The heavy snow had just stopped, and Lingli dove into the white pine forest. It jumped by the tree holes, dug beside the frozen stream, and ran to the clearing in the forest to search. But all the hidden food was gone. The wind rustled the pine needles, and Lingli held its grumbling belly, whispering, "Could it all have been swallowed by the snow?"
Lingli followed the snowy ground to look for clues. First, it pushed a pine cone stuck by the ice seam to a little squirrel who was worried. Lingli was so hungry it stomped its feet but still gathered the courage to ask, "Have you seen my food?"
Moving forward, Lingli flew to the tree hole and pecked at a thin layer of ice. With a crack, a trembling little rabbit finally reached a small handful of hay. Lingli gently panted and asked again, "Have you seen my food?"
Lingli chased a few seeds that had fallen on the snow and hopped to the forest clearing. Suddenly, a big clump of snow fell from a branch and plopped onto its head, like a crooked hat. Everyone burst into laughter. Lingli shook its head, momentarily stunned.
Just as Lingli shook off the snow hat, the little squirrel pointed at a small mound that had formed under the snow. The little rabbit quickly dug into the snow, and Lingli flapped its wings to help. As they cleared the snow, Lingli's food was really right there!
Lingli found its food and shared the seeds and pine cones with the friends who had gathered around. They all sat by the tree hole, taking turns to eat. The ice by the stream sparkled, and the clearing was filled with soft crunching sounds. Listening to the cheerful noise, Lingli buried the newly found seed back in the snow, but this time, in a place everyone knew.
