Three Squirrels and a Pile of Nuts

Three squirrels gather a pile of nuts, and decide to

store the pile outside their house overnight.

During the night, however, one of the squirrels wakes up hungry and
decides to steal one-third of the pile (I'm only taking my fair share," he tells
himself). But he has to eat one of the nuts in order to be able to take exactly
one-third. He leaves two-thirds of the nuts behind and goes back to bed.
Exactly the same thing happens to the second squirrel, who wakes up, eats
one of the nuts, steals exactly one-third of the pile that's left, and goes back
to bed.
Then precisely the same thing happens to the third squirrel: She eats one
nut, hides away one-third of the pile, and goes back to bed.
In the morning, the three squirrels awake and apportion the pile. It divides
exactly by three.

How many nuts were in the original pile?

1