Archie the Acorn

Archie wants more out of life – adventure, excitement, fame. But Archie was an acorn, and no such life was planned for him.

Discover what Archie really wants in life. Hear how he wiggles and wiggles. Fly with him to the ground! Discover how sad he becomes. How long will he sleep? What will he find when he wakes up?

This story has happy and sad bits. We love the ending. It makes his whole journey worthwhile.

Download this Archie the Acorn mp3 audio story now!

Archie the Acorn

Paul Rice

He’d been wriggling all morning and was exhausted. It didn’t seem to make any difference anyway – his pod held on fast without even noticing his attempts to break free.

“Humph” he grumped as he peered down from his perch.

Archie was an acorn. He’d been living right at the top of an enormous oak tree his whole life, and he was bored. He wanted more out of life – adventure, excitement, fame. But Archie was an acorn, and no such life was planned for him.

He slumped back into his pod and watched the crows drifting across the sky in dancing circles, and then he watched them dive down to the ground, swooping up at the last moment with grins on their beaks. He would love to be able to reach so high and dance in the sky.

He looked down and watched the rabbits digging away at the ground, kicking up clumps of soil with their furry back legs, and then he watched as they hopped into their burrows and poked their proud heads back out, ears first! He would love to be able to reach so low and go on underground adventures.

He watched as the deers sharpened their antlers on the tree trunk. He smiled as the fox cubs tumbled together in the piles of leaves. He laughed as the squirrels played catch in the branches and he tried not to drip when the raccoons sheltered from the storm under the canopy of his mother tree. He would love to experience all those things, why oh why was he born an acorn!

All of a sudden he heard a noise below him and leant over the leaf in time to see his brother, Andy whizzing down towards the ground!

‘Wow!’ thought Archie – it is possible to fly! And he started wiggling again. He wiggled all day. He saw Adam leave the tree, he saw Alice leave the tree. He saw Annie and Abbey and Aaron leave. Anthony, Adonis, Aries and Annabelle all flew down to the ground. But he? He was stuck with his bum in the pod. ‘Humph; He thought.

The next morning Archie started his wiggling again. And by evening he had seen 8 more of his brothers leaving the tree to go on their adventures. It’s not fair, he thought. I want to go too!

Whoa! What was that? Something inside his pod felt a little funny, a little loose! He did one little tiny wiggle and he fell out of his pod down towards the ground.

‘Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee’ he called.

He had landed. That was quick. Very quick. Too quick. He had been dreaming of that flight his whole life and it was over. Well at least he had made it to the ground. Now he could play with his brothers and sisters just like the rabbits do.

But he found it very difficult to see. There were huge dried up leaves all around him and he couldn’t see past them. He tried to roll left. A rock was in his way.
He tried to roll right; a leaf was in his way.
He tried to roll forwards, but a snail was in his way.
So he pushed with all his might and rolled backwards. He rolled and rolled and rolled until –

SPLOSH!!

Archie the Acorn had just rolled himself into a puddle!!

‘Erk!’ he said. And he was stuck. Water coming almost all the way to his head! Oh dear – now he’ll never get to see his friends and never get to play in the earth and never get to fly in the sky. Oh dear!!!

Archie sobbed well into the night. He was so sad. He had looked forward to this day his whole life and now…it wasn’t what he hoped at all!!

Over the next few weeks, the rabbits looked after their babies in their burrows; the birds looked after their babies in their nests. But Archie? He sat in his puddle and moped.

Then the summer came and the rabbits played in the tunnels and the birds flew in the sky and even though the puddle dried up – Archie’s bottom was still stuck in the mud and he couldn’t move. So Archie moped.

Then the autumn whistled through. The rabbits made deep sleeping burrows and the birds practised flying in a ‘V’. But Archie? He sat in the mud and moped.

And then came winter. The rabbits had long gone into their burrows, all snuggled together staying warm. The birds had long gone off, all in a big ‘V’ towards far and distant lands. And Archie? He sat under the thick layer of snow and moped himself to sleep.

Spring tried to wake Archie but couldn’t

Summer Tried to wake Archie But couldn’t

Autumn tried to wake Archie, but couldn’t.

Winter came again and Archie slept on.

Years went by, and Archie slept on.

Birds came and went, Rabbits hopped and burrowed, but Archie didn’t stir.

And in time, Archie disappeared. No Acorn sat where Archie fell. There was no acorn because Archie was no acorn anymore. Over the last few years Archie had very slowly started to grow…into an oak tree! Just like his mother.

 It was only the most special acorns that would become an Oak. And on this particular day in autumn, Archie woke up to find himself a beautiful large oak, covered in red and yellow leaves. Hundreds of tiny acorns were growing on his branches and he smiled.

His very top branches reached so high - they felt like they were flying in the sky! The wind pushed them this way and that and, swooping towards the ground, bounced up at the last moment. He felt just like one of the crows that balanced on his branches when they were tired.

His roots were reaching further and further into the earth going on underground adventures, just like rabbits digging burrows, kicking up clumps of soil with their furry back legs.

The deers sharpened their antlers on the tree trunk and it tickled. The fox cubs tumbled together in the piles of leaves that he had left for them. The squirrels played catch in the branches as he hid them from each other. And when it rained, he gave shelter to the raccoons under his glorious canopy.

All the things he had ever dreamt of were his to enjoy. He thought back to his time in the mud and smiled. What a life was planned for him after all!

The End.

©Tales of Time 2008