what sort of a place he was in, and if there wasn't some way to get out.
He found that one side and the top were of fine, stout wire, through
which he could look out, and that the other sides and the bottom were of
wood covered with wire, so that there was no chance for his sharp teeth
to gnaw a way out. In one corner was a stout piece of an apple-tree,
with two little stubby branches to sit on, and half way up a little
round hole. Very cautiously Chatterer peeped inside the hole. Inside was
a splendid hollow. On the floor of the box was a little heap of shavings
and bits of rag. And there was a little pile of yellow corn. How
Chatterer did hate the sight of that corn! You see, it was corn that had
got him into all this trouble. At least, that is the way Chatterer felt
about it. When he had examined everything, he knew that there was no way
out. Chatterer was in a prison, though that is not what Farmer Brown's
boy called it. He said it was a cage.
Illustration: Very cautiously Chatterer peeped inside the hole.
XIV CHATTERER DECIDES TO LIVE
At first Chatterer decided that he had rather die than live in a prison,
no matter how nice that prison might be. It was a very foolish thing to
do, but he made up his mind that he just wouldn't eat. He wouldn't touch
that nice, yellow corn Farmer Brown's boy had put in his prison for him.
He would starve himself to death. Yes, Sir, he would starve himself to
death. So when he found that there was no way to get out of his prison,
he curled up in the little hollow stump in his prison, where no one
could see him, and made up his mind that he would stay there until he
died. Life wasn't worth living if he had got to spend all the rest of
his days in a prison. He wouldn't even make himself comfortable. There
was that little heap of nice shavings and bits of rag for him to make a
nice comfortable bed of, but he didn't touch them. No, Sir, he just
tried to make himself miserable.
Not once that long day did he poke so much as the tip of his nose out of
his little round doorway. Ever so many times Farmer Brown's boy came to
see him, and whistled and called softly to him. But Chatterer didn't
make a sound. At last night came, and the woodshed where his prison was
grew dark and darker and very still. Now it was about this time that
Chatterer's stomach began to make itself felt. Chatterer tried not to
notice it, but his stomach would be noticed, and Chatterer couldn't
help himself. His stomach was empty, and it kept telling him so.
"I'm going to starve to death," said Chatterer to himself over and over.
"I'm empty, and there is plenty of food to fill me up, if you'll only
stop being silly," whispered his stomach.
The more Chatterer tried not to think of how good something to eat would
taste, the more he did think of it. It made him restless and uneasy. He
twisted and squirmed and turned. At last he decided that he would have
one more look to see if he couldn't find some way to get out of his
prison. He poked his head out of the little round doorway. All was still
and dark. He listened, but not a sound could he hear. Then he softly
crept out and hurriedly examined all the inside of his prison once
more. It was of no use! There wasn't a single place where he could use
his sharp teeth.
"There's that little pile of corn waiting for me," whispered his
stomach.
"I'll never touch it!" said Chatterer fiercely.
Just then he hit something with his foot, and it rolled. He picked it up
and then put it down again. It was a nut, a plump hickory nut. Two or
three times he picked it up and put it down, and each time it was harder
than before to put it down.
"I--I--I'd like to taste one more nut before I starve to death,"
muttered Chatterer, and almost without knowing it, he began to gnaw the
hard shell. When that nut was finished, he found another; and when that
was gone, still another. Then he just had to taste a grain of corn. The
first thing Chatterer knew, the nuts and the corn were all gone, and his
stomach was full. Somehow he felt ever so much better. He didn't feel
like starving to death now.
"I--I believe I'll wait a bit and see what happens," said he to himself,
"and while I'm waiting, I may as well be comfortable."
With that he began to carry the shavings and rags into the hollow stump
and soon had as comfortable a bed as ever he had slept on. Chatterer had
decided to live.
XV FARMER BROWN'S BOY TRIES TO MAKE FRIENDS
Nobody lives who's wholly bad;
Some good you'll find in every heart.
Your enemies will be your friends.
If only you will do your part.
All his life Chatterer the Red Squirrel had looked on Farmer Brown's boy
as his enemy, just as did all the other little people of the Green
Meadows, the Green Forest, and the Smiling Pool. They feared him, and
because they feared him, they hated him. So whenever he came near, they
ran away. Now at first, Farmer Brown's boy used to run after them for
just one thing--because he wanted to make friends with them, and he
couldn't see how ever he was going to do it unless he caught them. After
a while, when he found that he couldn't catch them by running after
them, he made up his mind that they didn't want to be his friends, and
so then he began to hunt them, because he thought it was fun to try to
outwit them. Of course, when he began to do that, they hated him and
feared him all the more. You see, they didn't understand that really he
had one of the kindest hearts in the world; and he didn't understand
that they hated him just because they didn't know him.
So when Chatterer had been caught in the trap in Farmer Brown's
corn-crib, he hadn't doubted in the least that Farmer Brown's boy would
give him to Black Pussy or do something equally cruel; and even when he
found that he was only to be kept a prisoner in a very comfortable
prison, with plenty to eat and drink, he wasn't willing to believe any
good of Farmer Brown's boy. Indeed, he hated him more than ever, if that
were possible.
But Farmer Brown's boy was very patient. He came to Chatterer's prison
ever so many times a day and whistled and clucked and talked to
Chatterer. And he brought good things to eat. It seemed as if he were
all the time trying to think of some new treat for Chatterer. He never
came without bringing something. At first, Chatterer would hide in his
hollow stump as soon as he saw Farmer Brown's boy coming and wouldn't so
much as peek out until he had gone away. When he was sure that the way
was clear, he would come out again, and always he found some delicious
fat nuts or some other dainty waiting for him. After a little, as soon
as he saw Farmer Brown's boy coming, Chatterer would begin to wonder
what good thing he had brought this time, and would grow terribly
impatient for Farmer Brown's boy to go away so that he could find out.
By and by it got so that he couldn't wait, but would slyly peep out of
his little, round doorway to see what had been brought for him. Then one
day Farmer Brown's boy didn't come at all. Chatterer tried to make
himself believe that he was glad. He told himself that he hated Farmer
Brown's boy, and he hoped that he never, never would see him again. But
all the time he knew that it wasn't true. It was the longest day since
Chatterer had been a prisoner. Early the next morning, before Chatterer
was out of bed, he heard a step in the woodshed, and before he thought
what he was doing, he was out of his hollow stump to see if it really
was Farmer Brown's boy. It was, and he had three great fat nuts which he
dropped into Chatterer's cage. It seemed to Chatterer that he just
couldn't wait for Farmer Brown's boy to go away. Finally he darted
forward and seized one. Then he scampered to the shelter of his hollow
stump to eat it. When it was finished, he just had to have another.
Farmer Brown's boy was still watching, but somehow Chatterer didn't feel
so much afraid. This time he sat up on one of the little branches of the
stump and ate it in plain sight. Farmer Brown's boy smiled, and it was a
pleasant smile.
"I believe we shall be friends, after all," said he.
XVI CHATTERER HAS A PLEASANT SURPRISE
Chatterer the Red Squirrel, the mischief maker of the Green Forest, had
never been more comfortable in his life. No matter how rough Brother
North Wind roared across the Green Meadows and through the Green Forest,
piling the snow in great drifts, he couldn't send so much as one tiny
shiver through the little red coat of Chatterer. And always right at
hand was plenty to eat--corn and nuts and other good things such as
Chatterer loves. No, he never had been so comfortable in all his life.
But he wasn't happy, not truly happy. You see, he was in prison, and no
matter how nice a prison may be, no one can be truly happy there.
Since he had been a prisoner, Chatterer had learned to think very
differently of Farmer Brown's boy from what he used to think. In fact,
he and Farmer Brown's boy had become very good friends, for Farmer
Brown's boy was always very gentle, and always brought him something
good to eat.
"He isn't at all like what I had thought," said Chatterer, "and if I
were free, I wouldn't be afraid of him at all. I--I'd like to tell some
of the other little Green Forest people about him. If only--"
Chatterer didn't finish. Instead a great lump filled his throat. You
see, he was thinking of the Green Forest and the Old Orchard, and how he
used to race through the tree-tops and along the stone wall. Half the
fun in life had been in running and jumping, and now there wasn't room
in this little prison to stretch his legs. If only he could run--run as
hard as ever he knew how--once in a while, he felt that his prison
wouldn't be quite so hard to put up with.
That very afternoon, while Chatterer was taking a nap in his bed in the
hollow stump, something was slipped over his little round doorway, and
Chatterer awoke in a terrible fright to find himself a prisoner inside
his hollow stump. There was nothing he could do about it but just lie
there in his bed, and shake with fright, and wonder what dreadful thing
was going to happen next. He could hear Farmer Brown's boy very busy
about something in his cage. After a long, long time, his little round
doorway let in the light once more. The door had been opened. At first
Chatterer didn't dare go out, but he heard the soft little whistle with
which Farmer Brown's boy always called him when he had something
especially nice for him to eat, so at last he peeped out. There on the
floor of the cage were some of the nicest nuts. Chatterer came out at
once. Then his sharp eyes discovered something else. It was a queer
looking thing made of wire at one end of his cage.
Chatterer looked at it with great suspicion. Could it be a new kind of
trap? But what would a trap be doing there, when he was already a
prisoner? He ate all the nuts, all the time watching this new, queer
looking thing. It seemed harmless enough. He went a little nearer.
Finally he hopped into it. It moved. Of course that frightened him, and
he started to run up. But he didn't go up. No, Sir, he didn't go up.
You see, he was in a wire wheel; and as he ran, the wheel went around.
Chatterer was terribly frightened, and the faster he tried to run, the
faster the wheel went around. Finally he had to stop, because he was out
of breath and too tired to run another step. When he stopped, the wheel
stopped.
Little by little, Chatterer began to understand. Farmer Brown's boy had
made that wheel to give him a chance to run all he wanted to and
whenever he wanted to. When he understood this, Chatterer was as nearly
happy as he could be in a prison. It was such a pleasant surprise! He
would race and race in it until he just had to stop for breath. Farmer
Brown's boy looked on and laughed to see how much happier he had made
Chatterer.
XVII SAMMY JAY'S SHARP EYES
Everybody knows that Sammy Jay has sharp eyes. In fact, there are very
few of the little forest people whose eyes are as sharp as Sammy's. That
is because he uses them so much. A long time ago he found out that the
more he used his eyes, the sharper they became, and so there are very
few minutes when Sammy is awake that he isn't trying to see something.
He is always looking. That is the reason he always knows so much about
what is going on in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.
Now of course Chatterer the Red Squirrel couldn't disappear without
being missed, particularly by Sammy Jay. And of course Sammy couldn't
miss Chatterer and not wonder what had become of him. At first, Sammy
thought that Chatterer was hiding, but after peeking and peering and
watching in the Old Orchard for a few days, he was forced to think that
either Chatterer had once more moved or else that something had happened
to him.
"Perhaps Shadow the Weasel has caught him, after all," thought Sammy,
and straightway flew to a certain place in the Green Forest where he
might find Shadow the Weasel. Sure enough, Shadow was there. Now of
course it wouldn't do to ask right out if Shadow had caught Chatterer,
and Sammy was smart enough to know it.
Illustration: "You tell Chatterer that I'll get him yet!" snarled
Shadow.
"Chatterer the Red Squirrel sends his respects and hopes you are
enjoying your hunt for him," called Sammy.
Shadow looked up at Sammy, and anger blazed in his little, red eyes.
"You tell Chatterer that I'll get him yet!" snarled Shadow.
Sammy's eyes sparkled with mischief. He had made Shadow angry, and he
had found out what he wanted to know. He was sure that Shadow had not
caught Chatterer.
"But what can have become of him?" thought Sammy. "I've got no love for
him, but just the same I miss him. I really must find out. Yes, Sir, I
really must."
So every minute that he could spare, Sammy Jay spent trying to find
Chatterer. He asked every one he met if they had seen Chatterer. He
peeked and peered into every hollow and hiding place he could think of.
But look as he would and ask as he would, he could find no trace of
Chatterer. At last he happened to think of Farmer Brown's corn-crib.
Could it be that Chatterer had moved over there or had come to some
dreadful end there? Very early the next morning, Sammy flew over to the
corn-crib. He looked it all over with his sharp eyes and listened for
sounds of Chatterer inside. But not a sound could he hear. Then he
remembered the hole under the edge of the roof through which Chatterer
used to go in and out. Sammy hurried to look at it. It was closed by a
stout board nailed across it. Then Sammy knew that Farmer Brown's boy
had found it.
"He's killed Chatterer, that's what he's done!" cried Sammy, and flew
over to the Old Orchard filled with sad thoughts. He meant to wait until
Farmer Brown's boy came out and then tell him what he thought of him.
After that, he would fly through the Green Forest and over the Green
Meadows to spread the sad news.
After a while, the door of the farmhouse opened, and Farmer Brown's boy
stepped out. Sammy had his mouth open to scream, when his sharp eyes saw
something queer. Farmer Brown's boy had a queer looking box in his arms
which he put on a shelf where the sun would shine on it. It looked to
Sammy as if something moved inside that box. He forgot to scream and say
the bad things he had planned to say. He waited until Farmer Brown's boy
had gone to the barn. Then Sammy flew where he could look right into the
queer box. There was Chatterer the Red Squirrel!
XVIII CHATTERER IS MADE FUN OF
"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho! Smarty caught at last!" Sammy Jay fairly
shrieked with glee, as he peered down from the top of an apple-tree at
Chatterer, in the cage Farmer Brown's boy had made for him. Sammy was so
relieved to think that Chatterer was not dead, and he was so tickled to
think that Chatterer, who always thought himself so smart, should have
been caught, that he just had to torment Chatterer by laughing at him
and saying mean things to him, until Chatterer lost his temper and said
things back quite in the old way. This tickled Sammy more than ever, for
it sounded so exactly like Chatterer when he had been a free little imp
of mischief in the Green Forest, that Sammy felt sure that Chatterer had
nothing the matter with him.
But he couldn't stop very long to make fun of poor Chatterer. In the
first place Farmer Brown's boy had put his head out the barn door to see
what all the fuss was about. In the second place, Sammy fairly ached all
over to spread the news through the Green Forest and over the Green
Meadows. You know he is a great gossip. And this was such unusual news.
Sammy knew very well that no one would believe him. He knew that they
just couldn't believe that smart Mr. Chatterer had really been caught.
And no one did believe it.
"All right," Sammy would reply. "It doesn't make the least bit of
difference in the world to me whether you believe it or not. You can go
up to Farmer Brown's house and see him in prison yourself, just as I
did."
So late that afternoon, when all was quiet around the farmyard,
Chatterer saw something very familiar behind the old stone wall at the
edge of the Old Orchard. It bobbed up and then dropped out of sight
again. Then it bobbed up again, only to drop out of sight just as
quickly.
"It looks to me very much as if Peter Rabbit is over there and feeling
very nervous," said Chatterer to himself, and then he called sharply,
just as when he was free in the Green Forest. Right away Peter's head
bobbed up for all the world like a jack-in-the-box, and this time it
stayed up. Peter's eyes were round with surprise, as he stared across at
Chatterer's prison.
"Oh, it's true!" gasped Peter, as if it were as hard work to believe his
own eyes as it was to believe Sammy Jay. "I must go right away and see
what can be done to get Chatterer out of trouble." And then, because it
was broad daylight, and he really didn't dare stay another minute, Peter
waved good-by to Chatterer and started for the Green Forest as fast as
his long legs could take him.
A little later who should appear peeping over the stone wall but Reddy
Fox. It seemed very bold of Reddy, but really it wasn't nearly as bold
as it seemed. You see, Reddy knew that Farmer Brown's boy and Bowser the
Hound were over in the Old Pasture, and that he had nothing to fear. He
grinned at Chatterer in the most provoking way. It made Chatterer angry
just to see him.
"Smarty, Smarty, Mr. Smarty,
Glad to see you looking hearty!
Weather's fine, as you can see;
Won't you take a walk with me?"
So said Reddy Fox, knowing all the time that Chatterer couldn't take a
walk with any one. At first Chatterer scolded and called Reddy all the
bad names he could think of, but after a little he didn't feel so much
like scolding. In fact, he didn't half hear the mean things Reddy Fox
said to him. You see, it was coming over him more and more that nothing
could take the place of freedom. He had a comfortable home, plenty to
eat, and was safe from every harm, but he was a prisoner, and having
these visitors made him realize it more than ever. Something very like
tears filled his eyes, and he crept into his hollow stump where he
couldn't see or be seen.
XIX PETER RABBIT TRIES TO HELP
Peter Rabbit is one of the kindest hearted little people of the Green
Forest or the Green Meadows. He is happy-go-lucky, and his dreadful
curiosity is forever getting him into all kinds of trouble. Perhaps it
is because he has been in so many scrapes himself that he always feels
sorry for others who get into trouble. Anyway, no sooner does Peter hear
of some one in trouble, than he begins to wonder how he can help them.
So just as soon as he found out for himself that Sammy Jay had told the
truth about Chatterer the Red Squirrel, and that Chatterer really was in
a prison at Farmer Brown's house, he began to think and think to find
some way to help Chatterer.
Now of course Peter didn't know what kind of a prison Chatterer was in.
He remembered right away how Prickly Porky the Porcupine had gnawed a
great hole in the box in which Johnny Chuck's lost baby was kept by
Farmer Brown's boy. Why shouldn't Prickly Porky do as much for
Chatterer? He would go see him at once. The trouble with Peter is that
he doesn't think of all sides of a question. He is impulsive. That is,
he goes right ahead and does the thing that comes into his head first,
and sometimes this isn't the wisest or best thing to do. So now he
scampered down into the Green Forest as fast as his long legs would
carry him, to hunt for Prickly Porky. It was no trouble at all to find
him, for he had only to follow the line of trees that had been stripped
of their bark.
"Good afternoon, Prickly Porky. Have you heard the news about
Chatterer?" said Peter, talking very fast, for he was quite out of
breath.
"Yes," replied Prickly Porky. "Serves him right. I hope it will teach
him a lesson."
Peter's heart sank. "Don't you think it is dreadful?" he asked. "Just
think, he will never, never be able to run and play in the Green Forest
again, unless we can get him out."
"So much the better," grunted Prickly Porky. "So much the better. He
always was a nuisance. Never did see such a fellow for making trouble
for other people. No, Sir, I never did. The rest of us can have some
peace now. Serves him right." Prickly Porky went on chewing bark as if
Chatterer's trouble was no concern of his.
Peter's heart sank lower still. He scratched one long ear slowly with a
long hind foot, which is a way he has when he is thinking very hard. He
was so busy thinking that he didn't see the twinkle in the dull little
eyes of Prickly Porky, who really was not so hard-hearted as his words
sounded. After a long time, during which Peter thought and thought, and
Prickly Porky ate and ate, the latter spoke again.
"What have you got on your mind, Peter?" he asked.
"I--I was just thinking how perfectly splendid it would be if you would
go up there and gnaw a way out of his prison for Chatterer," replied
Peter timidly.
"Huh!" grunted Prickly Porky. "Huh! Some folks think my wits are pretty
slow, but even I know better than that. Put on your thinking cap again,
Peter Rabbit."
"Why can't you? You are not afraid of Bowser the Hound or Farmer Brown's
boy, and everybody else is, excepting Jimmy Skunk," persisted Peter.
"For the very good reason that if I could gnaw into his prison,
Chatterer could gnaw out. If he can't gnaw his way out with those sharp
teeth of his, I certainly can't gnaw in. Where's your common sense,
Peter Rabbit?"
"That's so. I hadn't thought of that," replied Peter slowly and
sorrowfully. "I must try to think of some other way to help Chatterer."
"I'd be willing to try if it was of any use. But it isn't," said
Prickly Porky, who didn't want Peter to think that he really was as
hard-hearted as he had seemed at first.
Illustration: "I'd be willing to try it if it was of any use. But it
isn't," said Prickly Porky.
So Peter bade Prickly Porky good-by and started for the dear old
Briar-patch to try to think of some other way to help Chatterer. On the
way he waked up Unc' Billy Possum and Bobby Coon, but they couldn't give
him any help. "There really doesn't seem to be any way I can help,"
sighed Peter. And there really wasn't.
XX CHATTERER HAS ANOTHER GREAT SURPRISE
Chatterer had never had so many surprises--good surprises--in all his
life, as since the day he had been caught in a trap in Farmer Brown's
corn-crib. In the first place, it had been a great surprise to him that
he had not been given to Black Pussy, as he had fully expected to be.
Then had come the even greater surprise of finding that Farmer Brown's
boy was ever and ever so much nicer than he had thought. A later
surprise had been the wire wheel in his cage, so that he could run to
his heart's content. It was such a pleasant and wholly unexpected
surprise that it had quite changed Chatterer's feelings towards Farmer
Brown's boy.
The fact is, Chatterer could have been truly happy but for one thing--he
was a prisoner. Yes, Sir, he was a prisoner, and he couldn't forget it
for one minute while he was awake. He used to watch Farmer Brown's boy
and wish with all his might that he could make him understand how
dreadful it was to be in a prison. But Farmer Brown's boy couldn't
understand what Chatterer said, no matter how hard Chatterer tried to
make him. He seemed to think that Chatterer was happy. He just didn't
understand that not all the good things in the world could make up for
loss of freedom--that it is better to be free, though hungry and cold,
than in a prison with every comfort.