Murray The New Year's Squirrel

Murray The New Year’s Squirrel

1

Chapter One

Murray Fluffertail was an honest and energetic, yet easy-going

squirrel that was known by those in the small community of

Squirrelville as a kind-hearted, Loving individual that they could all

trust and believe in. He was the kind of squirrel that would treat

each day as a gift, the kind of squirrel that always made it a point to

see the brighter side of Life. Each day, Murray would greet the Sun

in the same way as he did the day before; with a smile.

“Good morning, old friend.” he’d proclaim as he wiped the

rheum (or “sleepys”, if you will) from his eyes. “I sure am happy to

see you again.” From there, he’d usually scurry his way into the

kitchen for something to eat, starting his morning with a healthy

breakfast that was rich in protein, carbohydrates, and fats; as all

good squirrels do. On this day, Murray was especially excited

because he was going to finally tell Mindy Nutsincheeks, the

squirrel of his dreams, exactly how he felt about her.

There was something different about that morning, however. As his

eyes were still adjusting to the light of day, he started to notice that

the Sun just wasn’t shining as bright as it normally would. This sure

enough upset Murray, but he was yet to understand how much this

would really affect him and the members of Squirrelville.


2

On this New Year’s Eve day, the squirrels of Squirrelville were

about to witness a storm the likes of which they’d never seen. All of

their winter planning was about to be for naught, and this small

squirrel community was going to have their spirits tested by the

meanest woman in all the land, Mother Nature.

The day was cold and gray, and the clouds looked dark and angry.

The wind blew with tremendous force and it made the trees that

housed the residents of Squirrelville rock violently, scaring those

inside… And it only continued to get worse.

The blustery cold of the wind mixed with the rain that fell would

eventually turn to sleet. From there, hail started to pummel the

trees that the squirrels had trusted so much in. Numerous, loud

knocks could be heard from the outside, and you could hear the

cries of all of the little squirrels that felt fear such as this for the

first time in their lives.


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Murray lay in his bed, wrapped tightly under his covers, hoping the

storm would pass. “This cannot go on for much longer” Murray

thought, “Can it?” His tail was shaking almost as fast as his teeth

had been chattering. Yet it did, and it didn’t show any signs of

letting up anytime soon.

Suddenly, and almost one by one, you could hear branches

breaking off of the trees. The cries of the little squirrels grew even

louder, every yelp becoming more and more vibrant with each

passing moment. And then… Crack!

Trees started falling, smashing heavily into one another. This time,

even the squirrel parents’ screams could be heard as Murray tried

to hold on tight, his tree swaying back and forth. Yes, his tree, his

home, the only other thing he truly trusted in besides his own heart

was slowing giving away at its foundation when… Crash!!!


4

Chapter Two

Murray awoke to the almost deafening sound of silence.

“Is it over? Was it all just a dream?” Murray said aloud, but his

questions were quickly answered as his head started to feel like

there were thousands of angry bees swarming inside of it. The

inside of his home was destroyed, but all he could think about was

the well-being of those he felt fortunate enough to share his Life

with, especially his beloved Mindy Nutsincheeks.

Slowly but surely, Murray crawled through the wreckage and made

his way outside. A blanket of white snow covered the destruction

that lay before him, but even the pureness of the untouched snow

couldn’t hide the horror that took place that fateful morning in

Squirrelville.


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What Murray didn’t realize was that he had been unconscious for

nearly four days, and the residents that had survived had already

gone elsewhere to try and start anew. The damage was all too

devastating. They had all ventured out looking for food in hopes of

rebuilding Squirrelville in another place, and poor Murray was left

all alone.

Sadly, this was the way Murray Fluffertail was forced to start his

new year; cold, alone, and hungry. The squirrel that inspired so

many others was now in need of his own inspiration, and it seemed

as if it were nowhere to be found. Murray was devastated, and all

he could think about was whether or not his darling Mindy, and all

of his other squirrel friends, were alright.

“Why would this happen!? Where is everybody!?” he shouted, but

the only thing around to hear his cries were the broken remains of

a once proud Squirrelville. Murray’s head hung long, which is

something that never happened before. Yes, for the first time in his

Life, Murray had just about given up hope.


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He sluggishly trekked through the snow. With each step, he would

feel his body getting weaker and weaker. It had already been

almost four days since his last meal, and his body was starting to

give in like the trees had done when the storm hit. His mind was

racing, almost in a state of panic, when he had a sudden moment of

clarity.

Murray had remembered what his Grandfather would always tell

him when growing up. He had thought about how his stories of

integrity and perseverance were the basis on which he made it a

point to always believe in himself. “Would Gramps give up at a time

like this? Never.” he said aloud, and his continued on his venture.

After this revelation, his steps started becoming stronger. “Positive

thoughts always breed a positive outcome.” He kept repeating that

phrase over and over in his head, focusing his energy on making

the best of out a situation that couldn’t get much worse… And it

didn’t. Believe it or not, Murray’s luck was about to change for the

better forever.

What felt like countless hours had gone by, yet with each step the

thought of something good happening powered his feet to continue

moving forward. “Come on, one foot in front of the other. One step

at a time now.” Murray said, “You’ve got to stay motivated, you’ve

got to keep strong. The others need you… Mindy needs you.”


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Murray did just that, but he was stopped dead in his tracks by the

sound that scares every squirrel stiff… the screeching of car tires!

He looked up ahead and saw there was a highway just a mere

thousand squirrel feet away, one of the main places his Grandfather

had told him never to go near. Suddenly… Another loud crash!


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Chapter Three

Murray saw a large brown box go flying through the air, bouncing

off some of the trees before hitting the ground before him. Upon

impact, the box had burst open, and the contents inside had

spewed everywhere. Murray didn’t know exactly what was inside,

but he was destined to find out.

There were hundreds of them. Hundreds of these things that

looked somewhat like nuts, but they were encased in some kind of

clear wrapping. “What could this be?” he thought. He grabbed one

and tried his best of figure it out, but his hands were too cold to

open the wrapper.

So, being the squirrel he is, he used his teeth. Sure enough, it

opened, and he was face to face with something he never saw, let

alone smelled before. The scent was very sweet; it was almost too

much to take in at first. “This… this is food!” he shouted! And with

that, he took a big bite of what ended up being a fortune cookie.


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After that first bite, Murray’s eyes grew wide. “This just may be the

greatest thing I’ve ever eaten.” Before he took another bite, he

grabbed roughly twelve of the fortune cookies and threw them in

his mouth, wrapper and all. Looking around quickly, he just so

happened to have noticed a tree standing tall amongst many

others with a hole big enough for him to climb into it.

With a burst of energy, Murray, whose mouth was stacked to the

brim, scurried over to that tree. “Hello!? Is there anybody in there?”

he muffled due to the contents of his cheeks. Silence, and that

silence was good enough for him. He climbed that tree and into the

hole, and to his surprise, the inside was an absolutely perfect place

for him to start anew!

Murray was way too excited to even finish his fortune cookie.

Before long, he had the entire contents of the box inside of that

tree. When his work was done, he revisited the cookie he had

originally began eating. Half way in, he noticed something was

inside, a piece of paper. He pulled it out, finished the rest of the

cookie, and then read what that little piece of paper had to say.

“Hope is the most precious treasure to a person”.


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It made Murray think about what he had just gone through. He

thought about how he almost gave up, but he remembered his

Grandfather’s strong words of perseverance. If he didn’t start

moving toward his goal, he ultimately would have laid there and

given up. Reading this made him feel like his old self again, and,

still being hungry, he decided to open and eat another one.

“The time has come to allow your heart to guide you.”

He immediately thought about the others that suffered a terrible

fate that morning in Squirrelville. “Did they forget about me? No, no

they couldn’t have! I have to go and find them, find Mindy. I have

to go and help them. After all, if anyone can do it, I can! But, before I

do…”

Murray opened up another package and started eating away. “Boy,

was I hungry.” He thought. Yet another piece of paper was inside!

He ate the rest of the cookie and read what it had to say again.

“A journey must begin with a single step.”


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And with that, Murray realized that this didn’t happen by accident.

He knew in his heart that everything happens for a reason, and

although sometimes we may not like what that reason is, we must

always find a way to persevere and make the best out of any

situation.

He then stored two of the fortune cookies he found in his cheeks,

took one last look at his cozy new environment, and smiled. Murray

knew that the next time he returned here, he’d be a better squirrel

for it. With that, he was off.


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Chapter Four

With new Life, Murray began his journey to find the other members

of Squirrelville in hopes that they could rebuild together. Everyone

who knew Murray knew that he was a squirrel that preached

togetherness, one that always made it a point to make those around

him as equally as good as he made himself in hopes that they could

all grow together as One.

Wary of his new surroundings, Murray carefully traveled so that he

knew how to get back to that big new tree of his without hesitation,

for around that tree were multiple others and they all were

suitable homes for his friends. The will in his heart to make Life

better for those he cared about was what kept him going as he

continued to search high and low for his friends in the blistery cold

Mother Nature had provided him that day.

Murray couldn’t do much yelling, for having two fortunes cookies

in his mouth, let alone twelve like he did before, was no easy task

for a squirrel. He focused his eyes through the wind that did all it

could to force them to remain shut, but his motivation to help

others at an all-time high, and he refusing the give up hope. This

was the best decision Murray could have made, because off in the

distance, he saw what seemed to be the outline of a squirrel. It

wasn’t just any squirrel, he was almost certain it was Mindy.


13

His heart started beating rapidly and he took off toward that

outline like a rabbit attempting to evade a fox, but with his speed,

he could have easily gotten away himself had he been one. Sure

enough, it was Mindy Nutsincheeks, the squirrel that Murray had

secretly been in Love with for the last five years. Mindy, of course,

had no idea as to Murray’s feelings, but now he finally had the

chance of doing just that. Clearly, this wasn’t the best opportunity

to let her know, so Murray played his cool as best he could,

although his excitement wasn’t necessarily something he could

easily hide.

Mindy turned and saw Murray sprinting towards her. She didn’t

realize it was Murray at first due to the size of his cheeks with

those fortune cookies in them, but as he got closer, she could just


14

feel his energy. What Murray didn’t know was, well, Mindy secretly

had a thing for him, too.

“Murray!” she shrieked as she took off in his direction. The two

eventually met face to puffy face for the first time since before the

storm, and Mindy started to cry after they both stopped, looking

each other in the eyes.

“We thought you had died.” she said with a saddened tone in her

voice. “Your tree was completely destroyed. We called for you and

called for you, but there was no answer. The storm was so bad, we

had to leave. I… I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.”

Murray took the cookies from his mouth, placed them down gently

in the snow, and turned to Mindy. “I’m here now.” he said, his voice

shaky yet assertive, elated yet nervous. “Where are the others?”

“They’re over there hiding in that hole.” Mindy said as she pointed

to a hole in the ground.


15

“It was my turn to go and look for food, but I found something so

much greater instead. I found hope. I found you, Murray. But, I

must ask… What are those things!?”

“Oh, these?” Murray said as he glanced at the fortune cookies.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Let’s go get the others.” From there,

Mindy and Murray made their way over to the rest of the squirrels

from the recently destroyed Squirrelville.


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Chapter Five

The squirrels couldn’t have been any happier to see Murray. The

one squirrel who had given everyone hope arrived as only a true

hero would. Murray opened the fortune cookies and started

breaking them up, giving pieces to everyone around.

Hesitant at first to eat it because they never saw them before,

the squirrels started nibbling, they absolutely Loved them. Like

Murray, most of them had stated it was the best thing they ever ate,

and you could see the excitement in their eyes as they gnawed on

each piece as if it were their last. “There’s plenty more where that

came from.” Murray said with a huge grin.

“What’s that inside of those things?” Mindy asked, intrigued by the

fact that something so delicious had an oddly placed, tiny piece of

paper inside of it. Murray replied, “Oh, you’ll find out soon enough,

but I can’t read it until everyone is done eating. That’s what I did. I

ate the entire thing, then read what was inside; and I swear to you,

it motivated me enough to help me make it here.”

The squirrels all stopped chewing, looked around at one another,

and began laughing hysterically. “That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever

heard! You read some silly little paper and it helped propel

you come find us?” Mindy claimed.


17

“I’m here right now, aren’t I?” Murray replied, his voice now less

shaky than it was before and he had sounded very sure of himself.

“Trust me, just finish eating them.” That they all did.

When the squirrels finished eating both fortune cookies, Murray

took the piece of paper and read them to himself. His eyes lit up.

“Alright, I’m going to just read one of these. From there, we’ll rest

up and head back in the morning. I may have found us a new place

to live. Just, do me the favor and really think about what this piece

of paper has to say.” The squirrels nodded in approval, some still

unsure about his methods, yet they all looked on anxiously to

see exactly what that paper would read. Realizing this, Murray

cleared his throat and read it aloud.

“Sometimes traveling to a new place leads to great transformation.”


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Chapter Six

Murray awoke to the warmth provided by the rays of the Sun.

“Good morning, old friend.” he proclaimed as he wiped the rheum

(They’re ‘sleepys’, remember?) from his eyes. “I sure am happy to

see you again.” He stood up and went around to awake all of the

other squirrels that were there with him. “Let’s go guys! We’ve

been blessed with another day, so let’s make the most out of this

beautiful opportunity.”

When the last squirrel awoke, they all obliged and then followed

their leader, Murray, as he led them back down the route in which

he came. He closely followed the landmarks he set in his mind in

order to find the place in which he came from. After several

hours, he stopped, “There it is, follow me everybody!”


19

The squirrels looked up in astonishment at the tree Murray found

the day before; they had arrived at last. Murray ran up into the tree

and started throwing out fortune cookies, one for each squirrel.

They couldn’t believe it, it was a miracle! When all hope had

seemed lost, the one squirrel they knew they could believe in came

through.

“We always believed in you, Murray.” Mindy said. “Even when we

were stranded, something told me you’d come and help us.” Murray

looked at her and smiled. “As important as it is for me to believe in

myself, knowing that those I care about believe in me was my main

motivation to keep on going.” He then turned to the squirrels

that were already eating their cookies, “Please everyone, read

your paper. I want you all to feel as inspired as I have.”


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With that, they all did. You could see in each squirrels eyes that

their lives, and luck, were changing for the better. “The paper didn’t

lie last night. Look at us all right now and look at what we’ve been

through. Yet, here we are, in this new place together. This is the

transformation the paper spoke of last night. We were all alone last

night, but we’ve all transformed to come together as One.”

Murray said.

The squirrels all looked at one another, except this time, there was

no laughter. “You’re… you’re absolutely right, Murray. You’ve found

a way to store good fortune in your cheeks and you brought it to all

of us. You truly are a hero. You’re my hero.” Mindy said with a little

squirrel tear in her eye.

“I’ve got enough in that tree to last us the entire year.” Murray

responded. “Let’s start building together now, let’s make a new

Squirrelville. We can all go out together and find food to store for

the rest of the winter, and we can save these things for when we

need them most. When were down on our luck, the food with the

knowledge inside can put the beauty of Life into perspective. From

there, we can accomplish anything!”

The squirrels, so moved by his statements, all agreed and had

immediately gone out and went to work on building a new

Squirrelville together.


21

Mindy, after stepping foot outside the hole in the tree, came back

inside where Murray was sitting, who had just so happened to have

been admiring all of the fortune cookies he stored for everyone.

“You know, you never read that second paper today.” Mindy said.

The squirrel that had been an inspiration to the others suddenly

had butterflies line his stomach like the bad kids line the walls

at recess. Could this be his chance? Would he finally be able to

really tell Mindy exactly how much he truly cares for her?

Why yes, yes it was! So, he took out his paper and read it aloud.

“Being great for others is like kissing. It costs nothing, and it is a

very pleasant thing to do.”

Mindy looked Murray in the eyes and kissed him right on his

squirrel mouth! Murray had never felt a joy like this in his heart

ever before. As he went to speak, Mindy did too, and they

simultaneously said, “I Love You.” to one another.


22

Yes, it seems like everything had come full circle for Murray, and

it was more than well deserved. For, if Murray has taught us

anything, it’s that when you follow your heart and believe in the

power of Love... All things are possible.

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Murray The New Year's Squirrel