Who Hid the Acorn?

Something brown showed through the soft soil beneath a great oak. A half-buried acorn was visible between the leaves. Puschel held the explorer’s magnifying glass above it without changing the hiding place.

Puschel“I know this one! I must have hidden it myself. Probably yesterday. Or last autumn. Or before breakfast.”

Flauschi pointed to a tiny green shoot nearby. A young oak was already growing from another acorn. Just then, a jay fluttered onto a branch with an acorn in its beak.

Flauschi“Perhaps the hiding place is not yours at all. Jays collect many acorns in autumn. They hide food for later in different places. That hidden food is called a store.”

The bird hopped onto the ground, checked the leaves and flew on with its acorn. Puschel watched with his mouth open.

Puschel“It has a flying pantry! How can it possibly remember all those places?”

Many stores are found again later, but some acorns remain. With a suitable spot and enough water, the seed inside begins to grow. A little root and a shoot come out first. This is called sprouting. Later it can become a young oak.

Flauschi“A forgotten store can become a new tree. The jay helps the forest without planting it on purpose.”

Puschel pulled back his paw. He had already considered the half-buried acorn as a second breakfast. But this store belonged to the woodland animals, so he left the acorn and leaves untouched.

Puschel“If an oak grows here, I shall call it Pantry Tree. And this time I will definitely remember the place.”