It was bitter cold. Still, hundreds, perhaps thousands of people from around the country, joined Punxsutawney Phil on Gobbler’s Knob to await Phil’s forecast for an early spring, or six more weeks of winter. Mr. Mallow from the National Marshmallow Roasters Institute was in attendance, having been invited by the Groundhog Club's Inner Circle to oversee the many marshmallow roasts and S’mores creations that traditionally occur on this cold February morning.
What a time was had by all. We found out the most important news of the day when Punxsutawney Phil was pulled from his stump and set atop it to make his prediction. Phil was offered his usual treat, but ignored that. We could all see his little nose twitching at some odor in the air. We all smelled it, too. The unmistakable scent of hot roasted marshmallows wafted to the top of the knob.
That’s when Phil stood up on his hind legs, surveyed the crowd and leapt like a flying squirrel onto the shoulder of one of the news media cameramen in the front row. From shoulder to shoulder, Phil followed his nose to the edge of the crowd, where Mr. Mallow stood holding his SmorStix roasting skewer with a freshly roasted, golden brown, succulent sweet marshmallow waiting to be devoured. “What could I do but offer the beautiful gooey orb to that plump guinea pig?” asked Mr. Mallow. “I’d certainly had my fill that morning for breakfast, and now was the time to share.”
It took us more than an hour to get Phil away from the roasters and back to his stump on the knob. We could see the satisfaction in his eyes as he stared out at the crowd, having informed the Inner Circle of the coming spring weather. No, he had not seen his shadow. And yes, it will be an early spring. But more importantly, Phil informed the crowd that he would become the first rodent member of the National Marshmallow Roasters Institute. We certainly welcome him into our fine organization and we will be back next year to Gobbler’s Knob again to make Phil’s day a sweet one indeed.
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