A Young Readers from our files

 Father Squirrel was cleaning out the chimney, as he had worried about its condition for a few days. He knew how important it was not to let creosote build up on the sides of the pipe because that build-up caused fires.

 As the morning was mild, Father let the coals get cold by not adding any leaves or twigs during the night. Mother Squirrel had left for a hair appointment, leaving two little squirrels for Father to babysit. I bet I can get this chimney finished before she returns, he thought.

 He placed the little ones in a spot where he could see them and started up the ladder with a long branch with lots of leaves. He waved to the little ones, held the branch high in his paws, and pushed it up and down the chimney. A black cloud of soot covered his coat as he coughed and spluttered.

 "Can we help, Daddy?" asked the little squirrels in unison. They wanted to get dirty like their Father. They loved being dirty.

 "No, this is not work for little squirrels. This is hard work! You help Daddy by playing where I can see you. I'll be finished in no time," Father called down grunting from his labour.

 The little ones chased each other and tossed snowballs until their Father came down the ladder to carry inside a nutshell to collect what he had pushed down the chimney.

 "Can we help now?" asked the little ones jumping up and down.

 Father realized more and more that he should have waited for their Mother to return home. "No, this is very dirty work!" he said.

 Big chunks of creosote lay in the open pipe. That could have caused a fire, he thought.

 The little ones went back outside, but left the door slightly ajar. They turned white with fear, when seconds later, they saw smoke swirling from inside. Their Father came through the door, coughing and tears streaming down his cheeks from the smoke.

  Within seconds, birds and animals gathered. Fire was their worst enemy, and they would have to escape if the fire was serious.

  Father held up his paws to show everyone things were under control. "I thought the coals were dead and threw a piece of paper that was on the floor into the stove. It lit immediately and smoke poured out as I haven't put the pipe back on yet. Everything is fine, no need to worry."

 The wise owl spoke to everyone about safety and then the animals helped the squirrels clean up the mess. Father Squirrel knew he would take greater care in future.