Tiny Shrew

He's tiny barely one inch long, stubby tail too short to grab or hold. Glossy black ebony fur so thick and full reflected in the rays of sun too brief to be seen. He's fast and quick slithering between the stones appearing in the hidden crevices then gone. The seeds are set clustered in a dish prepped for bird, squirrel or chipmunk but from the earth below he rises. Rippled fur to find a place taking seed hurriedly just one or two then disappears. Beneath the stones somewhere below the piled branches in between the scattered leaved he slips into a burrowed home. There lies piles of sequestered seed stored dry, ready and safe for the cold winter ahead the stockpile haven of a tiny shrew.