A Squirrel Bedtime Story: The Bakery's Crooked Sign

Read this original squirrel bedtime story: Suki opens an acorn bakery and discovers that her sign says something she never meant. The complete story appears below, followed by a small personalization idea for your next reading together.

The Bakery's Crooked Sign

Suki opened her bakery beneath the oak tree on a Tuesday. She had swept the step, polished the counter and baked twelve round acorn buns. Each bun wore one tiny cap of brown dough.

Her cousin had promised to paint a sign, but his paint had not dried. Suki made her own. She wrote SQUIRREL BAKERY in careful letters, then added FRESH BUNS BELOW. She hung it above the door and waited.

A rabbit arrived. "Lovely," he said, looking upward. Then he walked around the tree.

A mouse arrived and did the same. Soon a mole was inspecting the roots with his nose. Nobody came inside. Suki took a bun to the doorway. "Would anyone like breakfast?"

The rabbit looked surprised. "We thought we had to find it. Your sign says fresh buns below. We are looking below."

"Below the sign," Suki explained.

"Ah," said the mole, emerging beside a root. "I was rather farther below than that."

Suki propped the door open. The rabbit bought two buns. The mouse chose the smallest, and the mole asked whether the largest could be wrapped for later. For a little while the bakery worked exactly as she had imagined.

Then a breeze turned the hanging sign sideways. A passing badger read only SQUIRREL and peered inside. "Is this where you borrow one?"

Suki sat on her stool. Signs were taking more work than baking. She turned hers over and drew a bun as large as the paper would hold. Under it she wrote COME IN. She tied both lower corners to hooks so it could not spin.

At noon her cousin arrived with the proper sign. The letters were beautiful, and dry at last. Suki thanked him and hung it above her drawing. Together they made a very clear invitation.

There was one bun left. They split it at the counter, scattering crumbs over the freshly polished wood. Outside, the mole came back with his wrapping folded neatly beneath one arm.

"For tomorrow," he said. "I know where the bakery is now."

Suki put his paper beside the flour tin. Before closing, she added a small arrow to her drawing. It pointed straight toward the door, which seemed the least confusing place to begin.

A detail your child can choose

Choose the name of one bakery item with your child. For a listener who likes letters, point out how Suki changes the sign after she sees what her customers do. Keep the mixed-up word on the sign if your listener enjoys the joke, or explain it once in ordinary language. A pretend shop afterward can sell drawings of buns, with a sign written or dictated by your child.

Day2Tale creates personalized, narrated stories.

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