When winter begins
One morning, a little squirrel named Timmy was awakened in his cosy hideout. He was sleeping when suddenly a small snowflake fell on the tip of his nose.
Timmy shook his shaggy fur, blinked his beady black eyes skyward and thought: “If the first snow is falling now, it will soon turn to winter.”
The squirrel walked through the forest and called out: “Friends, winter is coming. Today, I saw a snowflake!” But none of the other forest dwellers answered. All his friends were still sleeping and wouldn’t be woken up.
“Okay, I’ll go on my own,” Timmy decided bravely. He grabbed his basket, tied it around his back, and walked toward a meadow filled with nut trees.
The road to the meadow is very long. With each step, it gets colder and windier. “This can’t be happening,” Timmy thought. “Why did winter come so early this year? I haven’t collected anything yet, and when the snow gets here, I’ll find fewer seeds.”
After the long walk to the meadow, he diligently dug under the large trees. Every once in a while, he finds a dropped nut or a buried acorn from last year. He carefully placed his loot in the basket.
When the basket was half full, it started to get dark, and Timmy decided to find a place to sleep. He found an abandoned nest in one of the nut trees and snuggled in. “Tomorrow, the search for the grain will continue,” he thought to himself.
When the little squirrel woke up the next day, he saw a thick layer of snow on the meadow. “Oh no! Winter is coming!” Timmy quickly climbed down from the tree and began touching the ground with his feet through the thick layer of snow. Finding the nuts was arduous. It was bitterly cold, and Timmy could only find a few edible things.
Just as he was putting the collected seeds in the basket, a small mouse trudged through the snow. Tiny ice crystals stuck to its antennae.
“Hello, Timmy. I see you have started collecting in time and have found many types of seeds. I slept all winter, and now I have nothing to eat.”
Timmy saw that the little mouse was cold, and he was definitely hungry. “Okay, little mouse. I can give you some seeds.” The little mouse thanked him and returned to the forest with the chestnuts.
Just then, a little hedgehog came and said: “Hello, Timmy. It’s terribly cold. I didn’t expect winter to come so quickly at all. Before hibernating, I have to eat something. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything in the snow.”
Timmy knows the hedgehog and doesn’t want him to go hungry. “I can give you some earthworms.” The hedgehog thanked him and returned to the cave.
Just as Timmy was about to continue collecting, a small rabbit hobbled by. “Hello, dear squirrel. I see you found a lot of nuts. I injured my leg, and now I can’t collect anymore.”
Timmy pitied the rabbit. “Your leg must hurt a lot. I can give you some seeds. Maybe it will help.” The rabbit thanked him and limped on.
The sky gradually became dark, and one thick snowflake after another gently fell on its fur. Sometimes, he shakes himself because it’s too cold. Then, behind a tree, he saw a small bird. “Hello, little bird, what are you doing? Shouldn’t you be sitting in a tree or flying around?”
The bird replied: “You are right. I rarely come down here, but I needed to find something to eat. Winter came so suddenly.”
Timmy looked into his basket. There are only two seeds left in it. “Bird, I only have two nuts left. But I can give you one of them.” The bird thanked him and flew away with the nut in its beak.
Timmy looked at the almost empty basket. “That’s crazy – I won’t make it through the winter with that!” But now he had to find his way home because it was too cold and dark to gather.
With each passing day, winter becomes colder. The trees carry a thick layer of snow on their branches. Timmy worriedly sat down on a large rock on the side of the road.
At that moment, the little mouse came. “Hello, Timmy. You look sad. What’s going on?” Timmy explained to the little mouse that he had shared all his nuts with everyone else, and now he had nothing.
The little mouse remembered how the squirrel shared his nuts and said: “I found some cheese and some cereal. I will be happy to give you some.” The mouse shares its supplies and says goodbye.
“Hello, squirrel,” a bird chirped from a tree. “Here, I have an earthworm for you.” The little bird flew to the ground and gave the worm to Timmy. He quickly ate the worm and thanked the little bird.
A while later, the rabbit and the limping hedgehog also passed by and said: “Today we met the little mouse. The rat told us that you have shared all your supplies, and now you are hungry yourself.”
“I can give you some milk that I got from the farm,” said the hedgehog. The rabbit shows Timmy an apple and shares it with Timmy. “We will all continue to look for supplies, and we can show you a place where you can find a variety of nuts.”
“There is enough food for all of us on our way to the human settlement,” the hedgehog reported.
“Thank you. I will be happy to go with you.” The little squirrel arranged to meet the hedgehog and the rabbit. They planned to meet at sunrise the next morning.
The little squirrel is very grateful for the help of other animals and is no longer afraid of winter. He snuggled into his nest and looked forward to the next day’s general search for supplies.
