In a grove of maple trees at the edge of a shady green forest, there lived three little squirrels named Rusty, Sparky, and Ginger. All winter long the friends snuggled inside the tall tree trunks waiting for spring to arrive. Finally, one morning, a bright sunbeam danced cheerfully among the trees, announcing the first day of spring.
Rusty jumped out of his nest and called to his friends excitedly, “Ginger, Sparky, it's time to go out and play!”
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Ginger poked her head out of her nest. “Ooooh,” she said with a yawn, “How I missed playing with my friends.”
“Hurry up, Ginger!” called Sparky, “Let's run to the forest, and look for juicy berries. I missed summer and strawberries, too!”
Quickly, Ginger leaped from the tree and the three friends scampered off together to find ripe berries. The whole forest was busy. Birds soared through the sky, filling the air with music. The seeds were sprouting, the fruit trees were blossoming, and rain washed the forest in a sea of green leaves.
Soon, summer turned into autumn and the squirrels began searching for nuts and acorns to store for the cold days of winter.
One day, the three squirrels came to a small clearing in the forest. Suddenly Rusty called, “Look, I found a nut! Wow, it’s different from any nut that I’ve seen!”
“That's the BIGGEST nut I ever saw!” Sparky said in amazement. He took the nut and shook it, making a rattling noise. “Such a hard shell!” he said.
“It sounds like there is an ENORMOUS nut inside,” agreed Ginger. “I think a nut like this would be very tasty!”
“Let's eat it!” suggested Rusty.
“I don’t think that we should eat it,” said Sparky. “This nut is special—a real treasure! I don’t think there is another nut like this one anywhere in the world.”
“Besides, there are three of us, but only one nut,” said Ginger thoughtfully. “What shall we do?”
“It's still warm now,” said Sparky, “and we have plenty of food. I think we should bury the nut in the ground in case we run out of food during the cold winter. Whoever runs out of food, can come back here to dig up the nut.”
All three squirrels agreed this was the best idea, so they buried the nut next to a large hill in the clearing.
Soon winter arrived. One snowy morning, Rusty discovered that he was running out of food. “I know,” he thought, “I will go to the clearing and find the nut that we buried.” But along the way, Rusty passed his favorite apple tree.
Seeing that there were still a few brown apples withering on the tree, Rusty stopped. “These apples may not taste so good, but I should take them, instead of the nut,” he decided. “Perhaps my friends will need the nut more than me.”
And with that, Rusty picked the rotting apples and ran back to his warm home inside the tree trunk.
As the cold days of winter continued, the squirrels snuggled deep inside the tree trunks. Then one day, a big wind came and blew across the forest, blowing Ginger right out of her cozy nest! She dusted herself off and looked around in astonishment. The tall maple tree had toppled over and her nest was scattered across the forest. Ginger began gathering up the crumpled branches and twigs to make a new nest, but all of her food was gone. She remembered the nut they had buried and decided to go get it.
On her way to the clearing, Ginger saw a small blueberry bush with some shriveled little berries still clinging to the bare branches. She stopped and thought for a minute: “The nut would probably taste better than these wrinkled old blueberries, but what if Rusty and Sparky do not have any berries left? Perhaps one of them will need the nut more than I do?” And with that, she picked the blueberries and returned to her new home.
Winter was almost over when Sparky decided to take a stroll in the warm sunbeams shining outside his home. At that very moment, a hungry bear that had awakened early from his winter nap passed by Sparky's home. The bear climbed up the tree, taking all the food that Sparky had stored and leaving nothing for Sparky to eat. When the little squirrel returned home, he discovered that all of the food was gone.
At first, Sparky was worried. But then he remembered the nut and ran toward the clearing. He was surprised to find fresh mushrooms growing. “I won't take the nut,” thought Sparky. “Perhaps my friends will need it more than me.” Instead, he collected the mushrooms and hurried back to his home in the tree.
Spring arrived and then summer, and the three friends decided to check on the nut together. Next to the hill in the clearing, they discovered a great surprise: there was a little tree with lots of nuts growing on it! The squirrels quickly told each other about their winter adventures, how each had decided to save the special nut for his friends. They realized that their friendship had grown stronger, just as the one nut had grown into a tree full of nuts.
Filled with happiness, the friends decided to share this great discovery with the other forest animals. The news quickly spread through the forest. Soon, all of the animals arrived at the clearing to join them. They rested and played together, and shared a delicious feast of nuts.
The squirrels hugged each other and grinned. Finally, they realized that a nut is truly a special treasure because it taught them that love and sharing does far greater good than taking!