Eep’s Valentine, Or That’s What Love Is All About
Eep the field mouse had a problem. He was desperately in love with a
young lady field mouse named Squee who lived two meadows and a pond
away. Squee had the longest whiskers Eep had ever seen. When she wiggled
her lovely pointed nose, Eep’s heart simply melted!
But the problem was that Eep was dreadfully shy. He could never seem to
get up the courage to even talk to her. Whenever they met, he could only
grin, foolishly, and hurry away. She probably thought he didn’t even
like her!
Eep’s friend, Wikittiky the raccoon, tried to help. \”If you could
write, you could write her
a letter,” he suggested. \”Then she’d know how you feel.”
by Tom McGowen
\”Yes, I could do that—if I could write,” Eep agreed.
\”But, since you can’t write,” Wikittiky went on, \”maybe you can find
some other way to send her a message.”
Eep looked hopeful. \”Would you tell her for me?”
The raccoon shook his head. \”That wouldn’t be right. It has to come
from you. That’s what love is all about.”
\”Make one, like the human little ones do. All
\”I suppose so,” Eep admitted. He sighed. \”But how can I do it?”
They were both silent for a time, thinking. Then Wikittiky said,
suddenly, \”Send her a valentine!”
\”Eh?” said Eep.
\”A valentine, like the human ones give to those they like.”
\”Where could I get a valentine?” Eep asked.
The raccoon flicked his ear with a paw.
you need is something red and white that looks like a heart. Easy!”
Wikittiky trotted off, feeling sure he had solved Eep’s problem.
But the problem wasn’t quite solved. Eep spent the next three days
looking for something red and white and heart-shaped. He searched
through his meadow. He explored both sides of the road, and hunted in
the little patch of woods. He even gathered enough courage to visit the
outskirts of the nearby town where the human ones lived. Nothing.
Finally, he gave up and sadly went home.
That’s when he found the apple. It was lying in his meadow, not far from
where he lived. Probably one of the human children had dropped it while
cutting across the meadow on the way to school. Eep went up to the apple
and looked at it. It was about four times bigger than he was, and it was
a bright and shiny red.
A bright and shiny red. And Eep knew that it was white on the inside.
Red and white! An idea burst into his mind.
Just then, Wikittiky came ambling along. \”Nice apple,” he remarked.
\”Wik,” said Eep, trembling with excitement, \”I have an idea. I’m going
to do it all myself, so that it’ll be from me, as you said. But I’ll
need your help. This apple is much too big and heavy for me to carry, so
you’ll have to carry it there for me. Will you?”
\”Sure,” said Wikittiky. \”But what are you going to do?”
Eep told him. Then the little mouse went to work.
Later that day, Squee came trotting out of
mouse who always smiles at me but never
says anything?” said Squee, more delighted
her underground home and stopped in her tracks. Right in front of her
door stood a huge apple that towered over her. But it wasn’t just an
ordinary apple. Someone had hollowed out the inside to form a big
opening the shape of a heart. The heart stood out, white against the
apple’s red skin.
\”Why, it’s a valentine!” Squee exclaimed in delight. \”A valentine for
me. But who could it be from?”
\”It’s from Eep, who lives two meadows and a pond away and is very fond
of you,” said Wikittiky, who was sitting nearby.
\”Oh—you mean that handsome young
than ever. \”How wonderful!” She looked around. \”But where is he?”
\”He couldn’t come,” Wikittiky said, sounding a bit embarrassed. \”I’m
afraid he’s indisposed.”
Squee looked concerned. \”Indisposed! Oh, dear, what’s the matter with
him?”
\”Well—” the raccoon hesitated, then decided to tell her. \”You see,
Eep wanted to make this valentine for you all by himself. But to do it,
he had to eat out about half the apple— which was about twice as much
as he can hold! The last I saw of him he was lying flat on his back, too
stuffed to move, and groaning with a bellyache!”
\”Oh, dear!” Squee exclaimed. She brushed a sudden tear off her
whiskers. \”But—how nice to think that he would go to such trouble and
discomfort for me!”
\”Well,” said Wikittiky, wisely, \”that’s what love is all about!”
