maple Scouts were okay. But most of all, she wanted to tell Violet that she was still her best friend. She only hoped that Violet felt the same way.
Tigerlily jumped down from branch to branch, then scrambled down the tree trunk to the ground. She looked back up to the treetop where Thorn was still playing.
“Hey, Thorn, I’ve got to go!” she called. “I’ll see you at the meeting!”
Mouse Scout Friendships Lost and Found
Through the Mouse Scouts, many lifelong friendships are formed. But it is not always smooth sailing. Even best friends can hit rough seas and stormy weather, as these stories will illustrate.
Trillium and Bud: Alder’s son Bud was one of the first Maple Scouts. Because the Maple Scouts were still catching on, they often had joint meetings with Acorn Scouts. It was at one of those meetings that Bud met Daisy’s daughter Trillium. The two were inseparable. As often happens with young friends, though, they went their separate ways when Trillium graduated from Sunflower Scouts and Bud from the Goldenrods. Trillium never forgot her love for scouting, and after graduating from Maus University, she became an Acorn Scout leader. One of her first activities was a joint meeting with the Maple Scouts. Trillium was surprised to find the Maple Scout leader was none other than her old friend Bud! They quickly rekindled their friendship…which before long turned to love.
Azalea and Blossom had been best friends ever since Buttercups. They shared a love of ballet and were excited when it was finally time to work on a dance badge. That excitement soon turned to heartbreak, at least for Azalea. Blossom was chosen for the lead in the pageant, while Azalea was asked to be a stagehand. Blossom was so thrilled to be the star that she had little time for Azalea, and she failed to see that Azalea’s feelings were hurt. The day before the performance, Blossom twisted her ankle while running from a cat. She would be unable to perform. Azalea offered to stand in for Blossom. She performed beautifully, and even Blossom had to admit that Azalea had been perfect. At the end of the performance, Azalea called Blossom up to the stage, and they both took a bow.
Holly and Jasmine never liked each other. They had very different personalities and couldn’t see eye to eye. But in a twist of fate, the two mice were separated from their troop during a hike. There was a sudden snowstorm, and they needed to find shelter. Holly discovered an abandoned chipmunk hole, and Jasmine reluctantly followed her. While they waited out the storm, their coldness toward each other gradually thawed. Holly was surprised to learn that Jasmine was actually very shy. Jasmine was surprised by Holly’s plucky sense of humor. By the time the storm had ended and the Scouts were reunited with their troop, they had become the best of friends!
Violet had just enough time before the Mouse Scout meeting to search for her friendship bracelet. Maybe, if she found it, everything would be all right again between her and Tigerlily.
Violet stood at the edge of the humans’ living room. She listened carefully to make sure there was no sounds of humans. Satisfied that there weren’t any people around, Violet took a deep breath. Then she tiptoed through the room as fast as she could. When she got to the window, she looked up. Sure enough, her friendship bracelet was stuck on the seventh slat of the mini-blind!
Violet wondered what to do next. With Tigerlily’s encouragement, she had climbed up the mini-blinds the other day. But Tigerlily wasn’t here now. Violet sniffed. She would just have to do it herself!
Violet climbed up the sofa and ran along the top of it. She sped up, and when she reached the edge of the sofa, she took a flying leap toward the window. Violet landed squarely on the slat of the mini-blind. She held her breath and looked down. She had jumped too far! Her friendship bracelet was three slats below her.
Violet grabbed on to the wand and sh
immied down. When she reached the slat that the friendship bracelet was on, she stretched out as far as she could. Violet was just able to grab the bracelet. Her heart swelled! She had it!
Suddenly the wand swung away from the blind, and Violet nearly lost her grip. It swung back and forth a few more times before finally coming to a stop. Violet looked down. She couldn’t believe how high above the ground she was. For a moment, she felt dizzy. Somehow, she was going to have to get herself down. She felt herself slip a little on the wand. Uh-oh! she thought, then she pushed against the wall before losing her grip altogether and falling to the ground.
Violet sat up and checked herself for injuries. Other than another small dent in her acorn cap, she seemed to be fine. She quickly tied the friendship bracelet around her wrist. Then she straightened her uniform and looked up at the blind. She had fallen quite a distance, but she had survived! She touched the friendship bracelet on her wrist. Tigerlily would be so proud!
Violet was thinking about how she would describe her adventure to Tigerlily when she heard footsteps…human footsteps! She froze for a moment. She knew she was near Miss Pansy’s doorway, but it had been one thing to face Miss Pansy with Tigerlily; it would be another thing to face her alone! The footsteps were coming closer and closer until Violet had no choice. She ran as fast as she could to Miss Pansy’s doorway, but when she got there, she found another problem. Miss Pansy’s doorway had been blocked with steel wool!
“Oh no!” Violet cried. Steel wool in a doorway meant that humans knew there were mice living there, too. Violet tried to think of what to do. Maybe she should just run out the front door. But it was too risky.
Violet flattened herself against the baseboard and tried to be invisible. She shut her eyes and listened as the footsteps walked into the room…and out through the front door. The human was gone! Violet sighed with relief. She could make a run for it now and still get to the Mouse Scout meeting with time to spare. She gathered her strength and was just about to move when she heard a new noise. From behind the steel wool, she heard a faint squeak. It could only be Miss Pansy!
Face Your Fears!
Everyone is afraid of something, no matter how brave they think they are. This activity will help Scouts realize that by looking at their fears from a different perspective, they might not seem so bad after all!
Here’s how to play:
• Have each Scout write down something she is afraid of on a slip of paper.
• Place the papers in an acorn cap.
• Shake the cap to mix up the paper slips.
• Have each Scout draw one slip of paper from the cap.
• The Scouts can take turns acting out the fear written on their slip of paper.
Without poking fun at the fear itself, Scouts should offer humorous examples of how the fear may be faced.
I’ve got to save her! Violet thought. She started pulling at the steel wool with her hands, but it was sharp and prickly, and there was just too much of it.
“It’s no use,” Violet cried. “I can’t do this myself.”
But Tigerlily would know what to do! It was almost time for the Mouse Scout meeting. Hopefully, Tigerlily would be on her way there. Violet dashed out the door.
Tigerlily was almost at Violet’s front door. She just had to talk to Violet before the Mouse Scout meeting. She was trying to think of what to say when Violet came running around a corner and crashed into her.
“Violet!” Tigerlily cried. “I was just coming to find you! I’m sorry—”
“There’s no time for that now,” Violet interrupted. “Miss Pansy is in trouble. We’ve got to save her!”
Violet explained to Tigerlily about the steel wool. Tigerlily thought hard. She didn’t have any of her emergency tools with her. Even her pockets were empty. Tigerlily knew enough about steel wool to know that she and Violet were no match for it. “Violet, we’re going to need more help. Let’s go find the other Scouts!”
They started running to the Left Meadow Elementary School when—bam! Tigerlily crashed into Thorn. Violet was right behind Tigerlily, and—bam!—she crashed into Tigerlily.
“Tigerlily!” Thorn cried. “Where did you run off to? I thought we were going to the meeting—”
“Follow us!” Tigerlily interrupted. “We need more help!”
The three Scouts ran to the Left Meadow Elementary School. When they got there, they found a standoff.
Hyacinth, Petunia, Junebug, and Cricket were blocking the entry to the Left Meadow Elementary School cafeteria. Each Scout was holding one of the signs they had made in the park. Facing them were five Maple Scouts.
Hyacinth began chanting, “Hey, hey, ho, ho! Maple Scouts have got to go!” and the other Acorns joined in.
The Maple Scouts shouted back, “Ho, ho, hey, hey! Maple Scouts are here to STAY!”
“Excuse me, everyone!” Violet said, but no one was listening. She tried again and even waved her arms, but they all kept shouting.
“Times of emergency call for emergency measures,” Tigerlily said. She took out her emergency whistle and put it to her mouth. THWEEEEEEEET!
Everyone stopped chanting and turned to Tigerlily.
“We need help!” Tigerlily explained the situation.
“But what can we do?” asked Hyacinth. “Steel wool is almost impossible to deal with. We can’t chew it, and it is too sharp and prickly to pull with our hands. We’re just little mice, after all.”
Thorn walked over and stood next to Tigerlily. “Of course we can help,” he said. “If we all work together, we can do anything. We’re more than mice. We’re Mouse Scouts!”
The Acorn Scouts looked at him in awe. He sounded just like Tigerlily.
“Thorn is right!” said Tigerlily. “It doesn’t matter if you’re an Acorn or a Maple. We’re all Mouse Scouts! And we have a job to do!”
The six Acorn Scouts and the six Maple Scouts ran back to the house, with Tigerlily, Thorn, and Violet leading the way. When they got to the house, they squeezed under the front door and raced to the living room. Violet showed them the steel wool, and they got to work.
They started to tug at the steel wool, but it was too difficult. Tigerlily took off her neck scarf and wrapped it around her hands, which made it easier to pull at the steel wool. Thorn took off his cap and used it as a glove. He and Tigerlily worked hard, but the steel wool was not budging.
Violet looked at Thorn and then looked at the protest signs. She picked one up and ripped the sign from the toothpick it was taped to. Then, using the toothpick, she started to pry at the steel wool. Hyacinth and Petunia did the same.
“It’s getting looser!” said Cricket.
“Watch out for your eyes!” cried Junebug. “A scratch from the metal could cause permanent damage!”
“Not to worry!” said one of the other Maple Scouts. He grabbed the paper from the signs and quickly fashioned some visors. Junebug gazed at him in amazement as he handed them out. She had no idea that Maple Scouts could be so safety-minded.
Two more Maple Scouts joined in, pushing at the steel wool from the side. They heard a horrible scratchy scraping noise, and finally the steel wool gave way. The Scouts cheered.
When they finally stopped cheering, it was very quiet. Too quiet. Were they too late? Was Miss Pansy even there? All twelve Scouts held their breath until Miss Pansy peeked around the doorway. For a moment, Violet was afraid that she would yell at them, but then Miss Pansy smiled broadly.
“My heroes! If there weren’t so many of you, I’d invite you all in for cookies and tea!” she said.
“Thank you, Miss Pansy,” Tigerlily answered. “But now that you’re safe, we’ve got to be going. We are late for our Mouse Scout meeting.”
At that, Miss Pansy got a dreamy look in her eyes. “I remember my Mouse Scout days. Some of the happiest times in my life.”
“Miss Pansy?” Violet asked. “Would you like to come to our Celebration of Friendship?”
“I would love to!” said Miss
Pansy.
—
Meanwhile, in the basement of the Left Meadow Elementary School, Miss Poppy paced back and forth. She knew the Acorns were not happy with the idea of working with the Maple Scouts. Well! she thought. I will just have to talk to them about opening their minds and being accepting of others. She steeled herself and looked at the clock. But if they are much later, she thought, I may just have to send them back to Buttercups. And I’ll make sure it is straight back to Dandelions for those Maple Scouts!
Just then the Acorn Scouts and the Maple Scouts all tumbled into the Left Meadow Elementary School basement together. And every single one of them was laughing as if they had been friends forever.
Miss Poppy blew her emergency whistle, and with the slightest of smiles said, “Quiet, Scouts! We have a celebration to plan!”
Make Friends Page 3
