Chestnut Pie (part 4)

He didn't have time to explain any more. Before he could say just what sort of magic was stored up inside, who should come by but the White Squirrel himself and he didn't seem shy any more at all.

"Thanks very much for the pie, the pie, the chestnut pie, it's my favourite. We can be friends now, best friends, best friends, you and me, me and you, we can do things together and never be shy or afraid of each other for ever and ever, we're friends to the end now, we're friends," he chattered and his words came so quickly it was all they could do to keep up with him.

"Is this really a magic chestnut?" Megan asked.

"Magic? Magic? Oh yes, it's quite magic, that's just what exactly it is," he replied.

"What does it do?" Michael wanted to know.

"It makes you quite strong if you know how to use it. Use it! Use it! It doesn't take long, you can be very strong if you do!"

The White Squirrel asked Fall to explain how it worked, so Michael and Megan gave Fall the chestnut and he showed them just what to do.

"Let your left hand go very flat and hold it out straight from your chest," he said. "Keep the chestnut inside your right fist and hit it against your left palm like this. Blow on it too from time to time while you call its song:"

"After you've called the song three times through, take the chestnut and rub it along whatever muscle you want to make strong," Fall continued. "Use your chestnut this way for six days, and then on the seventh the magic will start."

Michael and Megan learned the song and they did just exactly what Fall said to do. And in less than a month they both found their muscles were getting much stronger, so they knew that the chestnut was definitely magic and its magic was definitely true.

And if you want a magic chestnut too, you know what to do. Just make the White Squirrel a nice chestnut pie and put it outside before going to bed and sing his song. He'll come along sometime during the night and if you've made his pie just right, he'll leave a magic chestnut for you to use to make yourself strong.

This story is the fifth in a collection of seven stories and nine songs with numerous black and white pen and ink illustrations throughout. After Michael and Megan meet the Seasons, they have many adventures with Fall in particular as he steals Summer's socks, makes a chestnut pie for his friend the White Squirrel, and plays a Halloween trick on Winter. Many of the stories can be acted out and continued by the reader in their everyday life. Although this book is set in Toronto, it can be adapted to fit any North American urban centre.