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This is a Tale about a tail--a tail that belonged to a little red
squirrel, and his name was Nutkin.

He had a brother called Twinkleberry, and a great many cousins: they lived
in a wood at the edge of a lake.

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In the middle of the lake there is an island covered with trees and nut
bushes; and amongst those trees stands a hollow oak-tree, which is the
house of an owl who is called Old Brown.

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One autumn when the nuts were ripe, and the leaves on the hazel bushes
were golden and green--Nutkin and Twinkleberry and all the other little
squirrels came out of the wood, and down to the edge of the lake.

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They made little rafts out of twigs, and they paddled away over the water
to Owl Island to gather nuts.

Each squirrel had a little sack and a large oar, and spread out his tail
for a sail.

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