In the early spring of one year, a little squirrel was born in a tall, tall oak tree in the Smokey Mountains. The little squirrel had two brothers and two sisters and spent most of his days chasing them about in the forest.
The little squirrel’s life was good in the forest on the mountain side. Water was plentiful, there were more wonderful trees than a squirrel could ever run on, and the sun shown down brightly on the canopy of leaves overhead. Often, when his brothers and sisters were out helping to gather food for the family, the little squirrel would spirit away, run up his favorite pine tree, and find a quiet place to snuggle among the soft needles in the sun.
When his mother found out, she would get angry and scold the little squirrel.
“You know how important it is for us to gather food, Chakik.” his Mother would chirp at him. “Things won’t always be as plentiful like they are now.”
Chakik knew his mother to be wise and she had taught him many, many things, but there were acorns, berries and other delicious things all over the forest. His brothers and sisters seemed to gather plenty of food for them all, and Chakik was embarrassed.
His sisters laughed at him when he tried to help carry food. “Your cheeks are so small, you might as well just eat the acorns! We won’t stay fed with that!” they would giggle. He was the smallest of all his family, even his sisters were bigger. When they went out gathering food together his cheeks could only fit half the amount of his siblings.
“What difference will my 3 acorns make?” He thought. “I’m not helping so why should I even try? My family gathers enough food without my help.”
To make matters worse for the little squirrel, his tail was much too long for his small body. Once he heard one of the older squirrels call him a “monkey”, he had no idea what that was, but he knew they didn’t mean it as a kindness.
On one particularly beautiful day the little squirrel skipped out gathering food again, and ventured out further into the forest than he ever had before, finding a new pine grove to explore. He climbed the thickest tree and sat lazily daydreaming in the pine branches. The sun warmed his body as he stretched out, making his tail as long as he could, something he only did when he was alone.
Some of the other squirrels called him “little cheeks long tail” and he hated it.
As he sat warming in the sun, while the rest of his family scurried about the forest floor searching for food and carrying it home in their cheeks, his mind wandered to the clouds in the blue sky above.
“I bet they don’t have to gather food,” he thought, as a fluffy cloud passed overhead, “even if they did, I bet they can carry as much as needed. I bet they always make their families proud.” Chakik wasn’t sure what kind of food clouds ate, nor where they stored it, but he was sure of one thing; they could carry as much of it as they wanted.
He stretched himself out as long as he could on the branch, reaching his paws in front of himself. “If I could carry as much food as I wanted in my cheeks,” he thought, the sun baking down on him, “my family would never go hungry. I could carry a hundred berries in my cheeks! Maybe even more! Then I’d be useful. They would see how much I can help.”
The little squirrel dozed off.