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Let us go after those beechnuts today," said Tim to Peter. "My mother says that I may."

"The squirrels take all the nuts," said Peter. "We cannot find any."

"Yes, we can," said Tim. "We can get the beechnuts before the squirrels do. Only we must hurry. See if you may go."

Mother said, "Yes." Then the boys went through the field back of Tim's house. They passed the sandbank. Soon they came to the edge of the woods.

The woods were not green any longer. The trees were bright with colors. There were many red and yellow sugar maples. Tim's father always tapped these in the spring.

A few of the trees in the woods were evergreens. Their needles were a dark green.

And there were many beech trees. Their leaves had turned brown and yellow.

"See, Peter," said Tim. "Some of the leaves have come down. I am glad. We can play in them."

"No," said Peter. "We must hunt for beechnuts. Let us find a beech tree. Then we will look on the ground for nuts."

"All right," said Tim. And he began to hunt for beechnuts under a maple tree.

He looked on top of the leaves. He scraped up the leaves. But not one single nut did he find.

"There are no nuts," he said. "This is not a beechnut year. I shall not hunt anymore."

Just then Peter shouted, "Oh, come here, come here! I have found some! See, see! The squirrels have not taken them all."

He held out his hand. In it were some small, brown nuts. They were three-cornered nuts. Two were in a prickly burr.

"There are more on the ground," he said. "And, Oh Tim! Look up into the tree! I can see burrs all over it. I wish that we could climb up and knock them off."

"I wish so, too," said Tim. "I am going back to look up into my tree. Maybe they have not come down from my tree."

When Peter saw Tim looking up into a maple, he laughed.

"Oh Tim!" he said. "Of course, you cannot find any beechnuts there. Beechnuts do not grow on maples. Find a beech."

Soon Tim found a tree like Peter's. The leaves were not the shape of maple leaves. The bark was smoother than maple bark. It had gray spots on it.

Tim began to find nuts, too. He put them into his pocket. That is where Peter put his.

It was not easy work to find such little nuts. Sometimes they were lying on the leaves. Sometimes the leaves hid them.

"It is easier to pick up butternuts," said Peter. "I could fill my pockets with them very quickly. I shall never get my pockets filled with beechnuts. I have enough any way. Let's go home."

"In a minute," said Tim. "Let's sit here a little while. See the leaves come down. I can hear them, too. Can you?"

"Yes," said Peter. "And I shall be glad when they are all down. I am wishing for winter all the time. My mother says that it will come soon."

The woods were very still. The boys heard no birds singing. Some of them had gone south. Those that were left did not sing.

There was no noise but the sound of the leaves as they fell down from the trees.

Peter got up and scuffed in the fallen leaves.

"I like the smell of them," he said. "Now I am going home. Come on."

So home through the field they went. Collie met them. He jumped around them and barked. Perhaps he said, "Why didn't you take me with you?"

Tim put his hand into his pocket to show Collie his beechnuts. But he could not find them.

He turned his pocket inside out. Still he found no nuts. Instead, he found a large hole.

He said to Peter, "The squirrels take most of the nuts, and the hole takes the rest. I think that is a good joke. Let us go for more, tomorrow."

story image

Directions

Study the lesson for one week.

Over the week:

  • Read the story multiple times.
  • Review the synopsis.
  • Study the vocabulary words.
  • Learn the concepts.
  • Complete the enrichment activities.
  • Study the review questions.

Synopsis

Peter and Tim venture into the woods to hunt for beechnuts. At first, they cannot find any nuts. The squirrels have eaten them. Eventually, Peter finds some beechnuts. The nuts are small, brown, and have three corners. Tim tries to find nuts in a maple tree. Peter tells him that beechnuts only come from beech trees. The boys both fill their pockets with nuts. On the way home, Tim discovers he has lost all his nuts. They have fallen out of a hole in his pocket.

Vocabulary

Beech Tree: A large tree with smooth gray bark, glossy leaves, and hard, pale wood. Its fruit, the beechnut, is an important food for numerous wild birds and mammals.
Beechnut: The small triangular brown fruit of the beech tree, pairs of which are enclosed in a prickly case.
Prickly: Covered in sharp points.
Scuff: Scrape the surface of one object against another.

Concepts

Squirrels are tree-dwelling rodents with bushy tails that typically eat nuts and seeds.

Facts about squirrels:

  1. Squirrels are animals, mammals, and vertebrates (they have backbones).
  2. Squirrels are 'omnivorous' which means they eat both plants and animals. They eat plants such as nuts, seeds, and fruits. Some squirrels also eat insects, eggs, small birds, snakes, and small rodents.
  3. Squirrels gather food year-round and bury food for winter.
  4. Some squirrels hibernate (sleep during winter), waking every few weeks to feed. Other squirrels, such as gray squirrels, stay awake all winter.

Types of squirrels in the US include gray squirrels, red squirrels, fox squirrels, ground squirrels, and flying squirrels.

  1. Gray squirrels bury nuts all over the place and sometimes forget where they buried them. This helps new trees grow.
  2. Red squirrels store a big pile of nuts in one place.

Did you know that flying squirrels don't actually fly? Instead, they soar from tree to tree with the help of a built-in parachute. Their 'parachute' is a thin flap of skin stretching between their wrists and ankles.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Narrate the Story

  • After reading or listening to the story, narrate the story events aloud using your own words.

Activity 2: Feed the Squirrels

Objective:

Hide peanuts or nuts for the squirrels to find.

Materials:

Peanuts or nuts.

Procedure:

  • Get some peanuts or nuts.
  • Go to your backyard or other outdoor area.
  • Use a spade or shovel to dig a shallow hole and place the nut inside.
  • Cover up the nut with the soil.

Review

Question 1

Why did Peter and Tim explore the woods?
1 / 4

Answer 1

Peter and Tim visited the woods to gather beechnuts.
1 / 4

Question 2

Why did Tim think they wouldn't find any nuts?
2 / 4

Answer 2

Tim believed the squirrels had eaten all the nuts.
2 / 4

Question 3

Which tree grows beechnuts - the beech tree or the maple tree?
3 / 4

Answer 3

Beech trees grow beechnuts.
3 / 4

Question 4

Why did Tim lose all his beechnuts?
4 / 4

Answer 4

The beechnuts fell out of Tim's pocket.
4 / 4

  1. Why did Peter and Tim explore the woods? Peter and Tim visited the woods to gather beechnuts.
  2. Why did Tim think they wouldn't find any nuts? Tim believed the squirrels had eaten all the nuts.
  3. Which tree grows beechnuts - the beech tree or the maple tree? Beech trees grow beechnuts.
  4. Why did Tim lose all his beechnuts? The beechnuts fell out of Tim's pocket.

References

  1. 'Squirrel.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

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