The Indianapolis leader. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1879-1890, 1880-01-17
The Two So uirrels.
LIZZIE c. DEERING.

LIZZIE c. DEERING.
Once there were two squirrels, who live
neighbors to each other in a great fores
One pleasant but frosty day, when the nut
were dropping, they both started out of thei
holes in the big chestnut trees. and began t
frisk about in the sunshine and to chatter an,
eat nuts. These two squirrels looked jus
alike, but in reality, they were different; 70
ole of them, after playing few minute
began to fill his cheeks with nuts, ant
scamper off to his hole, to pack them away
But the other kept on playing and eating
and seemed to think of nothing but having
good time.
"Why don't you work part of the timer
said the busy squirrel. Don't you know tina,
a long, cold winter is coming, when all these
nice nuts viii be covered with snow2"
There will be plenty of time to work before
the snow comes. We don't have weather
like this every day, and 1 am going to enjoy
myself while it lasts. can work when the
sun doesn't shine SO warm and bright. II
you choose to spend all of your time working,
you can. But as for me, intend to enjoy
myself
so do l." said the smart squirrel, "but l
intend to get my work done first. After /
get my hole full of nuts, shall have
nothing to worry about. No matter
how hard the wind blows, or how
deep the snow is, 1 shall have
enough for. sll winter. am we'll and strong
to-day, and it is pleasant to work out here in
the sunshine, bat tomorrow may be sick or
il may storm
$50 shall work. and you may play,
All this bright October day;
Bat whom the forms Of winter roar,
Don't come begging at my door"
So the days passed on. Up and down. up
and down, the busy squirrel went, until
his hole wa full to the running over
with ripe, fst nuts. But the lazy squirrel
PLAYED and frisked about, filled his stomach
instead Of his checks with nuts, and laughed
Al those who were wasting such pleasant
days IN labor. But at last one morning when
he walked up NJ was surprised to ind how
cold it seemed. He peeped out of bis hole,
and behold. it was showing. The ground
was already covered an inch Deep
"Whewr exclaimed he, "the snow has
come early, this year. 1t surely is not time
for winter yet. / must go TO work, after
this melts away, as it surely must, and Law
in my food for winter. But as he looked
around at the bare branches Of the trees, and
heard the wind whistling through them, he
thought to himself, "this certainly seems
like winter, but it can not be possible that it
has come SO soon. But l must see what
can find for breakfast guess can scratch
away the snow, and get few nuts So out
he went, and as he passed his neighbours
home, he glanced up slyly to see If she were
looking out. He felt ashamed. He went off
quite distance, and finding spot were he re-
membered he saw some nuts the day before,
commenced to scratch away the snow. He
found several, but it was cold work, and
made his paws ache. He went back to his
nest. wondering what he should do, if win
ter had really come in earnest. All day
long the snow kept falling. Night came and
he had to go To bed without any supper. In
the morning, he felt almost starved. He
looked out; the snow was very deep, and
more was falling. He thought of all the nice
nuts that lay under il, and wished that he
had taken time in the warm, sunny
days TO gather them. But It
was too late now. His heart was very heavy
and his stomsch very empty. He thought of
his neighbor with her nest packed so full of
walnuts, chestnuts and delicious little beech
nuts. II made him very, very hungry. AS
the day passed by, he felt as If he could not
endure it any longer. So he went over to
his neighbor's house and peeped in. There
,he was, as snug and warm as could be,
cracking nuts, and singing 10 her mate:
"Im glad we worked when the days were warm,
And saved for stormy weather;
For had not, In this bad storm
We might have starved together"
He stood there so ashamed that he could
not speak for awhile. He had never begged
before. and it WAS hard work-much harder
than gathering nuts in the sunshine would
have been--but he had to confess, at last,
that he was nearly starved, and to ask for
few nuts.
81 should be glad to give you enough to
last you all winter, if had them to spare"
said the squirrel, "but l only laid in enough
for my own family, and the signs foretell
very hard winter. / can give you few for
your breakfast though"
SO the poor squirrel took them and went
home. But they didn't last long. Oil the
hungry days that followed The
squirrel pinned day after day for food. He
was glad to get anything to eat. Sometimes
he found few nuts that had staid on the
trees, and when thraw came IS it did &C.
he could find some under the
snow. Often he was glad even to chew bark,
and nibble the buds from the trees. But 1t
was a hard winter, and he was thin misera-
squirrel when spring came. But
it taught him good lesson, and when an
other fall came, and the nuts began to drop,
there wasn't a buster squirrel to be found
When his neighbor saw how smart he was
she changed her old song little. 1t was
now:
''First wen work and then we'll play,
On this bright October day"
and he sang with her, at her top of his voice.