Week 7 Story: Why Groundhogs Burrow

 

"Groundhog Standing" Source

    There once was an armadillo named Freddy who was a great friend to a groundhog named Luther. They find time every weekend to go to their local park and eat lunch together. They both prepared their own meals, but the armadillo was always so jealous of the groundhog.

    When the groundhog cooked his food, it was always so delicious, and the armadillo could not understand why it was so much better than his. "How do you get your buffalo chicken pasta so tasty?" said the armadillo. 

    The groundhog replied, "I always go down to the river and soak in the water before I cook, it allows me to relax and focus on my culinary skills." The armadillo thought this was a little odd, but he really wanted his buffalo chicken pasta to taste like the groundhog's, so he went home later that evening and told his wife of this idea. 

    Another week went by and it was time for the two of them to meet again for their weekly get together at the park. The armadillo remembered what the groundhog had told him the week before about how to make his meal tastier, so he told his wife that he was heading down to the river before he prepared his meal. When he arrived at the river, he saw something lurking in the water to his right, but he was determined to soak for a minute then get out so he could start on his meal. After about twenty seconds the armadillo felt something nudge at his toes and then was instantly swept underneath the water and never resurfaced.

    The wife of the armadillo became nervous that something had happened to her husband after two hours had gone by since he left for the river, so she went to find him. She searched for hours and hours but to no avail. She remembered that the groundhog was the one who gave the idea to the armadillo to go to the river, so she asked her neighbors and surrounding villagers to help her search for the groundhog to avenge her late husband.

    The groundhog saw the people coming for him, so he ran for the bushes. He ran from bush to bush trying to get away from the villagers. When he got to the last bush in sight he had to think of something to do, so he resorted to digging beneath him and hiding underground. The groundhog would live the rest of his days underground and only come out for a few hours in the night to make his buffalo chicken pasta. That is why groundhogs burrow. 

Author's Note: The original story was about a bush rat and a bat. The bush rat was jealous of how well the bat made his soup, so he asked him to show him how he makes it. The bat told the bush rat that he boils water and lays in it because his flesh gives the soup flavor. When the bush rat tried this himself he died because the water was too hot. The wife of the bush rat chased after the bat because he was the reason her husband was dead. To getaway, the bat would only come out at night while the people were asleep. For my story, I changed the animals, their names, the food they make, and the way the character died. I hope you enjoyed it!

Bibliography: "Why the Bat flies by Night" by Elphinstone Dayrell (1910)