Chippy returns home from vacation

Merry and myself flew back from our tropical paradise last evening. Back to the humdrum of the burrow, wife & kids, job, and responsibilities. While on vacation I got an email from the kids at Woodpile Elementary School. They wanted to me describe what it “sounded” like to be on a tropical island. This reminded me a little too much of my creative writing class in college. I showed the email to Merry and he jokingly said we should bring the “sounds” of the ocean to the kids. What an intriguing idea. I started asking around the island how I could accomplish this. Everyone said I needed to talk to old man “Sea’munk.” I dropped by his shanty on the beach. He is fifteen years old (about 105 in human years). Long white fur, a bit arthritic but sharp as a claw. We chatted about old times for a couple of hours. Then he recommended I bring the sound of the sea to the youngsters. He gave me the name of a reputable souvenir shop called the “shell and claw” and wrote something down a piece of paper for me to give to the proprietor. Pictured below is what I ended up purchasing. Not exactly what I was expecting, but, very effective. If you have never put a conch shell up to your ear, you really must try it. You can actually hear the ocean inside of it. I am not pulling your whiskers.

I dropped by the class and the teacher was a bit annoyed, she was expecting me to read something I wrote for the class. Well, I explained I wanted to provide an immersive experience.

One of the students quickly asked how it worked. I explained you need to listen.

“I don’t hear anything.”

“Try sticking your head inside.”

“Wow, this is amazing, I can hear the ocean!”

Word spread through the Woodpile faster than a flying squirrel about this amazing sound coming from a shell. There was a line outside the school door in less than five minutes. Here is Bushy getting his chance to listen.

P.S. I got an A++ on my homework assignment from the teacher.