THE ADVENTURES OF OLD MAN COYOTE
By Thornton W. Burgess
Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How
Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.
With Illustrations by Harrison Cady
Boston: Little, Brown, And Company 1916
[Illustration: 0102]
[Illustration: 0008]
ADVENTURES OF OLD MAN COYOTE
I. THE STRANGE VOICE
|LISTEN!” It was Jimmy Skunk speaking. He had just met Peter Rabbit
halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was
brightest. But he did not need to tell Peter to listen. Peter _was_
listening,-listening with all his might. He was sitting up very
straight, and his long ears were turned in the direction of the strange
sound. Just then it came again, a sound such as neither Peter Rabbit nor
Jimmy Skunk had ever heard before. Peter's teeth began to chatter.
“Wha--wha--what is it?” he whispered.
“I don't know, unless it is Hooty the Owl gone crazy,” replied Jimmy.
“No,” said Peter, “it isn't Hooty the Owl. Hooty never could make such a
noise as that.”
“Maybe it's Dippy the Loon. I've heard him on the Big River, and he
sounds just as if he had gone crazy,” replied Jimmy.
“No,” said Peter, looking behind him nervously. “No, it isn't Dippy the
Loon, for Dippy never leaves the water, and that voice came from the
Green Meadows. I wouldn't be surprised--” Peter didn't finish, for just
then the strange voice sounded again, and it was nearer than before.
Never had the Green Meadows or the Green Forest heard anything like it.
It sounded something like Hooty the Owl, and Dippy the Loon, and two or
three little dogs howling all together, and there was something in the
sound that made cold chills run up and down Peter Rabbit's backbone. He
crept a little closer to Jimmy Skunk.
“I believe it is Farmer Brown's boy and some of his friends laughing and
shouting together,” said Jimmy.
“No, it isn't! Farmer Brown's boy and his friends can make some dreadful
noises but nothing so dreadful as that. It makes me afraid, Jimmy
Skunk,” said Peter.
“Pooh! You're afraid of your own shadow!” replied Jimmy Skunk, who isn't
afraid of much of anything. “Let's go down there and find out what it
is.”
Peter's big eyes grew rounder than ever with fright at the very thought.
“D-d-don't you think of such a thing, Jimmy Skunk I D-d-don't y-y-you
think of such a thing!” he chattered. “I know it's something terrible.
Oh, dear! I wish I were safe at home in the dear Old Briar-patch.”
Again sounded the strange voice, or was it voices? It seemed sometimes
as if there were two or three together. Then again it sounded like only
one. Each time Peter Rabbit crept a little closer to Jimmy Skunk. Pretty
soon even Jimmy began to feel a little uneasy.
“I'm going home,” said he suddenly.
“I want to, but I don't dare to,” said Peter, shaking all over with
fright.
“Pooh! Any one who can run as fast as you can ought not to be afraid,”
said Jimmy. “But if you really are afraid, you can come up to my house.”
“Oh, thank you, Jimmy Skunk. I believe I will come sit on your doorstep
if you don't mind.”
[Illustration: 0018]
So together they went up to Jimmy Skunk's house, and sat on his doorstep
in the moonlight, and listened to the strange voice all the long night;
and then, when he saw Old Mother West Wind coming down from the Purple
Hills in the early dawn, Peter Rabbit became courageous enough to start
for his home in the dear Old Briar-patch.
II. PETER RABBIT'S RUN FOR LIFE
|IT was very, very early in the morning when Old Mother West Wind came
down from the Purple Hills with her big bag and out of it emptied her
children, the Merry Little Breezes, to play on the Green Meadows. Peter
Rabbit, watching her from the doorstep of Jimmy Skunk's house, felt
his courage grow. All the night long he and Jimmy Skunk had sat on
the doorstep listening to a strange voice, a terrible voice Peter had
thought. But with the first light of the coming day the voice had been
heard no more, and now, as Peter watched Old Mother West Wind just as
he had done so often before, he began to wonder if that dreadful voice
hadn't been a bad dream.
So he bade Jimmy Skunk good-by, and started for his home in the dear
Old Briar-patch. He wanted to run just as fast as he knew how, but he
didn't. No, Sir, he didn't. That is, not while he was in sight of Jimmy
Skunk. You see, he knew that Jimmy would laugh at him. He wasn't brave
enough to be laughed at.
The bravest boy is not the one
Who does some mighty deed;
Who risks his very life perchance
To serve another's need.
The bravest boy is he who dares
To face the scornful laugh
For doing what he knows is right,
Though others mock and chaff.
But as soon as Peter was sure that Jimmy Skunk could no longer see him,
he began to hurry, and the nearer he got to the Old Briar-patch, the
faster he hurried. He would run a little way as fast as he could,
lipperty-lipperty-lip, and then stop and look and listen nervously. Then
he would do it all over again. It was one of these times when he was
listening that Peter thought he heard a soft footstep behind him. It
sounded very much like the footstep of Reddy Fox. Peter crouched down
very low and sat perfectly still, holding his breath and straining his
ears. There it was again, pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, very soft and coming
nearer. Peter waited no longer. He sprang forward with a great leap and
started for the dear Old Briar-patch as fast as he could go, which,
you know, is very fast indeed. As he ran, he saw behind him a fierce,
grinning face. It was very much like the face of Reddy Fox, only larger
and fiercer and gray instead of red.
Never in all his life had Peter run as he did now, for he knew that he
was running for his life. It seemed as if those long legs of his hardly
touched the ground. He didn't dare try any of the tricks with which he
had so often fooled Reddy Fox, for he didn't know anything about this
terrible stranger. He might not be fooled by tricks as Reddy Fox was.
Peter began to breathe hard. It seemed to him that he could feel the hot
breath of the fierce stranger. And right down inside, Peter somehow
felt sure that this was the owner of the strange voice which had so
frightened him in the night. Snap! That was a pair of cruel jaws right
at his very heels. It gave Peter new strength, and he made longer jumps
than before. The dear Old Briar-patch, the safe Old Briar-patch, was
just ahead. With three mighty jumps, Peter reached the opening of one of
his own private little paths and dived in under a bramble bush. And
even as he did so, he heard the clash of sharp teeth and felt some hair
pulled from his tail. And then, outside the Old Briar-patch, broke forth
that same terrible voice Peter had heard in the night.
Peter didn't stop to look at the stranger, but hurried to the very
middle of the Old Briar-patch and there he stretched out at full length
and panted and panted for breath.
III. REDDY FOX MAKES A DISCOVERY
|REDDY FOX had boasted that he was not afraid of the unknown stranger
who had frightened Peter Rabbit so, and whose voice in the night had
brought the great fear to the Green Meadows and the Green Forest. But
Reddy Fox is always boasting, and a boaster is seldom very brave. Right
down deep in his heart Reddy _was_ afraid. What he was afraid of, he
didn't know. That is one reason that he was afraid. He is always afraid
of things that he doesn't know about. Old Granny Fox had taught Reddy
that.
“If you are afraid of things you don't know all about, and just keep
away from them, they never will hurt you,” said wise old Granny Fox, and
that is one reason that Farmer Brown's boy had never been able to catch
her in a trap. But Granny was too smart to boast that she wasn't afraid
when she was, while Reddy was forever bragging of how brave he was, when
all the time he was one of the greatest cowards among all the little
meadow and forest people.
When he had first heard that strange voice, little cold chills had
chased each other up and down his backbone, just as they had with nearly
all the others who had heard it, and Reddy had not gone hunting that
night. But Reddy has a big appetite, and a hungry stomach doesn't let
one think of much else. So after a day or two, Reddy grew brave enough
to go hunting. Somehow he had a feeling that it was safer to hunt during
the day instead of during the night. You see, it was only after jolly,
round, red Mr. Sun had gone to bed behind the Purple Hills that that
strange voice was heard, and Reddy guessed that perhaps the stranger
slept during the day.
So Reddy started out very early in the morning, stepping as softly as he
knew how, looking behind every bush and tree, and with his sharp little
ears wide open to catch every sound. Every few feet he stopped and
sniffed the wind very carefully, for Reddy's nose can tell him of things
which his eyes do not see and his ears do not hear. And all the time
he was ready to run at the first sign of danger. He had left the Green
Forest and was out on the Green Meadows, hoping to catch Danny Meadow
Mouse, when that sharp little nose of his was tickled by one of the
Merry Little Breezes with a smell that Reddy knew. Reddy turned and went
in the direction from which the Merry Little Breeze had come. Just a few
steps he went, and then he stopped and sniffed.
“Um-m-m,” said Reddy to himself, “that smells to me like chicken. It
certainly does smell like chicken!”
Very, very slowly and carefully Reddy moved forward in the direction
from which that delicious smell came. Every few steps he stopped and
sniffed. Sniff, sniff, sniff! Yes, it certainly was chicken. Reddy's
mouth watered. A few more steps and there, a little way in front of
him, partly hidden in a clump of tall grass and bushes, lay a half-eaten
chicken. Reddy stopped short and sat down to look at it. Then he looked
all around it to see if there was any one about. Then he walked clear
around it in a circle, but he was very careful not to go too near.
Finally he sat down again where he could smell the chicken. His tongue
hung out with longing, and water dripped from the corners of his mouth.
His stomach said, “Go get it;” but his head said, “Don't go any nearer;
it may be some sort of a trap.”
Then Reddy remembered one of the sayings of wise old Granny Fox:
“When you are tempted very much
Just turn your back and go away.
Temptation then can harm you not,
But only those who choose to stay.”
“I hate to do it, but I guess it's the best way,” said Reddy Fox and
turned his back on the chicken and trotted away.
IV. REDDY FOX CONSULTS BOBBY COON
|WHEN Reddy Fox had turned his back on the half-eaten chicken that he
had found hidden in a bunch of grass and bushes on the Green Meadows
it had been the hardest thing to do that Reddy could remember, for his
stomach fairly ached, he was so hungry. But there might be danger there,
and it was best to be safe. So Reddy turned and trotted away where he
could neither see nor smell that chicken. He caught some grasshoppers,
and he found a family of fat beetles. They were not very filling, but
they were better than nothing. After a while he felt better, and he
curled up in a warm sunny spot to rest and think. “It may be that
Farmer Brown's boy has set a trap there,” said Reddy to himself. Then he
remembered that the chicken was half-eaten, and he knew that it wasn't
likely that Farmer Brown's boy would have a half-eaten chicken unless he
had found one that Jimmy Skunk had left near the hen-yard, and for some
reason he didn't know, he had a feeling that Jimmy Skunk had not had
anything to do with that chicken. The more he thought about it, the more
he felt sure that that chicken had something to do with the stranger
whose voice had brought so much fear to the Green Meadows. The very
thought made him nervous and spoiled his sun-bath.
“I believe I'll run over and see Bobby Coon,” said Reddy, and off he
started for the Green Forest.
Bobby Coon bad been out all night, but he had not been very far away
from his hollow-tree, because he too had felt little chills of fear when
he heard that strange voice, which wasn't the voice of Hooty the Owl or
of Dippy the Loon or of a little yelping dog and yet sounded something
like all three together. So Bobby's stomach wasn't as full as usual, and
he felt cross and uncomfortable. You know it is hard work to feel hungry
and pleasant at the same time. He had just begun to doze when he heard
Reddy Fox calling softly at the foot of the tree.
“Bobby! Bobby Coon!” called Reddy.
Bobby didn't answer. He kept perfectly still to try to make Reddy think
that he was asleep. But Reddy kept right on calling. Finally Bobby
scrambled up to the doorway of his house in the big hollow-tree and
scowled down at Reddy Fox.
“Well, what is it?” he snapped crossly. “You ought to be ashamed of
yourself to disturb people who are trying to get a little honest sleep.”
Reddy grinned. “I'm very sorry to wake you up, Bobby Coon,” said Reddy,
“but you see I want your advice. I know that there is no one smarter
than you, and I have just discovered something very important about
which I want to know what you think.”
The scowl disappeared from Bobby Coon's face. He felt very much
flattered, just as Reddy meant that he should feel, and he tried to look
very important and wise as he said:
“I'm listening, Reddy Fox. What is it that is so important?”
Then Reddy told him all about the half-eaten chicken over on the Green
Meadows, and how he suspected that the stranger with the terrible voice
had had something to do with it. Bobby listened gravely.
“Pooh!” said he. “Probably Jimmy Skunk knows something about it.”
“No,” replied Reddy, “I'm sure that Jimmy Skunk doesn't know anything
about it. Come over with me and see it for yourself.”
Bobby began to back down into his house. “You'll have to excuse me this
morning, Reddy Fox. You see, I'm very tired and need sleep,” said he.
Reddy turned his head aside to hide a smile, for he knew that Bobby was
afraid.
“I'm sure it must have been Jimmy Skunk,” continued Bobby. “Why don't
you go ask him? I never like to meddle with other people's business.”
And with that Bobby Coon backed down out of sight in the hollow-tree.
V. REDDY FOX VISITS JIMMY SKUNK
|BOBBY COON is afraid! Yes, Sir, Bobby Coon is afraid! He doesn't dare
go with me to look at that half-eaten chicken over on the Green Meadows.
He's a coward, that's what he is!”
Reddy Fox muttered this to himself as he trotted away from Bobby Coon's
big hollow-tree in the Green Forest. Reddy was right, and he was wrong.
He was right in thinking that Bobby Coon was afraid. Bobby _was_ afraid,
but that didn't make him a coward. You see, he couldn't see what good
it would do him to go see that half-eaten chicken way out there in
the Green Meadows so far away from trees. Bobby is like Happy Jack
Squirrel,--he never feels really safe unless there is a tree close at
hand to climb, for Bobby's legs are not very long, and though he can run
fast for a little distance, he soon gets out of breath. Then he climbs
the nearest tree. But if there had been any really good reason for
going, Bobby would have gone even though he was afraid, and that shows
that he wasn't a coward.
But Reddy Fox likes to think himself very brave and every one else a
coward. So he trotted along with his nose turned up in scorn because
Bobby Coon was afraid. He was disappointed, too, was Reddy Fox. You see
he had hoped to get Bobby to go with him and when they got there that
Bobby would go close to the half-eaten chicken and try to find out who
had left it on the Green Meadows, and for what reason. Reddy, who is
always suspicious, thought that there might be a trap, and if so, Bobby
would find it, and then Reddy would know without running any danger
himself. That shows how sly he is.
But as long as Bobby wouldn't go, there was nothing for Reddy to do but
to try the same plan with Jimmy Skunk, and so he headed straight for
Jimmy Skunk's house. Now deep down in his heart Reddy Fox hated Jimmy
Skunk, and more than once he had tried to get Jimmy into trouble. But
now, as he saw Jimmy sitting on his doorstep, Reddy looked as pleasant
as only Reddy can. He smiled as if Jimmy were his very best friend.
“Good morning, Jimmy Skunk. I'm glad to see you,” said Reddy. “I hope
you are feeling well this morning.”
Now Jimmy had had a good breakfast of fat beetles, and he was feeling
very good-natured. But he wasn't fooled by Reddy's pleasant ways. To
himself he thought, “I wonder what mischief Reddy Fox is up to,” but
aloud he said: “Good morning, Reddy Fox. You are looking very fine and
handsome this morning. Of course no one who is as big and brave as you
are is afraid of the stranger with the terrible voice who has frightened
the rest of us so for the last few nights.”
Now all the time he was saying this, Jimmy knew perfectly well that
Reddy was afraid, and he turned his head to hide a smile as Reddy
swelled up to look very big and important and replied: “Oh, my, no! No,
indeed, certainly not! I'm not afraid of anybody or anything. By the
way, I saw a strange thing down on the Green Meadows early this morning.
It was a half-eaten chicken hidden in a clump of grass and bushes. I
wondered if you left it there.”
Jimmy Skunk pricked up his ears. “No,” said he, “I didn't leave it
there. I haven't taken a chicken from Farmer Brown's this spring, and
I haven't been up to his hen-house for more than a week. Who do you
suppose could have left it there?”
“I haven't the least idea unless--” Reddy looked this way and that to
make sure that they were alone--“unless it was the stranger who has
frightened every one but me,” he finished in a whisper.
Jimmy pricked his ears up more than ever. “Do you really suppose it
could have been?” he asked.
“Come down there with me and see for yourself,” replied Reddy. And Jimmy
said he would.
VI. JIMMY SKUNK GOES WITH REDDY FOX
|JIMMY SKUNK and Reddy Fox trotted along down the Crooked Little Path to
the Green Meadows. Reddy was impatient and in a hurry. But Jimmy Skunk
never hurries, and he didn't now. He just took his time, and Reddy Fox
had to keep waiting for him. Reddy was nervous and anxious. He kept
turning his head this way and that way. He looked behind every little
bush and clump of grass. He cocked his sharp ears at every little sound.
He sniffed every little breeze. It was very plain that Reddy Fox was ill
at ease.
“Hurry up, Jimmy Skunk! Hurry up!” he urged every few minutes, and he
had hard work to make his voice sound pleasant.
But Jimmy didn't hurry. Indeed, it seemed as if Jimmy were slower than
usual. The more impatient Reddy grew, the slower Jimmy seemed to go.
And every time Reddy's back was turned, Jimmy would grin, and his sharp
little eyes twinkled with mischief. You see, he knew that despite all
his boasting Reddy Fox afraid, and because he wasn't afraid himself,
Jimmy was getting a lot of fun out of watching Reddy. Once, when Reddy
had stopped to look over the Green Meadows, Jimmy stole up behind him
very softly and suddenly pulled Reddy's tail. Reddy sprang forward with
a frightened yelp and started to run as only Reddy can. Then he heard
Jimmy Skunk laughing and knew that Jimmy had played a joke on him. He
stopped short and whirled around.
“What are you laughing at, Jimmy Skunk?” he shouted angrily.
“Oh, nothing, nothing at all,” replied Jimmy, and his face was as sober
as if he never had laughed and never could laugh. Reddy opened his mouth
to say something ugly, but suddenly remembered that if he quarrelled
with Jimmy Skunk, then Jimmy wouldn't go any farther with him. So he
gulped down his anger as best he could and grinned sheepishly while he
waited for Jimmy to catch up with him.
So at last they came to the bunch of grass and bushes in which Reddy had
found the half-eaten chicken early that morning. There it lay just as
Reddy had left it. Reddy stopped at a safe distance and pointed it out
to Jimmy Skunk. Jimmy looked at it thoughtfully.
“Who do you suppose could have brought it away down here on the Green
Meadows?” whispered Reddy, as if afraid that some one might overhear
him.
Jimmy Skunk scratched his head as if thinking very hard. “It might have
been Redtail the Hawk,” said he at last.
“That's so. I didn't think of him,” replied Reddy.
“But it looks to me as if it were left there in the night, and Redtail
never hunts at night because his eyes are for seeing in the daytime and
not in the dark,” added Jimmy Skunk. “Let's go closer, and perhaps we
can tell who left it there.”
“Of course. That's a good idea,” replied Reddy, starting forward as
if he were going to walk right up to the chicken. After a few steps he
stopped as if he had a sudden thought. “I tell you what,” said he “one
of us had better keep watch to see that no danger is near. I am taller
than you and can see over the grass better than you can, so I'll keep
watch while you see what you can find out.”
Now Jimmy Skunk saw through Reddy's plan right away, but Jimmy wasn't
afraid, because he isn't afraid of much of anything, so he agreed. While
Reddy kept watch, he carefully made his way to the half-eaten chicken
hidden in the clump of grass and bushes. All the time he kept his eyes
wide open for traps. But there were no traps there. He was gone a long
time, and when at last he came out, his face was very sober.
“Well, was it Redtail the Hawk?” asked Reddy eagerly.
“No,” said Jimmy. “No, it wasn't Redtail the Hawk or Hooty the Owl. It
was some one with teeth very much like yours, Reddy Fox, only bigger,
and with feet very much like yours, only these were bigger too. And
the chicken wasn't one of Farmer Brown's at all; it was brought from
somewhere farther away than Farmer Brown's, and that shows that it was
some one smarter than you, Reddy Fox, because whoever it was knew that
if they stole a chicken from Farmer Brown, his boy and Bowser the Hound,
would come looking for it.”
VII. A CALL ON DIGGER THE BADGER
For fox or man the better plan
With unknown danger near,
Is to go home and no more roam
Until the way be clear.
|THAT is what Reddy Fox thinks. The thought popped right into his head
when Jimmy Skunk told him that the half-eaten chicken had been left on
the Green Meadows by some one with teeth and feet very like Reddy's own
but bigger. But Reddy pretended not to believe it. “Pooh!” said he.
“How do you know that this stranger has feet like mine, only bigger. You
haven't seen him, have you?”
“No,” said Jimmy Skunk, shaking his head, “no, I haven't seen him, and
I don't need to, to know that. His footprints are right over here in the
sand. Come look for yourself, Reddy Fox.”
“No, thanks!” said Reddy hastily. “The fact is, I have some very
important matters to look after in the Green Forest, and I must hurry
along. You'll excuse me, won't you, Jimmy Skunk? If you say that there
are footprints like mine, only larger, of course I believe it. I would
stop to look at them if I could, but I find that I am already very late.
By the way, if you will look a little closer at those footprints, I
think you will find that they were made by a dog. I'm sorry I can't wait
for you, but you are such a slow walker that I really haven't the time.
Let me know if you find out anything about this stranger.” And with that
off he started for the Green Forest.
Jimmy Skunk grinned, for he knew that Reddy had nothing more important
to attend to than to get away as fast as he could from a place which he
felt might be dangerous.
“Don't fool yourself, Reddy Fox, by thinking I don't know the footprints
of a dog when I see them. Besides, I smelled of them, and they don't
smell of dog!” shouted Jimmy, before Reddy could get out of hearing.
Jimmy watched Reddy out of sight and chuckled as he saw Reddy keep
turning to look over his shoulder as if he expected to find something
terrible at his heels. “I'd never run away until I knew what I was
running from!” exclaimed Jimmy, with the greatest scorn. “Did you ever
see such a coward?”
With Reddy gone, Jimmy's thoughts came back to the queer things which
were driving all the happiness from the Green Meadows at the very
happiest time of all the year. There was that strange, terrible voice
in the night, the voice that was not that of Hooty the Owl or Dippy
the Loon or a little yelping dog, yet which sounded something like all
three, and which was frightening all the little people until they were
afraid to move out of sight of their homes. And here was this half-eaten
chicken hidden in the clump of grass and hushes on the Green Meadows
by some one with teeth and feet very much like those of Reddy Fox only
bigger. It was all very queer, very queer indeed. The more he thought
about it, the more Jimmy felt sure that the owner of the terrible voice
was the owner of the big teeth and the maker of the strange footprints.
He was scratching his head as he puzzled over the matter when he
happened to look over to the home of Digger the Badger. Jimmy's eyes
brightened.
“I believe I'll make a call on Digger. Perhaps he will know something
about it,” said he, and off he started.
Digger the Badger sat on his doorstep. He has very few friends, for he
is grumpy and very apt to be out of sorts. Besides, most of the little
Meadow people are afraid of him. But Jimmy Skunk isn't afraid of any one
but Farmer Brown's boy, and not even of him unless he has his terrible
gun. So he walked right up to the doorstep where Digger the Badger was
sitting.
[Illustration: 0052]
“Good morning,” said Jimmy politely.
“Morning,” grunted Digger the Badger.
“What do you think of the queer doings on the Green Meadows?” asked
Jimmy.
“What queer doings?” asked Digger.
Then Jimmy Skunk told all about the strange voice and the strange
footprints.
Digger the Badger didn't say a word until Jimmy was through. Then he
chuckled.
“Why,” said he, “that is only my old friend from the Great West--Old Man
Coyote.”
VIII. OLD MAN COYOTE MAKES HIMSELF AT HOME
|IT was out at last. Digger the Badger had told Jimmy Skunk who it was
that had so frightened the little people of the Green Forest and the
Green Meadows with his terrible voice, and Jimmy Skunk had straightway
sent the Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind over to the
Smiling Pool, up along the Laughing Brook, through the Green Forest,
and over the Green Meadows to spread the news that it was Old Man Coyote
from the Great West who had come to make his home on the Green Meadows.
And that night when they heard his voice, somehow it didn't sound
so terrible. You see, they knew who it was, and that made all the
difference in the world.
The shivers still might crawl and creep
And chase away good friendly Sleep,
But knowing whom he had to fear
Brought to each heart a bit of cheer.
That may seem a bit queer, but it was so. You see, not knowing what or
whom to be afraid of made the little meadow and forest people afraid
every minute of the time, afraid to sleep, afraid to put their noses out
of their homes, almost afraid to draw a long breath. But now that they
knew it was Old Man Coyote who had so frightened them, they felt better,
for Digger the Badger, who had known him in the Great West where they
had been neighbors, had told Jimmy Skunk what he looked like, and Jimmy
Skunk had spread the news so that everybody would know Old Man Coyote
when they saw him. So though each one knew that he mustn't give Old Man
Coyote a chance to catch him, each felt sure right down in his heart
that all he had to do was to be just a little bit smarter than Old Man
Coyote, and he would be safe.
Of course it didn't take Old Man Coyote long to learn that he had been
found out. He grinned to himself, stretched, and yawned, and then came
out from his secret hiding place.
“I think I'll call on my neighbors,” said he, and trotted towards the
house of Digger the Badger. The Merry Little Breezes saw him first and
in a great flutter of excitement they hurried this way and that way to
tell everybody that the stranger from the Great West had come out in
the light of day. My, my, my! such a scampering as there was for a safe
place from which to peep out at Old Man Coyote! He pretended not to
notice, and didn't look this way or that way, but trotted on about his
own business.
Digger the Badger was sitting on his doorstep, and he grinned when he
saw Old Man Coyote coming.
“It's about time you called on your old friend,” said he.
It was Old Man Coyote's turn to grin. “That's so, Brother Badger,” he
replied, “but the fact is, I've been living very quietly.”
“Excepting at night,” said Digger, showing all his teeth in a rather
broad grin. “You're voice certainly has sounded good to me.”
“I guess it's the first time,” interrupted Old Man Coyote.
“The first time I heard it I thought I was dreaming,” continued Digger,
just as if he hadn't heard what Old Man Coyote said. “Seems just like
home to have you about. But tell me, how does it happen that you have
come here out of the Great West?”
“That's too long a story to tell now. Anyway, I might ask you the same
thing. But here I am, and I believe I'll stay. I like the Green Meadows
and the Green Forest. Now I must be going along to call on the rest
of my new neighbors. I hope they'll be glad to see me.” Old Man Coyote
grinned again when he said this, for no one knew better than he did how
very much afraid of him his new neighbors were.
“Come again when you can stop longer,” said Digger the Badger.
“I will,” replied Old Man Coyote, starting toward the Smiling Pool.
IX. OLD MAN COYOTE MEETS REDDY FOX
No matter how you feel inside
Hold up your head! Call up your pride!
Stand fast! Look brave! Then none will guess
The fear you feel, but won't confess.
|JIMMY SKUNK learned this when he was a very little fellow. Now he isn't
afraid of much of anything, but there was a time when he was. Oh, my,
yes! There was a time when he first started out to see the world, and
before he had found out that all the world is afraid of that little bag
of scent he always carries with him, when Jimmy often was as frightened
as Peter Rabbit ever is, and you know Peter is very easily frightened.
But Jimmy used to think of that little verse, and though sometimes he
had to shut his mouth as tightly as he knew how to keep his teeth from
chattering with fear, he would hold up his head, stand fast, and look
brave. What do you think happened? Why, in a little while people began
to say that Jimmy Skunk wasn't afraid of anything, and so no one tried
to bother him. Of course when he found this out, Jimmy wasn't afraid.
But Reddy Fox is different. He dearly loves to tell how brave he is.
He brags and boasts. But when he finds himself in a place where he is
afraid, he shows it. Yes, Sir, he shows it. Reddy Fox has never learned
to stand fast and look brave. When Reddy had first been told that the
stranger with the voice which had sounded so terrible in the night was
Old Man Coyote from the Great West, and that he had decided to make
his home on the Green Meadows, Reddy had said: “Pooh! I'm not afraid of
him!” and had swelled himself up and strutted back and forth as if he
really meant it. But all the time Reddy took care, the very greatest
care, to keep out of the way of Old Man Coyote.
Of course, some one told Digger the Badger what Reddy had said, and
Digger told Old Man Coyote, who just grinned and said nothing. But he
noticed how careful Reddy was to keep out of his way, and he made up his
mind that he would like to meet Reddy and find out how brave he really
was. So one moonlight night he hid behind a big log near one of Reddy's
favorite hunting places. Pretty soon Reddy came tiptoeing along,
watching for foolish young mice. Just a little while before he had heard
the voice of Old Man Coyote way over on the edge of the Old Pasture, so
he never once thought of meeting him here. Just as he passed the end of
the old log, a deep voice in the black shadow said:
“Good evening, Brother Fox.” Reddy whirled about. His heart seemed to
come right up in his throat. It was too late to run, for there was Old
Man Coyote right in front of him. Reddy tried to swell himself up just
as he so often did before the little people who were afraid of him, but
somehow he couldn't. “Go-good evening, Mr. Coyote,” he replied, but his
voice sounded very weak. “I hear you've come to make your home on the
Green Meadows. I-I hope we will be the best of friends.”
“Of course we will,” replied Old Man Coyote. “I'm always the best of
friends with those who are not afraid of me, and I hear that you are not
afraid of anybody.”
“N-no, I-I'm not afraid of anybody,” said Reddy. “Everybody is afraid
of me.” All the time he was speaking, he was slowly backing away, and in
spite of his bold words, he was shaking with fear. Old Man Coyote saw it
and he chuckled to himself.
“I'm not, Brother Fox!” he suddenly snapped, in a deep, horrid sounding
voice. “Gr-r-r-r-r, I'm not!” As he said it, all the hair along his back
stood on end, and he showed all his great, cruel-looking teeth.
Instead of holding his ground as Jimmy Skunk would have done, Reddy
leaped backward, tripped over his own tail, fell, and then scrambled to
his feet with a frightened yelp, and ran as he had never run before in
all his life. And as he ran, he heard Old Man Coyote laughing, and all
the Green Meadows and the Green Forest heard it:
“Ho, ho, ho! Ha, ha, ha! Hee, hee, hee! Ho, ha, hee, ho! Reddy Fox isn't
afraid! Ho, ho!”
Reddy ground his teeth in rage, but he kept on running.
X. GRANNY FOX VISITS PRICKLY PORKY
“I've often heard old Granny say:
' He longest lives who runs away.'”
|REDDY FOX didn't realize that he was speaking aloud. He was trying to
make himself think that he wasn't a coward and that in running away from
Old Man Coyote he had done only what every one of the little meadow and
forest people would have done in his place. So, without knowing it, he
had spoken aloud.
“But he who runs must leave behind
His self-respect and peace of mind.”
The voice came from right over Reddy's head, but he didn't have to look
up to know who was there. It was Sammy Jay, of course. Sammy is always
on hand when he isn't wanted, and Reddy knew by the look in his eyes
that Sammy knew about the meeting with Old Man Coyote.
“What are you waiting around here for?” asked Reddy, with a snarl.
“To tell Old Granny Fox how brave you are,” retorted Sammy Jay, his eyes
sparkling with mischief, “and how fast you can run.”
“You'd better mind your own affairs and leave mine alone. I shall tell
Granny all about it myself, anyway,” snapped Reddy.
Now when Reddy said that, he didn't tell the truth, for he had no
intention of telling Old Granny Fox of how he had run from Old Man
Coyote, but hardly were the words out of his mouth when old Granny
Fox herself stepped out from behind a bush. She had been up in the Old
Pasture for a week or two and had just come back, so she knew nothing
of the fright which Old Man Coyote had given those who live in the Green
Meadows and the Green Forest.
“I'm already to listen right now, Reddy,” said she.
Reddy hung his head. He coughed and cleared his throat and tried to
think of some way out of it. But it was of no use. There sat Sammy Jay
ready to tell if he didn't, and so, mumbling so low that twice Granny
told him to speak louder, Reddy told how he had run, and how Old Man
Coyote had laughed at him so that all the little people in the Green
Forest and on the Green Meadows had heard.
“Of course he laughed!” snapped old Granny Fox. “You're a coward, Reddy
Fox, just a plain coward. It's all well enough to run away when you know
you have to, but to run before there is anything to be afraid of shows
you are the biggest kind of a coward. Bah! Get out of my sight!”
Reddy slunk away, muttering to himself and glaring angrily at Sammy Jay,
who was chuckling with delight to see Reddy looking so uncomfortable.
Old Granny Fox made sure that Reddy was out of sight, and then she sat
down to think, and there was a worried pucker in her forehead.
“Old Man Coyote is a wolf,” said she, talking to herself, “and a wolf
on the Green Meadows and in the Green Forest will mean hard hunting for
Reddy and me when food is scarce. It is of no use for me to fight him,
for he is bigger and stronger than I am. I'll just have to make all the
trouble for him that I can, and then perhaps he'll go away. I wonder if
he has ever met Prickly Porky the Porcupine. I believe I'll go over and
make Prickly Porky a call right now!”
And as she trotted through the Green Forest on her way to call on
Prickly Porky, her thoughts were very busy, very busy indeed. She was
planning trouble for Old Man Coyote.
XI. GRANNY FOX TELLS PRICKLY PORKY A STORY
A little tale which isn't true,
And eager ears to heed it,
Means trouble starts right there to brew
With tattle-tales to feed it.
|NO one knows how true this is better than does old Granny-Fox. And
no one knows better than she how to make trouble for other people by
starting little untrue stories. You see, she learned long ago how fast a
mean little tale will travel once it has been started, and so when there
is some one with whom she is afraid to fight honestly, she uses these
little untrue tales instead of claws and teeth, and often they hurt a
great deal worse than claws or teeth ever could.
Now you would think that by this time all the little meadow and forest
people would have found old Granny Fox out, and that they wouldn't
believe her stories. But the truth is most people are very apt to
believe unpleasant things about other people without taking the trouble
to find out if they are true, and old Granny Fox knows this. Besides,
she is smart enough to tell these little trouble-making, untrue stories
as if she had heard them from some one else. So, of course, some one
else gets the blame for starting them. Oh, Granny Fox is smart and sly!
Yes, Siree! She certainly is smart and sly.
It was one of her plans to make trouble that was taking her over to
see Prickly Porky the Porcupine. She found him as usual in the top of a
poplar tree, filling his stomach with tender young bark. Granny strolled
along as if she had just happened to pass that way and not as if she had
come purposely. She pretended to be very much surprised when she looked
up and saw Prickly Porky.
“Good morning, Prickly Porky,” she said in her pleasantest voice. “How
big and fine and strong and brave you are looking this morning!”
Prickly Porky stopped eating and looked down at her suspiciously, but
just the same he felt pleased.
“Huh!” he grunted, then once more he began to eat.
Granny Pox went right on talking. “I said when I heard that story this
morning that I didn't believe a word of it. I--”
“What story?” Prickly Porky broke in.
“Why, haven't you heard it?” Granny spoke in a tone of great surprise.
“Billy Mink told it to me. He said that this stranger, Old Man Coyote,
who has come to the Green Meadows and the Green Forest, has been
boasting that he is afraid of nobody, but everybody is afraid of him.
When somebody asked him if you were afraid of him, he said that you
climbed the highest tree you could find if you but saw his shadow. Of
course, I didn't believe it, because I know that you are not afraid
of anybody. But other people believe it, and they do say that Old Man
Coyote is bragging that the first time he meets you on the ground he is
going to have Porcupine for dinner.”
Prickly Porky had started down the tree before Granny finished speaking,
and his usually dull eyes actually looked bright. The fact is, they were
bright with anger. Prickly Porky looked positively fierce.
“What are you going to do?” asked Granny Fox, backing away a little.
“Going to give that boaster a chance to try to get his Porcupine
dinner,” grunted Prickly Porky.
Granny turned aside to grin. “I don't believe you will find him now,”
said she, “but I heard that he is planning to get you when you go down
to the Laughing Brook for a drink this evening.”
“Then I'll wait,” grunted Prickly Porky.
So Granny Fox bade him good-by and started on with a wicked chuckle to
think how Prickly Porky had believed the story which she had made up.
XII. GRANNY FOX TELLS ANOTHER STORY
Believe all the good that you may hear,
But always doubt the bad.
Pass on the word of kindly cheer;
Forget the tale that's sad.
|IF every one would do that what a different world this would he! My,
my, my, yes, indeed! There wouldn't be any place for the Granny Foxes
who start untrue stories just to make trouble. But we will have to say
this much for old Granny Fox,--she seldom does make trouble just for
the sake of trouble. No, Sir, old Granny Fox seldom, very seldom makes
trouble, unless she or Reddy Fox have something to gain by it. She is
too smart and wise for that.
It was just this way now. You see she felt down in her heart that Old
Man Coyote the Wolf had no right on the Green Meadows and in the Green
Forest. He was a stranger from the Great West, and she felt that she and
Reddy Fox had the best right there, because they had been born there and
always had lived there; and she was afraid, very much afraid, that there
wouldn't be room for them and for Old Man Coyote. But she wasn't big or
strong enough to fight him and drive him away, and so the only thing she
could think of was to make him so much trouble that he would leave. She
had begun by telling an untrue story to Prickly Porky, a story which
had made Prickly Porky very angry with Old Man Coyote, although they had
never met. Now she was hurrying down to the Smiling Pool on the banks of
which Old Man Coyote was in the habit of taking a sun-bath, she had been
told.
Sure enough, when she came in sight of the Smiling Pool, there he lay
sprawled out in the sun and talking to Grandfather Frog, who sat on his
big green lily-pad well out of reach from the shore. Granny came up on
the opposite side of the Smiling Pool from where Old Man Coyote lay.
“How do you do, Mr. Coyote? I have just heard that you have come here
to make your home among us, and I am sure we all give you a hearty
welcome.” Granny said this just as if she really meant it, and all the
time she was speaking she was smiling. Old Man Coyote watched her out of
half-closed eyes and to himself he thought: “I don't believe a word of
it. Granny Fox is too polite, altogether too polite. I wonder what kind
of a trick she is trying to play now.”
All the time he was saying this, Old Man Coyote was chuckling inside.
But aloud he said, and his voice was just as smooth and soft and
pleasant as Granny's:
“I'm very well, thank you, and I am much obliged to you for your hearty
welcome. I am sure we shall be the best of friends.”
[Illustration: 0080]
Now all the time he was saying this, Old Man Coyote was chuckling
inside, for he knew well enough that they wouldn't be friends, and that
Granny Fox didn't want to be friends. You see, he is quite as sharp as
she.
“Yes, indeed, I am sure we shall,” replied old Granny Fox. “How big and
strong you are, Mr. Coyote! I shouldn't think that you would be afraid
of anybody.”
Old Man Coyote looked flattered. “I'm not,” said he.
Granny Fox raised her eyebrows as if very much surprised. “Is that so?”
she exclaimed. “Why I heard that Prickly Porky the Porcupine is boasting
that you are afraid of him and don't dare put your foot in the Green
Forest when he is about.”
Old Man Coyote suddenly jumped to his feet, and there was an ugly gleam
in his yellow eyes. Granny Fox was glad that she was on the other side
of the Smiling Pool. “I don't know who this Prickly Porky is,” said he,
“but if you'll be so kind as to tell me where I can find him, I think I
will make him a call at once.”
“Probably he's taking a nap in a tree-top just now,” replied Granny,
“but it you really want to meet him, you'll find him getting a drink at
the Laughing Brook in the Green Forest late this afternoon. I do hope
that you will be careful, Mr. Coyote.”
“Careful! Careful!” snorted he.
“There won't be any Prickly Porky when I get through with him!”
“Chug-a-rum!” said Grandfather Frog and looked very hard at old Granny
Fox. Granny winked the eye that was nearest to him.
XIII. THE MEETING AT THE LAUGHING BROOK
The trouble with a quarrel is
That when it's once begun
The whole world tries to push it on,
And seems to think it fun.
|IT usually is anything but fun for those engaged in it, but their
neighbors crowd about and urge them on and do their best to make matters
worse. It was just that way when Prickly Porcupine and Old Man Coyote
met beside the Laughing Brook. Now until they met here neither had ever
seen the other, for you know Old Man Coyote had come out of the Great
West, while Prickly Porky had come down from the North Woods. Prickly
Porky took one good look and then he grunted, “I'll soon fix him!” What
he saw was some one who looked something like a very large gray fox or a
dog, and Prickly Porky had put too many foxes and dogs to flight to feel
the least bit of fear of the stranger grinning at him and showing all
his great teeth.
But Old Man Coyote didn't know what to make of what he saw. Never in all
his life had he seen anything like it. He didn't know whether to laugh
or to be frightened. About all he could see was what looked like a
tremendous great chestnut-burr on legs, which came towards him in little
rushes and with a great rattling of the thousand little spears which
made him look like a chestnut-burr. Old Man Coyote had never fought with
anybody like this, and he didn't know just how to begin. He didn't like
the look of the thousand little spears. The nearer they came, the less
he liked the look of them. So he backed away a few steps, growling and
snarling angrily.
Now it seemed that as if by magic the news that there was trouble
between Prickly Porky and Old Man Coyote had spread all over the Green
Meadows and through the Green Forest. Everybody who dared to go was on
hand to see it. Sammy Jay and his cousin, Blacky the Crow, were there
of course, peering down from the top of a pine-tree and screaming
excitedly. Happy Jack the Gray Squirrel and Chatterer the Red Squirrel
actually sat side by side in the same tree, so interested that they
forgot for once to quarrel themselves. Unc' Billy Possum and Bobby Coon
cut their afternoon nap short and looked on from a safe place in a big
chestnut-tree.
Danny Meadow Mouse and his cousin, Whitefoot the Wood Mouse, shivered
with fright, while they peeped out through a crack in a hollow log.
Johnny Chuck came as near as he dared and peeped over the trunk of a
fallen tree. Billy Mink and Jerry Muskrat quietly swam up the Laughing
Brook and crawled out on the farther bank where they could see and still
be safe. Of course Reddy and Granny Fox were there, well hidden so that
no one should see them.
And what do you think every one of them was wishing? Why, that Prickly
Porky would drive Old Man Coyote away from the Green Forest and off
of the Green Meadows. You see, every one of them was afraid of Old Man
Coyote, and right down in his heart each was hoping that Prickly Porky
would be able to send Old Man Coyote off yelping, with his face stuck
full of little spears as once upon a time he had sent Bowser the Hound.
XIV. SLOW WIT AND QUICK WIT
|WHEN Prickly Porky the Porcupine and Old Man Coyote the Prairie Wolf
met beside the Laughing Brook, it was a case of Slow Wit meeting Quick
Wit. You see, Prickly Porky is very slow in everything he does, that is
everything but flipping that queer tail of his about when there is an
enemy near enough for it to reach. But in everything else he is oh,
so slow! He walks as if he had all the time in the world to get to the
place he has started for. He climbs in just the same way. And because
he never moves quickly, he never thinks quickly. The fact is, he doesn't
see any need of hurrying, not even in thinking.
But Old Man Coyote is just the opposite. Yes, Sir, he is just the
opposite. No one moves quicker than he does. He is nimble on his feet,
and his wit is just as quick.
His nimble wit and nimble feet
Are very, very hard to beat.
Digger the Badger, who also comes from the Great West, says that to beat
Old Man Coyote in anything, you should start the day before he does and
not let him know it.
So here was Slow Wit facing Quick Wit, with most of the little meadow
people and forest folk looking on. Suddenly Old Man Coyote sprang
forward with his ugliest snarl, a snarl that made everybody but Prickly
Porky shiver, even those who were perfectly safe up in the trees.
But Prickly Porky didn't shiver.
No, Sir, he just grunted angrily and rattled this thousand little
spears.
Now, Old Man Coyote had sprung with that ugly snarl just to try to
frighten Prickly Porky, and he had taken care not to spring too close
to those rattling spears. When he found that Prickly Porky wasn't
frightened the least little bit, he tried another plan. Perhaps he could
get Prickly Porky from behind. As quick as a flash and as light as a
feather, he leaped right over Prickly Porky and turned to seize him from
behind. But he didn't! Oh, my, no! You see, the thousand little spears
covered every inch of Prickly Porky's back.
Slowly and clumsily Prickly Porky turned so as to face his enemy.
“Got fooled that time, didn't you, Mr. Smarty?” he grunted, while his
eyes snapped with anger.