Binny and Belloe

The colony of red squirrels had lived in the forest for a very long time. Tales that were handed down to them went back many generations and as far as they knew, their ancestors had never dwelt anywhere else. It was their world; largely peaceful, predictable and uneventful. Everything changes when a new group of squirrels arrive, strangers from afar ... who are not red but white! At first, they are looked upon with awe and welcomed into the community. Most of the red squirrels see their coming as a good sign, though not Len, who believes they are a threat. When the woods are hit by an unusually severe winter, however, with heavy snow, extreme cold and food hard to find, some red squirrels start to blame the strangers. Opinions change and Len wins converts to his increasingly violent opposition to the newcomers and their strange god. Binny and Belloe is an elegantly written parable for our times, showing how easy it is for prejudice to get the better of good sense.