Sammy was a wee little squirrel. Even a gigantic squirrel is a tiny creature in the forest—far smaller than a mighty buck, ferocious grizzly, or fierce mountain lion. But, poor little Sammy was even small for a squirrel. All his friends jokingly called him, “Chipmunk”. He hated that name.
Sammy decided he would try to eat himself big. But, no matter how many acorns he ate, he just wouldn’t grow. As the leaves began to change to vibrant shades of orange, yellow and brown, Sammy was far more zealous than his fellow squirrels hiding acorns in preparation. He kept thinking, “I’m going to eat myself bigger and bigger!” So, he kept eating and storing acorns, eating and storing.
Years passed and Sammy didn’t grow an ounce.
“Hey chipmunk! Missed a nut!”
“Argghhh! Leave me alone!”
“Oh, look at the hardest working squirrel in the forest—eating and storing, eating and storing.”
But, Sammy just kept at it—eating and storing, eating and storing. One day he met a gigantic squirrel in the forest—nearly as big as a cat! “Hey, Mr. Squirrel. How’d you grow so big?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I guess I was just born that way. Everything I eat just makes me grow bigger and bigger. Must be good metabolism I guess.”
“Yeah, yeah, . . . I guess.” Sammy skulked away and hid in his nest, gently sobbing. “Why can’t I grow bigger? Oh, why! Why can’t I grow bigger? I eat and store more acorns than any beast in the forest!”
Over time Sammy grew old and feeble. He was no longer able to eat and store as much as before. But, he kept at it. If nothing else, he had faith—faith that all his efforts would eventually pay off. Soon fall slipped into winter and Sammy breathed his last breath. All the squirrels mourned the loss of Sammy. And, they all remember him eating and storing, eating and storing.
Years passed and soon Sammy was forgotten. It seemed all his eating and storing was for naught, but Sammy’s life had left a legacy. Over all the years of his life he stored acorns in the ground—far more acorns than any squirrel had ever stored. Those tiny acorns over time grew into mighty trees. A mighty forest grew. A forest planted by one wee, tiny little squirrel named Sammy—eating and storing, eating and storing. Sammy never knew the fruits of his life. He never saw the mighty oaks and he never grew an ounce, but his faithfulness remained rooted in the trees of that forest.
