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85 the squirrel and the trees A FARMER WITH A GROVE of walnut trees was enraged at a squirrel who was stealing his nuts, and threatened to kill him if he didn't stop his thefts. He said: "I wouldn't mind so much if you took only enough for yourself, but you're too greedy for that. You even steal nuts when you're not hungry and bury them in the ground; and what's more, you never find again a fraction of the nuts you hide away." [ 168 ] "It's true I steal more nuts than I need," said the squirrel; "but it isn't because I'm greedy; it's because squirrels are forgetful and foolish. But the nuts I bury and never find again aren't wasted, as you think; they sprout in the earth, and in time they come up and grow into trees as stately and fruitful as the parent that bore them." He glanced anxiously at the farmer and then went on, "I don't know much about these matters, but it may be God made squirrels so impractical in order that His world would always be covered with beautiful, life-giving trees." r 169 ] ...

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