But of course Teena, the runt of this years litter and one little tomboy raccoon was having fun, trying to trip Bill who was in front of her. It seems that Stripena always had her children follow her in their order of size and she being a god size coon was tall, so the runts had a problem keeping up. "Mom why are you in such a hurry, slow down, I have to potty, mom. . ."

"Teena, just wait it is not much further now and oooooh I can smell those ripe apples." Stripena was picking up the pace for the aroma of ripe apples and especially the ones, which had fallen off the tree and were exceptionally ripe, were calling her name. Across a small open field through the wind break and up on the little knoll where farmer Brown had his small orchard.

Farmer Brown only had three acres of orchard, but all of his life while he was a design engineer, traveling around the world he kept thinking of having his own little orchard. Apples mostly were what he wanted, but a quince tree, and a pear tree, plus two peach trees. That was his thought and dream. Now he was sixty-five, retired and had planted his trees about ten years ago so they would be ready when he retired. Raccoons were thick in the area and he got a big kick out of the nightly forays the coons made on his orchard. He had gone so far a to rig up some floodlights and to set up a blind so he could watch them and take photos.

Farmer Brown had taken a picture last fall and one of the apple growing magazines had bought it from him so he thought heck if I can sell some more photos then I can maybe buy another small piece of land and raise more trees.

As soon as Stripena and her children of the year 2000 crossed into the orchard it was free time and play time as each coon went about eating what they wanted. "Now children remember do not eat too many and watch the green ones for if we strip farmer Brown's trees he will take offense and will not let us eat here anymore.

"Mom, mom, help me mom," came the furtive cry from Bill who had quickly climbed to the top of the first tree he had found then fell and his leg was caught in the wye of two branches. "Mom, I need you, oh mom," he yelled.

Stripena immediately scampered up the tree, accessed the situation then got under Bill 's dangling body and pushed up until his stuck leg was free. "Be more careful Bill," Stripena scolded.

Stripena started down the tree saw Sam his big brother and immediately jumped from the tree landing on Sam. "Ha ha big brother got you I did," Bill yelled as Sam cuffed him lightly and chuckled. That Bill is something else he thought.

Just as Teena, who was out on the end of a limb reached for a big red apple, farmer Brown snapped a flash picture. Teena fell out of the tree and all the lights confused the young raccoons and there were eight raccoons racing in seventy leben different directions as farmer Brown snapped a lot of pictures. Then he turned off the lights and went home; he had had his fun and hopefully also some good pictures.

Stripena and her children ate a few more apples and then the kids ran, played and rough housed till it was time for them to be in bed. "All right children, line up it is time to go home." When Stripena spoke the children listened. The children lined up and ooooops there were only six,

Kitten was missing so they all fanned out and started to look for her. Stripena raced around as the kids spread out calling for, "Kitten." And of course soon it was running and playing by the rest of the children. Finally Stripena found Kitten sitting by a peach tree watching a wooly worm climb up the trunk of the peach tree.

"Kitten didn't you hear me call," Stripena asked the inquisitive child?

"Huh, oh hi mom, no I didn't but mom do you know how long it takes a wooly worm to climb from the ground that far up a tree?" Things, all things, fascinated Kitten and when she became that way she became lost in thought and neither saw or heard anyone or anything.

"Come on Kitten, it is time to go home, you can watch the wooly worm the next time we come over here." Stripena pushed the wee one toward the rendezvous point.

"Mom the life span of a wooly worm is so short, this is the only time I will get to see it." Kitten continued to watch. "Mom, reckon when I see it in another form next year it will say, "Oh hi Kitten coon?" Reckon it will, huh mom?"

"Kitten, lets get home and you to bed so next year will be closer at hand and you can then find out." Stripena hat satisfied her young child, so Kitten ran off toward the others telling them all about what she saw.

When farmer Brown went into the house and told his wife about the coons playing and how they scampered about when the lights came on, his wife shook her head. "Lear Brown, you are one big child you are, one great big kid," as she kissed him and laughed.

"Got to get down and see what kind of Pictures I got, heck mother we may have one or two good enough to pay for that new stove."

When Stripena got her children back to their burrow and into bed the clouds in the Eastern sky were starting to take on color for morning was approaching. She lay down and thought about that Farmer Brown, he was a nice man, always letting them come in and eat part of his apple crop. Don't ask why but Raccoons like apples but not most other fruit. Stripena thought oh I hope he doesn't get wise and switch fruit. Then she fell asleep, it had been a long day, and tonight she was taking the children to the big pond so they could try and catch some fish.

Farmer Brown's photo of Teena was perfect. It showed the young raccoon as it reached for the apple and had just started to fall. He did sell it for enough to but his wife more than one appliance. But most of all he was looking forward to what or who came visiting his small orchard tonight.