Produced by Al Haines.
[Illustration: Cover]
"Matter enough, Reddy Fox! Matter enough!" snapped
Sammy Jay . . . _Frontispiece_ (missing from book) (Page 60)
The Bedtime Story-Books
THE ADVENTURES OF
SAMMY JAY
BY
THORNTON W. BURGESS
Author of "Old Mother West Wind," "Mother West
Wind 'Why' Stories," "Adventures
of Mr. Mocker," etc.
_With Illustrations by
HARRISON CADY_
BOSTON
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
1924
_Copyright, 1915,_
BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.
_All rights reserved_
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
*CONTENTS*
CHAPTER
I. Sammy Jay Makes a Fuss
II. A Bitter Disappointment
III. The Vanity of Sammy Jay
IV. Sammy Jay Gets Even with Peter Rabbit
V. Sammy Jay Brings News
VI. Black Pussy Almost Catches a Good Breakfast
VII. Chatterer Works Hard
VIII. Sammy Jay Drops a Hint
IX. Chatterer Screws up His Courage
X. Chatterer Studies a Way to Get Farmer Brown's Corn
XI. Chatterer Grows Reckless
XII. Chatterer Frightens Sammy Jay
XIII. Sammy Jay Tells His Troubles to Reddy Fox
XIV. Reddy Fox Plays Spy
XV. Sammy Jay Spoils the Plan of Reddy Fox
XVI. Chatterer and Sammy Jay Quarrel
XVII. Chatterer and Sammy Jay Make Up
XVIII. Chatterer Has to Keep His Promise
XIX. Chatterer Gets Sammy Jay Some Corn
XX. Chatterer Remembers Something
XXI. Sammy Jay Makes a Call
XXII. Chatterer Has a Dreadful Day
XXIII. Chatterer Hits on a Plan at Last
XXIV. Chatterer Has His Turn to Laugh
*LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS*
"Matter enough, Reddy Fox! Matter enough!" snapped Sammy Jay . . .
_Frontispiece_ (missing from book) (Page 60)
"I'll get even with you, Peter Rabbit!" (missing from book)
Farmer Brown's boy didn't even look towards him
"No-o-o," replied Chatterer slowly
Sammy flew straight over to where Blacky was sitting
Chatterer gave a little gasp of fright
*THE ADVENTURES OF
SAMMY JAY*
*I*
*SAMMY JAY MAKES A FUSS*
Sammy Jay doesn't mind the cold of winter. Indeed, he rather likes it.
Under his handsome coat of blue, trimmed with white, he wears a warm
silky suit of underwear, and he laughs at rough Brother North Wind and
his cousin, Jack Frost. But still he doesn't like the winter as well as
he does the warmer seasons because--well, because he is a lazy fellow
and doesn't like to work for a living any harder than he has to, and in
the winter it isn't so easy to get something to eat.
And there is another reason why Sammy Jay doesn't like the winter as
well as the other seasons. What do you think it is? It isn't a nice
reason at all. No, Sir, it isn't a nice reason at all. It is because it
isn't so easy to stir up trouble. Somehow, Sammy Jay never seems really
happy unless he is stirring up trouble for some one else. He just
delights in tormenting other little people of the Green Meadows and the
Green Forest.
Dear, dear, it is a dreadful thing to say, but Sammy Jay is bold and
bad. He steals! Yes, Sir, Sammy Jay steals whenever he gets a chance.
He had rather steal a breakfast any time than get it honestly. Now
people who steal usually are very sly. Sammy Jay is sly. Indeed, he is
one of the slyest of all the little people who live in the Green Forest.
Instead of spending his time honestly hunting for his meals, he spends
most of it watching his neighbors to find out where they have their
store-houses, so that he can help himself when their backs are turned.
He slips through the Green Forest as still as still can be, hiding in
the thick tree-tops and behind the trunks of big trees, and peering out
with those sharp eyes of his at his neighbors. Whenever he is
discovered, he always pretends to be very busy about his own business,
and very much surprised to find any one is near.
It was in this way that he had discovered one of the store-houses of
Chatterer the Red Squirrel. He didn't let Chatterer know that he had
discovered it. Oh, my, no! He didn't even go near it again for a long
time. But he didn't forget it. Sammy Jay never forgets things of that
kind, never! He thought of it often and often. When he did, he would
say to himself:
"Sometime when the snow is deep
And Chatterer is fast asleep,
When Mother Nature is unkind
And things to eat are hard to find,
I'll help myself and fly away
To steal again some other day."
The snow was deep now, and things to eat were hard to find, but
Chatterer the Red Squirrel wasn't asleep. No, indeed! Chatterer seemed
to like the cold weather and was as frisky and spry as ever he is. And
he never went very far away from that store-house. Sammy Jay watched and
watched, but never once did he get a chance to steal the sweet acorns
that he had seen Chatterer store away in the fall.
"H-m-m!" said Sammy Jay to himself, "I must do something to get
Chatterer away from his store-house."
For a long time Sammy Jay sat in the top of a tall, dark pine-tree,
thinking and thinking. Then his sharp eyes twinkled with a look of
great cunning, and he chuckled. It was a naughty chuckle. Away he flew
to a very thick spruce-tree some distance away in the Green Forest, but
where Chatterer the Red Squirrel could hear him. There Sammy Jay began
to make a great fuss. He screamed and screeched as only he can. Pretty
soon, just as he expected, he saw Chatterer the Red Squirrel hurrying
over to see what the fuss was all about. Sammy Jay slipped out of the
other side of the spruce-tree and without a sound hurried over to
Chatterer's store-house.
*II*
*A BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT*
As he flew through the Green Forest, Sammy Jay chuckled and chuckled to
himself. It wasn't a good chuckle to hear. It was the kind of chuckle
that only folks who are doing wrong, and think they are smart because
they are doing wrong, use. Sammy Jay thought that he was smart, very
smart indeed. He had screamed and shrieked and made a great fuss over
nothing at all until Chatterer the Red Squirrel had come hurrying over
to find out what it all meant. Then Sammy Jay had slipped away unseen
and come straight to the store-house of Chatterer the Red Squirrel.
This particular store-house had once been the home of Blacky the Crow.
When Blacky deserted it for a new home, Chatterer had taken it for a
store-house. He had roofed it over, and all through the pleasant fall
he had stored away nuts and acorns in it. Sammy Jay had watched him. He
had seen those sweet acorns and nuts put there, and he had never
forgotten them. Now, with the snow deep on the ground, the easiest way
to get a good meal that he knew of was to steal some of those very
acorns. So he chuckled as he pulled apart the roof of Chatterer's
store-house in search of those acorns.
Now Chatterer the Red Squirrel is quite as smart as Sammy Jay. Indeed,
he is very much like Sammy Jay, for he is a mischief-maker and a thief
himself. So, because people who do wrong always are on the watch for
others to do wrong, Chatterer the Red Squirrel had kept his sharp eyes
wide open all the time he had been filling his store-house in the fall,
and he had spied Sammy Jay's smart blue coat when Sammy had thought
himself nicely hidden. Chatterer had known what Sammy Jay was hiding
there for. His sharp eyes snapped, but he went right on filling his
store-house just the same. Then, just as soon as he was sure that Sammy
Jay had gone away, Chatterer had taken out every one of the sweet acorns
and put them in another store-house inside a hollow tree. He had left
nothing but hickory nuts, for he knew that these are too hard for Sammy
Jay to crack.
But Sammy Jay didn't know anything about this, and so now, as he broke
his way into the store-house, he chuckled greedily. Pretty soon he had a
hole big enough to stick his head in, and his mouth watered as he
reached in for a sweet acorn. All he could find were hard hickory nuts.
What did it mean? In a great rage, Sammy Jay began to tear the
store-house to pieces. There must be some sweet acorns there somewhere!
Hadn't he seen Chatterer put them there? He forgot that he was
stealing. He forgot everything except his disappointment, and the more
he thought of this, the angrier he grew. He would have pulled the
store-house all to pieces, if Chatterer himself hadn't come home.
Sammy Jay had just stopped for breath when he heard the rattle of claws
on the bark of the tree. He knew what that meant, and he didn't wait to
look down. He just spread his blue wings and with a scream of rage flew
over to the next tree. Then such a dreadful noise as there was in the
Green Forest!
"Robber!" screamed Chatterer the Red Squirrel, dancing up and down with
anger.
"Thief yourself!" screamed Sammy Jay.
It was a dreadful quarrel, and all the little forest people who were
within hearing stopped their ears.
*III*
*THE VANITY OF SAMMY JAY*
When Sammy Jay isn't planning mischief, or sticking his bill into the
affairs of other folks with which he has no concern, or trying to
frighten some one bigger than himself or scare some one smaller than
himself, he spends a great deal of his time admiring his fine clothes
and thinking what a handsome fellow he is. And he is a handsome fellow.
Even Chatterer the Red Squirrel, who is always quarreling with him,
admits that Sammy Jay is a handsome fellow. He carries himself proudly
when he thinks any one is looking. His shape is very trim and neat, and
he is a very smart looking fellow indeed. And his coat! Was there ever
such a coat before? It seems as if Old Mother Nature must have cut off
a little piece of the sky when it was bluest on a summer day to make
Sammy Jay's coat, and that she must have taken a tiny strip from the
whitest cloud to trim it with. And then she gave him a smart cap and a
black collar and a waistcoat of just the softest grayish-white, that
shows off his blue coat best. Old Mother Nature certainly was feeling
very good indeed when she planned Sammy Jay's clothes.
Now Sammy Jay knows just how handsome he is. If you should ask him, and
he would condescend to talk to you at all, which he probably wouldn't
do, he would tell you that he is the handsomest fellow in the world. Of
course this isn't true, but Sammy Jay thinks it is. And so Sammy Jay is
very fond of showing off his fine clothes and making fun of other people
who are not so finely dressed. He spends a great deal of time in caring
for his beautiful coat and in admiring himself whenever he can see his
reflection in a little pool of water.
Now Peter Rabbit isn't the least bit like Sammy Jay. He doesn't think
about his clothes at all. Indeed, Peter thinks so little about his
clothes that it doesn't trouble him a bit to wear a white patch on the
seat of his trousers. And Peter dearly loves to make fun of Sammy Jay.
So it tickled Peter immensely one day to find Sammy Jay admiring
himself. Peter had come up through the Green Forest without making a
sound, for with the snow covering the ground, there were no dead leaves
to rustle. As usual, his long ears were cocked up to catch every sound.
Suddenly Peter stopped. He had heard Sammy Jay's voice, and by the
sound, Peter knew that Sammy was talking to himself. Very, very softly
Peter stole forward and hid where he could see Sammy Jay in a big
pine-tree.
"I've got the handsomest coat in all the Green Forest!" said Sammy Jay,
stretching one of his wings out and cocking his head on one side to
admire it. "And where else is such a beautiful tail to be found?" He
spread his tail so that a ray of sunshine would fall on it. It
certainly was very beautiful, as blue as the sky, with a little band of
white across the tip and little bars of black across the outer sides.
Even Peter Rabbit, with his nose turned up in scorn, had to admit to
himself that it certainly was a handsome tail.
"I'm so glad it's mine!" sighed Sammy Jay. "It must be dreadful not to
be handsome."
Peter Rabbit could keep still no longer. "It's a good thing you admire
yourself, Sammy Jay, because no one else does!" he shouted.
"Handsome is as it may do!
Don't forget that, Sammy Jay.
Underneath that coat of blue
Is a black heart, Sammy Jay.
Everybody near and far
Knows you for just what you are--
Of all mischief-makers chief.
Handsome clothes won't hide a thief."
Sammy Jay flew into a rage, but when he opened his mouth to call Peter
names, all he could say was "Thief! thief! thief!"
"What did I tell you?" said Peter Rabbit, grinning.
*IV*
*SAMMY JAY GETS EVEN WITH PETER RABBIT*
"I'll get even with you, Peter Rabbit! I'll get even with you!" Sammy
Jay fairly hopped up and down on the branch of the big pine, he was so
angry. Peter just thrust his tongue into one cheek in the sauciest way
and then laughed at Sammy Jay. Of course it is true, as every one in the
Green Forest and on the Green Meadows knows, that Sammy Jay is a thief.
But no one likes to be told that he is a thief, even if he is, Sammy Jay
least of all. Like a great many other people who do wrong, Sammy Jay
likes to pretend that he is a very fine gentleman, and he wants other
people to think so too. So he takes great care of his handsome blue
coat and struts around a great deal when he thinks other folks are
looking at him.
*[Illustration: "I'll get even with you, Peter Rabbit!" (missing from
book)]*
So Sammy Jay studied and studied how he could get even with Peter
Rabbit. He called Peter names whenever he saw him, but Peter didn't
mind that in the least, for he could call names back again. Besides,
names never hurt, and it is very foolish to call them. So Sammy Jay
studied and studied how he could get even with Peter Rabbit in some
other way. Then one day, as he sat in the big pine-tree studying, Sammy
heard a voice that gave him an idea. It was the voice of Redtail the
Hawk, who, you know, is own cousin to old Whitetail and to Roughleg.
Now Sammy Jay can scream so exactly like Redtail the Hawk that you
cannot tell their voices apart. When he heard that scream, Sammy Jay
chuckled out loud. He had thought of a plan to get even with Peter
Rabbit.
Every day after that, Sammy Jay went peeking and prying through the
Green Forest and around the edge of the Green Meadows without making a
sound, just watching for Peter Rabbit. The snow was almost all gone, and
that is how it happened that Redtail had come back from the South where
he had spent the winter. Sammy Jay felt quite sure that Peter didn't
know that Redtail was back yet. He hoped he didn't, anyway.
Early one morning, Sammy Jay sat hidden on the edge of the Green Forest,
watching the Old Briar-patch where Peter Rabbit lives. He saw Peter
come out of one of his private little paths and sit up very straight.
For a long time Peter sat looking this way and looking that way over the
Green Meadows. When he was sure that Reddy and Granny Fox were nowhere
about, and that Roughleg was nowhere in sight, Peter kicked up his heels
and scampered out on to the Green Meadows away from the dear Old
Briar-patch to see if there were any signs of spring.
Sammy waited until Peter had reached the big hickory-tree over by the
Smiling Pool, then very silently he flew over to the big hickory-tree.
Peter was so busy looking for Jerry Muskrat that he didn't see Sammy Jay
at all. Suddenly, right over Peter's head, sounded a fierce, shrill
scream. Peter knew that voice. At least, he thought he did. He didn't
stop to look. He had learned long ago that it is best to run first and
look afterward. So now he started for the dear Old Briar-patch as fast
as his long legs would take him, his heart in his mouth.
Again that fierce scream sounded right over him. Peter ran faster than
ever, and as he ran, he dodged this way and dodged that way. Every
second he expected to feel the sharp claws of Redtail the Hawk. My,
such jumps as Peter did take! It seemed to him that he never would
reach the dear Old Briar-patch. But he did, and just as soon as he was
safely inside, he turned around to see what had become of Redtail. And
what do you think he saw? Why, only Sammy Jay laughing fit to kill
himself.
"Fraidcat! Fraidcat!" shouted Sammy Jay.
Peter shook his fist. Then he grinned foolishly. "I guess you are
even, Sammy Jay!" he said.
*V*
*SAMMY JAY BRINGS NEWS*
Peter Rabbit had a very funny feeling. He had started out that morning
with the best intentions in the world. He had meant to go straight to
Chatterer the Red Squirrel and tell him how mean he had been to spy and
so find the new house that Chatterer was trying to keep a secret, and
then he had overheard Chatterer telling Tommy Tit the Chickadee how he
had fooled Peter, and that Peter didn't know where the new house was, at
all. Peter had never felt more foolish in his life. No, Sir, he never
had felt more foolish in his life. Of course, if it were true that he
had been fooled and really didn't know where Chatterer's new house was,
there was no use in begging Chatterer's pardon, for he would only make
himself still more of a laughing stock than he was already. And yet the
thing he had done was just as mean as if he had found out Chatterer's
secret, and he knew that he would feel better if he owned up. He
scratched his left ear with his right hind foot and then scratched his
right ear with his left hind foot. He pulled his whiskers, and still he
didn't know what to do.
He was still trying to decide, when he heard a great racket in the
direction of the Green Forest. It was Sammy Jay, screaming noisily as
usual, and he was hurrying straight up to the Old Orchard. Of course
Chatterer heard him, and as soon as Sammy was within hearing, he called
to him. Sammy hurried over at once.
"So here you are!" he exclaimed. "I've hunted all through the Green
Forest for you until I'm quite tuckered out. I've got news for you."
"What is it?" begged Chatterer, dancing about with impatience.
"I've seen Shadow the Weasel," replied Sammy.
"Where is he?" asked Chatterer, and his voice sounded very anxious.
"He's over in the Green Forest, and he says he is going to stay there
until he catches you, if he has to stay all winter," replied Sammy. "He
says he is going to find you if he has to hunt through every tree in the
Green Forest."
Chatterer actually turned pale for a minute. "You--you didn't tell him
that I wasn't in the Green Forest, did you?" he asked.
"Of course I didn't! How could I when I didn't know it myself?"
retorted Sammy scornfully.
"And--and you won't tell him when you see him again, will you, Sammy?"
begged Chatterer.
"What do you take me for?" demanded Sammy angrily. "I haven't got any
love for you, Chatterer, and you know it. You're a red-headed,
red-coated nuisance, and I'm not a bit sorry to see you in trouble, but
I wouldn't turn my worst enemy over to such a cruel, cold-blooded robber
as Shadow the Weasel. He would kill me just as quickly as he would you,
if he could catch me, which he can't, and I am going to make it my
business to see to it that all the little people who are afraid of him
know that he is about. I am going over to the Old Briar-patch right
away to warn Peter Rabbit."
"You don't need to, because I am right here," spoke up Peter from his
hiding place. "I am ever so much obliged to you for planning to warn
me, and I'm sorry I've ever said mean things about you, Sammy Jay."
"Pooh!" replied Sammy. "You needn't be. I guess I've deserved them."
Then Sammy and Peter and Chatterer began to talk over the news about
Shadow the Weasel so eagerly that not one of them saw Black Pussy
stealing along the old stone wall.
*VI*
*BLACK PUSSY ALMOST CATCHES A GOOD BREAKFAST*
Black Pussy was out very early, hunting for her breakfast. Not that she
needed to hunt for her breakfast; oh, my, no! Black Pussy didn't need a
single thing. Every morning Farmer Brown's boy filled a saucer with
warm fresh milk for her, and every day she had all the meat that was
good for her, so there wasn't the least need in the world for her to go
hunting. Black Pussy was just like all cats. Lying before the fire in
Farmer Brown's house, blinking and purring contentedly, she seemed too
good-natured and gentle to hurt any one, and all Farmer Brown's family
said that she was and believed it. They knew nothing about the empty
little nests in the joyful springtime,--empty because Black Pussy had
found them and emptied them and broken the hearts of little father and
mother birds.
You see, Farmer Brown's folks really didn't know Black Pussy. But the
little forest and meadow people did. They knew that Black Pussy was
just like all cats,--fierce and cruel down inside,--and they hated Black
Pussy, every one of them. They knew that down in her heart was the love
of killing, just that same love of killing that is in the heart of
Shadow the Weasel, and so they hated Black Pussy. If she had had to
hunt for a living, they wouldn't have minded so much, but she didn't
have to hunt for a living, and so they hated her.
This particular morning Black Pussy had chosen to have a look along the
old stone wall at the edge of the Old Orchard. Many times she had
hunted Striped Chipmunk there. She didn't know enough about the ways of
the little people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows to know that
this cold weather had sent Striped Chipmunk down into his snug bedroom
under ground for a long sleep, so she sneaked along from stone to stone,
hoping that she would surprise him. She had gone half the length of the
old wall without a sign of anything to catch when she heard voices that
put all thought of Striped Chipmunk out of her head. Crawling flat on
her stomach to keep out of sight, she softly worked nearer and nearer
until, peeping from behind a big stone in the old wall, she could see
Chatterer the Red Squirrel, Peter Rabbit, and Sammy Jay talking so
busily and so excited that they didn't seem to be paying attention to
anything else.
Sammy Jay was safe, because he was sitting in an old apple-tree, but
Chatterer was on the old wall, and Peter was on the ground. Which
should she catch? Peter would make the biggest and best breakfast, but
Black Pussy hadn't forgotten the terrible kick he had once given her
when she had caught little Miss Fuzzytail up in the Old Pasture, and she
had great respect for Peter's stout hind legs. She would be content to
catch Chatterer this morning. She hated him, anyway, for he had been
very saucy to her many times. He would never make fun of her or call
her names again.
More slowly and carefully than ever, Black Pussy stole forward. Her
eyes grew yellow with excitement, and fierce and cruel. At last she
reached a place where one good jump would land her on Chatterer.
Carefully she drew her feet under her to make the jump. The end of her
black tail twitched with eagerness. Just as she got ready to spring,
there was a shrill scream from Sammy Jay. He had caught sight of the
moving tip of that tail, and he knew what it meant. Black Pussy sprang,
but she was just too late. Chatterer had dived headfirst down between
the stones of the old wall at the sound of Sammy's scream, and Peter had
dived headfirst into Johnny Chuck's house, on the doorstep of which he
happened to be sitting. Black Pussy looked up at Sammy Jay and snarled
at him in a terrible rage. Sammy shrieked at her just as angrily. Then,
when her head was turned for just an instant, he darted down and
actually pulled a tuft of hair from her coat, and was safely out of the
way before she could turn and spring. Then Black Pussy thrust a paw
down between the stones where Chatterer had disappeared. She pulled it
out again with a yowl of pain, for sharp little teeth had bitten it.
Slowly and sullenly Black Pussy turned and limped back towards Farmer
Brown's house. She suddenly remembered that saucer of milk, and that
that was really all the breakfast she wanted.
*VII*
*CHATTERER WORKS HARD*
When Chatterer had left the Green Forest because of his terrible fear of
Shadow the Weasel, he had been fat. At least, he had been fat for him.
All through the pleasant fall, while he had been gathering his supply of
nuts and seeds to store away for the winter, he had eaten all he could
hold and had filled his red coat out until it actually felt too tight.
But now that same red coat hung so loose on Chatterer that it looked too
big for him. Yes, Sir, Chatterer had grown so thin that his coat
actually looked too big for him. And he was growing thinner every day.
You see, most of the food had been collected and stored away long ago,
and Chatterer had to run about a great deal and hunt very hard to find
enough to eat day by day, while as for filling a new store-house,--that
seemed impossible! Still Chatterer kept trying, and day by day he
managed to add a little to the supply of seeds. But it was pretty poor
fare at best. There were no plump nuts or tasty pine-seeds, such as
filled his store-houses in the Green Forest, because no nut or
pine-trees grew near the Old Orchard, and Chatterer didn't dare go back
to the Green Forest for fear that Shadow the Weasel would find him and
track him to his new home. So he patiently did his best to find food
close at hand. But it was discouraging, terribly discouraging, to work
from sun-up to sun-down, running here, running there, running
everywhere, until he was so tired he was ready to drop, and knowing all
the time that the snow might come any day and bury what little food
there was. Oh, those were hard days for Chatterer the Red Squirrel,
very hard days indeed.
One morning he started very early and made a long journey by way of the
old stone wall and the rail fences down to Farmer Brown's cornfield. Of
course Farmer Brown had long ago taken away the corn, but in doing it, a
great many grains had been scattered about on the ground, half buried
where they had been trodden on, hidden under leaves and among weeds and
under the piles of stalks from which the ears had been stripped. For
the first time for days Chatterer felt something like cheer in his
heart, as he scurried about hunting for and finding the plump yellow
grains. First he ate all he could hold, for he saw that then there
would be plenty to take home. Then he stuffed his cheeks full,
scrambled up on the rail fence, and started for his new home in the Old
Orchard.
"It is a terrible long way to have to carry all my supplies," thought
he, as he sat up on the top of a post to rest. "I don't see how I ever
can do it. Well, I certainly can't, if I sit here all day!" With that
he jumped down to the rail below him. He was half way across when he
noticed a crack in it. It looked to him as if that rail were hollow
part way. A great idea came to him. His eyes grew bright with
excitement. He ran the length of the rail and back again, looking for
an opening. There was none. Then very slowly and carefully he worked
his way back, stretching his head over so that he could look underneath.
Almost over to the next post he found what he had so hoped to find.
What was it? Why, a knot-hole. Yes, Sir, a knot-hole that opened right
into the hollow in the rail. It wasn't quite big enough for Chatterer to
squeeze through, but that didn't trouble him. He emptied the corn from
his cheeks and then he went to work with those sharp teeth of his and in
a little while, a very little while, that knot-hole was plenty big
enough for Chatterer to slip through.
His eyes snapped with pleasure as he explored the hollow rail. "I'll
make this my store-house!" he cried. "I'll fill it full of corn, and
then when I am hungry in the winter, I can run down here and fill up.
It will be a lot better than trying to carry the corn up to the Old
Orchard." And with that, Chatterer began the work of filling the hollow
rail with corn.
*VIII*
*SAMMY JAY DROPS A HINT*
Whatever faults Chatterer the Red Squirrel may have, and they are many,
laziness is not one of them. No, Sir, there is no laziness about
Chatterer. When he has work to do, he does it, and he keeps at it until
it is finished. Every morning he got up with the sun and raced along
the old stone wall and the rail fences down to Farmer Brown's cornfield,
where he first ate his breakfast, and then worked to fill the hollow
rail of the fence which he had made into a store-house. It was hard
work, because he had to do a great deal of hunting for the corn; and it
was exciting work, because he had to keep his eyes and ears open every
minute to keep from furnishing a dinner for some one else.
Redtail the Hawk, who had not yet gone South, discovered him one
morning, and Chatterer dodged behind a fence post just in time. After
that, Redtail was on hand every morning, watching from the top of a tree
for Chatterer to grow careless and get too far from shelter.
Then one morning Reddy Fox surprised him at the edge of a heap of
cornstalks. Chatterer had just time to wriggle his way to the middle of
the heap. Reddy had seen him, and he could smell him. Very softly Reddy
tiptoed around the pile of cornstalks to see if Chatterer had come out
on the other side. Then he came back to where Chatterer had gone in and
excitedly began to dig, making the dry stalks fly right and left. He
made so much noise that Chatterer felt sure that he wouldn't hear him
move, and he didn't. By the time Reddy had worked his way to the middle
of the pile, Chatterer was safe in his store-house in the hollow rail.
He had slipped from under the cornstalks, run across to another pile,
worked his way through this, and so reached the fence.
After that, Reddy Fox came every morning, hoping to surprise Chatterer.
But Chatterer felt quite equal to fooling Reddy and Redtail. Of course
they interfered with his work and were very bothersome, but he wasn't
afraid of them. The one thing he did fear was that Shadow the Weasel
would hear where he was. That thought bothered him a great deal.
One morning Sammy Jay just happened along. He saw Reddy Fox creeping up
behind some bushes at the edge of the cornfield, and at once Sammy began
to scream as he always does when he thinks he can spoil Reddy's hunting.
Reddy looked up at him and showed all his long teeth, but Sammy only
grinned and screamed the louder. Then Reddy walked away with a great
deal of dignity, for he knew that it wasn't the least use to try to hunt
while Sammy Jay was about. When he had disappeared in the Green Forest,
Sammy returned to the cornfield, and there he found Chatterer hard at
work.
"I'm much obliged, Sammy, for driving that nuisance away; he bothers me
a great deal, and I've got to do a lot of work yet to fill my
store-house before it is too late," said Chatterer, as he hurried to the
hollow rail with his mouth full of corn.
"Have you moved down here?" demanded Sammy Jay. "I thought you were
living up in the Old Orchard."
"I am. At least, my house is up there, but there is no food there, and
so I have made a store-house down here and am trying to get it full of
corn before snow comes," replied Chatterer.
"It will be a long way to come for your food every day," said Sammy.
"I know it," replied Chatterer, "but I guess I'm lucky to have any food
to come for."
"Pooh!" said Sammy, "I wouldn't work as you do. I'd use my wits a
little. If corn is what you want to eat, why don't you go up to Farmer
Brown's? It's nearer to the Old Orchard than this, and the corn is all
stored ready for you to help yourself. I get all I want there."
*IX*
*CHATTERER SCREWS UP HIS COURAGE*
Ever since Sammy Jay had dropped a hint about the plentiful supply of
corn over at Farmer Brown's and how easy it was to get all that one
wanted, Chatterer had been trying to screw up his courage to go see for
himself if Sammy had told the truth. Chatterer had spent most of his
life in or close to the Green Forest. He had a very wholesome fear of
Farmer Brown's boy and his dreadful gun, and he always had been content
to keep away from Farmer Brown's door-yard. The truth is, he was afraid
to go up there. You see, there were Black Pussy the Cat and Bowser the
Hound and Farmer Brown's boy--why, it was a terribly dangerous place!
And yet Sammy Jay went up there every day and didn't seem to be in the
least afraid. He even scolded and said impudent things to Farmer
Brown's boy. If Sammy dared go up there, why shouldn't he? He
certainly was as brave as Sammy Jay! Right down in his heart Chatterer
had always thought Sammy Jay very much of a coward. Yet here was Sammy
going up there and helping himself to corn, just as if it belonged to
him. Chatterer thought how hard he worked every day to fill that
store-house in the hollow fence-rail, and how every minute of the time
he had to watch out for Redtail the Hawk and Reddy Fox. It seemed as if
he never, never could get enough corn to keep him all winter. And then
it was a long way to go every day from the Old Orchard down to the
cornfield. Chatterer sighed at the thought.
"If Sammy Jay told me the truth, and it is so easy to get all the corn
one wants over there at Farmer Brown's, it will be ever so much easier
in bad weather," thought Chatterer. "Anyway, it won't do any harm to
have a look and see for myself how things are."
So Chatterer started running briskly along the old stone wall which led
right up to Farmer Brown's yard. As he drew near, he would stop every
few steps to make sure that the way was clear. At last he reached the
very end of the wall, and hiding between two stones, he peeked out.
Right across a wide road was Farmer Brown's house, and in the sun on the
back doorstep sat Black Pussy dozing. Chatterer had hard work to hold
his tongue. The very sight of her made him so angry that he almost
forgot that he didn't want to be seen. He just longed to tell her what
he thought of her. But he kept still and set his sharp little eyes to
discover where Farmer Brown kept his corn. He could see Bowser the Hound
fast asleep in front of his own special little house. He could see the
big barn and the henhouse and the shed where the wagons were kept and
the long wood-shed.
"I wonder," said Chatterer to himself, "I wonder if that corn is kept in
any of those places, and how Sammy Jay gets it if it is."
Just then Farmer Brown's boy came out of the barn. Chatterer dodged
back at sight of him. He wanted to scold, just as he had wanted to
scold at Black Pussy, but he wisely held his tongue. Farmer Brown's boy
didn't even look towards him but went straight over to a queer little
building standing high on four legs and with wide cracks between the
boards of the walls, through which something yellow showed. Farmer
Brown's boy went up several steps and opened a door. Chatterer gave a
little gasp. There was the corn, more corn than he ever had seen in all
his life, more corn than he had supposed the whole world held!
Chatterer made up his mind right then and there that he was going to
have some of that corn in spite of Black Pussy and Bowser the Hound and
Farmer Brown's boy. The very sight of it screwed his courage up till he
felt brave enough to dare anything.
[Illustration: Farmer Brown's boy didn't even look towards him.]
*X*
*CHATTERER STUDIES A WAY TO GET
FARMER BROWN'S CORN*
Chatterer could think of but one thing--Farmer Brown's house full of
corn, and how he could get some of it. Sammy Jay had said that he got
all he wanted, and Chatterer made up his mind that he would see how
Sammy did it.
So very early the next morning Chatterer was in his hiding place between
the stones of the old wall. Just as Mr. Sun shot his first red rays in
at the windows of Farmer Brown's house, Sammy Jay arrived. For a wonder
he made no noise. Chatterer noticed this right away. Sammy peered this
way and that way, without making the least sound. When he was quite
sure that no one was about, he flew over to the queer little house on
four legs, where Farmer Brown kept his corn, and thrust his bill in
between the wide cracks of the wall. In this way he helped himself to
all the corn he wanted without the least bit of trouble. When he had
enough, he flew away as quietly as he had come.
Chatterer grinned. "Sammy has taught me something, although he doesn't
know it," said he to himself. "He's stealing that corn, and he doesn't
think it safe to be found out. I must be just as careful as he is."
There were no signs of any one around Farmer Brown's house. Chatterer
scurried across the yard as fast as his little legs would take him
straight for the little house. There he found a great disappointment.
He couldn't get up to the cracks through which Sammy Jay had helped
himself to corn. You see, the little house stood on four stone legs,
and before it had been put on those four legs, an old pan had been
placed bottom up on each leg. It would be the hardest kind of hard work
to climb one of those stone legs, anyway, and even if he did succeed in
climbing it, there was no way of getting around that tin pan at the top,
and of course he couldn't gnaw through it. Chatterer ground his teeth
with anger. It was so terribly provoking to be so near such a feast and
still not be able to get to it. He wished he had wings like Sammy Jay.
Chatterer was so intent on studying out some way to get at that corn
that he quite forgot everything else. The rustle of a leaf made him
turn his head. Goodness gracious! there was Black Pussy within two jumps
of him, and her eyes were yellow with fierce desire. Chatterer darted to
the nearest tree and scrambled up as fast as he could.
He wasn't the least bit afraid now, because he knew that he could run
out on the little branches where Black Pussy would not dare to follow
him. So he faced about and he called Black Pussy everything bad he knew
of. When she had slunk away, Chatterer scampered to the very top of the
tree to think matters over, and right then he discovered a way to get
the corn from Farmer Brown's little house.
*XI*
*CHATTERER GROWS RECKLESS*
Chatterer saw that a branch of the very tree he was sitting in stretched
right over the roof of the little house and the very tips of some of the
twigs actually touched it.
Chatterer's eyes danced. "If I can't get in from the ground, perhaps I
can get in from the air," said he and chuckled. Chatterer looked around
hastily to see if any one was watching. No one was in sight but Black
Pussy, watching him from the ground. He didn't mind her up there so he
ran lightly out along the branch over the roof of the little house and
jumped on to it. Swiftly he ran around the edge of it, peeping over.
He was looking for an opening big enough to crawl through.
At last, over in one corner, he spied a knothole close up under the edge
of the roof. Chatterer dug his sharp claws into the wood to keep from
falling and very carefully crept over until he had safely reached the
hole. It wasn't quite big enough to push his head wholly; through.
Gnaw, gnaw, gnaw! The little splinters began to fly. Gnaw, gnaw, gnaw!
The hole was big enough, and Chatterer slipped safely inside just as
Farmer Brown's boy came out of the house and noticed Black Pussy sitting
on the ground, staring up at the roof of the little house.
"Hello, Puss! Did you think you heard a mouse in there?" exclaimed
Farmer Brown's boy. "You didn't, because no mice can get in there. Come
along over to the barn, and I'll give you some nice fresh warm milk."
"Phew!" exclaimed Chatterer to himself, "That was a narrow escape! I'm
glad that pesky black cat can't tell what she saw!"
When they were out of sight, Chatterer turned to see what kind of a
place he was in. His eyes glistened with greed. Corn, corn, com
everywhere! It seemed to him there was corn enough for all the Squirrels
in the world.
"And it's all mine!" gasped Chatterer, quite forgetting that he was
stealing. Then he began to eat, and he ate and ate until he couldn't
swallow another mouthful.
"I believe I'll take a nap right here," said he to himself, and curled
up in the darkest corner. In two minutes he was fast asleep, dreaming
that all the world seemed to have turned to golden corn and all for him.
*XII*
*CHATTERER FRIGHTENS SAMMY JAY*
Chatterer the Red Squirrel was mightily tickled with himself because he
had found a way of getting into Farmer Brown's corn-crib, where was
stored so much beautiful yellow corn that it seemed to him that there
was enough for all the Squirrels in the world.
The more some people have, the more they want. It is the very worst
kind of selfishness and is called greediness. Chatterer had found a way
to get all the corn he wanted without working for it, and there was
enough to feed him as long as he lived, though he should live to be a
hundred years old. To be sure, it wasn't his; it was Farmer Brown's.
But Chatterer looked on Farmer Brown and Farmer Brown's boy as his
enemies, and he could see nothing wrong in taking things from his
enemies. Perhaps he didn't want to see anything wrong. All his life he
had stolen from his neighbors. That is one reason they dislike him so.
Anyway, if ever a little voice down inside tried to tell him that he was
doing wrong, Chatterer didn't listen to it. Perhaps, after a while, the
little voice grew tired and didn't try any more.
After Chatterer had made a few successful trips to the corn-crib, he
began to look upon it as his own. He would sometimes hide in the old
stone wall, where he could watch Farmer Brown's boy open the door of the
corn-crib and fill a basket with yellow ears to feed to the hens and the
pigs and the horses. At such times Chatterer would work himself into a
great rage, as if Farmer Brown's boy were stealing from him. But there
was nothing he could do about it, so he would go back to the Old Orchard
and scold for an hour. But what made him still angrier was to see Sammy
Jay help himself to a few grains of corn from between the cracks in the
walls of the corn-crib. He forgot how Sammy had first told him about
the corn-crib, and how Sammy had warned him about Shadow the Weasel.
That is the trouble with greed: it forgets everything but the desire to
have and to keep others from having. Chatterer didn't say anything to
Sammy Jay, because he knew it would be of no use. Besides, if he did,
Sammy might meet him over in the corn-crib some day and make such a fuss
that Farmer Brown's boy would find him.
Finally Chatterer thought of a plan and chuckled wickedly. The next
morning he was over in the corn-crib bright and early. This time he
stayed there until it was time for Sammy Jay to arrive. Peeping out of
the hole by which he came and went, he saw Sammy come flying from the
Old Orchard. Sammy made no noise, for you see Sammy meant to steal, too.
Presently Sammy found a crack against which an ear of corn lay very
close. He began to peck at it and pick out the grains. Chatterer stole
over to it, taking the greatest care not to make a sound. Presently
Sammy's black bill came poking through the crack. Chatterer seized it
and held on.
Poor Sammy Jay! He was terribly frightened. He thought that it was
some kind of a trap. He beat his wings and tried to scream but
couldn't, because he couldn't open his mouth. Then Chatterer let go so
suddenly that Sammy almost fell to the ground before he could catch his
balance. He didn't wait to see what had caught him. He started for the
Green Forest as fast as his wings could take him, and as he went he
screamed with fright and anger. Chatterer chuckled, and his chuckle was
a very wicked sounding chuckle.
"I guess," said Chatterer, "that Sammy Jay will leave my corn alone
after this."
*XIII*
*SAMMY JAY TELLS HIS TROUBLES TO REDDY FOX*
Sammy Jay could think of nothing but the terrible fright he had had at
Farmer Brown's corn-crib. He had thrust his bill through a crack for a
few grains of corn when something had seized his bill and hung on.
Sammy didn't have the least bit of doubt that it was a trap of some kind
set by Farmer Brown's boy. He flew down to the Green Forest to think it
over and plan some way to get even with Farmer Brown's boy. As he sat
there muttering to himself, along came Reddy Fox. For a wonder Reddy saw
Sammy before Sammy saw him.
Reddy grinned. "Sammy certainly has got something on his mind," thought
Reddy. Then he said aloud: "Hello, Sammy! What's the matter? You look
as if you had the stomach-ache and the head-ache and a few other aches."
"Matter enough, Reddy Fox! Matter enough!" snapped Sammy. Then, because
he felt that he just had to tell some one, he told Reddy all about his
terrible fright that morning.
"It was a trap," said Sammy. "It was some kind of a trap set by Farmer
Brown's boy. Just as if he couldn't spare a few grains of corn when he
has got so much! I--I--I'd like to--to peck his eyes out! That's what
I'd like to do!"
Sammy said that because it was the most dreadful thing he could think
of, but he didn't really mean it. Reddy knew it and grinned, for he
also knew that Sammy didn't dare go near enough to Farmer Brown's boy to
more than scream at him. All the time he had been listening, Reddy had
sat with his head cocked on one side, which is a way he has when he is
thinking. Inside he was laughing, for Reddy knows a lot about traps and
about Farmer Brown's boy, and he didn't believe that Farmer Brown's boy
would ever set a trap in such a queer place as a crack in the wall of a
corn-crib.
"He wouldn't bother to try to trap Sammy Jay; he would just watch with
his gun and shoot Sammy if he really cared about the few grains of corn
Sammy has taken," thought Reddy. "It was some one or something else that
frightened Sammy. But it isn't the least bit of use to tell him so. I
believe I'll have a look and see what is going on at that corn-crib."
Aloud he said:
"That was a terrible experience, Sammy Jay, and I don't wonder that you
were frightened. Are you going up there to-morrow morning?"
"What?" screamed Sammy. "Going up there again? What do you take me
for? I guess I don't need but one lesson of that kind. There's plenty
to eat in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows without running any
such risk as that. No, Sir, you won't catch me around Farmer Brown's
corn-crib again very soon. Not if my name is Sammy Jay!"
"You are wise, very wise," replied Reddy gravely. "It is always wise to
keep out of danger." And with this Reddy trotted on up the Lone Little
Path, and inside his red head were busy thoughts. Reddy had made up his
mind that there was something very queer about Sammy Jay's fright, and
he meant to find out about it. He would be on hand at the first peep of
day the next morning and see what was going on around Farmer Brown's
corn-crib.
And all day long Sammy Jay flew about through the Green Forest telling
every one who would listen how Farmer Brown's boy had tried to trap him.
Late that afternoon he visited the Old Orchard and told his story all
over again to Chatterer the Red Squirrel, and Chatterer didn't so much
as smile until after Sammy had left. Then he threw himself on the
ground and rolled over and over and laughed until his sides ached.
*XIV*
*REDDY FOX PLAYS SPY*
Reddy Fox didn't have to get up early to be hiding behind the fence back
of Farmer Brown's corn-crib when jolly, round, red Mr. Sun chased the
little stars from the sky. He didn't have to get up early, for the very
good reason that he hadn't been to bed. You see, Reddy Fox does a great
many things that he wouldn't like to have seen, and so he does them in
the night when most of the other little people of the Green Meadows and
the Green Forest are asleep. And so it happens that often he does not
go to bed at all at night, but sleeps in the day, when most honest
people are abroad. He had been roaming about all this night, and now he
had come to watch and see what was going on at Farmer Brown's corn-crib,
and whether or not Farmer Brown's boy had been setting a trap there for
Sammy Jay, as Sammy was so sure he had.
Just as the little stars disappeared and the first faint light from Mr.
Sun began to chase away the black shadows, Reddy's sharp eyes saw
something move over at the corner of the old stone wall at the edge of
the Old Orchard. Then a little dark form scampered across the road, and
there was the scratch of sharp little claws on the tree growing near the
corn-crib. Reddy grinned and watched the top of the tree. In a minute
the same little form ran out along a limb that overhung the corn-crib
and nimbly jumped to the roof. It ran along one edge and suddenly
disappeared. Reddy guessed right away that there was a hole there. He
arose and stretched.
"I thought as much," said Reddy to himself. "I thought as much." Then
he lay down to watch again. After a while, out popped the same lively
little form. It was quite light now, light enough for Reddy to see the
red coat of Chatterer the Red Squirrel.
Chatterer's cheeks were stuffed so full of corn that his head looked
twice as large as it really is. He ran along the roof to where the tips
of the limb of the tree brushed the roof, climbed into the tree, looked
sharply to make sure that no one was about, particularly Black Pussy,
and then ran down the tree and scurried across the road to the safety of
the old stone wall.
"Ha!" said Reddy Fox, "I thought so! Unless I am much, very, very much
mistaken, Chatterer can tell Sammy Jay what caught him by the bill
yesterday morning and frightened him nearly to death. I've wondered why
he no longer came to that new store-house of his that he worked so hard
to fill down at the edge of the cornfield, and now I know. My, but
Chatterer is getting fat! I think he will make me a very good
breakfast. I do, indeed!"
Reddy licked his lips as if he could already taste fat Red Squirrel, and
then slipped away in the other direction, for it was getting so light
that he dared stay no longer so near to Farmer Brown's house and Bowser
the Hound.