Dr Jenkins and Mr Lee

by alyssasizzle

Samuel Jenkins and Sanford Lee are squirrels. They have to solve a crime. Can they do it? Original short story. Review!

HI! Original short story. It's about squirrels. TALKING Squirrels. Written for Mystery and Detective Fiction. ENJOY.

(P.S. It feels good not to have a disclaimer here)

Dr. Jenkins and Mr. Lee

"San, I've told you a million times! Humans don't have tails!" said Samuel Jenkins, Sammy for short. He was an Eastern Gray squirrel, who had a knack for finding things. "The smartest squirrel in the bunch," the others called him. He had a gray-brown body, and a great, bushy, gray-brown tail to match. Sammy lived in the community of trees behind the Jenkins house and had taken their last name. As do most squirrels, take the nearest Humans last name. San, or Sanford Lee, most unlike Sammy, was not very bright. Sanford looked similar to Sammy, but he was smaller. He was only three years of age, whereas Sammy was five. Sanford had more of a brown-gray body, and his tail, was the shortest of the lot, still bushy and brown like his body. He and Samuel were close friends. Most squirrels are solitary creatures, preferring to do things alone. Samuel and Sanford however, were not like most squirrels. They did most things together, like gathering food and looking for new shelters. Their favorite source of entertainment was watching the Humans.

"Sammy! They do too! They do indeed-too have tails! I'm sure of it!" Sanford shrieked. To a Human, Sanford's shrieks would just sound like quiet rustling. The pair was sitting on the window sill of the Jenkins house. They were watching the Father fix himself a sandwich; he was wearing a dress shirt and a tie. He had a tag on his shirt pocket that read "Dr. J. Jenkins, MD".

"Where do you think his tail is?" said Sammy, accusingly. Sanford looked thoroughly confused. His eyes were wide as he watched Dr. J. Jenkins, MD turn around and put his things away.

"Where is his tail? Why doesn't he have a tail?" yelled Sanford. He turned to Sammy for an answer,

"Sanford, I've already told you, Humans do NOT have tails. They never have and they never will."

"But, Sammy-" he threw up his small hands in exasperation. Behind them, there was a pitter patter of footsteps, someone was coming.

"Samuel Jenkins! Sanford Lee! I…Must…Tell…You…" the voice shouted, the Squirrel was breathing heavily when she arrived. She was very small, unusually so, even for a squirrel. Her voice was very high and shrill with her age. She looked about two, maybe even younger. Her body was a light brown, with hardly any gray at all. Her tail was very bushy and the tip of it had started to gray. She seemed very eager and was bouncing on her toes.

"Samuel Jenkins and Sanford Lee, my name is Sadie and I have a message for you from Old Man Sage," she announced happily. Sadie proceeded to bow very deeply; her tiny nose was brushing the ground before Sammy had even heard what she said.

"You're quite sure Old Man Sage told you to send this message to me?" Sammy's voice was an octave higher than it usually was.

"Oh yes, Samuel sir. Old Man Sage asked me himself to come straight to you!" Sadie was bouncing on her toes again. Sammy turned to Sanford who had taken to panting like a dog on a very hot day. His eyes were wide and he seemed to have forgotten where he was.

"San? Are you alright?" Sammy asked, concerned. Sanford looked as if he had only just realized Sammy and Sadie were there.

"D-Did, y-you say m-my name too?" Sanford stuttered. Sadie nodded happily.

"Oh yes, yes indeed. I said 'Samuel Jenkins and Sanford Lee, my name is Sadie and I have a message for you from Old Man Sage,'" she repeated.

"But, but what does Old Man Sage want?" asked Sammy.

"Oh, Sadie does not know sir. Sadie has just come to send the message and bring you straight to Old Man Sage," with that said, she turned as started to march away. Sammy turned to Sanford who was rooted to the spot.

"San, let's go!" said Sammy.

"Oh, oh, alright," they hurried to catch up with Sadie, and followed her to Old Man Sage.

DRJENKINSMRLEE

When the trio arrived at Old Man Sages Oak Tree in the back of the community of trees near the Jenkins house, the sun had risen fully to its highest point. There were few clouds in the sky as they half-covered the sun. Sammy and Sanford were visibly shaking by the time the Oak Tree was in sight.

(There was a smaller Oak tree adjacent to Old Man Sages' that belonged to Sue Walker. Sue was pretty much your neighborhood busybody. She had to know what was going on in everyone's tree at all times. So naturally, when Sammy and Sanford stopped in front of Old Man Sages Oak Tree, Sue climbed all the way up her tree and appeared on a branch that stuck out far enough so she could hear everything the other squirrels were saying.)

Old Man Sage was their leader of sorts. He was, like his name depicts, very old, and his name was Sage. Old Man Sage was very wise, and never ventured far from his tree, or seek conversation from any of the other hundred squirrels that live in the surrounding area. This must be incredibly important if Old Man Sage wanted to speak directly to the two younger squirrels.

A bird chirped noisily as the three squirrels approached the large Oak. Old Man Sage could be seen sitting at the base of the tree. His face was lined, and sagging with age. The rest of his body was long, and his fur was a deep shade of gray. His tail was no longer bushy, but it too sagged like the rest his body. His tail twitched as Sadie, Sammy, and Sanford stopped several feet before him. Slowly, Old Man Sage stood, with a grace that can only come with old age and incredible life experience. The bird had ceased chirping and had taken flight. Sammy noticed only as the sound had left. At once, Old Man Sage began to speak,

"Thank you Sadie, you may go now," his voice was soft, but it carried with the utmost power. He needn't speak any louder.

Sadie, not wanting to disobey a direct order, bowed deeply to Old Man Sage, and then turned and did the same to Samuel and Sanford. She scurried off and climbed a nearby tree to watch.

"Good afternoon gentlemen," said Old Man Sage. He gave a short bow as a show of respect.

Sanford and Sammy returned the bow and Sammy began to speak,

"Good afternoon Old Man Sage," he said as he turned to Sanford, who looked like he was in complete shock. Sammy nudged him and Sanford shook his head.

"Afternoon, sir," Sanford gave another quick bow. Old Man Sage nodded his head and started to pace side to side, in front of his Oak Tree.

Finally, he stopped. The pacing had made Samuel and Sanford very nervous. The pair was practically shaking with tension. At last, Old Man Sage said,

"Well, I suppose you two are wondering why I have asked you here."

"Oh yes, of course, sir. We are honored," said Sammy. He looked at Sanford who hadn't yet said anything.

"Oh, yes, honored, yes…" Sanford trailed off and he looked like he was going to be sick. Old Man Sage walked around to him and took hold of his hand and led Sanford to the very base of the Oak Tree that was still in the shade from the leaves, and set him down. The leaves began to rustle as Sanford sat down, and Sadie could be seen hanging from a branch, trying to get a clear view of the scene.

"Are you all good now, son?" Old Man Sage asked. Sanford nodded and managed to squeak out a "Thanks". Old Man Sage then turned to Sammy, who was looking over his friend and said,

"Thank you for visit today. I am sorry for your friend here," in a whisper he added, "he's none too bright is he?" Sanford gave a nervous giggle. He was trying to muster up the courage to ask him why he wanted to speak to them.

The sun was no longer at its highest point. It had been sinking slowly since their arrival at the Oak Tree.

Finally, Sammy said, "Well sir, if you could, tells us why you asked us here?"

"Oh yes," Old Man Sage started, his voice never wavered from his soft, calm tone. "Well, to start, you know, of course, of our communities' storage of nuts? In that small Oak tree in the middle?"

"Oh yes sir, I know it well," said Sammy. He got the funny feeling that he was not going to like where this tale was going.

"Well, our nut supply is slowly leaving us. Day by day there are fewer and fewer nuts left," said Old Man Sage. His soft voice had grown more serious.

"How?" asked Sammy. He could not remember any talk of walking nuts, and could not understand how the nuts were leaving. Apparently, Sanford couldn't understand the dilemma either. Sanford had asked "How?" at the same time Sammy had.

"Well," Old Man Sage said with a chuckle, as if he too had pictured walking nuts. "You see, the nuts aren't just leaving by themselves," Old Man Sage was still chuckling and it made Sammy and Sanford uneasy.

"If you hadn't guessed, someone is stealing them," said Old Man Sage, in a more serious voice. "You know that nuts are our main supply of food. If there are no nuts then we won't have any food."

"Well, what does that have to do with us?" asked Sanford, who had found his voice again.

"I shall tell you what that has to do with you two." Old Man Sage started. "You should know, Samuel, that you are very bright." At this Sammy had started fidgeting. "You are regarded most highly by most of our community. I have asked you two here for your help." Sammy and Sanford were baffled. Why would Old Man Sage want their help? They were only kids! Old Man Sage could practically hear their thoughts as he said,

"Ah, I see you are not quite understanding me," his voice was barley a whisper, but his tone made their tails stand on end, "I need your help to find who ever is stealing our nuts and stop them." Old Man Sage's voice was final. There was no questioning his reasoning.

At the order of Old Man Sage, Sanford actually did get sick. He doubled over and gurgled at the ground, he let out a little yelp, then rolled over and flopped onto his back. Sammy, always the queasy one, ran over to the other side of the tree, so he too, wouldn't get sick. Old Man Sage had gone and conjured some water in two hollow acorns and handed one to Sammy and one to Sanford. There was commotion in the leaves again as Sadie tried to get as close as possible to the Oak Tree without falling.

DRJENKINSMRLEE

The sun had sunk down two notches from noon when Old Man Sage sent the pair off to find whoever was stealing their precious nuts.

Sammy didn't quite know exactly what Old Man Sage wanted them to do. So, when the pair left Old Man Sage, they returned to their post outside of the Jenkins' house.

"Sammy, what are we gonna do? We don't know how to solve a crime!" cried Sanford as they watched, through a bay window a baby crawl around in circles. Sanford began imitating the baby, as he too started pacing around in circles. He was mumbling to himself and throwing his little hands in the air as he marched around. Sammy paid no mind as he sat facing the window. He was clearly thinking very hard. Sammy's body was ramrod straight as he thought. Even his tail was staying still!

"San…" Sammy said, but Sanford didn't seem to hear him, "SANFORD!" Sammy yelled. Sanford jumped and squealed in surprise.

"WHAT?" screamed Sanford. His eyes were wide again, and he looked around for the source of the noise. "Oh…" Sanford began to breathe normally.

"Sorry," Sammy said, "but, I think I have an idea!"

"Oh, good. Because I don't got a clue," said Sanford.

Sammy had begun to march away towards the trees and Sanford had to hurry to catch up with him. The sun was beginning to set as they reached the trees. They went by old Sue Walkers' tree and heard her yell, "What do you two think your doin' at this time of night? Go home!" They ignored her, of course, and went on their way to the small Oak tree right in the middle to keep watch.

"What do you think we're gonna do when we catch 'em?" asked Sanford when they arrived at the Oak tree.

"Well," Sammy began, "We'll start with a DNA test,"

"A what test?" Sanford interrupted. He clearly had no idea what Sammy was talking about.

"A DNA test. And then, we'll do an Autopsy. And then,-" Sammy was interrupted again by Sanford,

"A what? Sammy, how do you even know all of this crime solving mumbo jumbo?"

"An Autopsy, San. You know those pictures the Jenkins watch all the time? Well, this is what they do. They do Autopsy's and DNA tests." Said Sammy, but even he looked a little uneasy at the thought of having to face an armed robber.

The sun had gone down and the moon was becoming visible over the treetops. The two squirrels stayed at the base of the tree, right in front of the little knothole that takes you up into the storage area. The night was quiet, almost too quiet for the springtime. The pair jumped at every little rustle and footfall.

"Sammy, there's nobody here! No one's coming!" said Sanford; it seemed that he didn't want to be in the dark anymore. He was mumbling to himself and waving his little arms around again. Sammy shook his head at him and said,

"San, it's still early, you just have to be…" Sammy stopped talking and squinted up at the treetop. Sanford was still talking. "Shush! Sanford, be quiet! I hear something!" There was rustling in the leaves over head and something small and bushy could be seen in the shadows. There was definitely something up there. Sammy quickly ran up the tree and brought the creature down. Sanford was running around in circles when Sammy got back on the ground. Beside him was Sadie. She looked incredibly excited and began bouncing on her toes when Sanford asked,

"Sadie? Why are you here?" Sadie didn't stop bouncing as she answered,

"Sirs, Sanford Lee and Samuel Jenkins, Old Man Sage sent me here to make sure you twos didn't cause any 'mischief'," Sadie bowed deeply before continuing, "I'm sorry for scaring you sirs." Sadie bowed again; her tiny nose was brushing the ground when Sanford started screeching.

"Sammy! Sammy! Sammy!" Sanford was yelling and launched himself onto Sammy's back. The force of the jump knocked the pair onto the ground. Sadie confusedly joined the pig pile and screeched along with Sanford.

"Off! Off! Get off!" yelled Sammy. Sammy jumped over the two smaller squirrels and looked around. It seemed that someone had gotten past them when they were distracted. The knothole was carelessly left open, and there were tiny footprints in the dirt.

"Sanford! Stop rolling around! Someone is in that tree!" yelled Sammy. Sanford stopped rolling and got up. Sadie, however, was not told to stop, so she kept rolling on the ground until Sammy told her that she could get up too. Sadie was up in an instant, and the three squirrels rushed into the tree to stop whoever was there to steal their nuts.

They reached the storage area where the community's nut supply was located and were amazed at what they saw. First, the trio only noticed the different levels on which there were nuts and acorns and other items that squirrels collected.

After a moment, Sammy noticed the figure in the middle of a large pile of nuts, trying to stuff as many nuts as possible into their cheeks. The creature was obviously a squirrel; its tail was still bushy, but not very, as it had become matted with age. Their fur was a dark gray and the squirrel was short, thus making it a female. Sammy recognized this squirrel as Sue Walker, the old neighborhood busybody that yelled at Sanford and himself earlier that night.

"Sue Walker!" yelled Sammy, "Stop, drop and roll!" Sammy heard the pictures that the Jenkins liked to watch say this one day when The Mother Jenkins left the window open. Old Sue didn't put up any fight and spat out the nuts and dropped to the ground and began rolling. Sammy and Sanford marched over to Sue, who was on the ground, and helped her up. Sanford took hold of her hands, and marched her back down the tree, with Sammy in the front and Sadie in the back.

"You know where we're bringing you, right, Sue?" asked Sammy as he led the squirrels through the trees.

"Home?" Sue asked hopefully. Sadie giggled and Sanford tightened his grip.

"No, we're going to see Old Man Sage," said Sammy ominously. Sue looked uneasy.

DRJENKINSMRLEE

Old Man Sage could be seen sitting at the base of his Oak Tree as they approached. Old Man Sage met the squirrels before they reached the tree. He thanked them quickly before taking Sue Walker by the hand and led her past her tree and to the tiny Oak tree that was located behind Old Man Sages Oak Tree. When Old Man Sage returned, the three squirrels had not moved an inch. They seemed to be in shock after what happened.

"Hello again my friends," said Old Man Sage in his soft, soothing voice. The trio seemed to wake up at the sound of Old Man Sage's voice.

"Hello sir," said Sammy as he bowed. The other two followed suit and bowed as well.

"Well, first, let me thank you for catching Miss Sue Walker as the one who is stealing our nuts," said Old Man Sage, "I would also like to thank you Samuel, for your cooperation and dedication." Sammy started fidgeting again as Old Man Sage said his name. "I also want to thank you, Sadie for all your help today." Sadie gave a deep bow; her whole face was touching on the ground before she lifted herself and began bouncing on her toes again. "And, lastly, I want to thank you Sanford, for your bravery and your help. I am getting old you know." The trio gave a nervous giggle and Old Man Sage motioned for them to sit down at the base of his tree.

Old Man Sage went and conjured some water in three hollow acorns and gave one each to Sammy, Sanford, and Sadie. After a few moments, Sammy asked,

"Old Man Sage, sir? Do you know why Sue was stealing our nuts?" Old Man Sage had been looking off into the treetops, and looked back at Sammy when he called his name.

"Oh yes, it's a funny story. You see, Sue Walker had been stealing our nuts to make "Nut Cakes" she called them. Though she didn't want to explain what they were," said Old Man Sage. "Yes, Miss Sue Walker will be staying in that tiny Oak tree from now on." Old Man Sage smiled and Sadie giggled and then yawned. She was obviously tired from all the excitement. Sammy chuckled and turned to Sanford, who had fallen asleep. Sammy smiled at his friend and moved to get up.

"You may sleep there if you like," offered Old Man Sage, kindly. Sammy just shook his head and said,

"No thank you." Sammy could see the Jenkins house from where he was and planned to sleep on the window sill. The moon had risen to its highest point in the sky as Sammy turned to leave. The stars were bright and Sammy stopped for a moment and ran back to Old Man Sage.

"Excuse me, sir. I have a question before I go," Sammy said. His eyes were wide and he looked excited.

"What may your question be?" said Old Man Sage. Sammy sucked in a deep breath before asking,

"May I be a doctor?" Old Man Sage looked confused.

"A doctor?" Old Man Sage repeated.

"You know, the ones who solve crimes and things," said Sammy. He smiled as he tried to describe a doctor to Old Man Sage. "Like what I did tonight. May I be a doctor?" Sammy repeated his question.

"Ah, yes, of course. I think you will make a great doctor," said Old Man Sage. Sammy squealed in delight and thanked Old Man Sage before running to the Jenkins house.

Sammy landed on the window sill where he could see Dr. J. Jenkins, MD taking off his tie and turning on the pictures that he watched. Sammy thought for a moment. He was now a doctor, just like Dr. J. Jenkins, MD. Sammy looked at the pictures that Dr. J. Jenkins, MD was watching and saw someone stop, drop, and roll, just like Sammy saw Sue do that night. Sammy smiled and settled himself in a little nook that he could sleep in, and closed his eyes. "Dr. S. Jenkins, MD… 'Dr. Jenkins and Mr. Lee' that's what San and I will be called," Sammy thought to himself as he fell asleep.

Sammy didn't know that he wasn't truly a doctor, but he didn't know any better, he was a squirrel after all.

The End

Thanks for reading! Review please? :)

-Alyssa