{"id":480,"date":"2009-03-25T20:40:25","date_gmt":"2009-03-26T03:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/candlelightstories.com\/Blog\/?p=480"},"modified":"2009-04-21T19:58:27","modified_gmt":"2009-04-22T02:58:27","slug":"story-the-sweet-smelling-skunk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/candlelightstories.com\/Blog\/2009\/03\/25\/story-the-sweet-smelling-skunk\/","title":{"rendered":"Storybook: The Sweet Smelling Skunk"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Artie Knapp (USA)
\nthe author has an excellent story site: Knapptime Stories<\/a>
\nillustration by Kevin Scott Collier<\/a><\/em><\/span> <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cGet out of there! Go on now, get,\u201d said Mrs. Donnelly to the rabbits. It wasn\u2019t that Mrs. Donnelly disliked rabbits, she just took great pride in her garden and the rabbits were destroying her array of lush veggies and flowers.<\/p>\n

While inspecting the latest round of destruction to her garden, Mrs. Donnelly cried out, \u201cOh my beautiful garden; it\u2019s just ruined.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mrs. Donnelly\u2019s outcry startled something in her garden as the last remaining heads of lettuce shook back and forth. Mrs. Donnelly was startled at first, but knew this could be her last chance to finally confront one of the rabbits face to face.<\/p>\n

\u201cShow yourself you ornery rabbit,\u201d said Mrs. Donnelly.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Donnelly pushed the heads of lettuce to the side and was surprised to find a little skunk crying his heart out. It was such a sad sight that Mrs. Donnelly ignored the danger of getting sprayed by the little skunk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with you? Why are you crying?\u201d asked Mrs. Donnelly.<\/p>\n

The little skunk wiped away his tears and said, \u201cAren\u2019t you going to tell me to leave because of the way I smell? Everyone else does!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course not,\u201d said Mrs. Donnelly. \u201cAnyone who would say such a thing isn\u2019t very polite; besides, your scent and spray is how you protect yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, but try explaining that to the other animals in the neighborhood. All day long I get teased by squirrels, rabbits, and raccoons. Do you know the Chesterfields who live three doors down from you?\u201d asked the little skunk.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, they\u2019re a very nice family,\u201d said Mrs. Donnelly. \u201cSurely they don\u2019t make fun of you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh they don\u2019t, but their cat is downright mean. I guess if I had matted fur and fleas I would be mean too,\u201d laughed the little skunk.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the spirit,\u201d said Mrs. Donnelly. \u201cA sense of humor is a good remedy for when you\u2019re feeling down. Pay no attention to that ole cat or the other animals who tease you. They\u2019re not worth getting upset over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you Mrs. Donnelly,\u201d said the little skunk.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you know my name?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery animal in the neighborhood knows who you are. Your garden is legendary around these parts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat reminds me, I caught you eating in my garden too,\u201d said Mrs. Donnelly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know and for that I am really sorry. But the rabbits about polished off everything anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mrs. Donnelly just nodded with a smile and said, \u201cWhat\u2019s your name my little friend?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy name is Skippy,\u201d said the little skunk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, follow me Skippy,\u201d said Mrs. Donnelly. \u201cI have an idea that I believe will take care of both our problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Skippy followed Mrs. Donnelly into her house she talked passionately about gardening. She vowed her garden would be better than ever and promised Skippy all the food he could eat if he helped her tend to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know anything about gardening,\u201d said Skippy.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d said Mrs. Donnelly. \u201cI\u2019ll take care of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow am I going to help then?\u201d asked Skippy.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Donnelly was standing beside a large piano and wistfully stroked the keys with one hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you sing Skippy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, only when I\u2019m in the shower.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerfect!\u201d said Mrs. Donnelly. \u201cThat will do!\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Mrs. Donnelly was old and frail, she got behind her piano and moved it across the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow on Earth did you move such a large piano by yourself?\u201d asked Skippy.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Donnelly laughed and said, \u201cOh wheels can make anything possible!\u201d<\/p>\n

Skippy looked under the piano and sure enough the wheels glided with ease as Mrs. Donnelly continued to push it across the floor. She didn\u2019t stop pushing the piano until it was parked right next to her garden. Once the piano was placed there, Mrs. Donnelly and Skippy walked back inside the house.<\/p>\n

Several animals in the neighborhood gathered around to discuss what was going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI must be dreaming,\u201d said one of the rabbits. \u201cWhy is there a piano by Mrs. Donnelly\u2019s garden? And what is Skippy doing in her house?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have a clue,\u201d said an old and wise raccoon. \u201cThis is most peculiar!\u201d<\/p>\n

At that moment, all the animals\u2019 attention shifted back to Mrs. Donnelly and Skippy as they approached the garden with a wagon full of flowers and seeds in tow.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Donnelly took a small shovel from the wagon and started to dig holes throughout her garden. She took the flowers and seeds and placed them in the holes. Skippy tapped each hole with his tail to make sure the flowers and seeds were snug and then sprayed each side of Mrs. Donnelly\u2019s yard. He ensured his spray wasn\u2019t too close to the garden, but close enough to give fair warning to any animal close by. Mrs. Donnelly clapped her hands and motioned for Skippy to join her. Skippy ran back as fast as he could and jumped atop the piano. Mrs. Donnelly gave Skippy a wink and a smile as he set by her side. She struck the keys of the piano with all of her might as she and Skippy began to sing:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our garden, clean without rust,<\/p>\n

Keeping it safe is surely a must;<\/p>\n

Anyone trying to ruin where it lies,<\/p>\n

Will feel the sting of skunk spray,<\/p>\n

Right in their eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over and over again they sang:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our garden, clean without rust,<\/p>\n

Keeping it safe is surely a must;<\/p>\n

Anyone trying to ruin where it lies,<\/p>\n

Will feel the sting of skunk spray,<\/p>\n

Right in their eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Mrs. Donnelly continued to sing she placed a flower over Skippy\u2019s ear. Skippy jumped off the piano with the grace of an Olympic diver and then flipped over on his back. He smiled at all the animals that were looking on in disbelief; Skippy waved his tail at them and also dangled the flower Mrs. Donnelly gave him. It was a rose that Mrs. Donnelly had given Skippy. And no skunk had ever smelled so sweet.<\/p>\n

THE END<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

“The Sweet Smelling Skunk”<\/span><\/em> Copyright \u00a9 2007 by Artie Knapp
\nAll Rights Reserved <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Artie Knapp (USA) the author has an excellent story site: Knapptime Stories illustration by Kevin Scott Collier \u201cGet out of there! Go on now, get,\u201d said Mrs. Donnelly to the rabbits. It wasn\u2019t that Mrs. Donnelly disliked rabbits, she just took great pride in her garden and the rabbits were destroying her array of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[65],"class_list":["post-480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-childrens-stories","tag-artie-knapp"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/candlelightstories.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/candlelightstories.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/candlelightstories.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/candlelightstories.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/candlelightstories.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/candlelightstories.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1402,"href":"https:\/\/candlelightstories.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480\/revisions\/1402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/candlelightstories.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/candlelightstories.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/candlelightstories.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}