Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15 DEAD SEA AD 70 How did two squirrels get stuck in a cave, anyway? There are three types of squirrels: tree squirrels, which live in trees; ground squirrels, which live underground; and cave squirrels, which don't exist. Had Michael known that the "cave squirrel" has never been a thing, he might have asked himself the same question. And the answer? Vacation, of course! "You know what I love most about the Dead Sea, Pearl?" Merle said as he waded into the super salty water. "What could you possibly love about this awful place?" Pearl responded from behind her little sunglasses, lying on her little lounge chair under her little beach umbrella. "It's too hot, it's too dry, and it's waaaaay too salty." "That's the best part! Woohoo!" Merle jumped high into the air and landed flat on his back on the surface of the water. SPLASH! "Oooof!" He grunted with the force of the impact. "Look! You can't sink!"

"That's just great, Merle. We came all this way to see you not sink." Pearl wiped the salty splash out of her eyes. "Couldn't you have just worn your floaties in the lake back home?" "It's not the same," Merle replied, using his tail to swirl around in circles on the water. "I've always wanted to not sink!" Merle turned over and tried to dive down under the water, only to pop right back up. "Pffffft!" He spit out a mouthful of salty water. "Wow. That IS salty." "Well, it is nice to get away," Pearl said, shifting her umbrella aside so she could bask in the sun. "And it was a relaxing raft ride down the Jordan." "Made that raft myself!" Merle said proudly, returning to floating on his back. "You've always been good with your paws," Pearl complimented him. "Now I just have to figure out how we're gonna get back."

Pearl sat straight up in her tiny lounge chair. "What?!" "Well, the river only carries a raft one way, and that's here." Merle was a squirrel who loved to explore, and now that the pups were out of the tree and off on their own, he was itching to travel and see the world. Sometimes, however, Merle didn't think things all the way through. Pearl sighed. "Merle, sometimes you just don't think things through."