Then Reddy took another--and closer--look at him. Reddy couldn't help
feeling there was something queer about the fellow. Half hidden as he
was among the reeds the stranger was not easy to see.
Suddenly Reddy Woodpecker turned upon Mr. Crow and called him a fraud.
"This person hasn't a red cap," Reddy declared. "I won't have him in my
club. I know him now. He's hiding his head under his wing. That patch
of scarlet isn't on his head. It's on his shoulder. He's one of that
Red-winged Blackbird family that lives in the swamp. And his head is as
black as your own, Mr. Crow."
By this time Mr. Crow was dancing up and down and _cawing_ at the top of
his lungs.
"He's a member of The Redcaps!" he cried with great glee. "You invited
him. And he accepted the invitation."
"Very well!" said Reddy Woodpecker. "But if he belongs to my club he'll
have to keep his head under his wing."
"Then I resign!" cried the Red-winged Blackbird.
"Oh, don't do that!" Mr. Crow begged him.
"It's too late," Reddy told the old gentleman. "Your friend is a member
of The Redcaps no longer."
*XVII*
*A HUNTING PARTY*
Cuffy Bear was one of those lucky people that eat almost everything. He
liked blueberries and he liked honey; he liked maple sugar and he liked
baked beans. When he was eating he never complained about his food if
only there was enough. Whatever he had, he wanted a plenty of it.
He was wandering through the woods one day when he heard a _tap, tap,
tapping_ a little way off. He stopped and listened and sniffed. And
then he said, "Woof! It isn't a man. Unless I'm mistaken it's a
Woodpecker."
Cuffy Bear turned aside and plunged through the hushes until he came
into a little clearing. There, working away upon a dead tree, was Reddy
Woodpecker. One couldn't help seeing his bright red cap.
"I say," Cuffy Bear called to him, "let's go hunting!"
Reddy looked around at Cuffy Bear.
"Hunting!" he echoed. "What sort of hunting?"
"Let's go hunting for grubs!" said Cuffy Bear. "I'm very fond of grubs.
And I know you are, too."
Now, Reddy Woodpecker never had dreamed that Cuffy Bear would ever
invite so small a person as he was to go hunting with him. So it was
only to be expected that Reddy should be pleased and even somewhat
flattered.
"All right!" he agreed. "When you're ready, say the word."
"There's no time like the present," Cuffy declared. And he went on to
explain how they could help each other. "You can scout around for old
stumps and fallen trees. And when you find one with plenty of grubs,
come right back here at once and lead me to it. I'll tear it open so we
can get more grubs in a minute than you can reach in a day by drilling
for them one at a time with your bill. I'll show you how to gather
grubs in quantities. You'll always want to hunt with me, after you see
the way I find 'em."
Reddy Woodpecker nodded his head to show that he understood. Then he
started to fly away. But Cuffy Bear called him back.
"One thing more!" he said. "Promise me that when you find a likely tree
or stump you won't stop to eat any grubs. You mustn't eat any until I
come. It wouldn't be fair."
Reddy Woodpecker promised. Cuffy Bear waved a paw at him to hurry him
on his way. And off Reddy flew. He was back again in a few minutes.
"I've found one," he said. "Follow me!"
"All right!" Cuffy Bear squealed. He went lumbering through the woods,
trying to keep Reddy Woodpecker in sight. In a few moments he gave a
frantic roar. "Come back!" he thundered.
Reddy Woodpecker returned.
"Don't fly so fast," Cuffy ordered. "I can't keep up with you. Fly
slowly!"
"I can't fly slowly," Reddy retorted. "I don't know how."
"Then go a little way and sit down on a tree and wait for me," Cuffy
directed. "But don't go out of my sight!"
Reddy Woodpecker did exactly as he was told. And in that manner they
soon came to an old stump which was half crumbled away. "Ah!" cried
Cuffy Bear. "This looks like a good one.... I'll show you how to get
the grubs." With a few sweeps of his great paws he quickly tore the old
stump to pieces.
Reddy Woodpecker gasped at the huge number of lovely fat grubs that
Cuffy had uncovered. He gasped again when he saw how fast Cuffy Bear
ate them. They were gone in no time.
Licking his chops, Cuffy Bear stepped back and said, "That's the way to
do it."
Reddy alighted on what was left of the old stump. He looked at it
closely. And at last he actually found one grub that Cuffy Bear hadn't
noticed. This Reddy ate, making a wry face.
"What's the matter?" Cuffy Bear inquired. "Isn't it good?"
"It's good enough--what there is of it," Reddy Woodpecker replied.
*XVIII*
*A BIG APPETITE*
"Come, now!" cried Cuffy Bear to Reddy Woodpecker. "We've only begun
our hunt. Hurry and find another old, grubby stump!"
Having eaten only one grub, while Cuffy Bear had bolted dozens, Reddy
Woodpecker was not feeling very happy. However, he went flying off to
search the woods. And it wasn't long before he discovered another stump
that looked even more promising than the first one.
Then--well! Reddy must have forgotten his promise that he wouldn't stop
to eat a single grub, but would fly straight back to the spot where he
had left Cuffy Bear. He clung to the side of the stump with his odd
feet, which were made expressly for work of that sort. And he began to
drill a hole with his bill. He was sure there was a grub lurking just
beneath the brittle bark.
_Tap, tap, tap_! sounded his bill against the stump. _Tap, tap, tap_!
Before Reddy reached the grub he heard a great crash in the bushes. He
knew at once that Cuffy Bear had heard the sound of his drilling and had
come hurrying after him. "I heard you signaling to me," Cuffy grunted.
He tore that stump open in a twinkling. Reddy Woodpecker had to stand
aside and look on while Cuffy Bear devoured every grub in sight. When
at last Cuffy drew back and allowed him to search the ruin Reddy
couldn't find even one grub. "Come on!" Cuffy urged him. "Let's get on
with our hunting!"
But this time Reddy hung back.
"What! Haven't you had enough grubs?" he asked none too pleasantly.
"Enough!" Cuffy repeated. "Why, I'm only beginning to feel hungry.
These few grubs that I've eaten have just stirred up my appetite."'
Reddy Woodpecker was astonished.
"Well, if you're hungry, what do you think of me?" he wanted to know.
And now Cuffy Bear was amazed.
"You!" he cried. "Haven't you had a good meal? Didn't you eat a grub
off that first stump we found?"
"One grub!" Reddy Woodpecker exclaimed scornfully. "What's one grub?"
"I should think," Cuffy Bear answered, "one grub was a good meal for
anybody of your size."
"It's not," Reddy declared. He looked very sullen and glum.
Cuffy Bear was sure that Reddy was mistaken. He even tried to show
Reddy that he was wrong.
"_One_ ought to be a big meal for you," he insisted. "Why, last week I
went out for my supper one night and I ate only _one_. And it was all I
wanted."
"Then you had already had a big dinner," said Reddy Woodpecker.
"I hadn't had any dinner at all!"
Reddy Woodpecker stared at him. He couldn't believe it. There must be
something queer about that story, somewhere. At last he asked Cuffy a
blunt question.
"You say you ate one," he observed. "One what?"
"Let me see," said Cuffy Bear. "Let me think a moment.... Oh, yes!
Now I remember. It was one pig!"
*XIX*
*WHO WAS GREEDY?*
Reddy Woodpecker was very angry with Cuffy Bear. He thought that when
they hunted grubs together it was only fair that they should divide the
game. So far Cuffy had taken all but one. And that was one that he had
overlooked.
"I don't believe I'll hunt with you any more," Reddy Woodpecker told
Cuffy.
That news surprised Cuffy Bear. "Why, what's the matter?" he inquired.
"Haven't we had good luck?"
Reddy Woodpecker sniffed.
"_You_ have had fine luck," he replied. "But _I_ certainly haven't.
When you asked me to hunt grubs with you I expected we would divide the
grubs."
Cuffy Bear shook his head doubtfully.
"It's not easy to divide a grub," he said. "That's why I let you have
all of that one that you found a while ago."
"You don't understand me," Reddy went on. "What I mean is this: If we
find two dozen grubs in a stump you should have one dozen and I should
have one dozen."
"I've never hunted in that way before," Cuffy told him. "But since you
insist, I'm willing to try it. And maybe it would be only fair if I
found the next stump and let you open it."
Now, this was a much better offer than Reddy Woodpecker had expected, so
he made haste to accept it.
Then Cuffy Bear went wandering away into the woods. He was gone a long
time. But at last he came back and said gruffly, "Follow me!"
They reached, after a while, a spot where Cuffy Bear stopped and pointed
a paw towards an old stump.
"There it is," he said. "Now you tear it open."
Reddy Woodpecker alighted upon the stump and clung to it while he
drilled into it with his bill, _tap, tap, tap_!
Meanwhile Cuffy Bear watched him impatiently.
"My goodness!" he muttered. "That fellow is slow. I'll never get
another grub if I wait for him."
At last, however, Reddy pulled out a grub and ate it.
"My turn next!" growled Cuffy Bear as Reddy Woodpecker promptly went
after another.
Well, very soon Reddy thrust his tongue into another hole that he
drilled and drew out another grub.
"That's mine!" cried Cuffy Bear.
Reddy Woodpecker tried to let it fall upon the ground. He did not find
it easy to drop the grub. His horny tongue had pierced it. And in
trying to let go of it he had a mishap. He swallowed the grub.
When Cuffy Bear saw what had happened he let out a frightful roar.
"That was an accident," Reddy explained over his shoulder.
To Cuffy Bear's dismay the same accident happened over and over again.
Finally Cuffy couldn't wait another moment. With a terrible growl he
rushed up to the stump, while Reddy Woodpecker slipped out of his way
just in time. In another instant Cuffy had split the old stump wide
open and had his head buried in it.
"Here!" cried Reddy Woodpecker. "How many grubs do you want?"
"Only about a hundred dozen!" Cuffy Bear mumbled.
When he heard that, Reddy Woodpecker shrieked.
"One hundred dozen would feed my whole family," he declared. "I shall
never hunt grubs with you again."
"That's a pity," said Cuffy Bear. "But won't you join me to-night? I'm
going after different game."
"What's that?" Reddy asked him.
"Pigs!" Cuffy replied.
He couldn't understand why Reddy Woodpecker went off without saying
another word.
"He's a queer one," Cuffy muttered. "I don't care if he doesn't hunt
with me. He's too greedy."
*XX*
*CATCHING FLIES*
After his children were grown up Reddy Woodpecker had plenty of time to
wander about and see all the sights in Pleasant Valley. He had often
heard that one of the most curious sights was an odd person known as
Ferdinand Frog. So one day Reddy flew down to Black Creek, where this
nimble gentleman lived.
Unseen by Mr. Frog, Reddy Woodpecker clung to an old stump that leaned
over the water, as if it wanted to enjoy a swim but didn't quite dare
take the first plunge. Keeping most of himself hidden, Reddy peeped
around the stump and watched Ferdinand Frog as he sat on a flat rock
near the bank and caught flies.
Mr. Frog was an expert at that sport. Whenever a fly ventured near
enough to him his long tongue darted out of his wide mouth so quickly
you could hardly see it. And it darted back again just as fast, bearing
the fly upon the end of it.
"I don't see how he spears 'em like that," thought Reddy Woodpecker,
"with nothing but air behind them." Mr. Frog's knack was so unusual
that at last Reddy Woodpecker couldn't keep silent any longer.