Winslow the Coyote

Note : This story is intended to be read as an introduction to the lesson. Students might enjoy writing their own follow up story about Winslow's next adventures in the Fuyu grove.

By Richard Owen Murty

Winslow was born in the early spring in a cozy den overlooking a small creek in a canyon. One of the first sounds Winslow heard was that of the creek babbling on its merry way to the big river that was about a mile down stream.

As Winslow grew, he noticed a bunch of trees across the road from the canyon where Farmer Murty, his wife and two dogs lived. He asked his mom, what kind of trees they were and she, in coyote talk, said they were what people call Fuyu persimmon trees. Winslow asked his mom if the fruit of the trees were good to eat and his mom said that the Fuyus were very good to eat when the fruit turned bright orange. Winslow wondered when that might be. He could see the trees from his den and they had just gotten their leaves. They had small flowers on the branches. It was in the month of April, and his mom had said it would be October or November, almost winter, before the fruit would be ready to eat.

In the meantime, Winslow had a lot to learn about the canyon where he lived. He learned how to catch rabbits, ground squirrels, and mice. Winslow also learned to watch out for rattlesnakes and big dogs that the humans had as pets. He also had to watch out for the humans because they did not like coyotes.

With so much to learn, time went quickly. It was finally late October when Winslow's mom asked if he would like to go to the Fuyu grove to check if the Fuyus were ready to eat. They were to go across the road and into the grove at night so that Farmer Murty would not see them. Winslow was very excited and could hardly wait until the sun went down.

The sun went down and it was very dark. At last Winslow's mom said, "It's time, Winslow. Follow me and be very quiet. We do not want to wake farmer Murty or his two dogs." The lights at the farm house had been off for a long time. It was a good night to go into the Fuyu grove. There was a full moon. This made the trip into the grove as easy as one, two, three.

Winslow followed his mom across the creek. They stopped at the road waiting to see if anyone was coming. There was no one, so they crossed the road and went down into the Fuyu grove. Winslow could see the bright orange fruit in the dark green trees as his mom walked, as silent as the night, up the hill deeper into the grove. Winslow wondered more and more if the Fuyus would be as good as his mom had said.

Winslow just could not wait any longer. He whispered, "Mom, when can we eat?"
His mom turned and looked at Winslow and said very quietly, "We are looking for the ripest fruit. They must be bright orange and firm."

No sooner had she answered Winslow that she stopped and jumped up bracing herself on a tree trunk. She took hold of a branch with her teeth and pulled until the branch broke off. Then she dragged the branch to a small clearing at the top of the grove and Winslow followed.

"Now," she said.

Winslow didn't really know what to do. So he watched his mom bite into the orange Fuyu. Winslow bit into one, too, and what a surprise he had! The orange Fuyu was very crisp and very, very sweet. Winslow asked his mom if he could have another one. His mom said yes, so he did. In fact, he had several more. He really liked the Fuyus and was glad his mom had taught him about this rare fruit called Fuyu persimmon.

The time passed quickly and the full moon was going down. Winslow's tummy was full of Farmer Murty's Fuyus. His mom said quietly, "It's time to go, Winslow." Winslow asked if he could have just one more. His mom said, "No, Winslow, it's time to go. We can come back in a few days."

Winslow followed her back down through the grove, across the road, and to the den. By this time, Winslow was very sleepy so he curled up next to his mom and went fast asleep. The morning sun was just coming up. Winslow dreamed of going back to Farmer Murty's grove and of eating more sweet Fuyus.

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CALIFUYU
California Fuyu Growers Association
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