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

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.

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.

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.