Mr. Squirrel was disappointed when he peeped his head out of his
hollow tree early one morning. Not one nut was to be seen on the
ground.
“Jack Frost did not come last night. I see no nuts anywhere. It will
take a long time to get all we need from the tree, I fear,” he said
to Mrs. Squirrel, who was standing close beside him.
“But Jack Frost will come to our tree,” she said. “He never fails.
See, there’s Mrs. Bushytail out early. She seems to be looking
around, too. Perhaps Jack Frost has shaken them down for her. Let’s
run down and see.”
Away frisked Mr. and Mrs. Squirrel as fast as their legs could take
them, to see what Jack Frost had done for their neighbour. But, no,
he had not visited Mrs. Bushytail’s tree. She had looked all over
the ground, and there wasn’t a nut in sight. She couldn’t explain it
herself.
“Let us wait until to-morrow morning,” said Mrs. Squirrel, “he will
be sure to come to-night. Then what fun Bushy and Frisky will have
gathering them. They will have to work hard to get enough for our
winter store. Boys love nuts, too,” she added with a sigh. “But we
will wait.”
Morning came and frosty Jack had been there in earnest, for the nuts
lay all over the ground.
“Now to work,” said Father Squirrel. “Come, Bushy and Frisky.”
It was a busy day for Mr. Squirrel’s family. They well knew how
many, many nuts are needed for the winter’s store, and Mr. Squirrel
kept telling Bushy and Frisky that they would have to work hard, and
perhaps until the sun went down that day.
But alas for those little squirrels. “Boys love nuts, too,” Mrs.
Squirrel had said over and over again, and when a rustle was heard in
the bushes behind the trees, and the sound of boys’ voices came loud
and clear, these little workers had to take to their heels, and whisk
up the hollow tree. There they stayed trembling with fear. In a few
minutes Bushy, a little braver than the rest, ventured to peep out of
a small hole. Frisky stood just back of him.
“Boys--three of them--and they all have bags!”
Poor Bushy and Frisky. If there was one thing that these little
squirrels loved to do more than another it was to gather nuts--and
now their chance was spoiled, for the boys were really there, and
would be sure to take every nut they could find.
“They’re working hard,” said Bushy.
“Will they leave any for us?” asked Frisky, not even daring to peep
out.
“Sh! Listen, Frisky. I heard one of the boys say that there are some
nuts under the other tree. Two of the boys are going there now. It’s
Mrs. Bushytail’s tree. But look, Frisky, they have left two of the
bags.”
“Where, Bushy?”
“One of the boys is sitting on one of them. He is cracking nuts, I
think.”
“And the other bag, Bushy?”
“The other one is close by our tree,” and before any one could say a
word, Bushy was out of the hole, down the tree, and close to the big
bag. Mrs. Squirrel tried to call him back, but it was of no use. Up
and down the bag he ran, first to the top and then to the sides. But
he could not get in--the bag was tied tight. But Bushy’s teeth were
sharp.
“Dear, dear,” said his mother, “here come the boys back, and they
will surely see Bushy--dear, dear.”
Bushy caught sight of the boys coming toward the tree for their bags,
and with a whisk and a scamper he was up the tree again and into his
hole in no time.
“Dear, dear Bushy,” said his mother. “What a fright you gave us all.
Just see those boys. There’s no telling what would have happened if
they had seen you.”
Mr. Squirrel’s family watched the boys pick up their bags, throw them
over their shoulders and go away.
“Why, Tom, look at your bag,” said one of the boys. “It has a hole in
it. You must have lost ever so many nuts along the way.”
“A hole?” asked Tom in surprise, as he lifted the bag from his
shoulder. “So it has--and a pretty big one, too. I wonder how it ever
came there. It wasn’t there when I started.”
The boys were gone, and Mr. Squirrel’s family ventured out once more.
“It’s of no use, I fear,” began Mrs. Squirrel; “those boys were good
workers and--dear me, here are nuts sprinkled all along the road.
What does it mean?” asked Mrs. Squirrel.
“It is strange,” said Mr. Squirrel. “I really thought those boys had
found them all, but perhaps boys’ eyes are not so sharp as we think.”
Bushy kept on gathering the nuts and smiling to himself. How sly he
was. Not one of the family seemed to guess the truth. It was only
when he and Frisky were going to bed that night that Frisky dared to
whisper, “Bushy, did you put that hole in that bag?”