In a Nutshell...

Squirrel thought it was his lucky day!

The biggest nut he'd ever seen

Was just lying there, in the grass

As he went on his routine.

He rubbed his paws together,

Excited by what he had found.

Squirrel circled his new treasure

In front of him on the ground.

It did look a little odd,

A bit more circular in form.

But he simply thought the nut

Was a deformed oak acorn.

It was very smooth to touch,

A speckling, here and there-

But gosh the size was just so big

He really didn't care!

Though it was rounded, Squirrel thought,

"Just the easier to move!"

He began to roll it cross the lawn,

Sure the Mrs. would approve.

It rolled easily to his tree,

But it was too big to bring up.
He called out to his wife
To see this thing close up.

Amazed by this huge nut,
The Mrs. scurried close.
"How do we bring it up the tree?
What do you propose?"

Squirrel stopped and thought a bit.
"We should bury it in soil.
We don't need it til the winter comes,
And in the ground it will not spoil."

"Oh, yes!  That is a great idea!"
The Mrs. quite agreed.
They started digging in the ground
Closest to their tree.

They did not dig a hole too deep-
But enough it was protected,
So no one else would find it
And see what they collected.

Excited, over the next few weeks,
All they could do was exclaim
About the feast that they would have
When the cold days came.

A month later, Squirrel went outside
And the Mrs. heard him moan.
"Someone stole our large acorn!
It was here, but now it's gone!"

But then, surprised, he looked up
And jumped back with a twitch!
Behind the spot where the nut was
Was now a young ostrich!

"Daddy!" the huge bird had squawked
And waddled towards the squirrel,
Who only could backpedal fast,
Until over a root he fell!

The Mrs. scampered down the tree,
An amazed look in her eyes!
"It wasn't a giant nut you found!
An egg was your big prize!"

"He thinks we are his parents
And we don't know where he's from.
We can't just return him to the field,
And we don't know who's his mum!"

As Squirrel recovered from the shock
His heart warmed towards the bird.
Despite how big his stature,
He's still a babe lost in the world.

He turned to Mrs. and with soft voice
Said, "I've brought him here, it's true.
But the egg was already on its own,
It's safe thanks to me and you!"

"We've protected it for this long,
What's a while more?
Why can't we raise him as our own?
He needs us!  He's not mature!"

The Mrs. just shook her head,
And said, "You have to think!
He's too big to fit inside our tree
And he just can't shrink!"

Squirrel said, "Well, ostriches
Live on the plain and thus,
We'll make a bed out of leaves-
He'll stay next door to us!"

"He'll grow tall, his head will reach
Right up to where we dwell,
Putting us at eye level.
It works out really well!"

The Mrs. wasn't confident,
But the chick to them had come.
She agreed to adopt the babe
And become his brand new mum.

They raised him right, and loved him well.
Their decision did take guts.
Now you know what happened
If you see an ostrich hoarding nuts.