Boo-boo (EXTENDED · 2027)

Barnaby led Pip to the edge of the Silver Brook. The water was cold and clear. "First," Barnaby instructed, "we must wash away the forest dust. It will tingle, but that is just the water saying hello to the scrape." Pip bravely dipped his leg into the stream. The cool water felt like a fresh breeze on a hot day, whisking away the dirt and the initial Sharpness of the sting. Step 2: The Healing Hum

Pip looked down at his green bandage. It looked quite professional. He tried a small hop. It still twinged, but the "end of the world" feeling had vanished. He realized that his body was already busy fixing the scrape, knitting things back together under the safety of the leaf. boo-boo

Mama Squirrel found a broad, soft Lamb’s Ear leaf. She wrapped it gently around Pip’s knee and secured it with a bit of sticky pine sap and a strand of sturdy spider silk. "This," she whispered, "is to keep the world out while your body does its secret work inside." Barnaby led Pip to the edge of the Silver Brook

"Nonsense," Barnaby said, patting Pip’s paw with a heavy, cool flipper. "A boo-boo is just a badge of bravery that hasn't faded yet. But it does need the Three-Step Treatment." Step 1: The Magic Wash It will tingle, but that is just the

Once upon a time in the heart of the Whispering Woods, there lived a very small, very energetic squirrel named Pip. Pip was known for two things: his incredibly bushy tail and his complete lack of a "pause" button. While the other squirrels spent their afternoons methodically sorting acorns by size and color, Pip preferred to see how many branches he could leap across without touching the ground.

"Oh dear, oh my," puffed Barnaby, a slow-moving tortoise who had witnessed the crash. "That looks like a genuine ouchie."