The Squirrel and the Acorn

[Walter]

I was sitting on a park bench contemplating the meaning of my  life when a squirrel climbed down from a nearby oak tree. He stayed within a safe distance from myself being sure never to get too close, but wandered just close enough so that I could observe. He was savaging for fallen acorns from the oak tree. He would sniff around, pick one up with his small claws, crack it open using his sharp teeth and powerful jaws, take a small bite or two and put it down. On occasion. even bury it. Why would he bury the acorn, I thought. Could he be saving it for later? Or perhaps somewhere, somehow, he learned that planting acorns would grow the trees that provide him with the food he needs to survive. For whatever the reason, I found it interesting. I grabbed an acorn to learn more about his source of nutrients.

I pressed the acorn between my fingers in attempt to crack it, but to no avail. Perhaps my fingernails... alas, no. I took out my key chain which has a small pocket knife attached and began to saw open the acorn. After making the cut I slowly chipped away the edges to reveal a moist soft yellow substance. Ah ha! So this is the food that the squirrel eats. I began to scrape off away some wondering what it might taste like, when suddenly green goo started to leak from the top. Strange, I wonder if this is some sort of nutrient for the seed? I dug around within the acorn to investigate further. A white bulbous piece of acorn stuck to my knife, something very different from the rest of the acorn. I put it on the table to examine it. A soft breeze began to push it, as it seemed to be moving. I looked closer and noticed a dark red circle at the tip, and it began to curl. A Maggot.

The squirrel wasn't eating the acorns. He wasn't planting them for a tree to grow, or to save them for later; he was planting them so the bugs could lay their eggs. He planted so he could eat the flesh of another creature.

[silvertone]

 squirrels sing Rookoo Rookoo but my dog chases them away.

[Mando Pandango]

Muese and sqvirrel