For A Few Leaves More

**For A Few Leaves More** is the thirteenth episode of the first season of Veggie Animals.

## Plot

In another area of the forest, there is a grove of oak trees that have lots of acorns in them. There is a large group of gray squirrels up in the oak trees working to collect as many acorns as they can, as well as also gathering up lots of oak leaves to be used for insulation. However, there is one squirrel trying hard to keep up with all of the other squirrels, but is not fast enough to keep up with them. This incites the ire of the drill sergeant squirrel, Sergeant Nutty, who blames the squirrel, named Bushy, for not keeping up with the other squirrels. Bushy apologizes, explaining that he's doing his best, but he can't do it as well as everyone else can, but Sergeant Nutty is unsympathetic, telling Bushy that if he can't catch up with the others in nut-gathering, then he has no business for nut-gathering at all, telling Bushy to take a break. Bushy tries to argue back but can't, so does as Sergeant Nutty asks him to.

Bushy goes off on his own to do some thinking while all of the other squirrels still work to collect acorns and oak leaves. However, Juodas starts stalking him from behind which he doesn't even know, as Juodas muses that Bushy would be a good hoers d'oeuvre for him. Bushy still sits by himself not realizing that Juodas is still stalking towards him, but he does hear something from behind him, quickly turning around in time to see Juodas pouncing towards him, but escapes before Juodas can pounce on him. Bushy still runs for his life with Juodas still chasing after him, chasing him towards the main forest. In the main forest, Junior and Laura are taking a walk through the forest when they look see Bushy seeing chased by Juodas, realizing that they have to save Bushy from Juodas. Bushy retreats up a nearby poplar tree, which Juods stops in front of as he tries to jump up to get at Bushy while he is still up in the tree. Junior and Laura show up before using a makeshift catapult made from a tree branch to fling some pebbles at Juodas, catching his attention before he too starts to stalk towards Junior and Laura. Fortunately for the two friends, Aristotle flies in and is able to strike Juodas with his talons, driving off Juodas once again.

After Juodas has been driven off again, Aristotle lands in front of Junior and Laura, who thank him for saving them. Aristotle then lightly scolds the two friends for disobeying him when he told them not to go into the dark part of the forest. Junior apologizes to Aristotle, telling him that they just had to save the squirrel that was in trouble, just as Bushy comes down from the tree, before he and Aristotle recognize each other, which confuses Junior and Laura. When Junior asks Aristotle about this, Aristotle explains to him and Laura that he befriended Bushy and his clan before any of the Veggie Animals came to the forest. Bushy thanks Junior and Laura for saving him for Juodas, before Aristotle introduces Junior and Laura to Bushy. Aristotle then asks Bushy what he's doing in their part of the forest, telling him that he should be helping his clan collect acorns and oak leaves to prepare for winter. Bushy answers that he was but he can't do it as fast as the other gray squirrels, further explaining that no matter how many times Sergeant Nutty tells him how to do it, he keeps forgetting how to do it and always gets admonished for it.

Junior, Laura, and Aristotle feel sorry for Bushy, before Aristotle comforts Bushy, telling him that he's seen him collect acorns and oak leaves before without any problems, before Bushy tells him that he can do it okay on his own, but forgets to do it properly when he's in a group, feeling unsure if he'll ever do it right or not. Aristotle assures him that he will, telling him that it's all a matter of listening to the right instructions and doing the best you can. Junior and Laura sympathize with Bushy, also telling him that they sometimes don't listen to what their parents tell them, while Bushy tells them that it's different in his case. Aristotle then decides to invite Bushy to come with them to their part of the forest to meet their friends, which Bushy accepts. Meanwhile, Juodas shakes off the pain of getting attacked by Aristotle, as he nurses an even deeper grudge against Aristotle, still vowing to turn Aristotle into a feather duster and Bushy into a side dish. Junior, Laura, Aristotle, and Bushy arrive back in the main forest again, meeting up with Bob, Larry, Jean-Claude, Phillipe, Archibald, and Scooter, before introducing Bushy to them, which Bushy acquaints himself with after getting used to them. Bushy thanks them for their kind welcomes and that he is honored to be a guest in their part of their forest, though he can't help but think about his family and friends back home.

Bushy then admits that it's amazing at how many animals are living in the forest, further admitting that he never really met any other animals in the forest before. When Junior asks Bushy about Aristotle, Bushy answers that Aristotle is different in this case, because he's the first animal to become a friend of his clan, before once again becoming saddened about missing his clan. Laura then asks Bushy if he misses his clan, which Bushy sadly confirms, before Bob tells Bushy that they know how he feels, surprising Bushy, before Larry explains to him that before they came to live in the forest, they lived somewhere else. Bob agrees with Larry, further explaining to Bushy that even though they miss their original home, they never forgot all the good times that they've had there, before coming to live in the forest. Bushy is amazed to hear this, before saying that he wishes that that was the case with trying to collect acorns and oak leaves like the rest of his clan. Aristotle assures Bushy that he'll do it right in good time, before telling him that the important thing is to always listen to the instructions that others give you, and especially how God wants you to do things the way he wants you to do them. Larry agrees with Aristotle, telling Bushy that God would want him to do his best, while Bushy wishes that God's rules applied to acorn-gathering, thinking that there's no way that he'll be able to do it right. Of course, Bob tells Bushy not to say that and that he can do it if he believes in himself and in God. Bushy is a bit glum, but knows in his heart that the others are right.

Back at the oak tree grove, the gray squirrels are still working hard to collect acorns and oak leaves, while Sergeant Nutty is still supervising the whole operation. However, Sergeant Nutty can't help but feel that he might have been a bit too hard on Bushy earlier. While this is going on, Juodas comes across the gray squirrel community after having followed the scent. Juodas decides that instead of having one squirrel, he can have them all, before he starts stalking towards the oak trees, while one squirrel acting as a sentry looks to see Juodas coming, before alerting all of the other gray squirrels of Juodas's arrival. The squirrels become frightened before they run for their lives as Juodas chases them, but they escape him, which Juodas is frustrated about, but has another plan to catch the squirrels. Back in the main forest, Bushy is up in an oak tree by himself working to collect acorns and oak leaves like the other squirrels, while Junior and Laura spy on him, seeing that he is collecting acorns and oak leaves without any problems. Bushy then becomes surprised when he sees that Junior and Laura have been spying on him, asking them what they're doing, Junior answering that they didn't know where he went so they looked for him until they found him at the oak tree, while Laura tells Bushy that he's been working really hard to gather acorns and that he did a good job. Bushy thanks Laura before telling her not to be fooled by his progress and that he can only collect acorns and oak leaves when he's alone, but it's when he's in a large group that he gets so nervous that he can't do it right.

Junior reiterates what Bob said about listening to the right directions given to you by God, Bushy answering that he keeps trying to listen to the directions given to him by Sergeant Nutty but he still keeps forgetting them after a few seconds, wishing that there was a better way for him to remember his directions.

## Fun Facts

* The verse quoted is Proverbs 12:15.
* The episode's title is taken from the Clint Eastwood film "For a Few Dollars More".