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Meet Ricky and Pals
Main Characters
• Ricky Raccoon—curious, adventuresome, forming an appreciation for nature as he learns about it in his daily experiences
• Flora Skunk—brave, helpful, smart at figuring things out or coming up with ideas; can protect her friends when necessary with her spray or the threat of it
• Bizzy Beaver—always gnawing at things out of habit; also constantly hungry; he has a sweet tooth
• Mitzi Mink—playful, sometimes mischievous; great swimmer; good at fitting into narrow places
• Mrs. Cardinal—an “adult” figure who can be conveniently perched nearby or overhead; is available to provide explanations when needed, as well as periodically offering encouragement and advice for young Ricky and his friends
Sample Stories
"Hide and Sneak"
Ricky and his friends plan to have a big game of hide-and-seek in Deep Green Wood. They invite a number of animals from around the forest and decide they will give a prize to the animal that has the best hiding place of all.
Ricky volunteers to be “it,” and all the animals run off to hide. Ricky counts, then begins hunting. He finds one animal after another, until he’s found everyone except Toby Tree Frog.
All the animals help Ricky look, but no one can find Toby. Finally they give up and call him. To their surprise, a patch of bark on a tree right next to them answers. It’s Toby, holding onto the tree trunk, perfectly camouflaged. He explains that matching his surroundings can help keep him safe from enemies. Ricky gives Toby the prize for finding the best place to hide: right in plain sight.
"A Litter Bit of Help"
Ricky and his friends Flora, Bizzy, and Mitzi are talking about being brave. One of them points out that the bravest thing they all could do would be to go down to Last Chance Pond, where a mean old snapping turtle lives, and dip a toe into the water.
When the animals get their nerve up to go down to the pond, they are shocked to discover that it is a mess: bottles, plastic cups, newspapers, and other trash are in the water and around the banks. Just then, the snapping turtle lunges out of the water at them. He tells them they are trespassing, but they ask him if they can stay long enough to clean up the pond. He agrees, so they clean up all the trash, plant flowers along the shore, and do other cleaning up.
At the end the pond looks great but the snapper, true to character, is still grumpy. He grudgingly thanks them, and they agree amongst themselves that even though he’s still a grouch, the good news is that now he’s a grouch in a nice, clean pond.
Just as they are about to leave, Bizzy gets an idea of one more thing that needs to be done. He goes up to the wooden sign that says, “Last Chance Pond” and begins gnawing at it with his front teeth as his curious friends watch. When he is finished, they see that he has crossed out the words “Last Chance” and carved in the words “Second Chance,” giving the pond a more appropriate name.
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