Last week I was out of town when it was time to post the writing prompt. So you were subject to Robbi’s wild imagination, which is so much darker and weirder than many suppose. Here’s the image she came up with.

The charge was to name the painting and then come up with a story that explains what’s happening. Here’s a collaborative story from Simon and Everett, two brothers who seem to have a promising writing career ahead of them:

           Salty the Squirrel Bunny

Salty looks like a walking long-tailed watermelon. He lives in the rainforest. He eats grass. Salty lives in the tallest tree in the rainforest. It’s kind of like a mountain. He’s a gray squirrel. He also eats nuts. He drinks water. He likes to play every day. He loves his bunny Bob.

Maybe he [Salty] wants a carrot. What does carrot mean? But squirrels don’t like carrots. But they do like carrots. [Simon and Ev get into a debate.] He tries to be like all the other animals. The only thing that he can’t do is fly. He likes to climb down trees when there’s danger in the trees and he climbs up trees when there’s danger on the ground.

I think he’s a boy. Bob is a boy. Yes, that works. All the birds in the rainforest teach him how to fly but he cannot fly because he’s not a flying squirrel. But he does flap his hands.

– as told to stenographer/dad

I like how closely Simon and Everett’s prose resembles that by some of the philosophers I read in college. The provocative questions. The inherent contradictions. For therein lies the truth. I do not understand this story, but I know that it is deep. Very deep.

Moving on to Alden, who saw it this way.

Invisible Rabbit

A mommy squirrel is babysitting a little baby rabbit. The baby rabbit is invisible. And the squirrel brought the baby rabbit the little dolly. Sometimes he’s invisible. But sometimes you can see him. I could draw him and you could print my picture out. I will draw him in the morning.

When I first heard Alden’s story, I figured that the creature cradled in the squirrel-thing’s arms was the “little baby rabbit,” which made me wonder why she was calling it invisible. I wanted to point out that since we could see it, the rabbit wasn’t invisible. But then I realized that what the squirrel is holding is a dolly and that the rabbit in Alden’s story really is invisible. If only I had such an imagination.

Spencer had this for us:

Squirrel’s Birthday Present

I think it’s a squirrel that has a stuffed animal. He’s really happy because his mom gave him the bunny for his birthday present. Every day he plays with his stuffed bunny rabbit, bringing it all around. He just likes to bring it everywhere. The thing he wants most in the world he already has: his bunny!

Such joy! Such cheer! What could be better than a happy squirrel?

But Spencer’s brother Tyler had quite a different interpretation:

Sad Squirrel’s Sad Birthday

The squirrel is sad because all he got for his birthday is that funny looking bunny thing. So he’s so sad, with a sad face. What he really wants is a toy ship.

Such sadness! Such despair! I wonder if the brothers always see things in such opposite ways? And what does it mean that Robbi has drawn a creature whose facial expressions can be so variously interpreted?

Addie offered this story:

A Squirrel Named Cheepyhair

A long, long time ago there was a squirrel named Cheepyhair and he lived with a princess named Jennifer. The princess loved herself and the squirrel loved hair. He also loved to play tag with Jennifer. But the one thing he did not like was eating his girlfriend’s nuts. The bunny had always smiled at Jennifer because she liked the bunny. The end. That is all I want to say.

I’m hard pressed to think of anything as wonderful as Addie’s imagination. A name as weird and unexpected as Cheepyhair combined with something as familiar as Jennifer? It seems impossible. But I love it so much.

And here’s a story from Joe:

Is This a Squirrel?

Hahahaha, yes, he is a Squirrel.
(Look, he has a bunny just like I do.)
He is a special squirrel, that’s all.

His name is Chester Berroni.
Everyday, he likes to play Chess.
At night, he sleeps with his bunny.
His favorite food:  cucumber and tomato.
He wants to be a soccer player one day.

Adds Joe’s mom: “(Wait, Joe, are you talking about yourself or the Squirrel?…)”

Apparently, Joe was sufficiently inspired that he offered his own drawing in response. He calls it “Is This a Bird?”

I’d say it IS a bird. And an amazing, wonderful bird at that.

I’m a bit afraid to throw my own hat into the ring. It’s hard to follow up all this amazing stuff from these kids. But just for the sake of being a good sport, this is what I think is happening:

Present for You

It was three o’clock in the morning and Lucky couldn’t sleep. He lay away thinking about the things that worried him. Winter was coming soon, and he hadn’t collected enough nuts. His sister Bonnie had been missing for weeks and he was worried about her. He had a purple rash on the bottom of his right foot and he couldn’t figure out what it was. He paced around the forest, trying to tire himself out. But the tireder he got, the wider his eyes grew and the harder it was to fall asleep. Lucky didn’t know what to do.

And so he grabbed his little friend Percival and asked him for comfort and assistance.

Percival told Lucky stories about his problems. He had a constant stomach ache that wouldn’t go away. He had recently been chewed on by a smelly dog. He owed money to a couple of guys named Leroy and Pegg who threatened to remove all his stuffing if he didn’t pay by Friday.

When Percival finished his story, Lucky felt so relieved that he didn’t have Percival’s problems that he fell asleep immediately. Percival, on the other hand, lay up all night long fretting.

And that is that.

If you are interested in owning Robbi’s painting of this poor, demented creature, stroll on over to Ebay where bidding is already under way. The auction closes at 12:30 eastern time next Monday, April 1 (no kidding).

I’d say “may the best man win,” but really, it’s probably more accurate to say, “may the strangest man prevail.”

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