Willie the worm was warm and sleepy. The summer sun seemed to be having a soporific effect on him, so he decided to burrow deep into the earth and take a nap. Willie slept for a long time, but when he got up, he didn’t know how long it had been. All that he knew was that he was hungry, and he didn’t feel much like eating dirt.
So Willie burrowed toward the surface. On his way there, he met Miss Mouse in her hole. Miss Mouse sniffed when she heard Willie enter her home. “Why, Mr. Worm, what are you doing?”
“I’m going to go to the surface to find something other than dirt to eat.”
Miss Mouse was surprised at his answer. “Do you know what time of year it is?”
Willie said that he didn’t know and he didn’t care. He was hungry. Miss Mouse gave Willie a fur coat to wear, and he continued to the surface. When he got there, he was glad to have the fur coat. It was cold, and there was white stuff on the ground. “This will never do,” Willie said, “I need to find someplace warmer.”
So he burrowed back into the ground and curled up between the roots of a pine tree. There he did eat some of the dirt – he was a worm, after all, and he was so hungry. After eating, there was great earthquake. Willie made himself as small as possible and rode the currents of the shifting earth. The quake seemed to last for a very long time and then it stopped as quickly as it had started.
Willie went to the surface again, but the surface seemed so much closer than it had before. Then he climbed up into the tree and onto a pine cone. When he looked around he saw more colors than he had ever seen before, and he smelled something sweet and a little sharp. Hanging in the bough next to the pine cone was a red and white stick. Willie tasted it and knew that he had found the food he was looking for.
So Willie burrowed toward the surface. On his way there, he met Miss Mouse in her hole. Miss Mouse sniffed when she heard Willie enter her home. “Why, Mr. Worm, what are you doing?”
“I’m going to go to the surface to find something other than dirt to eat.”
Miss Mouse was surprised at his answer. “Do you know what time of year it is?”
Willie said that he didn’t know and he didn’t care. He was hungry. Miss Mouse gave Willie a fur coat to wear, and he continued to the surface. When he got there, he was glad to have the fur coat. It was cold, and there was white stuff on the ground. “This will never do,” Willie said, “I need to find someplace warmer.”
So he burrowed back into the ground and curled up between the roots of a pine tree. There he did eat some of the dirt – he was a worm, after all, and he was so hungry. After eating, there was great earthquake. Willie made himself as small as possible and rode the currents of the shifting earth. The quake seemed to last for a very long time and then it stopped as quickly as it had started.
Willie went to the surface again, but the surface seemed so much closer than it had before. Then he climbed up into the tree and onto a pine cone. When he looked around he saw more colors than he had ever seen before, and he smelled something sweet and a little sharp. Hanging in the bough next to the pine cone was a red and white stick. Willie tasted it and knew that he had found the food he was looking for.