Garry and Morris Organize a Scavenger Hunt

The beautiful spring weather had finally arrived and Gary and Morris were excited to get outside to do something with their friends. They had recently enjoyed a number of fun outings and wanted to do something that would not just be a good time but stimulate the mind.

“The sun is out, the air is fresh, and everything is all good in the world,” said Morris.

“I agree,” said Gary. “We should get out and do something with our woodland friends! A bunch of them will just be out of hibernation now and likely looking for something to do.”

Morris thought about it for a moment.

“Yes,” he said. “We could do something they might enjoy, like pick berries.”

“That’s a good idea,” said Gary. “I think the bear family and the raccoons would probably like that, but I am thinking of something everyone might enjoy.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“I’m thinking we play a game.”

“Like hide and seek?” Morris asked.

“That’s not bad, but what if we did something where everyone could be around each other and chat? Like a scavenger hunt!” said Gary.

Morris liked that idea.

“As much fun as it would be to participate, if we are choosing what everyone needs to find, maybe we should just organize things and let our friends enjoy finding them,” said Morris.

“First thing we need to do is come up with a list of items to hunt for,” said Gary. “We know the woodlands and the river, and the hills surrounding them! Let’s make a list of small things to find that our friends will still be able to bring home.”

“On it!” said Morris.

The two cats put their heads together and came up with a list. Since they could not hold pens or write, they had to memorize it.

“Old leaves, new leaves, fresh tree bud, a piece of quartz stone, some clover… what else?” said Morris.

“What about a bundle of wildflowers?” added Gary.

“Great! So that’s old leaves, new leaves, fresh tree bud, a piece of quartz stone, some clover, and a bundle of wildflowers!”

The two cats kept working on their list for some time, eventually finishing up once they had it all committed to memory. Afterwards, they grabbed a few supplies; some small bags for their friends to put items in, and a few snacks for the group, as well as the winner. With everything all set, they rubbed up against Marjorie’s shins, then grabbed their stuff and headed out.

“Where you boys headed today?” asked Marjorie.

Gary and Morris meowed confidently as they trotted off, letting her know they were going to be okay.

After making their way across the backfield and into the valley, the two cats found themselves just about at their friend Terrance the Beaver’s home.

“Terrance is going to love this. He’s always up for a good challenge,” said Gary.

“I think this will be fun,” said Morris.

Terrance was outside working on his dam as the two cats walked up.

“Hello boys!” he said from his perch.

“Terrance! How are you?” asked Morris.

“I’m just fine! What brings you two down here?” he replied.

“We want to do a scavenger hunt,” said Gary.

“With who?” asked Terrance.

“Everyone!” said Morris.

Terrance waddled down to the ground to talk to the cats without having to yell.

“That sounds fun. I was just finishing up some improvements to my roof, so your timing is excellent!”

“We want to make up some lists for everyone, but aren’t sure what the best method would be,” Gary explained. “Any ideas?”

Terrance thought long and hard, then volunteered his teeth to carve impressions into some pieces of wood. He also mentioned he felt the raccoons might be better for making some carvings since their hands worked so closely to a human’s.

“I can bite the lists together, but that could take all day,” he said.

The cats agreed and off the three went to go wake up the raccoons.

“Mama, Papa! Raccoons! It’s Gary and Morris and Terrance!” the three chimed.

A very tired-looking Papa raccoon emerged from their den and brushed his eyes off.

“Good morning you three. What’s going on?” he asked.

The cats and Terrance explained their scavenger hunt idea and asked him if he would help them make up the lists. Papa Raccoon agreed, then went inside to tell his family about the hunt and invite them to join in.

They loved the idea and wanted to participate, so the raccoons joined the beaver-cat trio and they all made their way back to Terrance’s Dam. Once there, the raccoon family set up shop and, using their nails, carved little images of each item into blocks of wood. Gary and Morris took off to gather the rest of their friends while Terrance sat with the raccoons and talked about the structural integrity of his home.

After an hour had passed, a large group of woodland creatures had now gathered by Terrance’s place. They were all milling around, chatting, and excited about the scavenger hunt.

Gary and Morris got a wink from Papa Raccoon, indicating the lists were all finished, so they decided it was time to get things going. The two cats jumped up onto the top of the dam and started to explain how things worked.

“Hello everyone!” Gary belted out. “Welcome to our spring scavenger hunt!”

“We have a great day planned for everyone, and there will be an extra little prize for whoever finishes their list first!” added Morris.

“Today we are looking for some spring indicators. Items that let you know the winter is finally over and it’s now time to get out and enjoy nature!” said Gary.

“If you come to the front, Mama and Papa Raccoon will hand you a list of items you need to collect, as well as a small bag to place them in,” said Morris.

“What if we lose our bag?” said Joey the squirrel.

“Come on back and we will give you a new one,” said Gary. “If you fill your bag, bring it in and we will take inventory of your items, then you can empty it and head back.”

The animals all let out a small cheer.

“Everyone ready?” Morris asked of the crowd.

The animals all cheered again.

Gary cleared his throat then shouted out, “3… 2… 1… GO!”

He then made eye contact with Terrance who had positioned himself next to a big, flat, wet rock. He took his big tail, raised it in the air, and then slapped it down onto the rock as hard as possible. It let out a big loud sound.

The animals all took off into the wilds, bags in tow, exclaiming their excitement while arguing with each other about where the best places were to find scavenger hunt items.

The woods were alive with chattering animals, all trying to convince each other they knew the fastest way to the next item on their list.

Lou the friendly deer, searching for items on her list.

Gary and Morris stayed at the gathering point to answer any questions and saddled up on a nice warm piece of grass, directly in the sunlight.

“Sometimes it’s nice to do activities, and sometimes it’s nice to be the organizer,” said Morris.

“Right now, I totally agree with you,” said Gary.

The cats felt a sense of satisfaction, providing a day of fun for their friends while basking in the warm sunlight.

They rolled onto their backs and kicked their legs into the air, just as a voice came shouting out of the woods.

“Gary, Morris! Come quick!”

It was Terrance. His little beaver legs were moving as quickly as possible, with his chubby little body wobbling back and forth.

Because of the sense of urgency he created, the cats immediately thought something was wrong. Perhaps one of their friends had got stuck or worse yet, hurt themselves!

They immediately jumped up and ran over to Terrance.

“What’s wrong?” asked Gary.

“We need your help!” said a very out-of-breath Terrance.

“Tell us!” said Morris.

“Mama Raccoon… She… She…”

“Just tell us!” said both cats.

“She found a stone…”

“And?”

“We think it might be quartz!”

The cats looked at Terrance.

“That’s it?” asked Gary.

“Yes. We need your help to identify it and make a call. Joey the squirrel doesn’t think it’s quartz, but trust me, it’s quartz.”

The cats rolled their eyes.

“We thought someone got hurt,” said Morris. “You came barreling out of the woods like there was an emergency!”

Terrance insisted that it was an emergency since the rules were being called into question. As an engineer and a beaver, he was very rules-oriented.

The cats walked back into the woods with Terrance and went over to find Joey and Mama Raccoon arguing about the rock.

Joey arguing his position.

“It’s quartz!” she said.

“It’s diorite!” said Joey.

The cats walked over, looked at the rock, and made a call.

“It’s quartz,” said Gary. “I’ve lived around here a long time, and this is a quartz rock.”

Joey looked miffed.

“We do, however, want to give you, Joey, a consolation prize for knowing what diorite is, though,” said Morris.

Joey perked up.

“Thanks, fellas! I still need to find some quartz, so I am off!”

The cats handed him some treats and he bolted across a fallen tree down to the riverbed.

“Thanks, guys!” said Mama Raccoon, as she started to pick a bundle of wildflowers.

The cats made their way back to their sunny spot and helped the other animals whose bags were full, to empty them and take inventory.

After about an hour and a half, everyone was hanging around the gathering spot and there was a low hum of chatter as they all shared stories about their adventures.

“Gather around everyone!” said Terrance.

Gary and Morris addressed the crowd.

“How’d everyone do?” Morris asked.

The group started to all answer at once. They were excited to share their efforts.

The cats then went through the list, item by item, and everyone called out whether they found one or not.

As it turned out, Terrance spent so much time disputing rules with other animals that he only found

some new leaves and some old leaves – only two of the items on the list.

“I’m not a big wildflower guy,” he said, with a relatively saucy tone.

Joey, perhaps misunderstanding the assignment, brought back a bag full of rocks instead of one of each item.

“I’m pretty satisfied with what I got done today,” he said.

The rest of the animals managed to mostly find everything, with some missing the odd item, but overall, the winner of the day was Lou the deer! She had done a wonderful job of collecting one of everything, and had such a big heart, that she collected a second group of items to give to one of the baby raccoons!

“We are just so impressed, not only by your ability but by your kindness!” said Gary. “Today’s big winner is Lou!”

They put a little wreath of twigs and wildflowers around her neck and handed her a big bag of treats.

Being the type of people who wanted to see all their friends happy, Gary and Morris invited the rest of them to enjoy a bite to eat before they went home.

“This was fun!” said Terrance, as he chowed down on some food.

“Yeah! We should do this again,” said Morris.

“If you do, I have some rules suggestions, purely for clarity…” said Terrance.

The cats laughed and then patted him on the back.

“What a day,” said Gary.