_It is a wise man that lays aside a portion of his earnings so as
to provide for the time when he cannot work._
Once upon a time a squirrel made his home in the hollow of a big
oak tree. He and his family were very bright looking squirrels.
They were so careful about little things. Not even a nut end or the
rind of an acorn was wasted in their homes. Mr. and Mrs. Squirrel
and the three little ones made up the family.
The first thing Mr. and Mrs. Squirrel taught their children was to
store away food to eat in the winter when they could not go out to
get it. All summer long they were gathering acorns, and in the
fall when the nuts were ripe they spent all their time storing the
old oak full of provisions for the winter. They knew the cold was
coming and that they should make some provisions against the snow
and the sleet.
One cold winter afternoon the squirrels were all in their snug
little home. It was almost night. A very little rap came on the
door. Mr. Squirrel went to see who it was, but at first he did not
see anybody, so he said: “Who is there?”
“It is I,” said a little voice. “I am very cold and hungry. May I
come in awhile and warm myself?”
“Of course you may,” said Mr. Squirrel.
A rabbit hopped in. His fur was dirty and he looked ragged. His
eyes were dull. His whiskers and ears hung down. He looked as ill
as a rabbit could look. Mr. Squirrel had him sit in a chair beside
the fire, and Brownie, his oldest child, gave him her own acorns to
eat. He ate them eagerly. When he was warm, Mrs. Squirrel sent the
little ones to bed and when they were gone she said: “My friend,
how did it happen that you had this bad luck?”
“I did not know that it was going to be so cold, and that the snow
was going to be so deep that I could not get some winter cabbage to
eat. You know I do not mind work, but I just did not know all this
was going to happen. It seems no use for me to try. I don’t know
how you manage,” said the rabbit.
“We all tried. We put away a part of everything we had. If we had
six acorns we put three away. There was plenty of nuts last fall,
so we have plenty for ourselves and for a friend, too; so eat all
you want,” said Mr. Squirrel.
It was pleasant in the Squirrel family, but the rabbit had been
such an idle fellow that he could not stay long contented. He would
not help to do the work in the Squirrel house, so in a few days he
left.
Often when he felt the cold winter wind he wished he had stayed
with the Squirrels. And the Squirrels, who were very kind hearted,
often thought of the rabbit out in the cold.