The Little Squirrel's First Snow

All through autumn, the young squirrel spent his days playing and having fun, even though his mother reminded him again and again to gather nuts for the winter ahead. But he never listened.

Then one day, the first snow of the year fell suddenly, much earlier than anyone expected. The young squirrel was thrilled, running and rolling joyfully through the fresh white snow.

Before long, the young squirrel began to panic, suddenly remembering he hadn't stored a single nut, and the snow now covered the ground so thickly he couldn't tell where any nuts might have fallen.

He dug desperately through the snow, hoping to find any leftover nuts. Other squirrels who had prepared ahead of time saw him struggling and kindly shared some of their own stored nuts with him.

The young squirrel promised himself he would plan ahead from then on. For the rest of that winter, he helped the other squirrels gather nuts for the following year, having learned just how important it is to prepare early.

Planning and preparing ahead of time keeps us from struggling when hard times suddenly arrive.