Short Story

The Tiniest Of Creatures

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for The Unicorn Challenge
where we are encouraged to write a
story in 250 words or less using this
photo as inspiration. Here is my story.

© Ayr/Gray

When I was seven years old, something happened that I’ll never forget.

I was walking home from my friend’s house when movement in the grass at the base of a tree caught my eye. My curiosity piqued, I knelt down and gasped as I discovered a tiny, days-old squirrel no bigger than my thumb. Its eyes were still closed, and it lay struggling, alone and vulnerable.

My heart raced. The little creature twitched and I felt a strong urge to help. I remembered being told not to move a stranded baby animal but to leave it for the mother to find. But what if the mother squirrel didn’t return? What if the baby needed food or was injured by another animal?

I felt as helpless as that tiny squirrel and I longed to pick it up and take it home. But what if the mother did come back and couldn’t find her baby? She’d probably be in a panic.

Maybe if I moved far enough away but still kept an eye on things, the mother squirrel would feel safe enough to return. I ran across the street and hid; it didn’t take long. A squirrel cautiously approached, picked up the baby in her mouth and scurried up the tree to their nest.

I hadn’t done anything but I felt so happy and proud, like I had something to do with saving that baby squirrel’s life. Sometimes a little compassion can make a world of difference…even for the tiniest of creatures.

NAR©2025
250 Words

This is “I’ll Surely Die” by the Rubens

The Unicorn Challenge-16/05/25

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy’s Notes 🖊️🎶, The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, The Rhythm Section, et al., and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

43 thoughts on “The Tiniest Of Creatures”

  5. The baby squirrel’s life must have blessed you to be an excellent writer, musician and above all, a kind human being. Well done, Nancy 🌷🌷🌷

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  7. This is such a beautiful story, Nancy, so sensitively written.
    And the question: when to help and when to leave well alone…
    There’s no fixed answer to that, I think.
    (I’m sitting here with a silly smile on my face at this story.)

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    1. Thank you, Jenne dear!
      At the time I wasn’t pondering the weighty question of when to get involved …. at least not consciously. I like to think my actions helped give that little guy a fighting chance. And the message about getting involved or minding my own business? It must have stayed with me subliminally.
      I’m pleased to know my story made you smile.

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  9. What a sweet kind story! Did this really happen?

    And, because I’m fascinated by the creative process, can you tell me the rabbit trail (or should I say squirrel trail) that led you from the photo to this story?

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    1. It did really happen, Sally. There wasn’t much of a process; when I saw the image, the first thing that popped into my head was the memory of that newborn squirrel …. something I hand’t thought about for more than 60 years. I simply went with it instead of searching for something clever or profound.

      Thanks for your gracious comment.

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  11. A little girl with a big heart, full of compassion and commonsense … “I will not live without love” … Vincent Van Gogh 😍🌏
    And a wonderfully suitable song by “The Rubens”, Well done, Nancy … 🎵😍🌏

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    1. My life has been filled with happy endings, Penn, so for variety I often write about the dark side of life. I simply couldn’t ignore this memory that I had squirreled away in my brain for more than 60 years. Serendipity never lets me down! Thanks very much, Penn.

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