¹     Sammy the Squirrel was just finishing gathering food for winter. He stopped beside a tree truck and peeked inside. His friend, Baxter Bear, ambled up to visit. "Look at all these brown, dry pine cones," said Baxter. "They are not good for anything. What a mess!"
 
²     "Oh, my!" replied Sammy. "You couldn't be more wrong. These pine cones are the treasures of our forest. New trees could not grow without these cones."
 
³     "What do you mean, Sammy? Do these pine cones feed the trees?" asked Baxter.
 
⁴     "Not exactly," explained Sammy. "New pine trees come from pine cones. The cones are made of leaf-like scales that fold over each other. Under the scales are tiny seeds."
 
⁵     "Really?" remarked Baxter. "I've never seen those seeds. How do you find them?"

Paragraphs 6 to 15:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable