In the city of Oliverina, there lived a mischievous squirrel named Oliver. He worked hard as a professional acorn preserver, a job that occupied him all day. Despite his acorn-cracking duties, Oliver couldn’t help but dream of a more adventurous life as a thief, even though the city of Oliverina had strict laws against theft.
One day, while cracking his 479,792nd acorn, a brilliant plan came to mind. Smiling slyly, he threw the last acorn shell in his shift into a prepared pit and hurried off the cracking platform, with each heartbeat faster and faster. After a light-hearted supper and a fresh change of clothes, Oliver watched hopefully as the sun dipped down the horizon and every other squirrel scurried back into their homes to sleep.
Quietly, Oliver crept into the heart of Oliverina and drew his acorn axe. Carefully, he broke in to the famous bakery, Olivery. The taunting aroma of sugary sweets was in the air. Oliver was dazzled by the quantity and the quality. Hundreds of rows and columns of pastries baked with pure carefulness lay before the squirrel. Oliver knew that it wouldn’t hurt to have a little boost of energy before action began, so he snatched a golden brown cupcake and chomped it down. Without thinking, he had a walnut croissant, nut-stuffed donut, nut-uccino cake, and an acorn jelly block. The shame of destroying such a marvelous place went into Oliver’s mind. He felt too guilty and too stuffed to do any harm and left. The next day arose with a brilliant morning, and Oliver stopped by to enjoy an Olivery treat.
