By: Kerry Ding

One day Owl was minding his business until his friend, Crow showed up. “It is almost winter, my dear friend,” Crow said. Owl hadn’t realized that winter was coming so soon! Owl jumped straight out of his tree. He knew he had to hunt for a lot of food so he could survive the winter. Then, he had a brilliant idea! He just needed to find leaves from the trees around him. The leaves would keep him warm so he wouldn’t have to develop blubber.

After hours of collecting the leaves he needed, he settled down in his tree. The hole was full of leaves that would keep him warm. He also had plenty of food to eat from his friend Crow who had gone hunting further south.

For the first few weeks, he was delighted to see that his idea was working. The leaves were keeping him cozy in the freezing cold. However, after weeks of not moving, he began to get bored.

Unlike the animals who either migrated or were hibernating, he was awake for most of the day. So, Owl decided to go outside for a little while. But, when he got up, the leaves stuck to him. Owl jumped and flew out of his tree, and the leaves were still keeping him warm. “How is this possible?” thought Owl. Then, he realized something. The sticky sap from his tree must have dripped onto the leaves he had prepared! At first, Owl was sad that he’d have to wear leaves for the rest of his life, but he then realized something. “I won’t need to stay inside during the winter!”

Owl immediately went around sharing his discovery with other owls, hawks, and different birds. Even his enemy, Eagle, listened to him. In the summer, Owl got hot. He had to adjust his feathers so that they formed a pattern that allowed the excess heat to escape. Despite this, Owl’s discovery showed the birds how to survive during the winter. The End.