by Lono

On a hot August day, high, high in a tree, Fuzzy Wiggles was born. Her little, pink body was hairless, and her still-closed eyes resembled two little raisins underneath her skin. Life was very simple. All she had to do was sleep and nurse, with a little help from Mother, of course.

Fuzzy Wiggles grew and grew, and soon her little pink body began to show the first signs of fur. She also grew very curious, and began exploring the nest. Fuzzy Wiggles still wasn’t very fuzzy, but she sure could wiggle! She crawled over, around, and through her siblings constantly, which annoyed them to no end. “Stop wiggling so much! We’re trying to sleep!” one of her brothers would say.

One day, Fuzzy Wiggles wiggled so hard, she fell right out of the nest! Down, and down, and down she fell, until she landed in a soft pile of leaves at the bottom of the tree. She cried and cried, but Mother was far away, and couldn’t hear her. Because she was still just a baby, she soon grew too sleepy to cry, and fell asleep underneath the tree.

When she awoke, Fuzzy Wiggles was hungry and cold, with no idea where she was. Then she heard a voice say, “Who are you?” “My name is Fuzzy Wiggles,” she answered. “What’s your name?” The stranger scratched with his hind foot before replying. “My name is Shadow, and I’m a dog.”

Fuzzy Wiggles realized for the first time that she didn’t know what she was. “Am I a dog, too?” she asked. Shadow thought a moment, and replied, “No, I don’t think so. You’re much too small to be a dog. Maybe you’re a treat! Yes, that’s right. You must be a treat for me!”

Fuzzy Wiggles wasn’t sure what that meant, but she didn’t like the sound of it. “What’s a treat?” she asked. “A treat is what my people give me when I’ve been good,” said Shadow. “Have you been good?” asked Fuzzy Wiggles. Shadow looked guilty for a moment, remembering how his people had been very angry over something he had shredded. ‘Important papers,’ they had called them. “No, I guess I haven’t,” he replied sheepishly. “Well then,” said a very relieved Fuzzy Wiggles,” I must not be a treat.” Shadow sighed and looked disappointed. “I guess not.”

Shadow kept watch over the new arrival for quite some time, until one of his people came. The next thing Fuzzy Wiggles knew, she was being scooped up by something that felt like a big, warm nest. It smelled different than her nest, though, and she was afraid.

“What’s happening?” she asked her newfound friend. Shadow tried to reassure her. “You’ll be alright now. One of my people has you.” Fuzzy Wiggles wasn’t convinced, and began to let out loud cries that sounded like a squeaky bicycle wheel. But she soon grew tired, and fell asleep in the Big Warm Nest.

When Fuzzy Wiggles awoke, she was inside the Big Warm Nest once more, and it was attempting to feed her from something cold and hard. The milk inside was warm, though, and she was very hungry. She drank and drank, until her little tummy was fat and round. For days, she slept, wiggled, and ate, and that was pretty much all she did. Then one day, something amazing happened—Fuzzy Wiggles opened her eyes!

At first, all she saw was light. But then the light grew and grew, and she saw things moving. Poor Fuzzy Wiggles! She had no idea what she was seeing, and it was a little scary. Then the Big Warm Nest came to get her, and she saw for the first time that it was a hand, and it seemed to be attached to a giant! So, this was one of Shadow’s people! Then the Big Warm Nest offered her the eye-dropper filled with milk, and she gazed at the person’s face as she nursed. It seemed to be smiling and talking, but Fuzzy Wiggles couldn’t understand what it was saying.

When she was finished eating, she was very sleepy, but something caught her eye. It was another creature, larger than herself, but much smaller than the people. “Are you a dog?” asked Fuzzy Wiggles. The stranger sniffed as though offended. “I am most certainly not a dog!” “Then what are you?” Fuzzy Wiggles was determined to get an answer. “I’m a cat.” And with that, Boris began licking his paws, ignoring the baby. “Am I a cat?” asked Fuzzy Wiggles. “No,” he replied. “You’re not special enough to be a cat. Maybe you’re a toy.” Fuzzy Wiggles didn’t know what a toy was, but she hoped she wasn’t one. “What’s a toy?” It’s something I play with. Like this.” And with that, Boris began biting and pawing at a ball of yarn, tossing it in the air with his claws. “I don’t think I’m a toy,” said Fuzzy Wiggles. “Are you sure?” The cat’s eyes narrowed into little slits. But before she could get too scared, the Big Warm Nest put her back inside her box, and Fuzzy Wiggles fell asleep again.

Fuzzy Wiggles grew a lot over the next few weeks, and before long, she lived up to her name. She grew soft fur all over her body, especially along her tail, which was long and bushy. She slept less and less, and learned she could do some astonishing things, like jump quickly from place to place. Fuzzy Wiggles could climb things too, and sometimes her People had to rescue her from the tops of curtains and bookshelves.

Although she was happy most of the time, something was missing. Fuzzy Wiggles still didn’t know what she was! Everyone else seemed to know who and what they were, but she felt alone. She also started to have strange feelings she didn’t understand. She looked outside the window and saw sunshine and trees, and desperately wanted to frolic and play. She just knew those trees would be fun to climb! Much more fun than furniture or curtains.

Then one day, another amazing thing happened: The Big Warm Nest took Fuzzy Wiggles outside in a cage. Oh, the sounds, and the smells! Even though they were new to her, they seemed strangely familiar. Then an odd-looking creature Fuzzy Wiggles had never seen before flew down and perched on top of her cage. This creature had wings, and a big beak instead of a mouth! “What are you?” said Fuzzy Wiggles. “I’m a bird. A Blue Jay, to be exact. My name’s Fiddlestix. What’s yours? “ “Fuzzy Wiggles is my name, because I’m fuzzy, and I wiggle a lot.” The old Blue Jay laughed. “So do all your kind, dear.” Fuzzy Wiggles got so excited she almost knocked her cage down, but before she could ask the bird what he meant, he flew away. “Wait! What kind?” she cried, but it was too late. The Blue Jay was gone.

Soon the Big Warm Nest came to take Fuzzy Wiggles inside. She had had an exciting day, but was no closer to finding out what she was than before she met the Blue Jay. She knew she wasn’t a dog, or a dog’s treat, a cat, or a cat’s toy, or a bird like Fiddlestix. What was she? At least she knew there were others like her. She hoped she would find them someday. She fell asleep dreaming a strange dream of jumping through the trees with friends who had big fluffy tails, just like hers.

From then on, the Big Warm Nest carried Fuzzy Wiggles outside in her cage every day, and brought her in at night. She started to feel very safe outside, and soon the strange sights, smells, and sounds weren’t so strange anymore.

Then one day, she heard a voice coming from the tree. “Hey there! Who are you, and why are you in a cage?” Fuzzy Wiggles looked all around, but couldn’t find the voice’s owner. It sounded familiar, though. “My name is Fuzzy Wiggles, and I live in this cage. Who are you?” “Fuzzy Wiggles!” the voice exclaimed. And with that, he jumped out of the tree and onto her cage. “Don’t you remember me?” “No, I don’t,” she replied. “ What are you? Are you a dog, or a dog’s treat, a cat or a cat’s toy, or a bird like Fiddlestix?” The stranger laughed. “I’m none of those things, silly! I’m the same as you!” Fuzzy Wiggles couldn’t believe her little furry ears! But sure enough, the stranger had a bushy tail, just like hers. And he had red fur, just like hers. Best of all, he could jump from tree to tree, and do all kinds of amazing things, just like she could.

Suddenly, she recognized her new friend’s voice. It was her brother, the one who had scolded her for wiggling so much! “Oh, brother! I have so much to tell you! About falling from the tree, and the Big Warm Nest, and the dog, and the cat, and the bird named Fiddlestix! But first, tell me what I am!”

“You’re a squirrel, silly! What else?” But before she could say anything more, the Big Warm Nest came. “No! Don’t take me inside!” She had waited all her little life for this moment, and now it was time to leave. But the Big Warm Nest did something unexpected. It opened the door to her cage! Cautiously, Fuzzy Wiggles came outside. She climbed the tree. She was free! And soon, she was jumping from limb to limb with her brothers and sisters, just like in her dream.

Fuzzy Wiggles never forgot the Big Warm Nest, or how it had raised her. She still came around sometimes, jumping and climbing on the person it belonged to.

But one day, something amazing happened. Fuzzy Wiggles had a family of her own! They were all little and pink, and their eyes were closed, like little raisins under their skin. One of the babies wiggled more than the others did. “I’d better keep a close eye on that one,” Fuzzy Wiggles thought to herself. Then she snuggled down in her nest and fell asleep.