A squirrel explained to a deer, “The winters have been getting longer. It’s better to store food instead of expecting to find it on the ground.”
The deer said, “I do not believe in better.”
In the late fall, the squirrel measured the snowfall, studied the riverbanks, compared early memories of the forest to current ones, and concluded that the hills were better. As the squirrel moved home, it met the deer,
“The lower forest is worse now. The trees are dying. You should move up the valley hills.”
The deer said, “I understand, but I do not believe in worse.”
Winter came, and the deer starved in the lower forest.
The squirrel survived the winter in the hills, then worked hard through the spring and summer for the best harvest possible. When the summer heat sparked a fire, the flames climbed the hill faster than anything the squirrel had seen before.
The squirrel’s bones were surrounded by husks of nuts.