Junie’s Egg-Tap Tournament — Every morning, Junie counted her five eggs by tapping the nest rim: tick, tack, tuck, tock, ting. Read the full story →
Every morning, Junie counted her five eggs by tapping the nest rim: tick, tack, tuck, tock, ting. She wanted one brave thing to do before the eggs cracked, but her branch felt too high, the wind too nosy, and the squirrel highway too close. So she invented Egg-Tap Tournament, a game where each egg got a secret drumbeat and Junie had to answer without waking the whole maple.
Until one day, a gray squirrel skidded onto the branch with a stolen acorn and shouted, “Race you, nest lump!” Because of that, Junie’s quiet game turned into a warning code: tick-tick-tock! Because of THAT, three jays mistook the beat for the old “squirrel snacks here” signal and dive-bombed the branch, scolding so loudly the leaves shivered.
Junie’s knees knocked, but she stood tall over the eggs and pecked one final ting on the rim. The squirrel froze, the acorn popped from his paws, and the jays chased it away like a rolling comet. Next time you see Junie above those five eggs, you may spot the tiniest grin after tick, tack, tuck, tock, ting.
