58 NATURE STUDY MADE EASY 



LESSON XIX 



TOM'S ACORN 



"At last, at last, I have cheated the squir- 

 rels ! " merrily cried Tom Brown, as he stooped 

 and picked up a big brown acorn that lay under 

 a bunch of leaves. 



"Why, what have you done?" asked his cousin William, who 

 was busy hunting for maple wings under an old maple tree. 



"I have found an acorn, a big one, a ripe one. It was such hard 

 work to get it, for those busy little nut gatherers have been around 

 picking up their winter stores, and I have had a long hunt for this." 



"What are you going to do with it? Will you eat it?" asked 

 William. 



"Why, Will, how stupid! Boys don't eat acorns; pigs and 

 squirrels do that. I am going to make an oak tree out of it." 



"An oak tree out of that little nut !" exclaimed William, who 

 had not learnt anything about acorns. 



"Why, yes," replied Tom; "this great tree, under which we are 

 standing, grew out of an acorn like this. My teacher told me 



so." 



"Oh, that can hardly be true!" said William; "that thing is 

 too small to make anything so big." 



"Well, we shall see," said his cousin. " Seeing is believing." 

 Then pushing his acorn safely to the bottom of his pocket, he and 



