The Great Picnic Panic

Hi, I’m Jake! I’m 9 years old, and I love picnics because you get to eat outside, play games, and sometimes roll down hills—on purpose! But last weekend, our family picnic turned into the funniest disaster ever, and I’m still laughing about it. My little brother, Timmy, who’s 5, my Mom, my Dad, and my Uncle Bob were all there, and let me tell you—it was a wild day!
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‎It started when Mom said, “Let’s have a picnic at the park!” We all cheered because the park has a big slide, a pond with ducks, and lots of trees to climb. Mom packed a giant picnic basket with sandwiches, cookies, juice boxes, and a big watermelon that Dad said he’d cut up with his “super-duper knife skills.” Uncle Bob brought his frisbee, and Timmy brought his toy dinosaur, Dino, because he never goes anywhere without it.
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‎We got to the park and found the perfect spot under a huge tree. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and I could smell the grass—it was awesome! Mom spread out a big checkered blanket, and we all plopped down to eat. Dad started slicing the watermelon, but he’s not as good with knives as he thinks. He accidentally flicked a piece of watermelon right onto Uncle Bob’s shirt! “Oops!” Dad said, laughing. Uncle Bob wiped it off and grinned. “You’re lucky I like pink polka dots!” he said, pointing at the red stain.
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‎While we were giggling, Timmy shouted, “Look, a squirrel!” A little gray squirrel with a fluffy tail was staring at us from the tree, sniffing the air. “He smells our sandwiches!” I said. Mom laughed and tossed a tiny piece of bread toward the squirrel. “Here you go, little guy,” she said. Big mistake! That squirrel grabbed the bread, chattered like he was saying “Thank you!” and then ran off—only to come back with his squirrel friends!
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‎In no time, there were five squirrels, all eyeing our picnic like it was a buffet. “Uh-oh,” Dad said, “we’ve got company!” Before we could shoo them away, one squirrel—the bossy one with a twitchy tail—jumped onto the blanket and snatched a whole peanut butter sandwich! Timmy screamed, “My sandwich!” and tried to grab it, but the squirrel was too fast. It raced up the tree, holding the sandwich like a trophy.
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‎Uncle Bob jumped up. “I’ll get it back!” he yelled, running after the squirrel. But Uncle Bob isn’t exactly a runner—he’s big and wobbly, like a teddy bear on stilts. He tripped over a root and fell into a pile of leaves, rolling down a tiny hill. “Whoa!” he shouted, leaves sticking to his hair. We all burst out laughing, and Timmy clapped, “Do it again, Uncle Bob!”
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‎While Uncle Bob was brushing off leaves, another squirrel sneaked in and grabbed a cookie. “Not my cookies!” Mom cried, waving her hands to scare it away. But the squirrels were fearless. They started chattering and running in circles around our blanket, like they were playing a game of tag with our food. Dad tried to help by throwing a napkin at them, but it just floated down like a sad little parachute, and the squirrels ignored it.
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‎Then things got even crazier. Timmy, still mad about his sandwich, decided to be a “dinosaur hero.” He picked up Dino, his toy T-Rex, and roared, “I’ll save the picnic!” He charged at the squirrels, but he tripped over the picnic basket and knocked it over. Juice boxes rolled everywhere, cookies flew into the grass, and the watermelon slices landed with a *splat*—right on Mom’s lap!
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‎Mom yelped, “My dress!” She was covered in watermelon juice, her blue dress now a sticky mess. Dad tried to help by wiping it off with a napkin, but he accidentally smeared it more, and Mom looked like she’d been in a fruit fight. “Nice one, Dad!” I said, giggling so hard I fell over.
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‎While we were cleaning up, the squirrels came back for more. One of them grabbed a juice box and tried to drag it away, but the straw got stuck on a stick, and the squirrel started doing a funny tug-of-war dance. Timmy pointed and laughed, “He’s doing a juice dance!” Uncle Bob, back on his feet, said, “Let’s scare them off for good!” He grabbed the frisbee and tossed it toward the squirrels—not hard, just enough to make them scatter. But the frisbee hit a tree branch, bounced back, and landed in the pond with a big *splash*!
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‎The ducks in the pond quacked like they were laughing at us, and Uncle Bob groaned, “I’m zero for two today!” Dad waded into the shallow water to get the frisbee, but he slipped on the muddy bottom and sat down—*plop!*—right in the pond. Now he was soaked, holding the frisbee up like a soggy trophy. “Got it!” he said, grinning, while we all laughed so hard we could barely stand.
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‎By now, our picnic was a total mess. The squirrels had eaten half our food, Mom was sticky, Dad was wet, Uncle Bob was covered in leaves, and Timmy was still waving Dino at the squirrels, yelling, “Go away, you fuzzy thieves!” I looked at the blanket—juice stains, cookie crumbs, and watermelon bits everywhere. But then I had an idea.
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‎“Let’s go down the big slide!” I said. “Maybe the squirrels won’t follow us there!” Everyone agreed, and we packed up what was left of our picnic and ran to the playground. The slide was tall and twisty, my favorite! I went first, zooming down with a big “Wheeee!” Timmy went next, but he brought Dino, and the toy got stuck halfway down. “Dino!” he cried, sliding to a stop.
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‎Dad climbed up to help, but the slide was slippery from the morning dew, and he slid down too—right into Timmy! They both tumbled off the end, landing in a heap at the bottom, laughing like crazy. Mom went next, but her sticky dress made her stick to the slide for a second before she slid down, shouting, “This dress is ruined!” Uncle Bob took the last turn, and he got stuck halfway because he’s so big! “Push me!” he called, and I gave him a little shove. He zoomed down, arms flailing, and landed with a *thump* in the grass.
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‎We all sat there, a messy, giggly family, watching the squirrels finally scamper off with their stolen snacks. “I think we lost this round,” Dad said, still dripping from the pond. Mom hugged us and said, “But we had the best picnic ever!” Timmy nodded, holding Dino tight. “Next time, we bring squirrel traps!” he said, and we all laughed again.
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‎When we got home, we told Grandma about our picnic panic, and she laughed so hard she had to sit down. “You guys are a circus!” she said. I think she’s right—but I wouldn’t trade my silly family for anything. And next picnic? We’re bringing squirrel-proof containers—and maybe a towel for Dad!
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