The novel was first published in English translation in 1938 because the first German-language edition printed in Vienna was confiscated and destroyed by the Nazis in 1938.

[4] In 1942 the German language version was fully published by Albert Müller in Zürich, illustrated by Hans Bertle.

The story begins with a human child named Annerle saving Perri's mother from a marten.

Later on, Perri's mother takes her to another part of the forest, where she meets the black squirrel, Mirro, and her playmate, Porro.

Later on, a red squirrel named Flame-Red comes to the forest, telling everyone his story about how he was captured by He, but later escaped.