A bird landed on the tallest branch of a tree. The tree, being the tallest in the land, was home to several other wild creatures, two of which were the black squirrels and the yellow bees. The bird eyed the nuts of the squirrels and the honey of the bees. All the riches of the world are laid out before me, he thought to himself.

Quietly, he approached the squirrels nest and creeped inside. Suddenly, the squirrel appeared and bared his sharp claws. ‘Don’t take my nuts,’ he said, ‘If you do, I will die when the winter comes, and the other squirrels of the tree will remember.’ ‘I care not,’ said the bird, ‘as easily as I came to this tree, there are many trees, and I shall never step here again.’ ‘Wait!’ said the squirrel. ‘If you let me, I will help you steal the bee’s honey. There lies a rich reward more tantalizing than any nut.’

Intrigued, the bird stopped to think. ‘I can take this squirrels nuts now, but I will just have to take the honey alone after. If I trick this squirrel, and make him think I’ve accepted his deal, then he will help me and I can take his nuts later.’ The bird grinned internally and accepted the offer. The duo prepared a strategy and approached the bees nest.

As planned, the squirrel created a distraction and the bees flew toward him, away from the hive. The bird dug his beak into the sweet honey and extracted its contents. Hopping away, he waited for the bees to return. When they did not, he searched for the squirrel but could not find him either. Oh well, the bird thought to himself. He made his way back to the squirrels nest and prepared to take the nuts, when all of a sudden, a horde of bees darted from around a branch and attacked the bird. Startled, he tried to take flight, but was stung so many times that he fell to the ground.

Unable to move, the bird saw the squirrel approach unharmed. ‘How,’ the bird said shortly before passing out. ‘How?’ said the squirrel, ‘The bees are no friends of mine, you see. While I could not defeat you, I knew I could outsmart the bees. Now you have your honey and your doom, and I still have my nuts.’ The squirrel took one last look as the bird’s eyes finally closed before running toward the tree without looking back.