_The wild geese all were flying south,
Because 'twas time to go;
And the Thistle Fairies all in white
Were dancing to and fro;
The Bittersweet hung crimson beads
Upon the brown old oak;
"To leave all this" said Buddy Jim
"Is cert'nly not a joke."_
For Buddy was going home tomorrow! Back to the city! He just had to
laugh when he thought how he had not wanted to come to the country; and
what a perfectly splendid time he had been having all summer in spite
of that. Old Bob the gardener was _such_ a good chum! And then there
were all the Little Neighbors. He wondered if when he got back home
that he would see Reddy Bat again. He hoped so; he wanted to thank him.
He was glad he was going to have his happy summer to remember, and he
was more glad that he was coming back next year. While he was thinking
about all these things, there came, around the corner, Old Bob the
gardener. He had on his high boots and an old sheepskin-lined, short
coat. "_Hello_, Buddy," he called. "Want to go camping?" "O, Bob, do
you mean it?" asked the little boy in delight. "Of course I mean it,"
said Old Bob the gardener, "You've got just time to get ready. Put on
your warmest clothes, and your thickest boots. I'm going to harness
old Maud. We are going down-stream after pickerel, and we are going to
stay all night, so we'll need Mrs. Mare to carry enough blankets and
food."
Buddy was sure that there never had before been such a ride as that
was; across smooth meadows, through bumpy wood roads, over little
running brooks, under tall trees, and low-hanging firs and spruces,
with Old Dog Sandy trotting along behind, barking at everything he saw.
Once, in the woods, Buddy heard a noise he thought must be thunder.
But Old Bob the gardener had said, "No, it was just old Mr. Partridge
drumming, just to let Mrs. Partridge know that he was not far away."
Old Bob the gardener always seemed to know everything. And pretty soon,
sure enough they came upon the Partridge family eating their lunch of
birch buds, and when old Dog Sandy barked at them, as you might be sure
he would, they all flew away with a great whirring of wings.
When they got to the camping ground it was great fun to cut the fir
branches for their beds. "Shall we use the hunting cabin, Buddy?" asked
Old Bob the gardener, "or shall we sleep out of doors?"
"O, please, Bob, out of doors," said the little boy. "I have never
really slept out of doors." So they brought up lots of dry wood for a
camp-fire, and made their beds near it. They were going to light it
when they got their supper. When everything was ready they went fishing
in the boat that was always kept there. And they soon had plenty of
fish for lunch and old Bob made a small fire and broiled them. My! but
they were good!
After lunch Old Bob said he was going to have a nap, so as Buddy Jim
was not sleepy he went down stream to find what he could. He wanted
to get some spruce gum to take to the boys, so he stopped at every
big tree to dig off what he could reach. He got some fine clear
lumps! Presently Buddy heard voices. He knew that it was some Little
Neighbor, because it was that kind of a voice.
So he told Old Dog Sandy to keep quiet. "Always the way," muttered
the old dog, as he dropped on the ground, "Just as soon as anything
interesting comes along I'm supposed to be deaf and dumb; no fun in
being a dog anyway, woof!" Buddy crept along the edge of the stream and
peeped through the undergrowth. It was a very busy sight that met his
eyes. There were actually dozens of Little Neighbors busily at work.
Some were cutting down trees and some were pushing rafts through the
water, and some were pounding clay with their flat tails to mend a hole
in a dam they were making, and some were working on huts.
There was one larger than the others who seemed to be the Master
Workman. Buddy was so much interested that he forgot to be quiet, and
snapped a twig that he was holding, and immediately every one of the
Little Neighbors dropped out of sight in the stream.
Pretty soon the Master Workman came out. "Hello, Little Neighbor," said
Buddy. "I'm sorry that I interrupted your work. You were all working
like Beavers, weren't you?"
"Of course we were," said the Little Neighbor, a bit crossly, Buddy
thought, "what else could we work like?"
"Are you Beavers?" asked Buddy, "I never saw one before."
"Then what made you say we worked like Beavers?" asked the Master
Workman. "Why, that's what folks always say about people who are very
'ndus'trous," said Buddy, stumbling a bit over the big word. "Why did
your crew jump in the water as soon as they saw me?"
"Wouldn't you get out of sight if you saw an enemy coming?" asked the
Master Workman. "'Course I would," answered Buddy, "but I'm not your
enemy." "Well," said the Master Workman, "you _are_ very small, but of
course you've got somebody grown up with you. What are you doing down
here if you did not come to hunt us?"
"Old Bob the gardener brought me down, to camp out all night," said
Buddy. "And you need not be afraid of us at all. My father owns all
this land around here, and he never allows any Little Neighbor to be
disturbed."
"That's good news," said the Master Workman, and just then Buddy heard
Old Bob the gardener calling him. So he said goodbye, and ran back to
camp. "What are you trying to do, Buddy?" asked the old chap, laughing,
"lose yourself in the woods?" "I couldn't get lost just following the
stream," said Buddy. "I could always follow it back. I found old Mr.
Beaver and his crew working down there fixing up their houses for
winter."
"Well, let's have supper now and get to bed," said Old Bob the gardener.
Buddy meant to stay awake all night. He wanted to tell the boys at home
how it felt to sleep outdoors. He saw the stars come out one by one,
and the slender new moon began sailing in the sky like a little silver
boat almost before the sun had gone to bed.
In a tree top near by, a big old owl wanted to know "who, who, who?"
and he could hear the sleepy twitter of the chick-a-dee birds.
He was _glad_ he was there. Then he snuggled closer under the blankets,
and the Little Neighbors came softly and tiptoed up and looked at him,
and then tiptoed softly away again. They were sorry too, that he was
going back to the city tomorrow! But they were sure he would return
with the springtime, and then how glad would they all be to welcome him
back.
For Buddy Jim was the _right_ kind of a boy! And they appreciated him!
And were glad to be his Little Neighbors.