There lived a chipmunk in the sun-baked earth at the edge of a vast forest. His days were spent collecting the fallen acorns from the nearby oak trees. High in the boughs of those very trees, in leafy comfort, lived his cousin the squirrel. Every day the chipmunk would pause in his work and watch the squirrel high overhead going about his incomprehensible business among the green branches where acorns grew for the taking. And every day, the squirrel would look down and see the chipmunk scurrying tiredly to and fro in endless search for whatever the squirrel allowed to fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One day, the snow came early, and the chipmunk found his home buried beneath a blanket of white powder. \u201cPlease,” he pleaded with the squirrel “allow me to stay with you these few days until the snow melts. For the snow has come early, and has caught me unprepared for the winter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The squirrel replied, “Your kind was meant to live in the ground, and so are used to hardships. I have no room for you in my home, and my food is not enough to be shared. It is your fault that you are not prepared for such a snow as this.\u201d And so the chipmunk, after much digging, found his burrow that he had failed to line with fur and twigs, and settled down to wait — with nothing to eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately, the snow melted after only a few days, and the chipmunk — somewhat leaner and somewhat wiser — began lining his burrow, and storing his food for when the snow would come to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And so it happened that lightning struck the forest, and the dead winter trees burnt swiftly to the ground — leaving the squirrel without a home. “Please,\u201d the squirrel pleaded with the chipmunk, \u201callow me to stay with you until once again the trees grow tall enough to provide me with a home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chipmunk shook his head slowly and, \u201cYou would have left me to die when I asked you to share your home. It is only fair that I refuse you my home, as you refused me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just then, a sly fox snuck up and gobbled up the chipmunk. Having heard the conversation, and being wiser than both squirrel and chipmunk, he gave the squirrel his advice. \u201cLife is not a case of clearly distinguishable extremes. As the chipmunk was justified in refusing to share his burrow for the years it would take for new trees to grow, so you too were justified in refusing to share your home with one too lazy to prepare for the slightest of emergencies. However, you would both have done well to be charitable toward each other — and to have shared what you have with one in need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With that, the fox gobbled up the squirrel, and settled down in the chipmunk’s now-vacant burrow to wait for spring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There lived a chipmunk in the sun-baked earth at the edge of a vast forest. His days were spent collecting the fallen acorns from the nearby oak trees. High in the boughs of those very trees, in leafy comfort, lived his cousin the squirrel. Every day the chipmunk would pause in his work and watch … <\/p>\n