RE: Gophers, Groundhogs, and Woodchucks

[carolkean]

"Frog and Toad" were friends - how did you channel that epic image from Arnold Lobel, with this charming poem:

The gopher left his slippers
on the doorstep one night ....
then woke in the morning
with a feeling of dread
that the woodchuck was coming

It's awesome, as always. I love it when the prompt gives you brain freeze as far as plots and stories go, but the free verse comes spinning out like this.

Comments

[owasco]

How do you remember all these tales, and their authors? Your memory for old lit is astounding. You literary types...

I'm just winging it, tapping into global intelligence systems or something. Having fun doing it.

Thanks for reading my old stuff! I liked this one, and hardly anyone noticed it. It's sad to know my posts will never be read again, and I wonder why I do it at all, especially when I see others make $100 by saying the same old thing over and over again. Who cares if my posts are permanently on the blockchain? Maybe when I am older and greyer I will go over them again. For now, many of my stories are completely forgotten.

[carolkean]

Wait, what...?

It's sad to know my posts will never be read again,
Are you being hypothetical? Tell me you're not leaving us!
and I wonder why I do it at all,
BECAUSE I LOVE ALL YOUR POSTS!!!!
And the modern spin you put on The Muse:
I'm just winging it, tapping into global intelligence systems or something

My memory for old books isn't so strong. I'm sure I spelled the author's name wrong. --Wait. I didn't misspell it!!! WOOT!! "Lobel" it is!!

[carolkean]

Oooh, I feel better now (not knowing the difference, if any, between the two):
Woodchucks vs. Groundhogs: Are They the Same Animal?

How Did the Groundhog/Woodchuck Get Its Name?
The name “groundhog” is one of many names used to describe the large rodent that lives in wooded areas around North America. This name was thought to originally be spaced into two words (groundhog) since it roots through the ground, and “hog” was used not to mean swine, but rather just “animal.”

The name “woodchuck” comes mostly from the Native American word “Wuchak,” which means, roughly, “digger.” The word developed into the name as we know it, and the names are used interchangeably, even in scientific reports on the groundhog/woodchuck. There are other Native American words that sound similar to “wuchak,” and it’s possible that “woodchuck” is a combination of all of them.

Most people assume, perhaps due to the common tongue-twister “how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood,” or just from the name, that woodchucks chew on trees.
Since you might be wondering, NO woodchucks can’t actually chuck wood. You can read an article we wrote (yes, we really did) about that here.

[carolkean]

Now I want a picture of gopher leaving his slippers at the door, and
THE WOODCHUCK IS COMING....

[carolkean]

Sorry to keep belaboring the point (comment, comment, comment!), but this is the image that made me think of Frog and Toad Are Friends:

but corn tastes really good
which both woodchucks and gophers agree on
so out they both went to take a quick friendly walk
down the streets of Victorian London
to buy each other a corndog
whatever that is

Nope, not likely to find an image online to convey these friends walking in London in search of corndogs!