the; acorn, the root AND The SEEDEING OAK 11 
picks it up as he passes by and looks as if he would like to 
bite into it to try if it be sweet or bitter. Lucky for him 
that he throws it away, because this acorn comes from a 
scarlet oak, and only the white oak bears sweet fruit! 
At last the acorn is away from under the mother tree. 
There it lies in the sunshine. If only someone would 
come and plant it in the ground! It has no power of 
gathering its own food, either water or sunlight; it needs 
no food now while it is asleep, but within its shell is 
stored food all carefully prepared by the mother tree. 
And because this food is so carefully prepared, it is good 
food for animals. 
The squirrel knows this, and along he comes frisking, 
tail up; he seizes that acorn between his sharp teeth and 
scurries off with it. But because he is a thrifty animal 
he does not eat the nut; winter will soon be here and 
food will be scarce, so he buries it carefully not far from 
his home, meaning to come back one day when he is 
especially hungry and dig it up. 
But he never comes back because he forgets all about it, 
or else he cannot find the spot where he has buried it so 
carefully. 
So the winter long the acorn sleeps snugly under¬ 
ground. 
And then comes Spring! 
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