The Squirrel’s Lost Nut

Morning sun shines through the pine needles, waking Piko up on a high branch. The little red squirrel stretches his arms wide and pats his hungry tummy. He quickly climbs down the tree trunk to check his secret hollow where he hid a big, round, shiny brown hazelnut. But the hollow is completely empty! Only a few dry pine needles are left. Piko cries out in surprise - Oh no! Where did my delicious hazelnut go? He looks all around, then quickly scurries down to the ground to search in the grass.

The dry autumn leaves crunch softly under Piko's tiny feet as he runs along the ground. He lowers his little nose to the earth, sniffing all around to find the sweet scent of his hazelnut. Suddenly, the little squirrel jumps with joy as he spots a row of tiny, round footprints pressed into the soft dirt - Look! A trail of tiny footprints! I bet this friend knows where my hazelnut is. The footprints lead him past a bright red mushroom and run straight toward a large orange bush. Piko runs quickly along the path.

The mysterious trail leads Piko directly to a giant oak tree at the edge of the forest. From behind the thick wooden roots, Piko hears the soft, steady sound of sweeping. Piko hides behind a large, fallen oak leaf and peeks out curiously. Hedgy the hedgehog is busy sweeping dry leaves, wearing a small blue apron. Piko's eyes open wide as he spots a big, shiny brown hazelnut stuck right between Hedgy's sharp, pointy quills! The little squirrel pops his head out and calls out loudly - Hello there! Is that my hazelnut on your back?

Hedgy stops sweeping and turns around in surprise. When he sees Piko looking at the hazelnut on his back, the little hedgehog smiles kindly and explains - I was cleaning up the leaves down the hill when this hazelnut rolled right into my pile. I put it on my back to keep it safe for whoever lost it! With a friendly nod, Hedgy rolls onto his side and gently wiggles his back, letting the hazelnut drop softly onto the moss in front of Piko - Here you go, Piko! Piko cheers with joy, running forward to hug his sweet hazelnut.

Looking at the messy piles of dry leaves around Hedgy, Piko wiggles his big, fluffy tail with excitement - Let me help you clean up! The little red squirrel turns around and sweeps his soft tail back and forth quickly to gather all the leaves. In no time, the ground is perfectly clean and neat. The two new friends sit down together, leaning against the warm oak tree. Piko uses his strong front teeth to crack the hazelnut into two equal parts - Let's share and eat this together! They happily enjoy their nutty breakfast in the gentle autumn sun.