The Hedgehog and the Squirrel

Autumn settles over the Great Green Wood, and Hazel the hedgehog faces a worry: winter is near, yet she has no warm, safe nest. She tries a pile of dry grass that is too scratchy and a hollow under a log that is too damp, but nothing feels right. Too shy to ask for help, she watches as Sammy the squirrel dashes up and down an oak tree, gathering acorns and seeds before the first frost, his paws more than full.

When Sammy sees Hazel eyeing a heap of leaves, he offers to show her where the softest leaves grow. Together they line a dry hollow at the base of a big oak tree. Noticing Sammy's small store of nuts, Hazel offers something in return: her nose is good at finding acorns and beechnuts on the ground. All afternoon Sammy shakes nuts from the branches while Hazel collects them below, and as the days grow colder they add moss and grass to the nest and fill hollow logs and stumps with food. This gentle tale by Jane MEADOW shows how a shy hedgehog and a busy squirrel each give what they are best at. Read it on Kids Tale Book.