Barnaby the badger was having a terrible Tuesday. First, he’d tripped over a particularly stubborn root, landing face-first in a mud puddle. Then, his meticulously crafted mushroom house had been blown down by a rogue gust of wind. And now, a particularly persistent squirrel, Squeaky, was perched on his fence, chattering incessantly.
“Barnaby! Barnaby! Look! I found a shiny thing!” Squeaky chirped, holding up a tarnished bottle cap.
Barnaby groaned, wiping mud from his eyes. “Squeaky,” he sighed, “Go away. Seriously.”
Squeaky ignored him. “It’s magic! I bet it grants wishes!”
Barnaby pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s a bottle cap, Squeaky. From a soda bottle. Go away. Seriously. I need a nap.”
Squeaky hopped closer, jiggling the bottle cap. “But what if it’s *really* magic? I wish… I wish… I wish for a thousand acorns!”
Suddenly, a deluge of acorns rained down from the sky. They bounced off Barnaby’s head, burying him under a mountain of nuts. Squeaky, amidst the chaotic shower of acorns, shrieked with delight.
Barnaby, struggling to emerge from the acorn avalanche, yelled, “I said GO AWAY! Seriously! And next time, wish for something less… *acornious*!” He then paused, noticing something shiny amongst the acorns. It was another bottle cap. A slightly shinier one. He sighed. This was going to be a long Tuesday.
