He dropped from the oak and ran toward the smoke.
They called him Rust the Ember-Kin. And for a hundred years after, no hunter in Oakhaven would raise a hand against a red squirrel. For they remembered: when the world burned, it was the smallest red fire that showed them the way home. fire red squirrels 1636
He reached the muddy bank and dove into a shallow pool choked with ash. One by one, the other squirrels tumbled in after him, plunging into the water until only their noses showed. Above, the world burned. The roar was now a continuous thunder. Oaks that had stood for two hundred years burst like torches. He dropped from the oak and ran toward the smoke
The title "Fire Red Squirrels" may be interpreted as a poetic reference to the native ( Tamiasciurus hudsonicus ), which was the dominant tree squirrel in the region prior to the gray squirrel's arrival. For they remembered: when the world burned, it
He leaped onto a sun-bleached stump and began a warning call—not the angry chrrr of a predator, but a sharp, staccato kik-kik-kik! that cracked through the smoky air. He turned and bolted down the streambed, then stopped, looked back, and called again.