declared Jimmy. "We don't either of us go hunting trouble, and trouble
never comes hunting us, and the reason is that we both are always
prepared for trouble and everybody knows it. Buster Bear could squash me
by just stepping on me, but he doesn't try it. You notice he always is
very polite when we meet. Prickly Porky and I are armed for _defence_,
but we never use our weapons for _offence_. Nobody bothers us, and we
bother nobody. That's the beauty of being prepared."
Unc' Billy thought it over for a few minutes. Then he sighed and sighed
again.
"Ah reckons yo' and Brer Porky are about the luckiest people Ah knows,"
said he. "Yes, Sah, Ah reckons yo' is just that. Ah don't fear anybody
mah own size, but Ah cert'nly does have some mighty scary times when Ah
meets some people Ah might mention. Ah wish Ol' Mother Nature had done
gone and given me something fo' to make people as scary of me as they
are of yo'. Ah cert'nly believes in preparedness after seein' yo', Brer
Skunk. Ah cert'nly does just that very thing. Have yo' found any nice
fresh aiggs lately?"
XIV
A LITTLE SOMETHING ABOUT EGGS
"An egg," says Jimmy Skunk, "is good;
It's very good indeed to eat."
"An egg," says Mrs. Grouse, "is dear;
'Twill hatch into a baby sweet."
So in the matter of eggs, as in a great many other matters, it all
depends on the point of view. To Jimmy Skunk and Unc' Billy Possum eggs
are looked on from the viewpoint of something to eat. Their stomachs
prompt them to think of eggs. Eggs are good to fill empty stomachs. The
mere thought of eggs will make Jimmy and Unc' Billy smack their lips.
They say they "love" eggs, but they don't. They "like" them, which is
quite different.
But Mrs. Grouse and most of the other feathered people of the Green
Forest and the Green Meadows and the Old Orchard really do "love" eggs.
It is the heart instead of the stomach that responds to the thought of
eggs. To them eggs are almost as precious as babies, because they know
that some day, some day very soon, those eggs will become babies. There
are a few feathered folks, I am sorry to say, who "love" their own eggs,
but "like" the eggs of other people--like them just as Jimmy Skunk and
Unc' Billy Possum do, to eat. Blacky the Crow is one and his cousin,
Sammy Jay, is another.
So in the springtime there is always a great deal of matching of wits
between the little people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows and
the Old Orchard. Those who have eggs try to keep them a secret or to
build the nests that hold them where none who like to eat them can get
them; and those who have an appetite for eggs try to find them.
When Unc' Billy Possum suddenly changed the subject by asking Jimmy
Skunk if he had found any nice fresh eggs lately, he touched a subject
very close to Jimmy's heart. I should have said, rather, his stomach. To
tell the truth, it was a longing for some eggs that had brought Jimmy to
the Green Forest. He knew that somewhere there Mrs. Grouse must be
hiding a nestful of the very nicest of eggs, and it was to hunt for
these that he had come.
"No," replied Jimmy, "I haven't had any luck at all this spring. I've
almost forgotten what an egg tastes like. Either I'm growing dull and
stupid, or some folks are smarter than they used to be. By the way, have
you seen Mrs. Grouse lately?" Jimmy looked very innocent as he asked
this.
Unc' Billy chuckled until his sides shook. "Do yo' suppose Ah'd tell yo'
if Ah had?" he demanded. "Ah reckons Mrs. Grouse hasn't got any mo'
aiggs than Ah could comfortably take care of mahself, not to mention
Mrs. Possum." Here Unc' Billy looked back over his shoulder to make sure
that old Mrs. Possum wasn't within hearing, and Jimmy Skunk chuckled.
"Seems to me, Brer Skunk, yo' might better do your aigg hunting on the
Green Meadows and leave the Green Forest to me," continued Unc' Billy.
"That would be no mo' than fair. Yo' know Ah never did hanker fo' to get
far away from trees, but yo' don't mind. Besides there are mo' aiggs for
yo' to find on the Green Meadows than there are fo' me to find in the
Green Forest. A right smart lot of birds make their nests on the ground
there. There is Brer Bob White and Brer Meadowlark and Brer Bobolink and
Brer Field Sparrow and Brer--"
"Never mind any more, Unc' Billy," interrupted Jimmy Skunk. "I know all
about them. That is, I know all about them I want to know, except where
their eggs are. Didn't I just tell you I haven't had any luck at all?
That's why I'm over here."
"Well, yo' won't have any mo' luck here unless yo' are a right smart lot
sharper than your Unc' Billy, and when it comes to hunting aiggs, Ah
don't take mah hat off to anybody, not even to yo', Brer Skunk," replied
Unc' Billy.
XV
A SECOND MEETING
Jimmy Skunk couldn't think of anything but eggs. The more he thought of
them, the more he wanted some. After parting from Unc' Billy Possum in
the Green Forest he went back to the Green Meadows and prowled about,
hunting for the nests of his feathered neighbors who build on the
ground, and having no more luck than he had had before.
Unc' Billy Possum was faring about the same way. He couldn't, for the
life of him, stop thinking about those eggs that belonged to Mrs.
Grouse. The more he tried to forget about them, the more he thought
about them.
"Ah feels it in mah bones that there isn't the least bit of use in
huntin' fo' them," said he to himself, as he watched Jimmy Skunk amble
out of sight up the Lone Little Path. "No, Sah, there isn't the least
bit of use. Ah done look every place Ah can think of already. Still, Ah
haven't got anything else special on mah mind, and those aiggs cert'nly
would taste good. Ah reckons it must be Ah needs those aiggs, or Ah
wouldn't have them on mah mind so much. Ah finds it rather painful to
carry aiggs on mah mind all the time, but Ah would enjoy carrying them
in mah stomach. Ah cert'nly would." Unc' Billy grinned and started to
ramble about aimlessly, hoping that chance would lead him to the nest of
Mrs. Grouse.
Do what he would, Unc' Billy couldn't get the thought of eggs off his
mind, and the more he thought about them the more he wanted some. And
that led him to think of Farmer Brown's henhouse. He had long ago
resolved never again to go there, but the longing for a taste of eggs
was too much for his good resolutions, and as soon as jolly, round, red
Mr. Sun sank to rest behind the Purple Hills, and the Black Shadows came
creeping across the Green Meadows and through the Green Forest, Unc'
Billy slipped away, taking pains that old Mrs. Possum shouldn't suspect
where he was going.
Out from the Green Forest, keeping among the Black Shadows along by the
old stone wall on the edge of the Old Orchard, he stole, and so at last
he reached Farmer Brown's henhouse. He stopped to listen. There was no
sign of Bowser the Hound, and Unc' Billy sighed gently. It was a sigh of
relief. Then he crept around a corner of the henhouse towards a certain
hole under it he remembered well. Just as he reached it, he saw
something white. It moved. It was coming towards him from the other end
of the henhouse. Unc' Billy stopped right where he was. He was undecided
whether to run or stay. Then he heard a little grunt and decided to
stay. He even grinned. A few seconds later up came Jimmy Skunk. It was a
white stripe on Jimmy's coat that Unc' Billy had seen.
Jimmy gave a little snort of surprise when he almost bumped into Unc'
Billy.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded.
"Just taking a li'l walk fo' the good of mah appetite," replied Unc'
Billy, grinning more broadly than ever. "What are yo' doing here, Brer
Skunk?"
"The same thing," replied Jimmy. Then he chuckled. "This is an
unexpected meeting. I guess you must have had the same thing on your
mind all day that I have," he added.
"Ah reckon so," replied Unc' Billy, and both grinned.
[Illustration]
XVI
A MATTER OF POLITENESS
It costs not much to be polite
And, furthermore, it's always right.
Unc' Billy Possum and Jimmy Skunk, facing each other among the Black
Shadows close by a hole that led under Farmer Brown's henhouse, chuckled
as each thought of what had brought the other there. It is queer how a
like thought often brings people together. Unc' Billy had the same
longing in his stomach that Jimmy Skunk had, and Jimmy Skunk had the
same thing on his mind that Unc' Billy had. More than this, it was the
second time that day that they had met. They had met in the morning in
the Green Forest and now they had met again among the Black Shadows of
the evening at Farmer Brown's henhouse. And it was all on account of
eggs. Yes, Sir, it was all on account of eggs.
"Are you just coming out, or are you just going in?" Jimmy inquired
politely.
"Ah was just going in, but Ah'll follow yo', Brer Skunk," replied Unc'
Billy just as politely.
"Nothing of the kind," returned Jimmy. "I wouldn't for a minute think of
going before you. I hope I know my manners better than that."
"Yo' cert'nly are most polite, Brer Skunk. Yo' cert'nly are most polite.
Yo' are a credit to your bringing up, but politeness always did run in
your family. There is a saying that han'some is as han'some does, and
your politeness is as fine as yo' are han'some, Brer Skunk. Ah'll just
step one side and let yo' go first just to show that Ah sho'ly does
appreciate your friendship," said Unc' Billy.
Jimmy Skunk chuckled. "I guess you've forgotten that other old saying,
'Age before beauty,' Unc' Billy," said he. "So you go first. You know
you are older than I. I couldn't think of being so impolite as to go
first. I really couldn't think of such a thing."
And so they argued and argued, each insisting in the most polite way
that the other should go first. If the truth were known, neither of them
was insisting out of politeness at all. No, Sir, politeness had nothing
to do with it Jimmy Skunk wanted Unc' Billy to go first because Jimmy
believes in safety first, and it had popped into Jimmy's head that there
might, there just might, happen to be a trap inside that hole. If there
was, he much preferred that Unc' Billy should be the one to find it out.
Yes, Sir, that is why Jimmy Skunk was so very polite.
Unc' Billy wanted Jimmy to go first because he always feels safer behind
Jimmy than in front of him. He has great respect for that little bag of
scent that Jimmy carries, and he knows that when Jimmy makes use of it,
he always throws it in front and never behind him. Jimmy seldom uses it,
but sometimes he does if he happens to be startled and thinks danger
near. So Unc' Billy preferred that Jimmy should go first. It wasn't
politeness at all on the part of Unc' Billy. In both cases it was a kind
of selfishness. Each was thinking of self.
How long they would have continued to argue and try to appear polite if
something hadn't happened, nobody knows. But something did happen. There
was a sudden loud sniff just around the corner of the henhouse. It was
from Bowser the Hound. Right then and there Unc' Billy Possum and Jimmy
Skunk forgot all about politeness, and both tried to get through that
hole at the same time. They couldn't, because it wasn't big enough, but,
they tried hard. Bowser sniffed again, and this time Unc' Billy managed
to squeeze Jimmy aside and slip through. Jimmy was right at his heels.
XVII
JIMMY SKUNK GETS A BUMP
Hardly had Jimmy Skunk entered the hole under Farmer Brown's henhouse,
following close on the heels of Unc' Billy Possum, than along came
Bowser the Hound, sniffing and sniffing in a way that made Unc' Billy
nervous. When Bowser reached that hole, of course he smelled the tracks
of Unc' Billy and Jimmy, and right away he became excited. He began to
dig. Goodness, how he did make the dirt fly! All the time he whined with
eagerness.
Unc' Billy wasted no time in squeezing through a hole in the floor way
over in one corner, a hole that Farmer Brown's boy had intended to nail
a board over long before. Unc' Billy knew that Bowser couldn't get
through that, even if he did manage to dig his way under the henhouse.
Once through that and fairly in the henhouse, Unc' Billy drew a long
breath. He felt safe for the time being, anyway, and he didn't propose
to worry over the future.
Jimmy Skunk hurried after Unc' Billy. It wasn't fear that caused Jimmy
to hurry. No, indeed, it wasn't fear. He had been startled by the
unexpectedness of Bowser's appearance. It was this that had caused him
to struggle to be first through that hole under the henhouse. But once
through, he had felt a bit ashamed that he had been so undignified. He
wasn't afraid of Bowser. He was sorely tempted to turn around and send
Bowser about his business, as he knew he very well could. But he
thought better of it. Besides, Unc' Billy was already through that hole
in the floor, and Jimmy didn't for a minute forget what had brought him
there. He had come for eggs, and so had Unc' Billy. It would never do to
let Unc' Billy be alone up there for long. So Jimmy Skunk did what he
very seldom does--hurried. Yes, Sir, he hurried after Unc' Billy Possum.
He meant to make sure of his share of the eggs he was certain were up
there.
There was a row of nesting boxes along one side close to the floor.
Above these was another row and above these a third row. Jimmy doesn't
climb, but Unc' Billy is a famous climber.
"I'll take these lower nests," said Jimmy, and lifted his tail in a way
that made Unc' Billy nervous.
"All right," replied Unc' Billy promptly. "All right, Brer Skunk. It's
just as yo' say."
With this, Unc' Billy scrambled up to the next row of nests. Jimmy
grinned and started to look in the lower nests. He took his time about
it, for that is Jimmy's way. There was nothing in the first one and
nothing in the second one and nothing in the third one. This was
disappointing, to say the least, and Jimmy began to move a little
faster. Meanwhile Unc' Billy had hurried from one nest to another in the
second row with no better success. By the time Jimmy was half-way along
his row Unc' Billy bad begun on the upper row, and the only eggs he had
found were hard china nest-eggs put there by Farmer Brown's boy to tempt
the hens to lay in those particular nests. Disappointment was making
Unc' Billy lose his temper. Each time he peeped in a nest and saw one
of those china eggs, he hoped it was a real egg, and each time when he
found it wasn't he grew angrier.
At last he so lost his temper that when he found another of those eggs
he angrily kicked it out of the nest. Now it happened that Jimmy Skunk
was just underneath. Down fell that hard china egg squarely on Jimmy
Skunk's head. For just a minute Jimmy saw stars. At least, he thought he
did. Then he saw the egg, and knew that Unc' Billy had knocked it down,
and that it was this that had hit him. Jimmy was sore at heart because
he had found no eggs, and now he had a bump on the head that also was
sore. Jimmy Skunk lost his temper, a thing he rarely does.
XVIII
A SAD, SAD QUARREL
Jimmy Skunk sat on the floor of Farmer Brown's henhouse, rubbing his
head and glaring up at the upper row of nests with eyes red with anger.
Of course it was dark in the henhouse, for it was night, but Jimmy can
see in the dark, just as so many other little people who wear fur can.
What he saw was the anxious looking face of Unc' Billy Possum staring
down at him.
"You did that purposely!" snapped Jimmy. "You did that purposely, and
you needn't tell me you didn't."
"On mah honor Ah didn't," protested Unc' Billy. "It was an accident,
just a sho' 'nuff accident, and Ah'm right sorry fo' it."
"That sounds very nice, but I don't believe a word of it. You did it
purposely, and you can't make me believe anything else. Come down here
and fight. I dare you to!" Jimmy was getting more and more angry every
minute.
Unc' Billy began to grow angry. Of course, it was wholly his fault that
that egg had fallen, but it wasn't his fault that Jimmy had happened to
be just beneath. He hadn't known that Jimmy was there. He had
apologized, and he felt that no one could do more than that. Jimmy Skunk
had doubted his word, had refused to believe him, and that made him
angry. His little eyes glowed with rage.
"If yo' want to fight, come up here. I'll wait fo' yo' right where Ah
am," he sputtered.
This made Jimmy angrier than ever. He couldn't climb up there, and he
knew that Unc' Billy knew it. Unc' Billy was perfectly safe in promising
to wait for him.
"You're a coward, just a plain no-account coward!" snapped Jimmy. "I'm
not going to climb up there, but I'll tell you what I am going to do;
I'm going to wait right down here until you come down, if it isn't until
next year. Nobody can drop things on my head and not get paid back. I
thought you were a friend, but now I know better."
"Wait as long as yo' please. Ah reckons Ah can stay as long as yo' can,"
retorted Unc' Billy, grinding and snapping his teeth.
"Suit yourself," retorted Jimmy. "I'm going to pay you up for that bump
on my head or know the reason why."
And so they kept on quarreling and calling each other names, for the
time being quite forgetting that they were where they had no business
to be, either of them. It really was dreadful. And it was all because
both had been sadly disappointed. They had found no eggs where they had
been sure they would find plenty. You see, Farmer Brown's boy had
gathered every egg when he shut the biddies up for the night. Did you
ever notice what a bad thing for the temper disappointment often is?
[Illustration]
XIX
JIMMY SKUNK IS TRUE TO HIS WORD
Unc' Billy Possum was having a bad night of it. When he had grown tired
of quarreling with Jimmy Skunk, he had tried to take a nap. He had tried
first one nest and then another, but none just suited him. This was
partly because he wasn't sleepy. He was hungry and not at all sleepy. He
wished with all his heart that he hadn't foolishly yielded to that fit
of temper which had resulted in kicking that china nest-egg out of a
nest and down on the head of Jimmy Skunk, making Jimmy so thoroughly
angry.
Unc' Billy had no intention of going down while Jimmy was there. He
thought that Jimmy would soon grow tired of waiting and go away. So for
quite awhile Unc' Billy didn't worry. But as it began to get towards
morning he began to grow anxious. Unc' Billy had no desire to be found
in that henhouse when Farmer Brown's boy came to feed the biddies.
Then, too, he was hungry. He had counted on a good meal of eggs, and not
one had he found. Now he wanted to get out to look for something else to
eat, but he couldn't without facing Jimmy Skunk, and it was better to go
hungry than to do that. Yes, Sir, it was a great deal better to go
hungry. Several times, when he thought Jimmy was asleep, he tried to
steal down. He was just as careful not to make a sound as he could be,
but every time Jimmy knew and was waiting for him. Unc' Billy wished
that there was no such place as Farmer Brown's henhouse. He wished he
had never thought of eggs. He wished many other foolish wishes, but most
of all he wished that he hadn't lost his temper and kicked that egg down
on Jimmy Skunk's head. When the first light stole in under the door and
the biddies began to stir uneasily on their roosts Unc' Billy's anxiety
would allow him to keep still no longer.
"Don' yo' think we-uns better make up and get out of here, Brer Skunk?"
he ventured.
"I don't mind staying here; it's very comfortable," replied Jimmy,
looking up at Unc' Billy in a way that made him most _uncomfortable_. It
was plain to see that Jimmy hadn't forgiven him.
For some time Unc' Billy said no more, but he grew more and more
restless. You see, he knew it would soon be time for Farmer Brown's boy
to come to let the hens out and feed them. At last he ventured to speak
again.
"Ah reckons yo' done forget something," said he.
"What is that?" asked Jimmy.
"Ah reckons yo' done fo'get that it's most time fo' Farmer Brown's boy
to come, and it won't do fo' we-uns to be found in here," replied Unc'
Billy.
"I'm not worrying about Farmer Brown's boy. He can come as soon as he
pleases," retorted Jimmy Skunk, and grinned.
That sounded like boasting, but it wasn't. No, Sir, it wasn't, and Unc'
Billy knew it. He knew that Jimmy meant it. Unc' Billy was in despair.
He didn't dare stay, and he didn't dare go down and face Jimmy Skunk,
and there he was. It certainly had been a bad night for Unc' Billy
Possum.
XX
FARMER BROWN'S BOY ARRIVES
The light crept farther under the door of Farmer Brown's henhouse, and
by this time the hens were all awake. Furthermore, they had discovered
Jimmy Skunk down below and were making a great fuss. They were cackling
so that Unc' Billy was sure Farmer Brown's boy would soon hear them and
hurry out to find out what the noise was all about.
"If yo' would just get out of sight, Brer Skunk, Ah reckons those fool
hens would keep quiet," Unc' Billy ventured.
"I don't mind their noise. It doesn't trouble me a bit," replied Jimmy
Skunk, and grinned. It was plain enough to Unc' Billy that Jimmy was
enjoying the situation.
But Unc' Billy wasn't. He was so anxious that he couldn't keep still. He
paced back and forth along the shelf in front of the upper row of nests
and tried to make up his mind whether it would be better to go down and
face Jimmy Skunk or to try to hide under the hay in one of the nests,
and all the time he kept listening and listening and listening for the
footsteps of Farmer Brown's boy.
At last he heard them, and he knew by the sound that Farmer Brown's boy
was coming in a hurry. He had heard the noise of the hens and was coming
to find out what it was all about. Unc' Billy hoped that now Jimmy Skunk
would retreat through the hole in the floor and give him a chance to
escape.
"He's coming! Farmer Brown's boy is coming, Brer Skunk! Yo' better get
away while yo' can!" whispered Unc' Billy.
"I hear him," replied Jimmy calmly. "I'm waiting for him to open the
door for me to go out. It will be much easier than squeezing through
that hole."
Unc' Billy gasped. He knew, of course, that it was Jimmy Skunk's boast
that he feared no one, but it was hard to believe that Jimmy really
intended to face Farmer Brown's boy right in his own henhouse where
Jimmy had no business to be. He hoped that at last Jimmy's boldness
would get him into trouble. Yes, he did. You see, that might give him a
chance to slip away himself. Otherwise, he would be in a bad fix.
The latch on the door rattled. Unc' Billy crept into one of the nests,
but frightened as he was, he couldn't keep from peeping over the edge to
see what would happen. The door swung open, letting in a flood of light.
The hens stopped their noise. Farmer Brown's boy stood in the doorway
and looked in. Jimmy Skunk lifted his big plume of a tail just a bit
higher than usual and calmly and without the least sign of being in a
hurry walked straight towards the open door. Of course Farmer Brown's
boy saw him at once.
"So it's you, you black and white rascal!" he exclaimed. "I suppose you
expect me to step out of your way, and I suppose I will do just that
very thing. You are the most impudent and independent fellow of my
acquaintance. That's what you are. You didn't get any eggs, because I
gathered all of them last night. And you didn't get a chicken because
they were wise enough to stay on their roosts, so I don't know as I have
any quarrel with you, and I'm sure I don't want any. Come along out of
there, you rascal."
Farmer Brown's boy stepped aside, and Jimmy Skunk calmly and without the
least sign of hurry or worry walked out, stopped for a drink at the pan
of water in the henyard, walked through the henyard gate, and turned
towards the stone wall along the edge of the Old Orchard.
XXI
THE NEST-EGG GIVES UNC' BILLY AWAY
'Tis little things that often seem
Scarce worth a passing thought
Which in the end may prove that they
With big results are fraught.
Farmer Brown's boy watched Jimmy Skunk calmly and peacefully go his way
and grinned as he watched him. He scratched his head thoughtfully. "I
suppose," said he, "that that is as perfect an example of the value of
preparedness as there is. Jimmy knew he was all ready for trouble if I
chose to make it, and that because of that I wouldn't make it. So he has
calmly gone his way as if he were as much bigger than I as I am bigger
than he. There certainly is nothing like being prepared if you want to
avoid trouble."
Then Farmer Brown's boy once more turned to the henhouse and entered it.
He looked to make sure that no hen had been foolish enough to go to
sleep where Jimmy could have caught her, and satisfied of this, he would
have gone about his usual morning work of feeding the hens but for one
thing. That one thing was the china nest-egg on the floor.