For cold days and hard times winter surely will bring,
And a habit of saving’s an excellent thing.
“But my children—you know how young squirrels like play,
‘We have plenty, great plenty, already,’ they say;
‘We are tired of bringing in food for our store;
Let us all have a frolic, and gather no more!’
But I tell them it’s pleasant when winter is rough,
If we feel both to use and to give we’ve enough;
And they’ll find, ere the butternuts bloom in the spring,
That a habit of saving’s an excellent thing.”