_The world had turned to silver
Sometime throughout the night,
Each weed and twig, and shrub and tree
Wore robes of daintiest white;
The big round sun peeped out and smiled--
The world smiled back; "Oh look!"
Cried Buddy Jim, "It's like a page
From a fairy picture-book!"_
Of course Buddy knew all about _why_ the world was wearing lacy white
dresses; Jack Frost had come and dressed it all up in the night to
be sure; but he had not known how lovely it would be. Why, it looked
exactly like a whole world full of glittering gems, like those Mother
wore in her hair when she was going to a party.
Just then, around the corner, came Old Bob the gardener. He had a
sharp and shiny axe in his hand. "Hello, Buddy," said he, "Want to do
something for me?" "'Deed I do," said the little boy. He was always
anxious to do something for Bob, because the two were great chums.
"I've got an axe to grind," said Old Bob the gardener, "and I want you
to turn the grindstone for me. We are going up to the beech woods this
forenoon to cut out the dead-and-down trees for wood, and old wood
needs sharp axes."
"I like to turn the grindstone," said Buddy, as he started the big
wheel slowly turning around on its axis, watching Bob the gardener as
he held the axe closely against it, and poured water on the stone from
time to time.
"Why do you put water on the stone, Bob?" he asked.
"So it won't get heated by the friction," said Old Bob the gardener,
"it would spoil the stone if I didn't wet it, and the axe too, very
likely. But there goes the breakfast gong, and the axe is sharp and I
am much obliged to you, Buddy."
"You're welcome," said Buddy, as he made a dash for breakfast.
When breakfast was over, Buddy went out of doors, and found Old Bob the
gardener just ready to go.
"Know of any youngster who would care to go beech-nutting this
morning?" called Bob to Buddy Jim. "If you do, tell him to bring along
a sack to put the nuts in, because there'll be beech-nuts a plenty
after the fine frost we had last night."
"I certainly do know a youngster who wants to go," said Buddy, "and he
will be all ready as soon as he finds a sack for the nuts, and puts on
some hiking shoes. So be sure to call him, won't you Bob?"
"I'll sing out when I go by," said Old Bob the gardener. So Buddy asked
Mary the cook for a flour sack, and put on warm shoes and stockings,
and was quite ready to start when Old Bob the gardener shouted "All
aboard!"
Old Dog Sandy stretched himself and looked at Buddy so beseechingly
that he hadn't the heart to leave him at home. So he said he could come
along if he would promise not to frighten any Little Neighbor.
Old Dog Sandy promised with his eyes, but down deep in his heart he was
afraid he couldn't keep the promise, not if he should happen to meet
something _really_ interesting. However, permission to go along was all
that he wanted, and maybe he wouldn't see any wild thing, so why think
about it?
He was a happy old dog as they ran across the crisp fields; there were
flocks and flocks of bright-colored thistle birds, chattering and
getting their breakfast of seeds from the weeds, but old Dog Sandy
didn't count those. They were too small and besides, they were just
like the canary that Mary the cook kept in a cage, and made so much
fuss over every day. It was a bit more exciting when he picked up Molly
Cotton-tail's trail--but of course Buddy whistled him back--he never
_could_ have any fun.
Buddy thought he had never seen the beeches look so lovely as they did
on this morning, not even in the summer--the leaves were so brown and
rustly, and the trunks so smooth and such a lovely gray-green color.
The wood cutters were there already, and after Old Bob the gardener
had directed them where to work he came back to Buddy, and unrolled a
bundle he had brought, which proved to be a blanket which he spread
under a big tree.
"Now, Buddy Jim," he said, "I'll give you a boost, and you go up and
shake the branches and the nuts will fall down on the blanket, and you
will have plenty to do until noon time."
So, with a boost from Old Bob the gardener, up went Buddy, like a
little brown monkey, and he began shaking the branches of the tree, so
that the nuts fell down in a big shower, burrs and all.
When no more fell, Buddy scrambled back down the tree to fill his sack.
Old Dog Sandy wandered off by himself, talking to himself down deep in
his throat about what would be likely to happen if he ever _should_
happen to meet that Pin Cushiony Person again. There must be some spot
on him not covered up with pins! "And _then_ they'd see!"
Buddy lay face down on the blanket, busily separating the nuts from
the burrs, and wondering how it could be possible that such a big tree
could ever have grown from such a tiny, three-cornered little seed,
when he became aware of voices just above his head.
"I am positive this is the tree that was so full of nuts yesterday,"
said a small voice, "because I marked it especially for this morning's
work. And now there's only one or two clusters left!"
"Never mind, Mother dear," said another little voice, "perhaps the Red
Squirrels got here first."
"Ssh," said the first voice, "it was not the Red Squirrels--I smell
dog--and I smell man--and they're not far away, either. Look! what is
that, on the ground at the foot of the tree?" Buddy looked up, just
as the Little Neighbors in the tree looked down. "Hurray," said he,
softly, "that's Mother Chipmunk and her family, and they have always
been so shy I couldn't get acquainted!" So he kept very still knowing
that the curiosity of the little people was so great that they would
just have to come down to see what he was doing.
"That's a boy down there, and he has taken all our beech-nuts," said
Mother Chipmunk. "That's a shame. He surely doesn't need them, and we
do."
"Come on down, Little Neighbors," called Buddy. "I won't hurt you. Come
on down and help yourselves."
The Chipmunks looked at each other, half made up their minds to take
Buddy at his word, ran part of the way down, and then ran back to the
sheltering brown leaves again.
Buddy sat very still, until, making up their minds to have those nuts
anyway, the timid, beautiful little animals ran down the trunk of the
tree head first and jumped right in the middle of the blanket full of
beech-nuts.
They paid no attention at all to Buddy, but went busily to work,
filling their _pockets_ full of nuts, selecting only the full-meated
ones, and as fast as their pockets were full, running away, and
hurrying back for more.
"You must live near here," said Buddy. "We do," said one little fellow,
"That's why we needed the nuts on this tree, so we should not have to
make such long trips home and back."
"I've always wanted to know," said Buddy, "what you do with the dirt
that you take out of your burrows." Little Chipmunk started to speak,
but his mouth was too full. "Chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck," warned his
mother, "don't talk so much, children, and work faster."
"All right, little old lady," said Buddy, "keep your secrets. Goodbye!
I'm going to find another tree, and you may have this one."
"Bob," said Buddy, when they were walking home, "do the Chipmunks sleep
all winter, like the bears and the wood-chucks?"
"'Deed they do not," said Old Bob the gardener, "they couldn't keep
still that long. They're too restless, and they like to know too well
what is going on in the world."
"Cunning little things, aren't they?" said Buddy. "Yes, they are," said
Old Bob the gardener, "and they talk a lot without saying much."
Buddy Jim smiled. He was remembering that he had not found out very
much about the friendly little Chipmunk people after all. Not from them!
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Old Bob made a small Fire and broiled them]
[Illustration]