Tally neatly lines up her acorns on the rough oak bark. She has three tight bundles of ten, plus two loose ones.
A blue birdie flutters down next to her with a loud, hungry chirp. He needs a big breakfast!
Tally quickly tosses one whole bundle toward the shivering bird. That is ten acorns. But she wants to give him fifteen. She needs five more.
Tally stares at her little extra pile. She freezes. There are only two loose acorns left.
She points a sharp claw at the lonely pair. "One, two," she whispers. "I can't take five from two!"
Tally taps her foot against the dry wood. Her bushy tail drops low to the branch as the birdie lets out a sad, soft peep.
She looks at her perfect bundles. Grabbing the tough vine wrapped around one, Tally pulls with all her might.
Crack! The strong vine finally snaps. Ten shiny acorns scatter across the sunlit branch, rolling toward the edge.
They clatter into the loose pile, bouncing together to make twelve loose nuts. Tally claps her paws and slides exactly five acorns to the bird.
The birdie happily pecks at his giant pile of fifteen acorns, singing a bright trill. Tally smiles, resting her chin on her remaining nuts as a cool breeze rustles the leaves.
