It's a beautiful autumn morning as the sun's rays pierces through the forest. Chip takes a moment to admire the colorful leaves before he continues gathering acorns for winter.
Unknown to chip at this time was something watching him from the bush behind him. Chip breathed in the cool fresh air then started towards the acorn trees to gather up for another round. Later as he got home with a bunch of acorns in his cheeks he stacked them with the rest. But something didn’t look right at all…..something was wrong. Chip smelled the air then looked at his growing collection of acorns, neatly stacked against the wall in his hollow under the tree root home. The acorns look fewer than he remembered so he started counting. At the end he was missing quite a few and that can mean disaster, if he doesn’t have enough supplies. Chip felt deflated, his first winter on his own and then there is another chipmunk, too lazy to work, stealing his acorns.
He can't gather double what he needs to satisfy the thief also, but at the same time he cant stay home and guard his home, who will then gather the last of the winter supply? Chip decided to take a break, he was tired and stressing, and panicking only makes things worse. He sat down, then relaxed as he listened to the forest chorus of birds and much later the last of the cricket and frog choir before winter silences all. He was deep in thought when he finally got the solution to the problem.
Chip worked all through the night but it will be worth it in the end. He just finished his work when the first rays of a skiddish sun appeared through the forest. Hoping his plan works, he sets off to gather more acorns for winter.
When Chip left, the intruder came out of hiding. Bucky, an overweight lazy chipmunk, who never worked a day in his life, but always stole from his fellow hardworking chipmunks. He smirked as he entered Chip's home. Feeling over confident, with his tricks, he didn’t try to be sneaky or careful. But this time when he entered, he tripped on a piece of rope and rolled and rolled down a tunnel. He was panicked as it felt like the spinning and rolling would never stop. Then out he pops into the pond at the backside of the tree. The water was freezing as he landed into it. He was swimming as fast as he could to get out still feeling dizzy from the rolling.
When he was on dry land again, the world stopped spinning, he commented to himself. Chip may be a clever little chipmunk but he is more determined than ever. He entered again this time looking for the rope, he gently climbed over it. Then headed deeper down towards Chip's home when all of a sudden he felt something big smacking him on the head. He looked back… only to get hit again from the other side when it struck him a third time he noticed it was a pebble tied to a rope that swung around pounding him.
He sneaked underneath the swinging rock and continued despite freezing from the pond and still soaking wet. With the newly acquired headache he still continued to make his way to Chip's kitchen. Growing ever more determined to take all of Chip's winter supply for himself. As he entered the kitchen he came to an awful sight. There wasn’t an acorn in sight. He frantically started to search and later spread to the entire house, but could not find a thing.
Disgusted he returns to the kitchen to sit down. It was only then he noticed the note neatly folded with his name on it. He opened it and read the letter. “Dear Buck, if you made it this far you were quite determined, but I am too. The lesson you learned today is for all the energy you wasted, for nothing could have been put to use, to gather your own food. You are more than capable of finding your own food. You will not find my pantry I am not sorry for you.” Bucky left the note behind and left Chip's home defeated and haunted by Chip's words.
Later that day when Chip returned with more supplies, he entered his house from the front entrance. As he entered the kitchen he knew Bucky had been here. And with success Chip hasn't lost one acorn. He pulled the table out of the way, lifted the carpet opening, then the trap door that lead down a ladder into a newly build pantry where all his winter food was stored. With relief he smiled, happy to know if he just kept panicking he wouldn't have thought of how to solve the problem.
Story my own
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