Lexi Rodencal is a freshman at Saint Norbert College from Rochester, Michigan. She is an English major and she plans on furthering her education at SNC. She loves to read, enjoys being in the company of her friends, and watching television. She also loves to be around her hamster, Todd. Lexi is well-traveled and she has lived in many different places including South America, Germany, and Dubai. Lexi’s fairy tale is about the importance of knowledge and that one individual, no matter how small, can make a difference.
Danielle VanDenHeuvel
Danielle VanDenHeuvel
how the squirrels of st. norbert came to be
By Lexi Rodencal
Once upon a time, in the mysterious land of De Pere, there was a squirrel that went by the name of Cinnamon. Cinnamon was just like the rest of the squirrels he knew: grey fur, tufted ears, a long bushy tail… the works. However, unlike the other squirrels, Cinnamon was unhappy with his life. He could not stand another day of frantically finding and burying nuts, climbing trees, and scavenging for food.
All Cinnamon wanted to do was learn. In the parks where he and his family lived, he would always steal after the forgotten newspapers on the benches and trashcans. Cinnamon so longed to understand the mysterious symbols that covered the papers. He knew it was a gateway to a whole world of knowledge.
One day, Cinnamon found a discarded newspaper on the ground next to the trashcan. He could hardly believe his luck! If he could manage to take this paper and hide it somewhere, he would have a reliable source to teach himself to read from! Cinnamon looked over both of his shoulders before grasping a corner of the paper in his little mouth. He started to drag it across the park with apprehension. He knew that the other squirrels wouldn’t be too keen to know that he was starting to question his place in the world. Cinnamon paused to check his position in the park and brightened almost immediately: just a few lengths in front of him, there was a hollow tree that wasn’t being used to store nuts anymore! Cinnamon grabbed the newspaper again, thinking, “Who knew paper could be so heavy?” Cinnamon quickly stuffed the newspaper in the tree quickly before any squirrel could see, and then darted away. He would start his lessons tomorrow.
Day after day, Cinnamon would slink away to his hidey-hole of knowledge in the tree. He’d spend hours pouring over the newspaper and slowly teaching himself to understand what it meant. Every night when he came back to his house, his friends would interrogate him on where he had been all day. “I was looking for nuts!” he’d reply, with a guilty look on his face, knowing the other squirrels could tell that something wasn’t right.
On one particular rainy afternoon, Cinnamon was curled up in his hole, intently studying the comics portion of the newspaper. Cinnamon sniffled and frowned, thinking, “Man, I hate flu season,” to himself. Seconds later, he let out the loudest sneeze he had ever heard!
“ACH-OOOOO!”
Cinnamon shook his head and then froze when he heard a voice cry out, “What was that?!” that was much too close for comfort. “Cinnamon? Is that you?” he heard, letting out a squeak when he recognized his friend Pistachio’s voice.
Pistachio poked his head in the entrance of hole, looking from Cinnamon to the newspaper with a shocked expression on his face. “Are you…reading?!” he said slowly, his eyes narrowing in distrust and apprehension. “You know we’re not supposed to do that, Cinnamon”.
“I know, but I couldn’t help it. All I want to do is read and learn! Don’t you understand?” Cinnamon exclaimed, wringing his paws together with worry.
“Of course I don’t,” Pistachio scoffed with a roll of his eyes. “You’re such a loser, Cinnamon. Something is wrong with you.”
Cinnamon let out a squeak of dismay. “What do you mean, I’m a loser? I thought we were friends!” he said with indignation.
Pistachio snorted. “I just pretended to be your friend because I felt sorry for you. No one likes you, Cinnamon.”
Cinnamon blinked furiously and brushed past him. “Fine. If I’m such a ‘loser’ then I’ll just leave,” he said, already racing out of the park.
Weeks had passed and Cinnamon was still braving the dangers of De Pere on his own. He was cold and lonely and miserable. One day, he stopped to read a fallen newspaper under a bench.
“What…construction?!” Cinnamon said, his eyes quickly scanning the paper. “This can’t happen, it’s our home!” He continued to read the paper, growing more and more horrified with each line read. “To start on Tuesday…but that’s today!”
Cinnamon wheeled around and raced towards his own home. “Even though they kicked me out, I have to warn them. It might not be too late,” he thought as he continued running. Before he even reached the park, the cacophonous sound of the bulldozers was already filling the air. Cinnamon ran towards his old home, the tall oak tree that grew in the middle of the park. When he reached it, he saw all his old family and friends huddled together.
“What are you doing here?” Pistachio spat.
“I’m trying to help,” Cinnamon replied.
“Oh yeah? Like you know anything about where we can go.” Pistachio said.
Cinnamon paused, a grin spreading across his face. There was a place where he, and the rest of the squirrels, could go. A place where he’d been living for the past few weeks, a place of knowledge and communio. “Actually… I do! Follow me. There’s nothing left for you here,” he said, his tail twitching with excitement.
The rest of the squirrels looked around at each other, debating on whether or not they should follow this knowledge-crazed squirrel.
“I guess we have nowhere else to go,” Pistachio said, moving forward to stand with Cinnamon.
Cinnamon smiled. “Alright. Let’s move out!” he exclaimed, turning around to leave the forsaken place he once called home.
As Cinnamon lead his family and friends to their new home he kept on thinking about how safe they would be there. “Maybe the other squirrels will want to learn to read as well, once we’re at our new home,” he thought with hope. He turned the corner and paused at the entrance of their haven. “Welcome…to St. Norbert College!” he cried out, stepping aside to let the squirrels pass through.
If you ask any St. Norbert student about that day, they would tell you how they saw hundreds of squirrels racing into campus; climbing trees, crossing the footpaths, picking up discarded food, and every other squirrel-y behavior. They would also tell you how nothing can truly quench the thirst for knowledge, and how even the smallest person can make a difference.
All Cinnamon wanted to do was learn. In the parks where he and his family lived, he would always steal after the forgotten newspapers on the benches and trashcans. Cinnamon so longed to understand the mysterious symbols that covered the papers. He knew it was a gateway to a whole world of knowledge.
One day, Cinnamon found a discarded newspaper on the ground next to the trashcan. He could hardly believe his luck! If he could manage to take this paper and hide it somewhere, he would have a reliable source to teach himself to read from! Cinnamon looked over both of his shoulders before grasping a corner of the paper in his little mouth. He started to drag it across the park with apprehension. He knew that the other squirrels wouldn’t be too keen to know that he was starting to question his place in the world. Cinnamon paused to check his position in the park and brightened almost immediately: just a few lengths in front of him, there was a hollow tree that wasn’t being used to store nuts anymore! Cinnamon grabbed the newspaper again, thinking, “Who knew paper could be so heavy?” Cinnamon quickly stuffed the newspaper in the tree quickly before any squirrel could see, and then darted away. He would start his lessons tomorrow.
Day after day, Cinnamon would slink away to his hidey-hole of knowledge in the tree. He’d spend hours pouring over the newspaper and slowly teaching himself to understand what it meant. Every night when he came back to his house, his friends would interrogate him on where he had been all day. “I was looking for nuts!” he’d reply, with a guilty look on his face, knowing the other squirrels could tell that something wasn’t right.
On one particular rainy afternoon, Cinnamon was curled up in his hole, intently studying the comics portion of the newspaper. Cinnamon sniffled and frowned, thinking, “Man, I hate flu season,” to himself. Seconds later, he let out the loudest sneeze he had ever heard!
“ACH-OOOOO!”
Cinnamon shook his head and then froze when he heard a voice cry out, “What was that?!” that was much too close for comfort. “Cinnamon? Is that you?” he heard, letting out a squeak when he recognized his friend Pistachio’s voice.
Pistachio poked his head in the entrance of hole, looking from Cinnamon to the newspaper with a shocked expression on his face. “Are you…reading?!” he said slowly, his eyes narrowing in distrust and apprehension. “You know we’re not supposed to do that, Cinnamon”.
“I know, but I couldn’t help it. All I want to do is read and learn! Don’t you understand?” Cinnamon exclaimed, wringing his paws together with worry.
“Of course I don’t,” Pistachio scoffed with a roll of his eyes. “You’re such a loser, Cinnamon. Something is wrong with you.”
Cinnamon let out a squeak of dismay. “What do you mean, I’m a loser? I thought we were friends!” he said with indignation.
Pistachio snorted. “I just pretended to be your friend because I felt sorry for you. No one likes you, Cinnamon.”
Cinnamon blinked furiously and brushed past him. “Fine. If I’m such a ‘loser’ then I’ll just leave,” he said, already racing out of the park.
Weeks had passed and Cinnamon was still braving the dangers of De Pere on his own. He was cold and lonely and miserable. One day, he stopped to read a fallen newspaper under a bench.
“What…construction?!” Cinnamon said, his eyes quickly scanning the paper. “This can’t happen, it’s our home!” He continued to read the paper, growing more and more horrified with each line read. “To start on Tuesday…but that’s today!”
Cinnamon wheeled around and raced towards his own home. “Even though they kicked me out, I have to warn them. It might not be too late,” he thought as he continued running. Before he even reached the park, the cacophonous sound of the bulldozers was already filling the air. Cinnamon ran towards his old home, the tall oak tree that grew in the middle of the park. When he reached it, he saw all his old family and friends huddled together.
“What are you doing here?” Pistachio spat.
“I’m trying to help,” Cinnamon replied.
“Oh yeah? Like you know anything about where we can go.” Pistachio said.
Cinnamon paused, a grin spreading across his face. There was a place where he, and the rest of the squirrels, could go. A place where he’d been living for the past few weeks, a place of knowledge and communio. “Actually… I do! Follow me. There’s nothing left for you here,” he said, his tail twitching with excitement.
The rest of the squirrels looked around at each other, debating on whether or not they should follow this knowledge-crazed squirrel.
“I guess we have nowhere else to go,” Pistachio said, moving forward to stand with Cinnamon.
Cinnamon smiled. “Alright. Let’s move out!” he exclaimed, turning around to leave the forsaken place he once called home.
As Cinnamon lead his family and friends to their new home he kept on thinking about how safe they would be there. “Maybe the other squirrels will want to learn to read as well, once we’re at our new home,” he thought with hope. He turned the corner and paused at the entrance of their haven. “Welcome…to St. Norbert College!” he cried out, stepping aside to let the squirrels pass through.
If you ask any St. Norbert student about that day, they would tell you how they saw hundreds of squirrels racing into campus; climbing trees, crossing the footpaths, picking up discarded food, and every other squirrel-y behavior. They would also tell you how nothing can truly quench the thirst for knowledge, and how even the smallest person can make a difference.