There were many different animals living in one forest. They went to nursery and school together, and in the afternoons they ran around the forest and played together.
One day Luke the badger had to go to school. He liked to stay in his den all day and only go out at night when the forest was not so busy. So the shy badger went to school in the morning.
After a while, he met Veronica the squirrel.
“Oh, hello Luke!” she called to him.
Luke was startled. He froze for a moment and then quickly scampered to hide under an uprooted tree stump.
“Don’t be afraid of me, I’m Veronica and I’m your classmate,” said the squirrel.
Luke carefully poked his head out of his hiding place, but still couldn’t get a word out.
The squirrel grabbed him by the paw and led him to school.
An old owl, who was the teacher, was waiting for them in the pasture.
“Who is coming?” the owl asked.
The squirrel jumped in front of the stumps where the animals were sitting at their desks, bowed and said: “Hello, I am Veronica, the squirrel from the tall oak tree, and I’m your pupil.”
“Welcome to our school, Veronica,” said the owl. “And what about your friend here?”
Luke walked slowly to the front of the classroom, but not a sound came out. His legs were shaking and he was already looking around for a place to hide. There was no proper hiding place anywhere, so he buried himself under the fallen leaves. The animals laughed softly.
“Come on, don’t laugh,” the owl admonished them. “Our new friend is shy and probably embarrassed in front of you. That’s perfectly normal, many of you who went to school for the first time have behaved similarly.”
Veronica dug Luky the badger out of the leaves, stood next to him and said, trying to encourage him: “This is my friend Luke the badger from the forest burrow, and he is going to school with us. Be good to him. When the time comes, I’m sure he will say something.”
“That’s a very nice thing to say, Veronica,” said the owl.
The animals sat down and listened to the big owl. The owl told them about the coming winter and taught them what kind of berries to pick for winter so that they would have something to eat.
When school was over, the badger came to Veronica.
“Thank you, Veronica,” he said quietly.
“You’re welcome, Luke. Everyone needs time to get used to something new. Like you to your classmates and to school. Some people get used to it quickly, some people just take time. That’s normal. My little sister had the same problem, that’s how I know,” said the squirrel.
Luky the badger became alert. He didn’t want to talk, but his curiosity was stronger.
“And your little sister isn’t scared anymore?”
“No, not a bit. Everyone’s been very nice to her and given her all the time she needed. When she grew comfortable, she started talking, and she’s made lots of friends here.”
That was enough to make Luke the badger feel better. Even though he was still scared and didn’t want to talk to anyone, he was glad that he would get used to it eventually.
And indeed, in a few weeks, Luky the badger was no longer afraid or shy at school, he greeted everyone nicely and was able to talk to the other animals. His best friend, however, was Veronica the squirrel, with whom he met every day after school. They would go out together to look for fallen fruit, which they would store for the winter, so that they could survive the winter well into the spring.
