The Squirrel’s Nut Collection

Once upon a time, in a tall oak tree at the edge of Sleepy Meadow, lived a little squirrel named Nutkin. Nutkin had the fluffiest tail you ever did see and the brightest brown eyes that sparkled like tiny stars.

Every morning when the sun painted the sky pink and orange, Nutkin would stretch his little paws and look out at his most precious treasure—his nut collection. He had acorns arranged by size from smallest to biggest, walnuts polished until they gleamed, and hazelnuts sorted by their pretty brown patterns.

“Good morning, my beautiful nuts!” Nutkin would say cheerfully, counting them one by one. “One, two, three… oh my! I have forty-seven nuts!”

Nutkin loved his collection more than anything. He would dust each nut with his fluffy tail, arrange them in perfect rows, and tell them little stories before bed. But there was just one problem—Nutkin was so busy organizing and counting his nuts that he never actually ate any of them.

One chilly autumn morning, Nutkin heard a tiny voice crying. “Help! Help!” squeaked the voice.

Nutkin poked his head out of his tree and saw a very small field mouse named Pip shivering at the bottom of his oak tree. Pip’s tummy was making loud rumbling sounds, and her whiskers were drooping with sadness.

“What’s wrong, little mouse?” asked Nutkin kindly.

“I’m so hungry,” sniffled Pip. “I’ve been looking everywhere for food to store for winter, but I’m too small to carry the big nuts, and all the tiny seeds are already gone. I don’t know what I’ll eat when the snow comes.”

Nutkin looked at his perfect collection of forty-seven nuts, all lined up so beautifully in his tree. His heart felt warm and fuzzy, like when he curled up in a sunny spot.

“Wait right there!” called Nutkin.

He scampered to his collection and picked up his favorite hazelnut—the one with the most beautiful swirly pattern. It was perfect, shiny, and had been the crown jewel of his collection.

But then Nutkin thought about Pip’s hungry tummy and drooping whiskers. The warm, fuzzy feeling in his heart grew bigger and bigger.

“Here you go, Pip!” Nutkin called down, gently dropping the hazelnut. “This should help!”

Pip’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. “Oh, Nutkin! This is the most beautiful nut I’ve ever seen! But… but it looks very special. Are you sure?”

Nutkin smiled the biggest smile. “I’m absolutely sure. What good is a beautiful nut if it doesn’t help a friend?”

As the days grew colder, more woodland creatures visited Nutkin’s tree. There was Benny the baby rabbit who had gotten separated from his family, and Clara the young chipmunk who had lost her winter store in a rainstorm, and Oliver the little hedgehog who was too sleepy to gather enough food before his long winter nap.

Each time, Nutkin shared his precious nuts. First he gave away his largest acorn to Benny, then his shiniest walnut to Clara, and his most perfectly round nut to Oliver.

Soon, Nutkin’s collection grew smaller and smaller. Forty-seven became thirty, then twenty, then ten.

But something magical happened. The more nuts Nutkin gave away, the happier he felt. His heart was so full of joy from helping his friends that he felt like he might float right up to the clouds!

One snowy evening, as Nutkin was looking at his now much smaller collection of just five nuts, he heard a rustling outside his tree.

“Surprise!” called many little voices.

Pip, Benny, Clara, Oliver, and many other woodland creatures had gathered below his tree. They were carrying something together—a big, beautiful leaf filled with all sorts of wonderful things.

“We brought you a feast!” squeaked Pip. “Fresh berries, sweet honey, crunchy seeds, and more nuts than you can count!”

“But the best part,” added Benny with a hop, “is that we want to share it with you! Can we all have dinner together?”

Nutkin’s eyes filled with happy tears. He had never had so many friends before! He scampered down and joined the most wonderful feast he could have ever imagined.

As they all munched and crunched together under the twinkling stars, Nutkin realized something very important. His old collection of forty-seven nuts had made him happy when he was alone, but sharing with friends made him happier than he ever thought possible.

From that night on, Nutkin still collected nuts—but now he collected them to share. His tree became the coziest gathering place in all of Sleepy Meadow, where friends would come to share stories, snacks, and warm hugs.

And every night before bed, instead of counting nuts, Nutkin would count his blessings: “One wonderful friend, two wonderful friends, three wonderful friends…” And he would fall asleep with the biggest, most contented smile, his heart full of love and his tree full of laughter.

The end.