MISS ELEANOR'S FRIENDS!!

Very early one spring morning Miss Eleanor and her husband John were awakened by the ringing of a bell. 'DING! DING! DING!'

One of Suzy Bell Ringer Racoon's many cubs brought her triplet cubs to meet Miss Eleanor. She lined her cubs on the stoop and kept ringing the bell until Miss Eleanor came to the door. Miss Eleanor admired the cubs and gave them all some sweet marshmallows. When they finished their tasty treat the proud mama and her cubs returned to the wild.

Miss Eleanor went back to bed but she no sooner fell asleep when she was startled awake by the ringing of the bell. The news had spread that Miss Eleanor was handing out midnight snacks, and all of her racoon friends came to get some!

To add to the list of her bell ringer friends was her cat 'Preston', who picked up the bell ringing habit by watching the racoons! She was not going to respond to their demands, and tried to fall back to sleep.

Just when the bell ringers gave up, a mocking-bird in a tree three houses away started imitating the sound of an insect, tree toad, and a bell!
This is just the thing Miss Eleanor loved to write about in her newspaper column. The next morning as she was jotting down a few notes, she was disturbed by the sound of the neighbor's dog barking.

Her husband John, who was working in their yard, shouted to Miss Eleanor, "the racoon cubs are in trouble!" The cubs were on the outside of a six foot high fence and their momma was inside. Mama Racoon was getting nervous, and so was Miss Eleanor! She was afraid the dog might break loose hurt the frightened cubs. John tried to make a hole for the young ones to crawl under with his trawl but they wouldn't use it!

Not even a hand full of marshmallows would entice them. Miss Eleanor tried walking outside of the fence to encourage them to use the hole, but they growled and charged at her! She knew they were big enough to give her a nasty bite if she should try to pick them up.

Then mamma racoon climbed a small dogwood tree and enticed one cub to climb up the fence. When it reached the top she grabbed it by the nape of it's neck with her mouth and carried it down the tree. The other two followed and soon they were safe with Mama again.

Mamma Racoon then led all three of her cubs to the old abandoned coon home under Miss Eleanor's porch that Susy Bell Ringer used to occupy. And there they would stay safe and for a long, long time!