📖 Story
In a big forest whose trees turned orange, red and gold in autumn, there lived a busy squirrel named Bunduq. Bunduq had a thick fluffy tail like a flame, shiny black eyes and strong teeth that could crack the hardest walnut. He lived in a wide hollow inside the trunk of an old oak tree, a warm hollow with a small round door that let the light in each morning and kept the warmth in each evening.
From the very first day of autumn, when the leaves began to fall, Bunduq decided to be the best-prepared squirrel for winter in the whole forest. He woke before the sun, leapt from branch to branch and gathered acorns, hazelnuts, walnuts and chestnuts, carrying them in his mouth to his home. Then he arranged them on shelves he had made from tree bark: a shelf for acorns, a shelf for walnuts and a shelf for small hazelnuts. Every evening he stood in front of his store and counted: one hundred, two hundred, five hundred, one thousand!
In the forest there were two young squirrels, a brother and sister named Fustuq and Zabiba. They loved to play. They chased the flying leaves, slid down the piles of golden leaves and laughed all day long. One day they passed Bunduq as he carried a big walnut and said: Come and play with us, Bunduq! There are so many leaves and the sun is warm! Bunduq said seriously: I have no time to play. Winter is coming and I am gathering my food. You should gather your food too.
Fustuq laughed and said: It is still early, winter is far away! Zabiba said: We will gather our food tomorrow. But tomorrow became the day after, and the day after became next week, and the two young squirrels played and gathered only a little, a nut here and a nut there. As for Bunduq, his store grew so full that walnuts rolled off the shelves onto the floor. And the old owl who lived at the top of the same tree watched everything silently from her nest.
One day the little mouse Ramada came to Bunduq's door carrying her three babies on her back. She said in a faint voice: Bunduq, the rain washed away my home by the river, and all the grain I had gathered was lost. Would you give me a few nuts for my little ones? Bunduq looked at his huge store, then at the mouse, and said: Sorry, Ramada, this is my food. I worked hard to gather it, and if I give to everyone who asks, nothing will be left for me. Then he shut his small round door.
Ramada walked away sadly, and the old owl heard everything. In the evening the owl came down to a branch near Bunduq's door and said: Bunduq, your store is the biggest store I have ever seen. Bunduq said proudly: Yes, Grandmother Owl, I have more than three thousand nuts! The owl asked: And how many nuts do you eat in a winter? Bunduq thought and counted on his fingers, then said: Maybe a thousand. The owl said: Then you have two thousand nuts you do not need. And she flew off without another word. Bunduq kept thinking about what she had said, but he flicked his tail and said: Better safe than sorry.
Then winter came suddenly. In a single night the temperature dropped and a cold wind blew, and in the morning the animals found the whole forest white and covered with snow. There was not a single nut on the ground or a single leaf on the branches. Bunduq was pleased, because he was ready. He closed his door, wrapped himself in his warm tail and ate a walnut, then a hazelnut, then an acorn, and said to himself: How clever I am!
But after a few days Bunduq began to feel something strange. His home was warm and his food was plentiful, but he was lonely. He did not hear Fustuq and Zabiba laughing, or anyone saying: Good morning, Bunduq. The nights were very long and the silence was very heavy. He tried counting his nuts to pass the time. He counted them once, twice, three times, but counting did not make him happy. Then one night he heard a soft sound at the door: tap, tap, tap.
Bunduq opened the door a little and saw Fustuq and Zabiba shivering with cold, their fur wet with snow and their tummies empty. Fustuq said in a trembling voice: Bunduq, you were right. We should have gathered our food early. We have found nothing for two days, and our little home is so cold. Zabiba said with tears in her eyes: We do not ask for much, just one nut each, and we will do anything you want when spring comes.
Bunduq looked at them, then at his full store, and remembered the owl's words: two thousand nuts you do not need. He remembered Ramada's sad face and her three babies. Bunduq felt his face grow hot, not from warmth but from shame. Then he opened his door wide and said: Come in quickly! Come into the warmth. He brought them nuts from the walnut shelf and the hazelnut shelf, set a big pile in front of them and said: Eat until you are full, and sleep here tonight.
Fustuq and Zabiba ate, then curled up in their tails beside Bunduq, and the wide hollow became warmer than ever, because three small bodies warm a place more than one. That night Bunduq did not count his nuts. Instead he listened to Fustuq's funny stories about the day he slid down the leaves and fell into the pond, and he laughed until his eyes watered. He said to himself: This is my first happy night since winter came.
In the morning Bunduq said to his friends: I have an idea, but we need to help each other. The three went out into the snow, each carrying as many nuts as he could, and went to Ramada's new home under the root of the pine tree. When Ramada opened the door and saw the nuts, she could not believe her eyes. Bunduq said: Forgive me, Ramada. I was selfish. These are for you and your little ones, and if you need more, my door is open. Ramada cried with joy, and her three babies jumped around Bunduq, laughing.
From then on, Bunduq's home in winter became a place where the small creatures of the forest gathered. Fustuq told stories, Zabiba sang, Ramada's babies played and the old owl peeped down from above and smiled. The store shrank day by day, but Bunduq's heart grew fuller. And he discovered that what he had was enough for everyone until the end of winter, because he had gathered far more than he needed.
When spring came, the snow melted and green leaves came out again, Fustuq and Zabiba kept their promise. They helped Bunduq repair his door and plant the acorns that were left in the soil so they would become new trees. And the next autumn all the forest creatures gathered food together, building a big shared store in the trunk of the old tree, and they played together too in the lovely moments.
The old owl would say to every little one born in the forest: Do you know the story of Bunduq? He was the cleverest squirrel in the forest because he prepared for winter, but he became the happiest squirrel in the forest when he learned to share. A full store fills the tummy, but sharing fills the heart, and a full heart never feels the cold.
From the very first day of autumn, when the leaves began to fall, Bunduq decided to be the best-prepared squirrel for winter in the whole forest. He woke before the sun, leapt from branch to branch and gathered acorns, hazelnuts, walnuts and chestnuts, carrying them in his mouth to his home. Then he arranged them on shelves he had made from tree bark: a shelf for acorns, a shelf for walnuts and a shelf for small hazelnuts. Every evening he stood in front of his store and counted: one hundred, two hundred, five hundred, one thousand!
In the forest there were two young squirrels, a brother and sister named Fustuq and Zabiba. They loved to play. They chased the flying leaves, slid down the piles of golden leaves and laughed all day long. One day they passed Bunduq as he carried a big walnut and said: Come and play with us, Bunduq! There are so many leaves and the sun is warm! Bunduq said seriously: I have no time to play. Winter is coming and I am gathering my food. You should gather your food too.
Fustuq laughed and said: It is still early, winter is far away! Zabiba said: We will gather our food tomorrow. But tomorrow became the day after, and the day after became next week, and the two young squirrels played and gathered only a little, a nut here and a nut there. As for Bunduq, his store grew so full that walnuts rolled off the shelves onto the floor. And the old owl who lived at the top of the same tree watched everything silently from her nest.
One day the little mouse Ramada came to Bunduq's door carrying her three babies on her back. She said in a faint voice: Bunduq, the rain washed away my home by the river, and all the grain I had gathered was lost. Would you give me a few nuts for my little ones? Bunduq looked at his huge store, then at the mouse, and said: Sorry, Ramada, this is my food. I worked hard to gather it, and if I give to everyone who asks, nothing will be left for me. Then he shut his small round door.
Ramada walked away sadly, and the old owl heard everything. In the evening the owl came down to a branch near Bunduq's door and said: Bunduq, your store is the biggest store I have ever seen. Bunduq said proudly: Yes, Grandmother Owl, I have more than three thousand nuts! The owl asked: And how many nuts do you eat in a winter? Bunduq thought and counted on his fingers, then said: Maybe a thousand. The owl said: Then you have two thousand nuts you do not need. And she flew off without another word. Bunduq kept thinking about what she had said, but he flicked his tail and said: Better safe than sorry.
Then winter came suddenly. In a single night the temperature dropped and a cold wind blew, and in the morning the animals found the whole forest white and covered with snow. There was not a single nut on the ground or a single leaf on the branches. Bunduq was pleased, because he was ready. He closed his door, wrapped himself in his warm tail and ate a walnut, then a hazelnut, then an acorn, and said to himself: How clever I am!
But after a few days Bunduq began to feel something strange. His home was warm and his food was plentiful, but he was lonely. He did not hear Fustuq and Zabiba laughing, or anyone saying: Good morning, Bunduq. The nights were very long and the silence was very heavy. He tried counting his nuts to pass the time. He counted them once, twice, three times, but counting did not make him happy. Then one night he heard a soft sound at the door: tap, tap, tap.
Bunduq opened the door a little and saw Fustuq and Zabiba shivering with cold, their fur wet with snow and their tummies empty. Fustuq said in a trembling voice: Bunduq, you were right. We should have gathered our food early. We have found nothing for two days, and our little home is so cold. Zabiba said with tears in her eyes: We do not ask for much, just one nut each, and we will do anything you want when spring comes.
Bunduq looked at them, then at his full store, and remembered the owl's words: two thousand nuts you do not need. He remembered Ramada's sad face and her three babies. Bunduq felt his face grow hot, not from warmth but from shame. Then he opened his door wide and said: Come in quickly! Come into the warmth. He brought them nuts from the walnut shelf and the hazelnut shelf, set a big pile in front of them and said: Eat until you are full, and sleep here tonight.
Fustuq and Zabiba ate, then curled up in their tails beside Bunduq, and the wide hollow became warmer than ever, because three small bodies warm a place more than one. That night Bunduq did not count his nuts. Instead he listened to Fustuq's funny stories about the day he slid down the leaves and fell into the pond, and he laughed until his eyes watered. He said to himself: This is my first happy night since winter came.
In the morning Bunduq said to his friends: I have an idea, but we need to help each other. The three went out into the snow, each carrying as many nuts as he could, and went to Ramada's new home under the root of the pine tree. When Ramada opened the door and saw the nuts, she could not believe her eyes. Bunduq said: Forgive me, Ramada. I was selfish. These are for you and your little ones, and if you need more, my door is open. Ramada cried with joy, and her three babies jumped around Bunduq, laughing.
From then on, Bunduq's home in winter became a place where the small creatures of the forest gathered. Fustuq told stories, Zabiba sang, Ramada's babies played and the old owl peeped down from above and smiled. The store shrank day by day, but Bunduq's heart grew fuller. And he discovered that what he had was enough for everyone until the end of winter, because he had gathered far more than he needed.
When spring came, the snow melted and green leaves came out again, Fustuq and Zabiba kept their promise. They helped Bunduq repair his door and plant the acorns that were left in the soil so they would become new trees. And the next autumn all the forest creatures gathered food together, building a big shared store in the trunk of the old tree, and they played together too in the lovely moments.
The old owl would say to every little one born in the forest: Do you know the story of Bunduq? He was the cleverest squirrel in the forest because he prepared for winter, but he became the happiest squirrel in the forest when he learned to share. A full store fills the tummy, but sharing fills the heart, and a full heart never feels the cold.
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