Sammy Jay and the Acorn Hat
A gentle story for quiet moments and curious hearts.
Inspired by the Bedtime Stories-books series by Thornton Burgess
Story by Audra Houston
Page 1
The forest was calm and bright.
Morning light touched the leaves,
just enough to turn dew drops to diamonds.
Page 2
Sammy Jay hopped along the path.
Tippity, tap. Tippity, tap.
The crisp air put him in high spirits.
Page 3
Near an oak tree, Sammy’s keen eyes spotted something curious.
The top piece of an acorn rested on a rock just so.
Sammy tilted his head.
“What a fine little hat,” he thought, and made his happy sound, “Jay! Jay! Jay!”
Page 4
Then Sammy’s crest dipped low.
The acorn cap might be part of Chatterer Squirrel’s stash, he thought.
Still… this one looked very fine.
“Just for a moment,” Sammy thought.
Sammy gently placed the acorn cap on his head.
Page 5
Sammy hopped to a shiny puddle to admire his reflection.
“I do look very sharp indeed,” he declared with a vibrant “Jay!”
Page 6
Just then, Chatterer Squirrel came scurrying along.
His rustling made a happy sound: “Skittery, scamp – skittery, scamp.”
Page 7
Chatterer was a friendly fellow.
He loved his acorn stash.
Chatterer stopped short as he saw Sammy.
Chatterer blinked at the little cap on Sammy’s head.
Chatterer’s tail went still.
Page 8
Chatterer politely spoke. “I do believe that cap came from my acorns.”, he said.
Sammy noticed Chatterer looked rather serious.
Slowly, Sammy lifted the hat toward Chatterer.
Sammy looked at Chatterer.
Chatterer Squirrel stayed still and thought.
Page 9
Then Chatterer chirped a chuckle and his eyes brightened.
His tail fluffed once more.
Chatterer placed the acorn cap on Sammy’s head.
Sammy Jay beamed.
Page 10
A soft breeze stirred the leaves.
The two friends continued on their way together.
All felt tranquil in the forest again.
