The selfish squirrel

Jacqueline Gioia

One sunny day a baby bird was collecting food from all of the animals in the forest. He collected a little honey from the bees, some carrots from the rabbits, and some berries from the deer. Finally, he came across a squirrel and saw that he was carrying a bag of nuts that he had just gathered. The baby bird asked politely for some nuts and the squirrel replied, “I have been harvesting these nuts all week and I cannot afford to give you any”, then ran into the forest without even giving the baby bird a chance to explain why. Later that evening the squirrel heard laughing and singing coming from the meadow, so he went to see what was going on. He saw a great array of food from the baby bird’s collection. Enough to feed everyone! Instead of joining the squirrel sat alone in his tree and ate his nuts. He was lonely and jealous of his neighbors, and could not be angrier with himself for not sharing.

Moral:  Positive (perspective) : Share and be kind to others and you will be rewarded.

             Negative (perspective) : Being selfish and unkind to others will only hurt you later.

Citation for photo:

Folini, Franco. Tamiasciurus Douglasii 000.jpg. 2003. Photograph. Oregon Coast, Oregon.