How It All Started
Something rustled in the leaves. The man stopped to listen. Slowly and quietly he walked around the corner of the cabin to look at the leaf pile where he had put the scraps from supper. He knew the animals would come for the food. The man and his wife liked to watch them from the window of their cabin by the lake. A small floodlight shined on that leaf pile so they could see the animals: raccoons, skunks, and deer who came for the cracked corn they put out in a pan.
The man saw two small animals moving in the leaves. Carefully he walked close enough to see they were two young raccoons digging out the chicken bones. The man thought, "They look happy to be sharing our supper."
Suddenly, one of the little raccoons looked toward him, then ran away into the woods. The other looked up, too, but did not move. The man knew the raccoon saw him, and he heard himself ask the animal, "And who are you, young raccoon? Do you have a name?"
To his surprise, a voice answered, "Yes, I have a name. My name is Jedediah, but everyone calls me Jed."
The man rubbed his eyes. Was he dreaming? Could this raccoon really be talking to him? All he could think to say was, "Hello, Jed. I'm happy to meet you."
Jed did not seem at all surprised to be talking to the man but just went on chewing a chicken bone and pulling tiny scraps of meat from it with his paws. After a few minutes, Jed looked up again and said, "Thank you for the chicken. You scared my sister Jessica away, but I'll take her this last bit of chicken. I call her Jesse, and she's my best friend."
With that, Jed turned and walked back into the woods. He disappeared into the shadows of the evening.
The man wondered if he would talk with Jed again.
**********
Almost a Fight
The man did not see Jed the next evening, but someone else did. Trouble almost came to the quiet cabin by the lake. There was almost a fight.
Late that afternoon, Minerva, the family's dachshund, was coming back up the hill from the lake after a
swim. As she reached the top, Minerva stopped short and listened. Something was moving in the leaf pile. As quietly as she could, she walked toward the sound. The sun was setting, and the woods were getting dark. Minerva couldn't see the leaf pile clearly, but she could hear the rustling sound.
Suddenly, two bright eyes were looking right back at her. Minerva barked at the shining eyes. From the shadows came a snarl, and she knew she was facing a raccoon. Minerva barked again and stepped forward. The raccoon growled. They were ready to fight.
Just as raccoon and dog were about to charge each other, the cabin door opened. A man's voice called, "Minerva, stay!" The dog froze but never took her eyes off the raccoon. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the raccoon stepped forward out of the shadows, and the man saw that it was Jed. Without thinking how strange it sounded, he called, "Jed, no! This is my friend, Minerva. Don't you hurt her."
The raccoon stopped and look at the man. "You have a friend that is a dog?" Jed asked.
Then, to the man's even greater surprise, his dog turned to look at him as said, "You have a friend who is a raccoon? Raccoons are a dog's enemies."
Jed growled toward her. Then he said to the man, "Dogs are our enemies. I'll fight a dog that bothers me."
"No," said the man. "You are both my friends, and I don't want you to fight." Nothing happened. Neither animal answered.
"Okay," the man said, trying to sound confident, "here's what we'll do. I want you both to touch paws and agree to be friends, because you are both friends of mine." The man wondered if he really sounded silly now. Surely, if dog and raccoon got that close to each other they would fight.
Very slowly, each moved forward, not toward each other, but toward the man. He squatted down. The raccoon came to his left knee, the dog to his right knee. Both animals still looked fierce and ready to fight. The man said, "Minerva, your paw, please." Then, he said to the raccoon, "Jed, your paw, please." He waited to see what would happen.
Very slowly Minerva raised her right paw. Even more slowly, Jed raised his left. Seconds passed, and the man could feel his heart beating, but at last they touched paws, just for a split second. Then Jed looked up at the man and nuzzled his leg, then turned and walked into the darkening woods. Minerva watched him go, then rested her chin on the man's knee and said, "If Jed is your friend, I'll try to be his friend, too."
Minerva and Jed soon became good friends. Raccoons go to bed at daybreak, but Jed would often linger near the cabin waiting for Minerva's people to let her outside in the morning. He liked talking with her, and, after all, it wasn't every raccoon who had a dog for a friend.
*********
More Stories (click on a title to read the story):
A Nip on the Ear
Woody the Raccoon
Jed's Big Scare
Yappy Little Nick
Cat and Mouse
Woody the Woodchuck After All
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