Yes--there was trouble when Farmer Green discovered that Tommy Fox had
been stealing his hens. He fastened the end of Tommy's chain to the
stake once more. And then he went out to the barn, where his boy
Johnnie was watering the horses.
"We'll have to kill that fox," he said to Johnnie. "He's got loose,
somehow, and he's stolen two hens. I can't have him on the place any
longer. He's made friends with old Spot and the dog will let him do
anything he likes."
Poor Johnnie Green! He felt so sad! And he begged his father not to
kill Tommy. But Fanner Green was very angry with Tommy.
[Illustration with caption: Tommy Thought It Was His Mother's Voice]
"No!" he said. "That cub's so tricky there's no knowing when he'll get
loose again." But Johnnie begged so hard that his father promised that
he might keep Tommy one more day.
Johnnie Green was in despair. He could not bear to have his pet
killed. And when he went to bed that night he never fell asleep at
all. He was very tired; but he managed to keep awake. And in the
middle of the night Johnnie got out of bed and put on his clothes. He
didn't dare to light his candle. But the moonbeams streamed in through
his little gable-window and Johnnie could see very well without any
other light.
As soon as he was dressed Johnnie stole down the stairs, carrying his
shoes in his hand, so he wouldn't make any noise. In spite of all his
caution, the old stairs would creak now and then. But luckily nobody
heard him; and soon Johnnie was out of the house.
He found Tommy Fox wide awake, sitting on his haunches in the
moonlight, listening. Far away in the distance a fox was barking and
Tommy thought it sounded like his mother's voice.
Tommy was surprised to see Johnnie Green at that hour. And he was
astonished when Johnnie untied the chain from the stake and started
away with him. They went off across the fields, toward Blue Mountain,
right in the direction of that barking.
The meadows smelled sweet; and Tommy Fox began to wish that he could
slip his head out of his collar and scamper away.
And that was exactly what happened.
After they had gone some distance, Johnnie Green stopped. He unbuckled
Tommy's collar, and gave Tommy a push.
At first Tommy was not quite sure that he wanted to leave his good
master. But there was that fox, yelping and calling. Something seemed
to draw Tommy toward that sound. He just couldn't help himself. And
the first thing he knew he was bounding off over the meadow running as
fast as his legs would carry him, and barking as loudly as he could
bark.
Johnnie Green went slowly home again. He crept into the house and
stole upstairs, and cried himself to sleep. But he was glad of one
thing. Tommy Fox would not be killed the next morning.
XVI
TOMMY BECOMES BOASTFUL
When Johnnie Green turned Tommy Fox loose, out in the meadow, in the
moonlight, Tommy hurried across the fields as fast as he could go. You
remember that he heard a fox barking, near the foot of Blue Mountain,
and he thought it sounded like his mother. So Tommy barked, too. And
as he ran he could hear that other fox coming towards him. Pretty soon
they met, and such a joyful meeting you never saw in all your life.
For it _was_ old Mrs. Fox. And she was so delighted to see Tommy that
she licked him all over with her tongue, and looked at him carefully,
to see if he was hurt anywhere. Mrs. Fox had never expected to see
Tommy again. But there he was, bigger than ever, and altogether _too_
fat, for Johnnie had fed him well; and then, there were those two hens
that Tommy had stolen.
Tommy Fox was very glad indeed to see his mother once more. He frisked
about her, and yelped, and jumped up and down. And when she saw that
Tommy had come back safe and sound Mrs. Fox danced a little bit, too.
And then she took Tommy home.
You remember that when Farmer Green caught Tommy in a trap, right at
the door of his mother's house, Mrs. Fox had been obliged to move. Her
new home was not far away from the old one. It was snug and cozy, and
on the whole was a pretty nice sort of house, though the dooryard was
not quite so sunny as she would have preferred, for the branches of a
big tree shaded it.
Tommy had to answer a great many questions. His mother wanted to know
everything that had happened to him. She was astonished when she found
that he had been in the village, right in the daytime. He was the only
fox she knew of who had ever been there. And when she heard of Tommy's
friendship with the dog Spot Mrs. Fox was more surprised than ever.
She couldn't understand it. And she shook her head over and over again
as Tommy told her what good times he and Spot had had together. Mrs.
Fox actually began to think that Tommy was telling stories.
The other forest-people, too, thought that Tommy was fibbing when he
bragged about his strange adventures. And old Mr. Crow began to cry
"Stop, liar!" after him, instead of "Stop, thief!" as he used to do.
But Tommy Fox didn't mind that very much. He knew that he was telling
the truth. And he more than half guessed that old Mr. Crow was jealous
of him, because he had so many wonderful things to tell.
Though the forest-people always listened to Tommy's stories, they
disliked him more than ever. For he was always going about boasting of
what he had seen, and what he had done, and what _his_ friend, the dog
Spot, said.
"If you're such good friends with old dog Spot, why don't you go down
to the farm-yard and see him?" Mr. Crow said to Tommy one day. This
was long after Tommy had come back to live with his mother. In fact,
it was quite late in the fall, and the weather was growing cold.
"All right! I will!" Tommy said. He was not going to let old Mr. Crow
get the better of him. "I'll go now," Tommy said. And with that he
started down the valley toward Farmer Green's buildings.
XVII
PAYING A CALL ON A FRIEND
Mr. Crow had dared Tommy Fox to go down to pay a call on his friend
dog Spot, at Farmer Green's place. And Tommy was trotting along across
the fields. He was quite near Farmer Green's house when he heard a dog
bark not far away.
"There's Spot now!" Tommy said to himself. And he turned at once in
the direction of the barking. He was smiling, for he knew Spot would
be greatly pleased to see him, and very much surprised, too.
Tommy stole slyly up toward the place where the dog was barking. The
sound came from beyond some bushes. And Tommy thought he would jump
out from behind the bushes and startle Spot. So he crept up to the
bushes and then suddenly gave a yelp and leaped clean over them.
It was Tommy Fox himself who got the surprise. For there was a strange
dog! And as soon as he saw Tommy he sprang after him.
Tommy did not wait a second. He left that place a great deal faster
than he came. And as he went skimming over the fields, a red streak
against the brown stubble, he could hear Mr. Crow laughing heartily.
The old fellow had sailed along high over Tommy's head, to see what
happened; and he was greatly pleased with himself. You see, he knew
that Farmer Green's hired man had brought home a new dog just a few
days before, and Mr. Crow hoped that if Tommy went to the farm-yard he
would meet the strange dog.
Tommy was very angry. He saw at once that old Mr. Crow had tricked him
and he made up his mind that if he ever had a chance he would get even
with the old gentleman. But now he had no time to think about that.
There was that strange dog, following hot on his trail. Tommy had
quite enough to worry him, without bothering his head over Mr. Crow
just then.
Now, even if Tommy Fox was conceited, he was really a very bright
youngster. And as he bounded along he thought of a pretty clever
scheme. Yes, he thought of a fine trick to play on that dog. The idea
came to him all at once. And as soon as the thought popped into his
head, Tommy turned toward Swift River. He was at the bank in no time,
and he skipped nimbly down to the river's edge.
Tommy Fox could see no water at all running in Swift River. And you
might think he was disappointed. But he wasn't. He found exactly what
he had hoped for. He could see no water running, down there in the bed
of the river, because _the river was covered with ice._ It was just a
thin shell of ice; but it was strong enough to bear Tommy's weight. He
ran across it quickly. And then what do you suppose he did? He sat
right down on the opposite bank!
Tommy Fox wanted to see the fun. He had to wait only a minute. For
pretty soon the strange dog came rushing down the opposite bank of the
river and leaped far out from the edge of the stream.
There was a crash, and a splitting, crackling noise! And the strange
dog was floundering in the cold water. The ice was not thick enough to
hold him up, and he had hard work to scramble back to the bank again.
But he climbed out of the water at last, and tucked his tail between
his legs and made off.
Old Mr. Crow saw what happened. He stopped laughing. And he sailed
away silently, thinking that Tommy Fox was a pretty smart young cub,
after all.
XVIII
THE WORLD TURNS WHITE
After he outwitted the strange dog, Tommy Fox became more of a
braggart than ever. He thought that he knew just about all there was
to know. But with the coming of winter Tommy found that he had many
things to learn. It was almost like living in a different world, for
the ground was white everywhere. And though Tommy Fox loved to play in
the snow, he discovered one thing about it that he did not like at
all. It frightened him when he saw how plainly his footprints showed
after a fresh snow-fall. And he wondered how he would ever be able to
escape being caught, should any strange dog chase him.
As the winter days passed, Tommy learned that it was very hard for him
to run fast in a light, dry snow--that through such snow a dog could
run much faster than he could. But when there was a thin crust he
could go skipping along like the wind, while dogs, being heavier,
broke through the crust and floundered about in the softer snow
beneath.
One day Tommy and his mother were out hunting. The snow was very deep
everywhere, for it was mid-winter. And it had thawed and frozen so
often that the snow was quite hard, except for just about an inch of
fresh snow which had fallen during the night. Tommy and his mother
could see rabbit tracks all around them; and they had very good luck
hunting. But something happened that wasn't exactly lucky. They had
turned toward home, when a dog bayed somewhere behind them, and pretty
soon Mrs. Fox saw that they were being followed.
She and Tommy started to run. And Tommy saw that there was one more
bad thing about winter. Swift River, and all the little brooks, were
covered with thick ice and there was no chance at all for him and his
mother to run through shallow water and throw the dog off their scent.
It was that strange dog that was chasing them--the one that belonged
to Farmer Green's hired man. He was a very fast runner, and in spite
of the usual tricks that foxes know, Mrs. Fox and Tommy could not lose
him.
Tommy began to be frightened. And old Mrs. Fox herself was somewhat
worried. But she still had a few tricks up her sleeve. She didn't
intend to let that dog catch them if she could help it.
[Illustration with caption: Mrs. Fox and Tommy Started to Run]
"Oh, Mother! whatever shall we do?" Tommy said. "Do you think we can
get away from him?"
"Of course," Mrs. Fox answered. "But you must do just as I tell you.
Now, follow right in my tracks, and don't be frightened, I'm going to
show you a new trick--one that my own mother taught me when I was no
older than you are."
Mrs. Fox turned to the right and started back across the valley. She
was going straight toward Swift River.
"Oh, dear!" Tommy cried. "Don't you know that the river is frozen
solid, Mother? The dog can follow us across it, as easy as anything."
"Stop fussing!" Mrs. Fox said, looking over her shoulder at Tommy.
"We're not going to the river. You just mind me and you'll see, in a
few minutes, that we can fool that dog." And she kept on running, with
Tommy right at her heels.
XIX
TOMMY FOX LEARNS A NEW TRICK
Now, there was a road that ran through the valley, along the bank of
Swift River. And when Mrs. Fox reached it, with Tommy close behind
her, she turned again--this time to the left--and ran along in the
beaten track which the horses and sleighs had made.
Tommy Fox thought it very strange that his mother should lead him to
the road, where they were sure to find people driving. Tommy followed
her. But he was very unhappy. They swung into the road just ahead of a
farmer, who was driving along in a sleigh. The sleigh-bells tinkled
merrily as the horse trotted smartly down the road. But the jingling
of the bells did not sound at all pleasant to Tommy Fox. It only
frightened him all the more.
The farmer in the sleigh did not see Tommy and his mother, for the
snow rose high on both sides, and the road wound in and out. Little
did he know that Mrs. Fox and Tommy were scampering along in front of
him. Of course, he couldn't catch them, anyhow. Tommy knew that much.
But if they ran very far down the road they would be sure to meet some
other man.
To Tommy it seemed bad enough to have that dog chasing them, without
going where they were sure to find other enemies. Tommy could hear the
dog baying. And he knew dogs well enough to know that that dog felt
very sure he was going to catch them. But pretty soon Tommy heard the
dog talking in a very different fashion. He gave a number of short
barks, which meant that he was in trouble.
Mrs. Fox looked over her shoulder and smiled at Tommy. She knew that
they were safe. She knew that the dog had not reached the road until
the farmer had driven right over their footsteps and spoiled their
scent. After the horse had passed over their trail the dog could smell
only the horse's footprints, instead of theirs. And Mrs. Fox could
tell what was happening back there in the road. She knew just exactly
as well as if she had been there herself--she knew that the dog had
stopped short, and was running all around, with his nose to the
ground, trying to find where she and Tommy had gone. But he never
found out.
You see, he wasn't half as clever as Mrs. Fox. It never once occurred
to him that Tommy and his mother had turned into the road just ahead
of that farmer in his sleigh. And finally the stupid dog gave up the
chase and went back to Farmer Green's house.
By that time Mrs. Fox and Tommy were safe at home. Yes--they were even
having a good laugh over the way they had fooled the dog. And Tommy
had quite forgotten how frightened he had been. In fact, he began to
feel very well pleased with himself. For he never once remembered that
it was his mother, and not himself, who had thought of that trick. He
ought to have felt very grateful to his grandmother, for having taught
his mother that clever way of cheating a dog out of his dinner. But
Tommy Fox was so conceited that if his grandmother had been there with
them he would have thought he knew ten times as much as she did. I've
no doubt that he would even have tried to teach her to suck eggs--never
once stopping to think that she knew all about such things many
years before he was born.
XX
THE DRUMMER OF THE WOODS
Tommy Fox stopped short and listened. It was early spring, and the
snow was still deep on the sides of Blue Mountain.
_Thump--thump--thump, thump, thump, thump! Rub--rub--rub--rub,
r-r-r-r-r-r-r!_ If you had heard that sound you would have said that
there was a boy hidden somewhere on the mountain; and that he was
playing a drum. But Tommy Fox knew better than that. He knew that it
was Mr. Grouse, calling to Mrs. Grouse. And Tommy knew that he made
that noise by beating the air with his strong wings.
Now, Tommy Fox had not eaten a grouse for a long, long time. He had
never captured a grouse himself. In fact, he had never even tried,
since that time in the summer, when old Mother Grouse had played a
trick on him, and led him away from her children.
Tommy made up his mind now that he was old enough and wise enough to
capture Mr. Grouse. But he thought he had better wait until night,
when Mr. Grouse couldn't see well. Tommy Fox's eyes, you know, were
even sharper at night than they were in the daytime.
Well! Tommy Fox went home. And that very night he stole back again to
the clump of evergreens where he had heard Mr. Grouse drumming.
It was pretty dark up there on the mountain. But Tommy had no trouble
at all in finding his way. And he kept looking up at the thick
branches of the evergreens, for he hoped that Mr. Grouse was asleep on
a low branch, which he could reach with a good, high jump.
Yes--it was dark. And it was very cold up there on Blue Mountain, for
all it was early springtime. And the evergreen trees bowed beneath a
burden of snow, which had fallen only the day before.
It was very still in the forest. And when Tommy Fox suddenly heard a
cry of _"Whoo--whoo--whoo!"_ he jumped, in spite of himself. Tommy
knew, right away, that it was only Mr. Owl. And he felt very sheepish.
And then all at once Tommy jumped again. This time he was terribly
frightened, for the strangest thing happened. The snow rose right up
beneath his feet, and flew in his face. And something struck him a
good, hard blow under his chin. Tommy fell over backward in the snow,
he was so surprised. And a roar like thunder rang through the forest.
Tommy knew then what had happened. Maybe you have guessed, too. For it
was Mr. Grouse himself. He had burrowed his way into the snow, so that
he might have a warm blanket to cover him during the night. And Tommy
Fox had stepped squarely on top of him.
It was no wonder Mr. Grouse had sprung up in a hurry. He was just as
frightened as Tommy himself, because he had been sound asleep, and he
had no idea what was the matter.
As for Tommy Fox, it was a huge joke on him. But it was a joke that
didn't please Tommy at all. He felt very silly, when it was all over.
XXI
THE BIGGEST SURPRISE OF ALL
It was a pretty big surprise for Tommy Fox, when Mr. Grouse sprang out
of the snow, right beneath his feet. But it was nothing at all,
compared with the surprise Tommy had when he reached home.
Very late at night Tommy stole into his mother's house. In fact, it
was nearly morning. And Tommy crept in very quietly, for he hardly
expected that his mother would be awake and he did not want to disturb
her.
Tommy had just curled up on his bed and was all ready to go to sleep,
when to his great astonishment he heard his mother talking. She was
not talking to _him_, but to someone near her, for she spoke so low
that Tommy could not hear what she was saying.
He thought right away that somebody had come to pay them a visit. And
he called out--
"Who's here, Mother? Is it a visitor?"
"Yes, Tommy," Mrs. Fox answered. "Come here and see who it is."
Tommy jumped out of bed and hopped across the room. At first he
couldn't see anybody but his mother.
"It's just a joke!" Tommy exclaimed. "You're only fooling!"
"Look sharp!" said Mrs. Fox. "It's a surprise. What do you call this?"
She moved aside a bit, and pointed to a little, soft, woolly thing
which lay close beside her. Tommy had to look two or three times to
see what it was. And even then he wasn't sure.
"Is it--is it--a baby?" he asked.
"That's just what it is," his mother said.
Tommy certainly was surprised. And before he could find his voice
again Mrs. Fox showed him another baby fox, and another and another
and another.
Yes--there they were--five of them all together, small and soft and
woolly. They weren't nearly so brightly colored as Tommy and his
mother--just a pale, brownish red. Tommy Fox could hardly believe it.
As he stared at them he suddenly noticed something strange about the
baby foxes. "Why--they're all blind--every one of them!" he cried.
"Hadn't we better send them back and get some good ones?" he asked.
Mrs. Fox laughed.
"Of course they're blind," she said. "You were blind when you were
their age. Their eyes will be open in a few days.... Well--what do you
think of them, Tommy?" she asked; for Tommy Fox seemed to be lost in
thought.
"I was wondering how they would ever be able to hunt--they're so
small."
"Oh! I'll have to hunt for them, for a long time," his mother
explained. "When they get big enough I shall teach them to hunt for
themselves, just as I taught you.
"Now you see why I showed you how to catch mice and rabbits and
woodchucks," Mrs. Fox said. "You'll have to look out for yourself now,
Tommy. For I shall have all I can do to find enough for myself and
five children to eat, without feeding a big fellow like you."
That made Tommy Fox feel very proud. He felt bigger, and stronger, and
wiser than ever before.
"I shall get along all right," Tommy said. "I almost caught Mr. Grouse
tonight. But he got away." Tommy yawned, for he was very sleepy. And
pretty soon he was curled up on his little bed again, dreaming of a
wonderful bird that he had caught, which was so big that he and his
mother and his five little brothers and sisters made a fine meal off
it.
But of course it was only a dream.
THE END
A WORD TO GROWN UPS
To you;--parents, guardians, teachers and all others upon whom
devolves the supremely important responsibility of directing the early
years of development of childhood, this series of TUCK-ME-IN TALES
which sketch such vivid and delightful scenes of the vibrant life of
meadow and woodland should have tremendous appeal. In this collection
of stories you will find precisely the sort of healthy, imaginative
entertainment that is an essential in stimulating thought germs in the
child mind.
Merely from the standpoint of their desirability for helping the
growing tot to pass an idle half hour, any one of these volumes would
be worth your while. But the author had something further than that in
mind. He has, with simplicity and grace, worthy of high commendation,
sought to convey a two-fold lesson throughout the entire series, the
first based upon natural history and the second upon the elementary
principles of living which should be made clear to every child at the
earliest age of understanding.
The first of these aims he has accomplished by adapting every one of
his bird characters to its living counterpart in the realm of biology.
The child learns very definite truths about which the story is woven;
learns in such a fascinating manner that he will not quickly forget,
and is brought into such pleasant intimacy that his immediate sympathy
is aroused.
The author accomplishes the purpose of driving home simple lessons on
good conduct by attributing the many of the same traits of character
to his feathered heroes and heroines that are to be found wherever the
human race made its habitation. The praise-worthy qualities of
courage, love, unselfishness, truth, industry, and humility are
portrayed in the dealings of the field and forest folk and the
consequential reward of these virtues is clearly shown; he also
reveals the unhappy results of greed, jealousy, trickery and other
character weaknesses. The effect is to impress indelibly upon the
imagination of the child that certain deeds are their own desirable
reward while certain others are much better left undone.
If any further recommendation is necessary, would it not be well to
resort to the court of final appeal, the child himself? Simply
purchase a trial copy from your bookseller with the understanding that
if it meets with the disapproval of the little man or woman for whom
it is intended, he will accept its return.
THE TALE OF JOLLY ROBIN
Of course, there is a time when Jolly Robin is only a nestling. Then
one day, after he tumbles out of the apple tree and falls squawking
and fluttering to the ground, he takes his first lesson in flying. So
pleased is Jolly to know that he can actually sail through the air on
his wings, that he goes out into the wide, wide world to shift for
himself. One day, after advising with Jimmy Rabbit, he decides to
become general laugh-maker to the inhabitants of Pleasant Valley, and
he becomes one of Mother Nature's happiest little feathered folk,
going about trying to make things a bit better in the world.
True, he falls into many blunders and has many strange experiences,
but his intentions are always the best, remember. Slyly tucked away in
this story of Jolly Robin and of his adventures, is much bird lore and
philosophy,--both instructive and entertaining.
THE TALE OF BETSY BUTTERFLY