You are one delicate squirrel,” Sugar remarked. Tail was awake, but his eyes were wide, and his color was not good.
“What would you call that particular shade of gray, Dirt?” asked Sugar.
“We’ve got more important things to do here, Sugar,” said Dirt. She studied the squirrel.
“You’re probably right.” Dirt put her sketchpad down and took out her big box of crayons. “It’s a cross between timberwolf gray and manatee gray. It’s definitely not regular gray. More like I-think-I-may-pass-out-again gray.”
“Why don’t we call it ‘Scaredy Squirrel Gray’?” said Sugar.
“Perfect,” said Sugar. “Now, let’s get back to business.”
“Is the dog gone?” asked Tail. His whole body twitched. “Is the dog GONE? IS THE DOG GONE?”
“Listen, kid,” said Sugar. “J. J. doesn’t want to catch you. He is never going to catch you. If he wanted to catch you, he would have caught you already and tossed you over the fence, like an old sock. He just chases you for fun.”
“I don’t believe you,” said Tail.
“Suit yourself,” said Sugar. “No skin off my teeth if you spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder.”
“Was the big and scary thing a rhombus?” asked Dirt. Her sketchpad was in her hands again.
“Tail here doesn’t know a circle from a triangle, and you’re going to start with a rhombus?”
“Do you know what a rhombus is, Sugar?” asked Dirt.
“No,” said Sugar. “And I don’t want to know.”
“A rhombus looks like this.” Dirt drew a diamond on her sketchpad.
“I am a brave squirrel,” Tail repeated. “Brave squirrels are not afraid of diamonds!”
“Okaaaay,” said Dirt. “How about a triangle?” She did a quick sketch and showed it to Tail.