My Short Short for the Day

The old crow sat high up in the treetops looking down below, surveying its domain with a critical eye.  Squirrels scamper across the ground, pausing here and there before racing up the trees to store their goods.  Mice dart through the leaves, cautiously making their way to a nearby raspberry bush.  A porcupine waddles across the scene, occasionally flexing his quills.  Skunks huddle to the side letting the porcupine pass.  Rabbits hop over twigs and leaves with their noses twitching and ears turning this way and that.  Birds twitter and chirp, flying back and forth, weaving twigs, leaves and grass into their nests. 

A gentle breeze drifts through the forest bringing strange new smells.  The crow turns its head and listens.  A new sound has entered the forest.  The crow caws loudly three times before taking flight.  The animals heed the alarm and race to their homes.  In the distance, the crow continues to caw.

Silence settles in.

Minutes tick by slowly as the animals wait anxiously.  Then there is a caw.  The old crow swoops back in and settles in the treetops.  The animals peek out cautiously.  The crow caws one more time.  All is safe.