Introduction

Pleep, Meep and Bill are squirrels. They live in the great big woods in Maine. They live in a cozy birdhouse long ago hung in a tall tree and forgotten. Their parents live with them. Mother squirrel has explained to them that she is going to give them all a new brother or sister. They aren''t quite sure that they want a new family member, and besides, the small birdhouse just isn''t going to be a good fit any more.

The Plan

Meep decides the best thing to do might be to explore among the maple groves where there are many tall trees that grow. Some of them have cozy large holes at the base of them that would be suitable for a bigger squirrel family. The three have been told many times that this time of year, the maple sap is flowing from the trees and large buckets are hung to catch it. They are never to venture near that area because people visit here. The buckets hung from the trees could trap them if they fall into one and they might be carried off like their uncle Ned once was. The three devise a plan to get out of their small house while no one is looking and go to find their new and larger home.

The Escape

Mother is busy and father is off in the forest gathering food, so the three slip away and begin to seek out a bigger home. Meep, the youngest, scampers up the tree onto the edge of one of the buckets and plop, falls straight into it. How is she going to get out before the bucket fills with the sticky sweet sap?