The Squirrel's Nuts

The story resides in a far far away land where once used to be acres of forests. The woods stretched across rivers, mountains , sales and lakes. There in the midst of this mighty kingdom resided a mightier lion who was the king of this kingdom. The huge empire was home to a huger subject.

The protection of the kingdom was the responsibility of a profound army of animals. The hippos, bears and beastly fishes constituted the navy. Birds and bats comprised the air force and the battalion of apes and monkeys were guerrilla ninjas. None of the warriors were any less than the other. Among the battalion of commando giants was one remarkable young squirrel . Though some questioned his size, he was the most agile and dedicated servant of all. The king was especially proud of him. He would work for extra hours, make sure that everything is pitch perfect, always travel an extra mile and often return home late from work. He took a little interest in things like food and fun.

This was not because he didn’t want to enjoy life, nor because he wanted to be be at par with his ape competitors. He had already proven his worth when he single handedly crushed the rebellion of the elephants by climbing atop and blinding the leader. He accomplished this using his tiny but splendid sword that he named 'the servant' without putting in much thought. The reason behind his withdrawal from all sources of fun and leisure was his want to expand his ancestral lands and build a store-house for nuts to store that would last many a winters after he retires. His mantra for life was to relinquish all worldly desires while he worked throughout his youth and relish the harvest thoroughly when he retires. The huge property and name that he would have gathered in his summer of his life would stay with him through the winters. He and his family would have enough resources to roam about freely and feeding the most delicious nuts from around the world without fearing for tomorrow’s food, he often thought to himself.

His dedication did not escape the lion king’s keen eye. His majesty was so influenced by the squirrel’s dutiful dedication and numerous tales of bravery that he decided to honor and award him. He called upon a special assembly in the squirrel’s honor and declared that he would award this mightiest squirrel nany a trunk-full of precious nuts of the quality and quantity that no squirrel has ever dreamed of. The king was very well known around the world for keeping his word.

Many a seasons changed, many a winters swept by, time passed and the squirrel grew. It grew not only in name but also into old age. The day came when he finally had to retire. On this day, he had earned all the oaks in his province. The king, true to his word, his name and majesty arranged a grand retirement ceremony in the squirrel’s honour and as promised, filled all the hollow tree trunks with the best nuts from all around the world. The squirrel’s desires were finally fulfilled. The dream of an angelic retirement that he had dreamt all through his life had now finally came true. He owned more trees than he could keep count of and filled them all with nuts. Strangely, contrary to his beliefs, this him neither satisfaction nor happiness.

For the old wrecked squirrel now hath not teeth nor strength, to crack, chew and digest the precious, rare and crunchy nuts new. All he could now do was repent over not having enriched his life, enjoyed his tastes, listened to his heart while he still had youth, time and teeth. He now awaits his misery to end as his wife and children lead their independent lives. The countrymen rejoice a new warrior raccoon- the talk of the town. He lays broken, ailing, rich but loveless, awaiting death while regretting a life not fully lived.