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[Illustration: Book Cover]
[Illustration: THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS PEOPLE
Mr. Crow, Mr. Turtle, Mr. 'Coon, Mr. 'Possum, Mr. Robin, Mr. Squirrel,
Mr. Dog, Mr. Rabbit
THEN MR. DOG SAID: "I KNOW ALL ABOUT MENAGERIES, FOR I HAVE BEEN TO
ONE"]
THE HOLLOW TREE
SNOWED-IN BOOK
* * * * *
BEING A CONTINUATION OF THE STORIES ABOUT
THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS PEOPLE
BY
ALBERT BIGELOW PAINE
AUTHOR OF
"THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS BOOK"
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY
J. M. CONDE
[Illustration]
* * * * *
NEW YORK AND LONDON
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
MCMX
BOOKS BY
ALBERT BIGELOW PAINE
THE HOLLOW TREE SNOWED-IN BOOK. Crown 8vo $1.50
THE SHIP-DWELLERS. Illustrated. 8vo 1.50
THE TENT-DWELLERS. Illustrated. Post 8vo 1.50
THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS BOOK. Illustrated. Post 8vo 1.50
FROM VAN-DWELLER TO COMMUTER. Ill'd. Post 8vo 1.50
LIFE OF THOMAS NAST. Ill'd. 8vo _net_ 5.00
* * * * *
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, N. Y.
Copyright, 1910, by HARPER & BROTHERS
TO ALL DWELLERS IN
THE BIG DEEP WOODS OF DREAM
[Illustration: MAP OF THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS COUNTRY]
EXPLANATION OF MAP
The top of the map is South. This is always so with the Hollow Tree
People. The cross on the shelf below the edge of the world (where the
ladder is) is where Mr. Dog landed, and the ladder is the one brought by
Mr. Man for him to climb back on. The tree that Mr. Man cut down shows
too. The spot on the edge of the world is where the Hollow Tree People
sometimes sit and hang their feet over, and talk. A good many paths
show, but not all by a good deal. The bridge and plank near Mr. Turtle's
house lead to the Wide Grass Lands and Big West Hills. The spots along
the Foot Race show where Grandpaw Hare stopped, and the one across the
fence shows where Mr. Turtle landed. Most of the other things tell what
they are, and all the things are a good deal farther apart than they
look. Of course there was not room on the map for everything.
TO FRIENDS OLD AND NEW
I wonder if you have ever heard a story which begins like this: "Once
upon a time, in the far depths of the Big Deep Woods, there was a Big
Hollow Tree with three hollow branches. In one of these there lived a
'Coon, in another a 'Possum, and in the third a Big Black Crow."
That was the way the first story began in a book which told about the
Hollow Tree People and their friends of the Big Deep Woods who used to
visit them, and how they all used to sit around the table, or by the
fire, in the parlor-room down-stairs, where they kept most of their
things, and ate and talked and had good times together, just like
folk.[1]
And the stories were told to the Little Lady by the Story Teller, and
there were pictures made for them by the Artist, and it was all a long
time ago--so long ago that the Little Lady has grown to be almost a big
lady now, able to read stories for herself, and to write them, too,
sometimes.
But the Story Teller and the Artist did not grow any older. The years do
not make any difference to them. Like the Hollow Tree People they remain
always the same, for though to see them you might think by their faces
and the silver glint in their hair that they are older, it would not be
so, because these things are only a kind of enchantment, made to
deceive, when all the time they are really with the Hollow Tree People
in the Big Deep Woods, where years and enchantments do not count. It was
only Mr. Dog, because he lived too much with Mr. Man, who grew old and
went away to that Far Land of Evening which lies beyond the sunset,
taking so many of the Hollow Tree stories with him. We thought these
stories were lost for good when Mr. Dog left us, but that was not true,
for there came another Mr. Dog--a nephew of our old friend--and he grew
up brave and handsome, and learned the ways of the Hollow Tree People,
and their stories, and all the old tales which the first Mr. Dog did not
tell.
And now, too, there is another Little Lady--almost exactly like the
first Little Lady--and it may be that it is this Little Lady, after all,
who keeps the Artist and the Story Teller young, for when she thought
they might be growing older, and forgetting, she went with them away
from the House of Many Windows, in the city, to the House of Low
Ceilings and Wide Fireplaces--a queer old house like Mr. Rabbit's--built
within the very borders of the Big Deep Woods, where they could be
always close to Mr. 'Coon and Mr. 'Possum and the Old Black Crow, and
all the others, and so learn all the new tales of the Hollow Tree.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] _The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book_, by the same author and
artist.
CONTENTS
PAGE
TO FRIENDS OLD AND NEW 7
THE FIRST SNOWED-IN STORY 15
MR. DOG AT THE CIRCUS 21
THE SECOND SNOWED-IN STORY 39
THE WIDOW CROW'S BOARDING-HOUSE 57
THE FINDING OF THE HOLLOW TREE 71
THE THIRD SNOWED-IN STORY 87
THE FOURTH SNOWED-IN STORY 103
THE "SNOWED-IN" LITERARY CLUB 119
THE "SNOWED-IN" LITERARY CLUB--PART II 143
THE DISCONTENTED FOX 155
MR. 'POSSUM'S GREAT STORY 173
THE BARK OF OLD HUNGRY-WOLF 191
AN EARLY SPRING CALL ON MR. BEAR 219
MR. CROW'S GARDEN 239
WHEN JACK RABBIT WAS A LITTLE BOY 261
A HOLLOW TREE PICNIC 273
ILLUSTRATIONS
THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS PEOPLE _Frontispiece_
MAP OF THE HOLLOW TREE AND DEEP WOODS COUNTRY 4
GATHERING NICE PIECES OF WOOD 17
THE PANTRY IN THE HOLLOW TREE 24
"SLIPPED IN BEHIND HIM WHEN HE WENT INTO THE TENT" 29
"HE LOOKED SMILING AND GOOD-NATURED, AND I WENT OVER TO ASK
HIM SOME QUESTIONS" 31
"GAVE ME AN EXTRA BIG SWING AND CRACK" 35
ALL AT ONCE HE HEARD A FIERCE BARK CLOSE BEHIND HIM 43
THEN I SUDDENLY FELT LIKE A SHOOTING-STAR 47
"THEN MR. DOG SAID, 'TELL ME ANOTHER'" 49
"AND DID ROLL OFF THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, SURE ENOUGH" 53
"I SET OUT FOR HOME WITHOUT WAITING TO SAY GOOD-BYE" 55
CAME CLATTERING DOWN RIGHT IN FRONT OF MR. DOG 61
SO THEN MR. DOG TRIED TO GET MR. 'POSSUM ON HIS SHOULDER 64
HE WAS AN OLD BACHELOR AND LIKED TO HAVE HIS OWN WAY 67
THEY SAW MR. CROW OUT IN THE YARD CUTTING WOOD FOR HIS
MOTHER-IN-LAW 69
HAD TO STAY AT HOME AND PEEL POTATOES 75
LISTENED NOW AND THEN AT WIDOW CROW'S DOOR TO BE SURE SHE
WAS ASLEEP 79
MR. 'POSSUM SAID HE'D JUST GET ON AND HOLD THE THINGS 81
MR. 'POSSUM AND MR. 'COON TRIED TO PUT UP THE STOVE 83
MR. FOX SAID HE DIDN'T HAVE MUCH TO DO FOR A FEW MINUTES
AND HE'D ACT AS JUDGE 93
SAILING ALONG, JUST TOUCHING THE HIGHEST POINTS 97
AWAY WENT MR. TORTOISE, CLEAR OVER THE TOP RAIL 99
SET OUT FOR HOME BY A BACK WAY 101
TRIED TO SPLICE HIS PROPERTY BACK IN PLACE 107
GRANDFATHER WOULD LIGHT HIS PIPE AND THINK IT OVER 109
SET UP HIS EARS AND WENT BY, LICKETY-SPLIT 111
"'GLAD TO SEE YOU,' SAID KING LION; 'I WAS JUST THINKING
ABOUT HAVING A NICE RABBIT FOR BREAKFAST" 113
GOT AROUND THE TABLE AND BEGAN TO WORK 125
MR. 'POSSUM WANTED TO KNOW WHAT MR. RABBIT MEANT BY
SPINNING THEIR TAILS 129
MR. DOG SAID HE HAD MADE A FEW SKETCHES 133
MR. 'POSSUM SAID IT MIGHT BE A GOOD ENOUGH STORY, BUT IT
COULDN'T BE TRUE 137
SO THEN MR. RABBIT SAID THEY MUST CHOOSE WHO WOULD BE "IT" 147
MR. 'POSSUM HAD TO PUT ON THE HANDKERCHIEF AND DO MORE
EXERCISING THAN ANY OF THEM 149
WOULD FIND IT ON THE MANTEL-SHELF OR PERHAPS ON MR.
CROW'S BALD HEAD 152
MR. 'POSSUM SAID HE HADN'T MEANT ANYTHING AT ALL BY WHAT
HE HAD SAID ABOUT THE STORY 162
AND SO THIS CAT GREW RICH AND FAT 164
HIS CLERKS 167
A SOLEMN LOOK WAS IN HIS FACE 168
QUOTH HE; "MY PRIDE IS SATISFIED; THIS KINGDOM BUSINESS
DOES NOT PAY" 171
AUNT MELISSY HAD ARRANGED A BUNDLE FOR UNCLE SILAS, AND
SHE HAD FIXED UP THE HIRED MAN TOO 179
DIDN'T LOOK AS IF SHE BELONGED TO THE REST OF OUR CROWD 181
THE BALLOON WENT OVER THE WIDE BLUE WATER JUST AFTER IT
GOT OUR FAMILY 184
MR. TURTLE SAID THAT WHAT MR. 'POSSUM HAD TOLD THEM WAS TRUE 189
ONE DAY MR. CROW FOUND HE WAS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL OF
EVERYTHING 195
THEN MR. COON SLAMMED HIS DOOR 199
MR. 'POSSUM SAID NOT TO MOVE, THAT HE WOULD GO AFTER A PIECE
OF WOOD 201
HE WOULD SMOKE IN THE SUN WHEN THE MORNINGS WERE FAIR 203
WITH A LOOK AND A SIGH THEY WOULD STAND AND BEHOLD 204
THE TASTIEST PASTRY THAT EVER WAS KNOWN 205
THEN TO STIR AND TO BAKE HE BEGAN RIGHT AWAY 206
THE GREEDY OLD RAVEN, BUT GREEDY NO MORE 208
LOOKED STRAIGHT AT MR. 'POSSUM AND SAID, "WHAT WAS THAT YOU
WERE CHEWING JUST NOW?" 211
THEY WENT ALONG, SAYING WHAT A NICE MAN THEY THOUGHT MR. BEAR WAS 224
MR. BEAR MUST HAVE BEEN VERY TIRED AND GONE TO SLEEP RIGHT
WHERE HE WAS 226
MR. 'COON SCRATCHED HIS BACK AGAINST A LITTLE BUSH 234
MR. RABBIT THANKED HIM FROM ACROSS THE RIVER 237
ONE SAID IT WAS ONE WAY AND THE OTHER THE OTHER WAY 247
MR. CROW DECIDED TO THIN OUT A FEW OF JACK RABBIT'S THINGS 251
MR. CROW WAS ALMOST AFRAID TO BRING ON THE SALAD 255
JACK RABBIT CAPERED AND LAUGHED ALL THE WAY HOME 259
TOOK HER PARASOL AND HER RETICULE AND A CAN OF BERRIES,
AND STARTED 265
AND HE MADE SOME STRIPES, TOO--MOSTLY ON TOP OF THE STOVE 267
LITTLE JACK KNEW PERFECTLY WELL THAT SHE WASN'T AT ALL PLEASED 269
PROMISED NEVER TO DISOBEY HIS MOTHER AGAIN 271
AND HE TASTED OF THAT A LITTLE, TOO 278
MR. 'POSSUM LEANED HIS BACK AGAINST A TREE AND READ HIMSELF
TO SLEEP 280
SO MR. 'POSSUM PROMISED, AND MR. 'COON UNTIED HIM 282
"AND WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY SAW?" 284
THE FIRST SNOWED-IN STORY
[Illustration: GATHERING NICE PIECES OF WOOD]
THE FIRST SNOWED-IN STORY
IN WHICH THE READER LEARNS TO KNOW THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE AND THEIR
FRIENDS, AND THE LITTLE LADY, AND THE STORY TELLER
Now this is the beginning of the Hollow Tree stories which the Story
Teller told the Little Lady in the queer old house which stands in the
very borders of the Big Deep Woods itself. They were told in the Room of
the Lowest Ceiling and the Widest Fire--a ceiling so low that when the
Story Teller stands upright it brushes his hair as he walks, and a fire
so deep that pieces of large trees do not need to be split but can be
put on whole. In the old days, several great-grandfathers back, as the
Hollow Tree People might say, these heavy sticks were drawn in by a
horse that came right through the door and dragged the wood to the wide
stone hearth.
It is at the end of New-Year's Day, and the Little Lady has been
enjoying her holidays, for Santa Claus found his way down the big stone
chimney and left a number of things she wanted. Now, when the night is
coming down outside, and when inside there is a heap of blazing logs and
a rocking-chair, it is time for the Story Teller. The Story Teller
generally smokes and looks into the fire when he tells a Hollow Tree
story, because the Hollow Tree People always smoke and look into the
fire when _they_ tell _their_ stories, and the Little Lady likes
everything to be "just the same," and the stories must be always told
just the same, too. If they are not, she stops the Story Teller and sets
him right. So while the Little Woman passes to and fro, putting away the
tea-things, the Story Teller lights his pipe, and rocks, and looks into
the fire, and holds the Little Lady close, and begins the Tales of the
Hollow Tree.
"Once upon a time," he begins--
"Once upon a time," murmurs the Little Lady, settling herself.
"Yes, once upon a time, in the old days of the Hollow Tree, when Mr. Dog
had become friends with the 'Coon and the 'Possum and the Old Black Crow
who lived in the three hollow branches of the Big Hollow Tree, and used
to meet together in their parlor-room down-stairs and invite all their
friends, and have good times together, just like folk--"
"But they live there now, don't they?" interrupts the Little Lady,
suddenly sitting up, "and still have their friends, just the same?"
"Oh yes, of course, but this was one of the old times, you know."
The Little Lady settles back, satisfied.
"Go on telling, now," she says.
"Well, then, this was one of the times when all the Deep Woods People
had been invited to the Hollow Tree for Christmas Day, and were snowed
in. Of course they didn't expect to be snowed in. Nobody ever expects to
be snowed in till it happens, and then it's too late."
"Was that the Christmas that Mr. Dog played Santa Claus and brought all
the presents, and Mr. Squirrel and Mr. Robin and Mr. Turtle and Jack
Rabbit came over, and they all sat around the fire and ate things and
told nice stories? You said you would tell about that, and you never
did."
"I am going to tell it now, as soon as a Little Lady gets real still,"
says the Story Teller. So then the Little Lady _is_ real still, and he
tells the first snowed-in story, which is called:
MR. DOG AT THE CIRCUS
MR. DOG AT THE CIRCUS
THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE LEARN SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT ABOUT SHOWS
[Illustration: THE PANTRY IN THE HOLLOW TREE]
That was a great Christmas in the Hollow Tree. The 'Coon and the 'Possum
and the Old Black Crow had been getting ready for it for a long time,
and brought in ever so many nice things to eat, which Mr. Crow had
cooked for them, for Mr. Crow is the best cook of anybody in the Big
Deep Woods. Then Mr. Dog had brought a lot of good things, too, which he
had borrowed from Mr. Man's house, so they had the finest Christmas
dinner that you can think of, and plenty for the next day when it would
be even better, because chicken and turkey and dressing and such things
are always better the next day, and even the _third_ day, with gravy,
than they are when they are first cooked.
Then, when they were all through and were standing around, smoking their
new pipes and looking at each other's new neckties and other Christmas
things, Mr. Crow said that he and Mr. Squirrel would clear off the table
if the others would get in some wood and stir up the fire and set the
room to rights, so they could gather round and be comfortable by-and-by;
and then, he said, it might snow as much as it liked as long as they had
plenty of wood and things to eat inside.
So then they all skurried around getting on their things to go out after
wood--all except Mr. Crow and Mr. Squirrel, who set about clearing off
the table and doing up the dishes. And pretty soon Mr. Dog and Mr. Coon
and the rest were hopping about where the snow was falling so soft and
silent among the big, leafless trees, gathering nice pieces of wood and
brushing the snow off of them and piling them into the first down-stairs
of the Hollow Tree, which the 'Coon and 'Possum and Old Black Crow use
for their wood-house and general store-room. It was great fun, and they
didn't feel the least bit cold after their warm dinner and with all that
brisk exercise.
Mr. Robin didn't help carry the wood in. He was hardly strong enough for
that, but he hopped about and looked for good pieces, and when he found
one he would call to Mr. 'Coon or Mr. 'Possum, or maybe to one of the
others, to throw it on his shoulder and carry it in, and then he would
tell whoever it happened to be how strong he was and how fine he looked
with that great chunk on his shoulder, and would say that he didn't
suppose there was another 'Coon, or 'Possum, or Turtle, or Rabbit, or
Dog that could begin to stand up straight under such a chunk as that
anywhere outside of a menagerie. Mr. Robin likes to say pleasant things
to his friends, and is always popular. And each one tried to carry the
biggest load of wood to show how strong he was, and pretty soon they had
the lower room of the Hollow Tree piled up high with the finest chunks
and kindling pieces to be found anywhere. Then they all hurried
up-stairs, stamping the snow off their feet, and gathered around the
nice warm fire in the big parlor which was just below the three big
hollow branches where the 'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow had
their rooms.
Mr. Crow and Mr. Squirrel were through with the table by this time, and
all hands lit their pipes, and looked into the fire, and smoked, and
rested, and thought a little before they began talking--thinking, of
course, of what a good time they were having, and how comfortable and
nice it was to be inside and warm when such a big snow was falling
outside.
Mr. 'Possum was the first one to say anything. He said he had been
thinking of what Mr. Robin had said about them being outside of a
menagerie, and that, come to think about it, he believed he didn't know
what a menagerie was, unless it was a new name for a big dinner, as that
was the only thing he could think of now that they were outside of, and
he said if that was so, and if he could get outside of two menageries,
he thought he could carry in a bigger chunk than any two chunks there
were down-stairs.
Then all the others laughed a good deal, and Mr. 'Coon said he had
thought that perhaps a menagerie was something to wear that would make
anybody who had it on very strong, and able to stand up under a big
load, and to eat as much as Mr. 'Possum could, or even more.
But Mr. Robin said that it didn't mean either of those things. He said
he didn't really know what it did mean himself, but that it must be some
kind of a place that had a great many large creatures in it, for he had
heard his grandmother quite often call his grandfather the biggest goose
outside of a menagerie, though, being very young then, Mr. Robin
couldn't remember just what she had meant by it.
Mr. Rabbit said he thought that the word "menagerie" sounded like some
kind of a picnic, with swings and nice lively games, and Mr. Crow said
that once when he was flying he passed over a place where there was a
big sign that said Menagerie on it, and that there were some tents and a
crowd of people and a great noise, but that he hadn't seen anything that
he could carry off without being noticed, so he didn't stop.
Mr. Squirrel thought that from what Mr. Crow said it must be a place
where there would be a lot of fine things to see, and Mr. Turtle said
that he was a good deal over three hundred years old and had often heard
of a menagerie, but that he had never seen one. He said he had always
supposed that it was a nice pond of clear water, with a lot of happy
turtles and fish and wild geese and duck and such things in it, and
maybe some animals around it, all living happily together, and taken
care of by Mr. Man, who brought them a great many good things to eat. He
had always thought he would like to live in a menagerie, he said, but
that nobody had ever invited him, and he had never happened to come
across one in his travels.
Mr. Dog hadn't been saying anything all this time, but he knocked the
ashes out of his pipe now, and filled it up fresh and lit it, and
cleared his throat, and began to talk. It made him smile, he said, to
hear the different ways people thought of a thing they had never seen.
He said that Mr. Turtle was the only one who came anywhere near to what
a menagerie really was, though of course Mr. Crow _had_ seen one on the
outside. Then Mr. Dog said:
[Illustration: "SLIPPED IN BEHIND HIM WHEN HE WENT INTO THE TENT"]
"I know all about menageries, on the outside and the inside too, for I
have been to one. I went once with Mr. Man, though I wasn't really
invited to go. In fact, Mr. Man invited me to stay at home, and tried to
slip off from me; but I watched which way he went, and took long
roundin's on him, and slipped in behind him when he went into the
tent. He didn't know for a while that I was there, and I wasn't there so
very long. But it was plenty long enough--a good deal longer than I'd
ever stay again, unless I was tied.
"I never saw so many wild, fierce-looking creatures in my life as there
were in that menagerie, and they were just as wild and fierce as they
looked. They had a lot of cages full of them and they had some outside
of cages, though I don't know why they should leave any of those
dangerous animals around where they could damage folks that happened to
come in reach, as I did. Those animals outside didn't look as wild and
fierce as those in the cages, but they were.
"I kept in the crowd, close behind Mr. Man at first, and nobody knew I
was there, but by-and-by he climbed up into a seat to watch some people
all dressed up in fancy clothes ride around a ring on horses, which I
didn't care much about, so I slipped away, and went over to where there
were some things that I wanted to take my time to see quietly."
[Illustration: HE LOOKED SMILING AND GOOD-NATURED, AND I WENT OVER TO
ASK HIM SOME QUESTIONS]
"There was an animal about my size and style tied over in one corner of
the tent, behind a rope, with a sign in front of him which said, 'The
Only Tame Hyena in the World.' He looked smiling and good-natured, and I
went over to ask him some questions.
"But that sign wasn't true. He wasn't the least bit tame, and I'm sure
now that he wasn't smiling. He grabbed me before I had a chance to say a
word, and when I jerked loose, which I did right away, for I didn't want
to stir up any fuss there, I left quite a piece of my ear with the tame
hyena, and tripped backward over the rope and rolled right in front of a
creature called an elephant, about as big as a house and not as useful.
"I suppose they thought _he_ was tame, too, but he must have been tamed
by the same man, for he grabbed me with a kind of a tail that grew on
the end of his nose--a thing a good deal like Mr. 'Possum's tail, only
about a million times as big--and I could hear my ribs crack as he waved
me up and down.
"Of course, as I say, I didn't want to stir up any fuss, but I couldn't
keep still under such treatment as that, and I called right out to Mr.
Man, where he sat looking at the fancy people riding, and told him that
I had had enough of the show, and if he wanted to take any of me home,
he ought not to wait very long, but come over that way and see if he
couldn't get the tame elephant to practise that performance on the hyena
or the next dog, because I had had plenty, and was willing to go home
just as I was, all in one piece, even if not very lively.
"Mr. Man _came_, too, and so did a lot of the others. They seemed to
think that I was more to look at than those riding people; and some of
them laughed, though what there was happening that was funny I have
never been able to guess to this day. I kept right on telling Mr. Man
what I wanted him to do, and mebbe I made a good deal of noise about it,
for it seemed to stir up those other animals. There was a cage full of
lions that started the most awful roaring you can think of, and a cage
of crazy-looking things they called monkeys that screeched and howled
and swung back and forth in rings and held on to the bars, and all the
other things joined in, until I couldn't tell whether I was still saying
anything or not. I suppose they were all jealous of the elephant because
of the fun he was having, and howling to be let out so they could get
hold of me too.
"Well, you never heard of such a time. It nearly broke up the show.
Everybody ran over to look, and even the riding people stopped their
horses to enjoy it, too. If it only hadn't been so dangerous and
unpleasant I should have been proud of the way they came to see me
perform.
"But Mr. Man didn't seem to like it much. I heard him tell somebody, as
loud as he could, that I would be killed, and that I was the best dog he
ever had, and that if I _was_ killed he'd sue the show."
[Illustration: "GAVE ME AN EXTRA SWING AND CRACK"]
"That made me proud, too, but I wished he wouldn't wait to sue the
show, but would do something right away, and just then a man with a
fancy dress on and a stick with a sharp iron hook on it came running up
and said something I didn't understand and hit the elephant with the
hook end of the stick, and he gave me an extra big swing and crack and
flung me half-way across the tent, where I landed on a bunch of hay
right in front of a long-necked thing called a camel--another terrible
tame creature, I suppose--who had me about half eaten up with his old
long under lip, before Mr. Man could get over there.
"When Mr. Man did get hold of me, he said that I'd better take what was
left of me home, for they were going to feed the animals pretty soon,
and that I would likely get mixed up with the bill of fare.
"After that he took me to the entrance and pushed me outside, and I
heard all those fierce creatures in the cages growl and roar louder than
ever, as if they had expected to sample me and were sorry to see me go.
"That's what a menagerie is--it's a place where they have all the kinds
of animals and things in the world, for show, and a good many birds, and
maybe turtles, too, but they don't have any fine clear pond. They have
just a big tent, like the one Mr. Crow saw, and a lot of cages inside.
They keep most of the animals in cages, and they ought to keep them all
there, and I don't think they feed them very much, nor the best
things, or they wouldn't look so fierce and hungry.
"They just keep them for Mr. Man and his friends to look at and talk
about, and if Mr. Turtle will take my advice he will keep out of a
menagerie and live in the Wide Blue Water where he was born. I wouldn't
have gone there again unless I had been tied and dragged there, or
unless they had put those tame animals into cages with the others. No
doubt there are some very fine, strong animals in a menagerie, but they
wouldn't be there if they could help it, and if anybody ever invites any
of you to join a menagerie, take my advice and don't do it."
Then Mr. Dog knocked the ashes out of his pipe again, and all the other
Deep Woods People knocked the ashes out of _their_ pipes, too, and
filled them up fresh, and one said one thing, and one said another about
being in a menagerie or out of it, and every one thought it would be a
terrible thing to be shut up in a cage, except Mr. 'Possum, who said he
wouldn't mind it if they would let him sleep enough and give him all he
could eat, but that a cage without those things would be a lonesome
place.
Then Mr. 'Coon said that a little adventure had happened to him once
which he had never mentioned before, because he had never known just
what to make of it; but he knew now, he said, that he had come very near
getting into a menagerie, and he would tell them just what happened.
The Story Teller looked down at the quiet figure in his lap. The Little
Lady's head was nestled close to his shoulder, and her eyes were
straining very hard to keep open.
"I think we will save Mr. 'Coon's story till another night," he said.
THE SECOND SNOWED-IN STORY
THE SECOND SNOWED-IN STORY
MR. 'COON TELLS HOW HE CAME NEAR BEING A PART OF A MENAGERIE, AND HOW HE
ONCE TOLD A STORY TO MR. DOG
"You can tell about Mr. 'Coon, now--the story you didn't tell last
night, you know," and the Little Lady wriggles herself into a
comfortable corner just below the Story Teller's smoke, and looks deep
into a great cavern of glowing embers between the big old andirons,
where, in her fancy, she can picture the Hollow Tree people and their
friends.
"Why, yes, let me see--" says the Story Teller.
"Mr. Dog had just told about being at the menagerie, you know, and Mr.
'Coon was just going to tell how he came very near getting into a
menagerie himself."
"Oh yes, of course--well, then, all the Hollow Tree people, the 'Coon
and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow, and their friends who were visiting
them--Mr. Dog and Mr. Robin and Jack Rabbit and Mr. Turtle and Mr.
Squirrel--knocked the ashes out of their pipes and filled them up
fresh--"
"No, they had just done that."
"That's so, I forgot. Well, anyway, as soon as they got to smoking and
settled back around the fire again Mr. 'Coon told them his story, and I
guess we'll call it
"MR. 'COON'S EARLY ADVENTURE"
[Illustration: ALL AT ONCE HE HEARD A FIERCE BARK CLOSE BEHIND HIM]
Mr. 'Coon said he was quite young when it happened, and was taking a
pleasant walk one evening, to think over things a little, and perhaps to
pick out a handy tree where Mr. Man's chickens roosted, when all at once
he heard a fierce bark close behind him, and he barely had time to get
up a tree himself when a strange and very noisy Mr. Dog was leaping
about at the foot of the tree, making a great fuss, and calling every
moment for Mr. Man to hurry, for he had a young 'coon treed.
"Of course I laid pretty low when I heard that," Mr. 'Coon said, "for I
knew that Mr. Man would most likely have a gun, so I got into a bunch of
leaves and brush that must have been some kind of an old nest and
scrooched down so that none of me would show.
"Then by-and-by I heard some big creature come running through the
brush, and I peeked over a little, and there, sure enough, was Mr. Man
with a long gun, and I noticed that he wore a thing on his head--a sort
of hat, I suppose--made of what looked to be the skin of some relative
of mine.
"Of course that made me mad. I hadn't cared so much until I saw that;
but I said right then to myself that any one who would do such a thing
as that never could be a friend of mine, no matter how much he tried. So
I scrooched down and laid low in that old nest, and didn't move or let
on in any way that I was there.
"Then I heard Mr. Man walking around the tree and talking to his dog and
telling him that there wasn't anything up in that tree at all, and that
Mr. Dog had just been fooling him. I could tell by his voice that he was
getting mad at Mr. Dog, and I hoped that he'd get mad enough pretty soon
to take a stick to him for chasing me up a tree like that, and then
calling for Mr. Man to come and see me when there wasn't really anything
to look at.
"But Mr. Dog kept galloping around the tree and barking out, over and
over, that I was there; that he had seen me, and that he knew that I was
hiding up there somewhere; and pretty soon I heard Mr. Man going away,
and I peeked over again.
"Sure enough, he was going, but Mr. Dog was staying right there,
sitting under the tree and looking up and making a good deal more noise
than there was any need of to let me know he hadn't gone. I didn't see
why he stayed there. I wished he'd go away and tend to his own business.
"Being quite young, I still lived with my folks over near the Wide Grass
Lands, and I wanted to get home for supper. It was a good way to go, for
the tree I had climbed was over close to the edge of the world where the
sun and moon rise, and you all know that's a good way, even from here.
"Well, he didn't go, but just sat there, barking up that tree, and after
a long time I heard somebody coming again, and I peeked over and there
was Mr. Man, hurrying back, this time with an axe. I knew, right then,
there was going to be trouble. I knew they were going to cut that tree
down, and that I should most likely have quite a fuss with Mr. Dog, and
perhaps go home with a black eye and a scratched nose, and then get
whipped again for fighting, after I got there."
Mr. 'Coon stopped and knocked the ashes out of his pipe and filled it up
fresh, and all the others knocked the ashes out of their pipes and
filled them up fresh, too. Then Mr. 'Possum poked up the fire and told
Mr. Turtle to bring a stick of wood from down-stairs, and when it was
blazing up high and bright again they all stepped over to the window a
minute, to see how hard it was snowing and banking up outside, then
went back to their chairs around the fire, and stretched out their feet
and leaned back and smoked, and listened to the rest of Mr. 'Coon's
story.
Mr. Coon said he didn't like the sound of that axe when Mr. Man began to
cut the tree down.
"Every time he struck the tree I could feel it all through me," he said,
"and I knew if he kept that noise up long enough it would give me a
nervous headache. I wished the tree would hurry up and drop, so we could
have what muss we were going to, and get it over with. I'd have got out
of that old nest and made a jump for another tree if there had been any
near enough, but there wasn't, so I just laid low and gritted my teeth
and let him chop.
[Illustration: THEN I SUDDENLY FELT LIKE A SHOOTING-STAR]
"Well, by-and-by that tree began to go down. It seemed to teeter a
little at first, this way and that; then it went very slow in one
direction; then it went a little faster; then it went a good deal
faster; then I suddenly felt like a shooting-star, I came down so fast,
and there was a big crash, and I thought I had turned into a lot of
stars, sure enough, and was shooting in every direction, and the next I
knew I was tied to a tree, hand and foot and around the middle, and Mr.
Man and Mr. Dog were sitting and looking at me, and grinning, and
talking about what they were going to do.
"Mr. Man wasn't scolding Mr. Dog any more. He was telling him what a
good thing it was they had caught me alive, for now they could sell me
to a show and get a great deal more for me than they could for my skin.
I didn't know what a show was, then, or that a show is a menagerie, but
I know now, and I can see just what they meant.
"Pretty soon Mr. Man told Mr. Dog to stay there and watch me while he
went home after a box to put me in. He said he didn't think it would be
safe to carry me in his arms, and he was right about that.
"So then Mr. Man walked off, and left Mr. Dog guarding me, and saying
unpleasant things to me now and then.
"At first I wouldn't answer him; but pretty soon I happened to think of
something pleasant to say:
"'Mr. Dog,' I said, 'I know a good story, if you'd like me to tell it.
Mr. Man may be a good while getting that box, and mebbe you'd like to
hear something to pass the time.'
"Mr. Dog said he would. He said that Mr. Man would most likely have to
make the box, and he didn't suppose he knew where the hammer and nails
were, and it might be dark before Mr. Man got back.
[Illustration: "THEN MR. DOG SAID, 'TELL ME ANOTHER'"]
"I felt a good deal better when I heard Mr. Dog say that, and I told him
a story I knew about how Mr. Rabbit lost his tail, and Mr. Dog laughed
and seemed to like it, and said, 'Tell me another.'"
Before Mr. 'Coon could go on with his story, Mr. Rabbit said that of
course if that old tale had helped Mr. 'Coon out of trouble he was very
glad, but that it wasn't at all true, and that some time _he_ would tell
them himself the true story of how it happened.
Then they all said that they hoped he would, for they'd always wanted to
hear that story told right, and then Mr. 'Coon went on with his
adventure.
Mr. Coon said that when Mr. Dog said, 'Tell me another,' he knew he was
in a good-humor, and that he felt better and better himself. "I thought
if Mr. Man didn't come back too soon," he said, "I might get along
pretty well with Mr. Dog.
"'I know another story, Mr. Dog,' I said--'the funniest story there is.
It would make you laugh until you fell over the edge of the world, but I
can't tell it here.'
"'Why,' he said,--'why can't you tell it here as well as anywhere?'
"'Because it has to be acted,' I said, 'and my hands are tied.'
"'Will you tell it if I untie your hands?' said Mr. Dog.
"'Well,' I said, 'I'll begin it, and you can see how it goes.'
"So Mr. Dog came over and untied my hands, for he said he could tie them
again before Mr. Man came back, because he knew Mr. Man hadn't found
that hammer yet.
"'You can't get loose with just your hands untied, can you?' he said.
"'No, of course not, Mr. Dog,' I said, pleasant and polite as could be.
"'Let's see you try,' said Mr. Dog.
"So I twisted and pulled, and of course I couldn't get loose.
"'Now tell the story,' said Mr. Dog.
"So I said: 'Once there was a man who had a very bad pain in his chest,
and he took all kinds of medicine, and it didn't do him any good. And
one day the Old Wise Man of the Woods told him if he would rub his chest
with one hand and pat his head with the other, it might draw the pain
out the top and cure him. So the man with the pain in his chest tried
it, and he did it this way.'
"Then I showed Mr. Dog just how he did it, and Mr. Dog thought that was
funny, and laughed a good deal.
"'Go on and tell the rest of it,' he said. 'What happened after that?'
"But I let on as if I'd just remembered something, and I said, 'Oh, Mr.
Dog, I'm _so_ sorry, but I can't tell the rest of that story here, and
it's the funniest part, too. I know you'd laugh till you rolled over the
edge of the world.'
"'Why can't you tell the rest of that story here as well as anywhere?'
said Mr. Dog, looking anxious.
"'Because it has to be acted with the feet,' I said, 'and my feet are
tied.'
"'Will you tell it if I untie your feet?' said Mr. Dog.
"'Well, I'll do the best I can,' I said.
"So Mr. Dog came over and untied my feet. He said he knew that Mr. Man
hadn't found the nails or the pieces to make the box yet, and there
would be plenty of time to tie me again before Mr. Man got back.
"'You can't get loose, anyway, with just your hands and feet untied, can
you?' he said.
"'No, of course not, Mr. Dog,' I said, more pleasant and polite than
ever.
"'Let's see you try,' said Mr. Dog.
"So I squirmed and twisted, but of course with a strong string around my
waist and tied behind I couldn't do anything.
"'Now go on with the story,' said Mr. Dog.
[Illustration: "AND DID ROLL OFF THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, SURE ENOUGH"]
"'Well,' I said, 'the pain left his chest, but it went into his back,
and he had a most terrible time, until one day the Old Wise Man of the
Woods came along and told him that he thought he ought to know enough by
this time to rub his back where the pain was and pat his head at the
same time to draw it out at the top. So then the man with the pain
rubbed his back and patted his head this way,' and I showed Mr. Dog how
he did it; and I rubbed a good while about where the knot was, and made
a face to show how the man with the pain looked, and then I said the
pain came back into his chest again instead of being drawn out at the
top; and I changed about and rubbed there awhile, and then I went around
to my back again, chasing that pain first one side and the other; and
then I said that the Old Wise Man of the Woods came along one day and
told him that he must kick with his feet too if he ever wanted to get
rid of that pain, because, after all, it might have to be kicked out at
the bottom; and when I began to kick and dance with both feet and to rub
with my hands at the same time, Mr. Dog gave a great big laugh--the
biggest laugh I ever heard anybody give--and fell right down and rolled
over and over, and did roll off the edge of the world, sure enough.
"I heard him go clattering into a lot of brush and blackberry bushes
that are down there, and just then I got that back knot untied, and I
stepped over and looked down at Mr. Dog, who had lodged in a brier patch
on a shelf about ten feet below the edge, where Mr. Man would have to
get him up with a ladder or a rope.
"'Do you want to hear the rest of the story, Mr. Dog?' I said.
"'I'll story _you_,' he said, 'when I catch you!'
"'I told you you'd laugh till you fell off the edge of the world,' I
said.
"'I'll make _you_ laugh,' he said, 'when I catch you!'
[Illustration: "I SET OUT FOR HOME WITHOUT WAITING TO SAY GOOD-BYE"]
"Then I saw he was cross about something, and I set out for home without
waiting to say good-bye to Mr. Man, for I didn't want to waste any more
time, though I missed my supper and got a scolding besides.
"But I was glad I didn't bring home a black eye and scratched nose, and
I'm more glad than ever now that Mr. Man didn't get back in time with
that box, or I might be in a menagerie this minute instead of sitting
here smoking and telling stories and having a good time on Christmas
Day."
The Story Teller looks down at the Little Lady.
"I'm glad Mr. 'Coon didn't get into the menagerie, aren't you?" she
says.
"Very glad," says the Story Teller.
"He went lickety-split home, didn't he?"
"He did that!"
"I like them to go lickety-split better than lickety-cut, don't you?"
says the Little Lady. "They seem to go so much faster."
"Ever so much faster," says the Story Teller.
THE WIDOW CROW'S BOARDING-HOUSE
THE WIDOW CROW'S BOARDING-HOUSE
EARLY DOINGS OF THE HOLLOW TREE PEOPLE AND HOW THEY FOUND A HOME
Anybody can tell by her face that the Little Lady has some plan of her
own when the Story Teller is ready next evening to "sit by the fire and
spin."
"I want you to tell me," she says, climbing up into her place, "how the
'Coon and 'Possum and the Old Black Crow ever got to living together in
the Hollow Tree."
That frightens the Story Teller. He is all ready with something
different.
"Good gracious!" he says, "that is an old story that all the Deep Woods
People have known ever so long."
"But I don't know it," says the Little Lady, "and I'd like to know that
before you tell anything else. Rock, and tell it."
So the Story Teller rocks slowly, and smokes, and almost forgets the
Little Lady in remembering that far-away time, and presently he begins.
"Well, it was all so long ago that perhaps I can't remember it very
well. Mr. 'Possum was a young man in those days--a nice spry young
fellow; and he used to think it was a good deal of fun to let Mr.
Dog--who wasn't friendly then, of course--try to catch him; and when Mr.
Dog would get pretty close and come panting up behind him, Mr. 'Possum
would scramble up a tree, and run out on to the longest limb and swing
from it, head down, and laugh, and say:
"Come right up, Mr. Dog! Always at home to you, Mr. Dog! Don t stop to
knock!"
And then Mr. Dog would race around under the tree and make a great to
do, and sometimes Mr. 'Possum would swing back and forth, and pretty
soon give a great big swing and let go, and Mr. Dog would think surely
he had him then, and bark and run to the place where he thought he was
going to drop. Only Mr. 'Possum didn't drop--not far; for he had his
limb all picked out, and he would catch it with his tail as he went by,
and it would bend and sway with him, and he would laugh, and call again:
"Don't go, Mr. Dog! Mr. Man can get up the cows alone to-night!"
And then Mr. Dog would remember that he was a good ways from home, and
that if he wasn't there in time to help Mr. Man get up the cows there
might be trouble; and he would set out lickety-split for home, with Mr.
'Possum calling to him as he ran.
[Illustration: CAME CLATTERING DOWN RIGHT IN FRONT OF MR. DOG]
But one time Mr. 'Possum made a mistake. He didn't know it, but he was
getting older and a good deal fatter than he had been at first, and when
he swung out for another limb that way, and let go, he missed the limb
and came clattering down right in front of Mr. Dog. He wasn't hurt much,
for the ground was soft, and there was a nice thick bed of leaves; but I
tell you he was scared, and when Mr. Dog jumped right on top of him, and
grabbed him, he gave himself up for lost, sure enough.
But Mr. 'Possum is smart in some ways, and he knows how to play "dead"
better than any other animal there is. He knew that Mr. Dog would want
to show him to Mr. Man, and that he was too heavy for Mr. Dog to carry.
He had thought about all that, and decided what to do just in that
little second between the limb and the ground, for Mr. 'Possum can think
quick enough when anything like that happens.
So when he struck the ground he just gave one little kick with his hind
foot and a kind of a sigh, as if he was drawing his last breath, and
laid there: and even when Mr. Dog grabbed him and shook him he never let
on, but acted almost deader than if he had been really dead and no
mistake.
Then Mr. Dog stood with his paws out and his nose down close, listening,
and barking once in a while, and thinking maybe he would come to pretty
soon, but Mr. 'Possum still never let on, or breathed the least little
bit, and directly Mr. Dog started to drag him toward Mr. Man's house.
That was a hard job, and every little way Mr. Dog would stop and shake
Mr. 'Possum and bark and listen to see if he was really dead, and after
a while he decided that he was, and started to get Mr. Man to come and
fetch Mr. 'Possum home. But he only went a few steps, the first time,
and just as Mr. 'Possum was about to jump up and run he came hurrying
back, and stood over him and barked and barked as loud as ever he could
for Mr. Man to come and see what he had for him. But Mr. Man was too far
away, and even if he heard Mr. Dog he didn't think it worth while to
come.
[Illustration: SO THEN MR. DOG TRIED TO GET MR. 'POSSUM ON HIS SHOULDER]
So then Mr. Dog tried to get Mr. 'Possum on his shoulder, to carry him
that way; but Mr. 'Possum made himself so limp and loose and heavy that
every time Mr. Dog would get him nearly up he would slide off again and
fall all in a heap on the leaves; and Mr. Dog couldn't help believing
that he was dead, to see him lying there all doubled up, just as he
happened to drop.
So, then, by-and-by Mr. Dog really did start for Mr. Man's, and Mr.
'Possum lay still, and just opened one eye the least bit to see how
far Mr. Dog had gone, and when he had gone far enough Mr. 'Possum jumped
up quick as a wink and scampered up a tree, and ran out on a limb and
swung with his head down, and called out:
"Don't go away, Mr. Dog! We've had such a nice visit together! Don't go
off mad, Mr. Dog! Come back and stay till the cows come home!"
Then Mr. Dog was mad, I _tell_ you, and told him what he'd do next time;
and he set out for home fast as he could travel, and went in the back
way and hid, for Mr. Man was already getting up the cows when he got
there.
Well, Mr. 'Possum didn't try that swinging trick on Mr. Dog any more. He
found out that it was dangerous, the way he was getting, and that made
him think he ought to change his habits in other ways too. For one
thing, he decided he ought to have some regular place to stay where he
could eat and sleep and feel at home, instead of just travelling about
and putting up for the night wherever he happened to be.
Mr. 'Possum was always quite stylish, too, and had a good many nice
clothes, and it wasn't good for them to be packed about all the time;
and once some of his best things got rained on and he had to sleep on
them for a long time to get them pressed out smooth again.
[Illustration: HE WAS AN OLD BACHELOR AND LIKED TO HAVE HIS OWN WAY]
So Mr. 'Possum made up his mind to find a home. He was an old bachelor
and never wanted to be anything else, because he liked to have his own
way, and go out all times of the night, and sleep late if he wanted to.
So he made up his mind to look up a good place to board--some place that
would be like a home to him--perhaps in a private family.
One day when he was walking through the woods thinking about it, and
wondering how he ought to begin to find a place like that, he met Mr. Z.
'Coon, who was one of his oldest friends in the Big Deep Woods. They had
often been hunting together, especially nights, for Mr. 'Coon and Mr.
'Possum always like that time best for hunting, and have better luck in
the dark than any other time. Mr. 'Coon had had his troubles with Mr.
Dog, too, and had come very near getting caught one night when Mr. Man
and some of his friends were out with Mr. Dog and his relatives and
several guns looking for a good Sunday dinner. Mr. 'Coon _would_ have
got caught that time, only when Mr. Man cut the tree down that he was in
he gave a big jump as the tree was falling and landed in another tree,
and then ran out on a limb and jumped to another tree that wasn't so far
away, and then to another, so that Mr. Man and his friends and all the
dog family lost track of him entirely.
But Mr. 'Coon was tired of that kind of thing too, and wanted some
place where he could be comfortable, and where he could lock the door
nights and feel safe. Mr. 'Coon was a bachelor, like Mr. 'Possum, though
he had once been disappointed in love, and told about it sometimes, and
looked sad, and even shed tears.
So when he met Mr. 'Possum that day they walked along and talked about
finding a place to live, and just as they were wondering what they ought
to do they happened to notice, right in front of them, a little piece of
birch bark tacked up on a tree, and when they read it, it said:
MRS. WIDOW CROW.
WILL TAKE A FEW GUESTS.
SINGLE GENTLEMEN PREFERRED;
PLEASANT LOCATION NEAR
RACE-TRACK.
Then Mr. 'Possum scratched his head and tried to think, and Mr. 'Coon
scratched _his_ head and tried to think, and pretty soon Mr. 'Coon said:
"Oh yes, I know about that. That's Mr. Crow's mother-in-law. He had a
wife until last year, and his mother-in-law used to live with them. I
believe she was pretty cross, but I've heard Mr. Crow say she was a good
cook, and that he had learned to cook a great many things himself. I
heard some time ago that she had moved over by the race-track, and
perhaps Mr. Crow is boarding with her. Let's go over and see."
[Illustration: THEY SAW MR. CROW OUT IN THE YARD CUTTING WOOD FOR HIS
MOTHER-IN-LAW]
So away they went, saying how nice it would be to be really settled, and
pretty soon they got over to Mrs. Widow Crow's, and there, sure enough,
they saw Mr. Crow out in the yard cutting wood for his mother-in-law;
and when they asked him about the advertisement, he said he was helping
her to get started, and she had two nice rooms, and that Mr. 'Possum and
Mr. 'Coon would be just the ones to fill them.
So they went right in and saw Mrs. Widow Crow about it, and by night
they had their things moved and were all settled, and Widow Crow got a
nice supper for them, and Mr. Crow helped her, and worked as hard as if
he were a hired man instead of a boarder like the others, which he was,
because he paid for his room as much as anybody, and got scolded besides
when he didn't do things to suit his mother-in-law.
THE FINDING OF THE HOLLOW TREE
THE FINDING OF THE HOLLOW TREE
HOW THE 'COON AND 'POSSUM AND THE OLD BLACK CROW MOVED AND SET UP
HOUSEKEEPING