Green Velveteen

A raccoon, a loggerhead shrike, and a tiny garter snake suddenly encountered each other down by the creek.  Their bodies froze, only their eyes barely moved.  The raccoon glared at the shrike, then looked curiously at the snake.  The shrike eyed the snake, then stared threateningly at the raccoon.  The snake glanced nervously from one masked badapple to the other.
The raccoon instantly had an idea.  She had been searching for anything she might use to make a hat for the Wild Hat Celebration.  Here was a chance for the unexpected. She must rescue the snake from the shrike!  She quickly began delicate negotiations.  
Before long, the three animals had cooperated to craft a stunning hat and accessories from sphinx moth wings, mullein leaves, grape vines, juniper berries, and wildflowers. Native grasses sprang from a striped frill of tree fungus atop a velvety cap of moss.  The little snake coiled around it, green on green.  The raccoon beamed as the shrike posed proudly on her paw.