The chicken squad chapter 4

Chapter 4

You are one delicate squirrel,” Sugar remarked. Tail was awake, but his eyes were wide, and his color was not good.
“What would you call that particular shade of gray, Dirt?” asked Sugar.
“We’ve got more important things to do here, Sugar,” said Dirt. She studied the squirrel.
“No, we don’t,” said Sugar.
“You’re probably right.” Dirt put her sketchpad down and took out her big box of crayons. “It’s a cross between timberwolf gray and manatee gray. It’s definitely not regular gray. More like I-think-I-may-pass-out-again gray.”
“Why don’t we call it ‘Scaredy Squirrel Gray’?” said Sugar.

“I like it,” said Dirt.
“Perfect,” said Sugar. “Now, let’s get back to business.”
“Is the dog gone?” asked Tail. His whole body twitched. “Is the dog GONE? IS THE DOG GONE?”
“Listen, kid,” said Sugar. “J. J. doesn’t want to catch you. He is never going to catch you. If he wanted to catch you, he would have caught you already and tossed you over the fence, like an old sock. He just chases you for fun.”
“I don’t believe you,” said Tail.
“Suit yourself,” said Sugar. “No skin off my teeth if you spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder.”
“Was the big and scary thing a rhombus?” asked Dirt. Her sketchpad was in her hands again.
“I like it,” said Dirt.
“Perfect,” said Sugar. “Now, let’s get back to business.”
“Is the dog gone?” asked Tail. His whole body twitched. “Is the dog GONE? IS THE DOG GONE?”
“Listen, kid,” said Sugar. “J. J. doesn’t want to catch you. He is never going to catch you. If he wanted to catch you, he would have caught you already and tossed you over the fence, like an old sock. He just chases you for fun.”
“I don’t believe you,” said Tail.
“Suit yourself,” said Sugar. “No skin off my teeth if you spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder.”
“Was the big and scary thing a rhombus?” asked Dirt. Her sketchpad was in her hands again.
“Tail here doesn’t know a circle from a triangle, and you’re going to start with a rhombus?”
“Do you know what a rhombus is, Sugar?” asked Dirt.
“No,” said Sugar. “And I don’t want to know.”
“A rhombus looks like this.” Dirt drew a diamond on her sketchpad.
“I am a brave squirrel,” Tail repeated. “Brave squirrels are not afraid of diamonds!”
“Okaaaay,” said Dirt. “How about a triangle?” She did a quick sketch and showed it to Tail.

“Could be,” said Tail. “Maybe. I’m not sure.”
“Follow me, kid,” said Sugar, walking back to the coop.
“Hey, Sweetie,” called Sugar. “Come on out here.”
Sweetie popped her head out of the shoe. She was eating a carrot.

“Did the big and scary thing look like that?” asked Sugar.
“Big and scary things are not shaped like carrots!” said Tail.
“Not the carrot, kid,” said Sugar. “Sweetie’s got a weird triangle head. Did it look like that?”
“No, definitely not,” said the squirrel.
“This is going to take all day,” said Sugar. “Maybe Tail here can go to squirrel kindergarten, learn some shapes, and then get back to us. Don’t we have anything better to do?”
“Not really,” answered Dirt. She drew something else. “How about this?”
The squirrel tried to scream, but fainted before he got it out of his mouth.

“Nice work, Dirt,” said Sugar.
“So, the big and scary thing in the yard is a circle,” said Dirt, tapping her sketchpad with her pencil. “Interesting.”
“So Tail is either afraid of the birdbath or the blow-up pool,” announced Sugar. She looked down at her notes:
Nervous squirrel with good vocabulary and poor shape skills is terrified of something round in the yard.
Also, Dirt discovers a new shade of gray.
“Can we please do something about the dead squirrel in the living room??” asked Moosh. She deposited a clean-smelling Poppy just inside the chicken coop and then headed back out the door. “If it’s still here when I get back from my gardening, I’m going to make a rug out of it.”