The tale of the pumpkin pie

One time about 25 years ago, my sister, her husband, my youngest sister and myself all got in the car in north Florida and drove to my parents house in northern Pennsylvania. It was about an 18 hr drive. We had a nice drive, arrived late and after greeting the family, went to our various assigned rooms and fell asleep.

It was Christmas time and so, there was snow on the ground - fun for FL kids. There was food to be cooked and presents to be set out and there was some last minute shopping to be done.

So we commenced the cooking. While some of the food was cooking, I happened to go out onto an enclosed porch to look around. (This was not the home we grew up in. It was the parsonage for the church they had at the time and we hadn't been there before.) My dad came in from outside and I asked him about the corn on the cob that was sitting out in the rafters and that had been chewed on. He said he was saving the seeds for next year. He also had some other seeds that I noticed had been chewed on and asked him what was eating his seed supply. He replied that it was some clever chipmunks that figured out how to get in and out and that he couldn't stop them. (Cue "Chip and Dale" intro). He had tried a variety of ways to stop them, but nothing was working. He didn't really want to hurt them, just stop them from eating his seed supply.

Well, the cooking was finally done and mom was ready to go shopping. Before we left, mom decided that the pies would be cooled quicker if she placed them on the enclosed porch.

Hummm..

"mom, won't the chipmunks get into them?"

"Nah, they've never bothered the pies before. They don't care for pumpkin pie."

"Oh. ok."

And off we go for a couple of hours.

And we come back.

And mom goes out onto the back porch to get her pies.

And we hear hysterical laughing going on.

So...we go check.

There on the top of one of the pies, in a corner, are little chippymunk footprints! And TEETH prints!

Yes, Virginia the chipmunks DID like pumpkin pie. And YES, they DID get into pies on the porch!

So, mom cut the wedge off where they had nibbled it, put it on the porch and wished the little beggars a Merry Christmas.

And we ate the rest of the pie for Christmas. Yes. We. Did.

And it was GOOD!