HAPPY JACK GETS A WARNING
It matters not how smart you are,
So be it you are heedless too.
It isn't what you know that counts
So much as what it is to you.
_Happy Jack._
A fat Gray Squirrel is very tempting to a number of people in the Green
Forest, particularly in winter, when getting a living is hard work.
Almost every day Reddy and Granny Fox stole softly through that part of
the Green Forest where Happy Jack Squirrel lived, hoping to surprise and
catch him on the ground. But they never did. Roughleg the Hawk and
Hooty the Owl wasted a great deal of time, sitting around near Happy
Jack's home, hoping to catch him when he was not watching, but they
never did.
Happy Jack knew all about these big hungry neighbors, and he was always
on the watch for them. He knew their ways and just where they would be
likely to hide. He took the greatest care to look into every such hiding
place near at hand before he ventured down out of the trees, and because
these hungry neighbors are so big, he never had any trouble in seeing
them if they happened to be around. So Happy Jack didn't do much
worrying about them. The fact is, Happy Jack wasn't afraid of them at
all, for the simple reason that he knew they couldn't follow him into
his hollow tree.
Having nuts stored away, he would have been perfectly happy but for one
thing. Yes, Sir, there was only one thing to spoil Happy Jack's complete
happiness, and that was the fear that Shadow the Weasel might take it
into his head to pay him a visit. Shadow can go through a smaller hole
than Happy Jack can, and so Happy Jack knew that while he was wholly
safe from his other enemies, he wasn't safe at all from Shadow the
Weasel. And this worried him. Yes, Sir, it worried Happy Jack. He hadn't
seen or heard of Shadow for a long time, but he had a feeling that he
was likely to turn up almost any time, especially now that everything
was covered with snow and ice, and food was scarce and hard to get. He
sometimes actually wished that he wasn't as fat as he was. Then he would
be less tempting to his hungry neighbors.
But no good comes of worrying. No, Sir, not a bit of good comes of
worrying, and Happy Jack knows it.
"All I can do is to watch out and not be careless," said he, and dropped
the shell of a nut on the head of Reddy Fox, who happened to be passing
under the tree in which Happy Jack was sitting. Reddy looked up and
showed his teeth angrily. Happy Jack laughed and scampered away through
the tree-tops to another part of the Green Forest where he had some very
secret stores of nuts.
He was gone most of the day, and when he started back home he was in the
best of spirits, for his stores had not been found by any one else. He
was in such good spirits that for once he quite forgot Shadow the
Weasel. He was just going to pop into his doorway without first looking
inside, a very foolish thing to do, when he heard some one calling him.
He turned to see Tommy Tit the Chickadee hurrying towards him, and it
was very clear that Tommy was greatly excited.
"Hello, Tommy Tit! What ails you?" exclaimed Happy Jack.
"Don't go in there, Happy Jack!" cried Tommy Tit. "Shadow the Weasel is
in there waiting for you!"
Happy Jack turned quite pale. "Are you sure?" he gasped.
Tommy Tit nodded as if he would nod his head off. "I saw him go in, and
he hasn't come out, for I've kept watch," said he. "You better get away
from here before he knows you are about."
That was good advice, but it was too late. Even as Tommy Tit spoke, a
sharp face with red, angry eyes was thrust out of Happy Jack's doorway.
It was the face of Shadow the Weasel.