Toadstool Treasure

A Children’s Story

Images by Gill Brooks https://www.gillbrooksplace.com/

Once upon a time, in a forest far away, there lived a group of woodland creatures. Among them was a curious little squirrel named Sammy, who loved to explore the forest and discover new things. One day, as he was wandering through the woods, he stumbled upon a toadstool that glimmered in the sunlight.

Sammy had never seen anything like it before and was immediately intrigued. As he got closer, he noticed that there was a small opening beneath the toadstool. Being the curious squirrel that he was, Sammy decided to investigate.

To his amazement, he found a hidden underground chamber filled with treasure! There were glittering jewels, shining gold coins, and all sorts of precious trinkets scattered around the room.

Sammy couldn’t believe his luck. He had always dreamed of finding treasure, and now he had stumbled upon a whole chamber of it! But as he began to collect some of the jewels, he heard a faint voice calling out from behind him.

“Who goes there?” the voice said.

Sammy turned around and saw a tiny, old toad sitting on a nearby rock. The toad looked at him sternly and said,

“That treasure belongs to me. You have no right to take it.”

Sammy was taken aback. He had never met a talking toad before, let alone one that owned a treasure trove. But he knew that he didn’t want to upset the toad, so he decided to explain himself.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know this treasure belonged to anyone. I was just exploring the forest and stumbled upon this toadstool.”

The toad looked at Sammy for a moment before responding.

“Well, I suppose you didn’t know any better. But this treasure is very important to me. It has been passed down through my family for generations, and I can’t just let anyone take it.”

Sammy nodded understandingly. He didn’t want to cause any trouble, but he couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. Just as he was about to leave, the toad spoke up again.

“However,” the toad said, “I do appreciate your honesty. And I think you have shown yourself to be a trustworthy creature. So, I will make you a deal. You can take one item from this treasure trove as a reward for your honesty.”

Sammy’s eyes widened in surprise. He had never expected to be rewarded for his honesty. He looked around the room and saw so many precious items to choose from. But after a moment’s thought, he saw a small, shiny acorn that caught his eye.

“I’ll take this,” he said, pointing to the acorn. “It’s not as valuable as the other items, but it reminds me of my home in the forest.”

The toad smiled at Sammy’s choice.

“Very well,” he said. “You may take the acorn. And remember, honesty is always the best policy.”

With that, Sammy bid farewell to the toad and the treasure trove and made his way back home through the forest. From that day on, he always remembered the toadstool treasure and the lesson he had learned about the value of honesty.

Lazarus Carpenter