Dawn of a New Alliance: The Adventures of Square & Treebeard, vol. I
Somehow, despite her nimble dart through the giant squirrel's legs, which Square had rather prided herself on, having never navigated between another animal's legs before, she failed to collect a single nut. Others were more successful in their endeavours, however, and Square was mightily amused to see that although the giant squirrel had indeed managed to steal some of Square's precious nuts (the audacity of it!), her nut pile remained the same size as when she left it, notwithstanding her nut-thievery from Square.
Square pointed, shaking with barely contained laughter, at the giant squirrel's nut pile. "See what happens what you take my nuts!" she called with mischievous glee, "that's karma for you, that is." Square haughtily declared, nodding sagely, before stalking off to her next potential victim.
Square glanced back to her nut pile, just to make sure she didn't need to go save it for the umpteenth time, and had to do an immediate double-take. How utterly peculiar! For there was now a rather large tree, planted right in the middle of the scene before here, and in the very place her little nut stash had been just moments ago. Square's little jaw fell open. Trees didn't just appear from thin air, even she knew that. She felt immediately disorientated; that couldn't possible have been where she left her nuts! But as she looked around with growing concern, she knew that it was. She dropped all plans to raid someone else's nuts, and bounded over to the tree to investigate further.
Looking down at her, was an old, solemn face, with bright eyes that looked older than the forest itself. "Hrum, Hoom," murmured a deep earthy voice, as Square landed on one of Treebeard's large, firmly planted feet. "Now, then. Why are we in such haste?" he asked, every word spoken was slow and unhurried. Square froze in her tracks, one foot raised in mid-air as she realised her mistake. This was no tree. She was not on a knot of roots, but an Ent's toe, no less!
"If you would be so kind, umm, sir?" Square asked (Square had never had much interaction with an Ent before, aside from occasionally being startled to find herself on one, at which point she always made a hurried exit off it, so she didn't really know how she ought to address him), "I would be most grateful if you could take a step back, for I think you might be stood on my nuts," she squeaked back at the top of her voice, for she wasn't sure her voice would carry quite as well as his, and he was a long, long way up into the sky. "Hmm. Hm, is that so?" he pondered, and for a moment Square was concerned he had actually fallen asleep. But after assessing the situation, Treebeard decided to shift his stance slightly, which revealed the (unbelievably) unflattened nut pile, which must have been just inches away from being squished into non-existence, but resolutely remained in tact, beside his footprint.
Square was simply delighted, and immediately a plan came to mind, "Oh sir, Mr Ent! You could look after my nuts for me! You see, lots of the mean critters around here are trying to steal them, and I was thinking, that if you just picked them up and held them, then that would probably work well enough to stop the others taking them, wouldn't it? No one else has an Ent on their side!"
This was all very hasty behaviour, and coming from a squirrel too, and squirrels, as a general rule, didn't usually pay him much heed. "Hrum Hoom. These nuts belong to the forest," Treebeard mused, "and I do not take sides, so I am not with you, or against you." At these words, Square looked truly crestfallen. "However, hmm hooom," Treebeard continued, "No, that would not be... improper, I should not think. No, it would not." Treebeard stooped, such as he could, so his face was much closer to Square's, "Tiny creature of Fangorn, I shall offer you my branches. You may dwell here, as I take my stroll. Yes, that will be helpful to you, I am sure".
Square couldn't really see how this would help her very much, but she was rather excited to be offered the opportunity. She stuffed as many of her nuts as she could into the nooks and crannies of the Ent's body, and then she clambered up his leg and settled in for the ride. As they slowly walked past the spot of the three raccoons, Square asked Treebeard to stop, which to her surprise, he did. She scampered back down his leg, and attempted to take a couple of nuts.
Square and Treebeard (he has unwittingly become an accessory to the potential crime) try to steal 2 nuts from the Three Raccoons.