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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:41:57 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:41:57 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/13355-0.txt b/13355-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fa3d667 --- /dev/null +++ b/13355-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2669 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13355 *** + +HAPPY JACK + +BY + +THORNTON W. BURGESS + +_With Illustrations by HARRISON CADY_ + +This book, while produced under wartime conditions, in full compliance +with government regulations for the conservation of paper and other +essential materials, is COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED. + + + +_1918,_ + + + + +TO + +DR. WILLIAM T. HORNADAY + +TO WHOM POSTERITY WILL OWE A DEBT OF GRATITUDE FOR HIS VALIANT FIGHT TO +PRESERVE AMERICAN WILD LIFE, WHO HAS BEEN A LIFELONG CHAMPION OF HAPPY +JACK SQUIRREL, AND TO WHOM THE AUTHOR IS DEEPLY INDEBTED FOR +ENCOURAGEMENT AND ASSISTANCE THIS BOOK IS GRATEFULLY DEDICATED + + + + +CONTENTS + + + I. HAPPY JACK DROPS A NUT + + II. THE QUARREL + + III. STRIPED CHIPMUNK Is KEPT VERY BUSY + + IV. HAPPY JACK AND CHATTERER FEEL FOOLISH + + V. HAPPY JACK SUSPECTS STRIPED CHIPMUNK + + VI. HAPPY JACK SPIES ON STRIPED CHIPMUNK + + VII. STRIPED CHIPMUNK HAS FUN WITH HAPPY JACK + + VIII. HAPPY JACK TURNS BURGLAR + + IX. HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL'S SAD MISTAKE + + X. STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S HAPPY THOUGHT + + XI. STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S THANKSGIVING DINNER + + XII. HAPPY JACK DOES SOME THINKING + + XIII. HAPPY JACK GETS A WARNING + + XIV. HAPPY JACK'S RUN FOR LIFE + + XV. WHO SAVED HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL? + + XVI. HAPPY JACK MISSES FARMER BROWN'S BOY + + XVII. TOMMY TIT BRINGS NEWS + + XVIII. HAPPY JACK DECIDES TO MAKE A CALL + + XIX. TOMMY TIT AND HAPPY JACK PAY A VISIT + + XX. WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH FARMER BROWN'S BOY? + + XXI. HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL GROWS VERY BOLD + + XXII. HAPPY JACK DARES TOMMY TIT + + XXIII. SAMMY JAY IS QUITE UPSET + + XXIV. A DREAM COMES TRUE + + XXV. HAPPY JACK HAS A HAPPY THOUGHT + + XXVI. FARMER BROWN'S BOY WAKES WITH A START + + XXVII. HAPPY JACK IS AFRAID TO GO HOME + + XXVIII. HAPPY JACK FINDS A NEW HOME + + XXIX. FARMER BROWN'S BOY TAKES A PRISONER + + XXX. A PRISONER WITHOUT FEAR + + XXXI. WHAT FARMER BROWN'S BOY DID WITH SHADOW + + XXXII. HAPPY JACK IS PERFECTLY HAPPY + + XXXIII. SAMMY JAY UPSETS HAPPY JACK + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +Peter Rabbit, who happened along just then, put his hands over his ears + +Happy Jack tried every trick he knew to get away from Shadow the Weasel + +"Did you find out anything?" asked Happy Jack eagerly + +It wasn't long before Shadow began to receive many visitors + + + + +HAPPY JACK + + + + +CHAPTER I + +HAPPY JACK DROPS A NUT + + Save a little every day, + And for the future put away. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack Squirrel sat on the tip of one of the highest branches of a +big hickory tree. Happy Jack was up very early that morning. In fact, +jolly, round, red Mr. Sun was still in his bed behind the Purple Hills +when Happy Jack hopped briskly out of bed. He washed himself thoroughly +and was ready for business by the time Mr. Sun began his climb up in +the blue, blue sky. + +You see, Happy Jack had found that big hickory tree just loaded with +nuts all ripe and ready to gather. He was quite sure that no one else +had found that special tree, and he wanted to get all the nuts before +any one else found out about them. So he was all ready and off he raced +to the big tree just as soon as it was light enough to see. + + "The nuts that grow in the hickory tree-- + They're all for me! They're all for me!" + +Happy Jack was humming that little song as he rested for a few minutes +'way up in the top of the tree and wondered if his storehouse would hold +all these big, fat nuts. Just then he heard a great scolding a little +way over in the Green Forest. Happy Jack stopped humming and listened. +He knew that voice. It was his cousin's voice--the voice of Chatterer +the Red Squirrel. Happy Jack frowned. "I hope he won't come over this +way," muttered Happy Jack. He does not love his cousin Chatterer anyway, +and then there was the big tree full of hickory nuts! He didn't want +Chatterer to find that. + +I am afraid that Happy Jack was selfish. There were more nuts than he +could possibly eat in one winter, and yet he wasn't willing that his +cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, should have a single one. Now +Chatterer is short-tempered and a great scold. Some one or something +had upset him this morning, and he was scolding as fast as his tongue +could go, as he came running right towards the tree in which Happy Jack +was sitting. Happy Jack sat perfectly still and watched. He didn't move +so much as the tip of his big gray tail. Would Chatterer go past and not +see that big tree full of nuts? It looked very much as if he would, for +he was so busy scolding that he wasn't paying much attention to other +things. + +Happy Jack smiled as Chatterer came running under the tree without once +looking up. He was so tickled that he started to hug himself and didn't +remember that he was holding a big, fat nut in his hands. Of course he +dropped it. Where do you think it went? Well, Sir, it fell straight +down, from the top of that tall tree, and it landed right on the head of +Chatterer the Red Squirrel! + +"My stars!" cried Chatterer, stopping his scolding and his running +together, and rubbing his head where the nut had hit him. Then he looked +up to see where it had come from. Of course, he looked straight up at +Happy Jack. + +"You did that purposely!" screamed Chatterer, his short temper flaring +up. + +"I didn't!" snapped Happy Jack. + +"You did!" + +"I didn't!" + +Oh, dear, oh, dear, such a sight! two little Squirrels, one in a gray +suit and one in a red suit, contradicting each other and calling names! +It was such a sad, sad sight, for you know they were cousins. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE QUARREL + + It's up to you and up to me + To see how thrifty we can be. + To do our bit like soldiers true + It's up to me and up to you. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Two angry little people were making a dreadful noise in the Green +Forest. It was a beautiful morning, a very beautiful fall morning, but +all the beauty of it was being spoiled by the dreadful noise these two +little people. You see they were quarreling. Yes, Sir, they were +quarreling, and it wasn't at all nice to see or nice to hear. + +You know who they were. One was Happy Jack Squirrel, who wears a coat +of gray, and the other was Chatterer the Red Squirrel, who always wears +a red coat with vest of white. When Happy Jack had dropped that nut from +the tiptop of the tall hickory tree and it had landed right on top of +Chatterer's head it really had been an accident. All the time Happy Jack +had been sitting as still as still could be, hoping that his cousin +Chatterer would pass by without looking up and so seeing the big fat +nuts in the top of that tree. You see Happy Jack was greedy and wanted +all of them himself. Now Chatterer the Red Squirrel has a sharp temper, +and also he has sharp eyes. All the time he was scolding Happy Jack and +calling him names Chatterer's bright eyes were taking note of all those +big, fat hickory-nuts and his mouth began to water. Without wasting any +more time he started up the tree to get some. + +Happy Jack grew very angry, very angry indeed. He hurried down to meet +Chatterer the Red Squirrel and to prevent him climbing the tree. + +"You keep out of this tree; it's mine!" he shrieked. + +"No such thing! You don't own the tree and I've got just as much right +here as you have!" screamed Chatterer, dodging around to the other side +of the tree. + +"'Tis, too, mine! I found it first!" shouted Happy Jack. "You're a +thief, so there!" + +"I'm not!" + +"You are!" + +"You're a pig, Happy Jack! You're just a great big pig!" + +"I'm not a pig! I found these nuts first and I tell you they're mine!" +shrieked Happy Jack, so angry that every time he spoke he jerked his +tail. And all the time he was chasing round and round the trunk of the +tree trying to prevent Chatterer getting up. + +Now Happy Jack is ever so much bigger than his cousin Chatterer but he +isn't as spry. So in spite of him Chatterer got past, and like a little +red flash was up in the top of the tree where the big, fat nuts were. +But he didn't have time to pick even one, for after him came Happy Jack +so angry that Chatterer knew that he would fare badly if Happy Jack +should catch him. Round and round, over and across, this way and that +way, in the top of the tall hickory tree raced Chatterer the Red +Squirrel with his cousin, Happy Jack the Gray Squirrel, right at his +heels, and calling him everything bad to be thought of. Yes, indeed it +was truly dreadful, and Peter Rabbit, who happened along just then, put +his hands over his ears so as not to hear such a dreadful quarrel. + +[Illustration: PETER RABBIT, WHO HAPPENED ALONG JUST THEN, PUT HIS HANDS +OVER HIS EARS.] + + + + +CHAPTER III + +STRIPED CHIPMUNK IS KEPT VERY BUSY + +I prefer big acorns but I never refuse little ones. +They fit in between. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Striped Chipmunk was sitting just inside a hollow log, studying about +how he could fill up his new storehouse for the winter. Striped Chipmunk +is very thrifty. He likes to play, and he is one of the merriest of all +the little people who live on the Green Meadows or in the Green Forest. +He lives right on the edge of both and knows everybody, and everybody +knows him. Almost every morning the Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother +West Wind hurry over to have a frolic with him the very first thing. But +though he dearly loves to play, he never lets play interfere with work. +Whatever he does, be it play or work, he does with all his might. + + "I love the sun; I love the rain; + I love to work; I love to play. + Whatever it may bring to me + I love each minute of each day." + +So said Striped Chipmunk, as he sat in the hollow log and studied how he +could fill that splendid big new storehouse. Pretty soon he pricked up +his funny little ears. What was all that noise over in the Green +Forest? Striped Chipmunk peeped out of the hollow log. Over in the top +of a tall hickory tree a terrible fuss was going on. Striped Chipmunk +listened. He heard angry voices, such angry voices! They were the voices +of his big cousins, Happy Jack the Gray Squirrel and Chatterer the Red +Squirrel. + +"Dear me! Dear me! How those two do quarrel! I must go over and see what +it is all about," thought Striped Chipmunk. + +So, with a flirt of his funny, little tail, he scampered out of the +hollow log and over to the tall hickory tree. He knew all about that +tree. Many, many times he had looked up at the big fat nuts in the top +of it, watching them grow bigger and fatter, and hoping that when they +grew ripe, Old Mother West Wind would find time to shake them down to +him. You know Striped Chipmunk is not much of a climber, and so he +cannot go up and pick the nuts as do his big cousins, Happy Jack and +Chatterer. + +When he reached the tall hickory tree, what do you think was happening? +Why, those big, fat nuts were rattling down to the ground on every side, +just as if Old Mother West Wind was shaking the tree as hard as she +could. But Old Mother West Wind wasn't there at all. No, Sir, there +wasn't even one of the Merry Little Breezes up in the tree-tops. The +big fat nuts were rattling down just on account of the dreadful quarrel +of Striped Chipmunk's two foolish cousins, Happy Jack and Chatterer. + +It was all because Happy Jack was greedy. Chatterer had climbed the +tree, and now Happy Jack, who is bigger but not so spry, was chasing +Chatterer round and round and over the tree-top, and both were so angry +that they didn't once notice that they were knocking down the very nuts +over which they were quarreling. + +Striped Chipmunk didn't stop to listen to the quarrel. No, Sir-ee! He +stuffed a big fat nut in each pocket in his cheeks and scampered back +to his splendid new storehouse as fast as his little legs would take +him. Back and forth, back and forth, scampered Striped Chipmunk, and all +the time he was laughing inside and hoping his big cousins would keep +right on quarreling. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +HAPPY JACK AND CHATTERER FEEL FOOLISH + + If you get and spend a penny, + Then of course you haven't any. + Be like me--a Happy Jack-- + And put it where you'll get it back. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack and Chatterer were out of breath. Happy Jack was puffing and +blowing, for he is big and fat, and it is not so easy for him to race +about in the tree-tops as it is for his smaller, slim, nimble cousin, +Chatterer. So Happy Jack was the first to stop. He sat on a branch 'way +up in the top of the tall hickory tree and glared across at Chatterer, +who sat on a branch on the other side of the tall tree. + +"Couldn't catch me, could you, smarty?" taunted Chatterer. + +"You just wait until I do! I'll make you sorry you ever came near my +hickory tree," snapped Happy Jack. + +"I'm waiting. Besides, it isn't your tree any more than it's mine," +replied Chatterer, and made a face at Happy Jack. + +Happy Jack hopped up as if he meant to begin the chase again, but he had +a pain in his side from running so hard and so long, and so he sat down +again. Right down in his heart Happy Jack knew that Chatterer was +right, that the tree didn't belong to him any more than to his cousin. +But when he thought of all those big, fat nuts with which the tall +hickory tree had been loaded, greedy thoughts chased out all thoughts of +right and he said to himself again, as he had said when he first saw his +cousin, that Chatterer shouldn't have _one_ of them. He stopped scolding +long enough to steal a look at them, and then--what do you think Happy +Jack did? Why, he gave such a jump of surprise that he nearly lost his +balance. Not a nut was to be seen! Happy Jack blinked. Then, he rubbed +his eyes and looked again. He couldn't see a nut anywhere! + +There were the husks in which the nuts had grown big and fat until they +were ripe, but now every husk was empty. Chatterer saw the queer look on +Happy Jack's face, and he looked too. Now Chatterer the Red Squirrel had +very quick wits, and he guessed right away what had happened. He knew +that while they had been quarreling and racing over the top of the tall +hickory tree, they must have knocked down all the nuts, which were just +ready to fall anyway. Like a little red flash, Chatterer started down +the tree. Then Happy Jack guessed too, and down he started as fast as he +could go, crying, "Stop, thief!" all the way. + +When he reached the ground, there was Chatterer scurrying around and +poking under the fallen leaves, but he hadn't found a single nut. Happy +Jack couldn't stop to quarrel any more, because you see he was afraid +that Chatterer would find the biggest and fattest nuts, so he began to +scurry around and hunt too. It was queer, very queer, how those nuts +could have hidden so! They hunted and hunted, but no nuts were to be +found. Then they stopped and stared up at the top of the tall hickory +tree. Not a nut could they see. Then they stared at each other, and +gradually a foolish, a very foolish look crept over each face. + +"Where--where do you suppose they have gone?" asked Happy Jack in a +queer-sounding voice. + +Just then they heard some one laughing fit to kill himself. It was Peter +Rabbit. + +"Did you take our hickory nuts?" they both shouted angrily. + +"No," replied Peter, "no, I didn't take them, though they were not +yours, anyway!" And then he went off into another fit of laughter, for +Peter had seen Striped Chipmunk very hard at work taking away those very +nuts while his two big cousins had been quarreling in the tree-top. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +HAPPY JACK SUSPECTS STRIPED CHIPMUNK + +Thrift is one test of true loyalty to your country. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack didn't look happy a bit. Indeed, Happy Jack looked very +unhappy. You see, he looked just as he felt. He had set his heart on +having all the big, fat nuts that he had found in the top of that tall +hickory tree, and now, instead of having all of them, he hadn't any of +them. Worse still, he knew right down in his heart that it was his own +fault. He had been too greedy. But what _had_ become of those nuts? + +Happy Jack was studying about this as he sat with his back against a +big chestnut tree. He remembered how hard Peter Rabbit had laughed when +Happy Jack and his cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, had been so +surprised because they could not find the nuts they had knocked down. +Peter hadn't taken them, for Peter has no use for them, but he must know +what had become of them, for he was still laughing as he had gone off +down the Lone Little Path. While he was thinking of all this, Happy +Jack's bright eyes had been wide open, as they usually are, so that no +danger should come near. Suddenly they saw something moving among the +brown-and-yellow leaves on the ground. Happy Jack looked sharply, and +then a sudden thought popped into his head. + +"Hi, there, Cousin Chipmunk!" he shouted. + +"Hi, there, your own self!" replied Striped Chipmunk, for it was he. + +"What are you doing down there?" asked Happy Jack. + +"Looking for hickory nuts," replied Striped Chipmunk, and his eyes +twinkled as he said it, for there wasn't a hickory tree near. + +Happy Jack looked hard at Striped Chipmunk, for that sudden thought +which had popped into his head when he first saw Striped Chipmunk was +growing into a strong, a very strong, suspicion that Striped Chipmunk +knew something about those lost hickory nuts. But Striped Chipmunk +looked back at him so innocently that Happy Jack didn't know just what +to think. + +"Have you begun to fill your storehouse for winter yet?" inquired Happy +Jack. + +"Of course I have. I don't mean to let Jack Frost catch me with an empty +storehouse," replied Striped Chipmunk. + + "When leaves turn yellow, brown, and red, + And nuts come pitter, patter down; + When days are short and swiftly sped, + And Autumn wears her colored gown, + I'm up before old Mr. Sun + His nightcap has a chance to doff, + And have my day's work well begun + When others kick their bedclothes off." + +"What are you filling your storehouse with?" asked Happy Jack, trying +not to show too much interest. + +"Corn, nice ripe yellow corn, and seeds and acorns and chestnuts," +answered Striped Chipmunk. "And now I'm looking for some big, fat +hickory nuts," he added, and his bright eyes twinkled. "Have you seen +any, Happy Jack?" + +Happy Jack said that he hadn't seen any, and Striped Chipmunk remarked +that he couldn't waste any more time talking, and scurried away. Happy +Jack watched him go, a puzzled little frown puckering up his brows. + +"I believe he knows something about those nuts. I think I'll follow him +and have a peep into his storehouse," he muttered. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +HAPPY JACK SPIES ON STRIPED CHIPMUNK + +It's more important to mind your own affairs than to know what your +neighbors are doing, but not nearly so interesting. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Striped Chipmunk was whisking about among the brown-and-yellow leaves +that covered the ground on the edge of the Green Forest. He is such a +little fellow that he looked almost like a brown leaf himself, and when +one of Old Mother West Wind's Merry Little Breezes whirled the brown +leaves in a mad little dance around him, it was the hardest work in the +world to see Striped Chipmunk at all. Anyway, Happy Jack Squirrel found +it so. + +You see, Happy Jack was spying on Striped Chipmunk. Yes, Sir, Happy Jack +was spying. Spying, you know, is secretly watching other people and +trying to find out what they are doing. It isn't a nice thing to do, not +a bit nice. Happy Jack knew it, and all the time he was doing it, he was +feeling very much ashamed of himself. But he said to himself that he +just _had_ to know where Striped Chipmunk's storehouse was, because he +just _had_ to peep inside and find out if it held any of the big, fat +hickory nuts that had disappeared from under the tall hickory tree +while he was quarreling up in the top of it with his cousin, Chatterer +the Red Squirrel. + +But spying on Striped Chipmunk isn't the easiest thing in the world. +Happy Jack was finding it the hardest work he had ever undertaken. +Striped Chipmunk is so spry, and whisks about so, that you need eyes all +around your head to keep track of him. Happy Jack found that his two +eyes, bright and quick as they are, couldn't keep that little elf of a +cousin of his always in sight. Every few minutes he would disappear and +then bob up again in the most unexpected place and most provoking way. + + "Now I'm here, and now I'm there! + Now I am not anywhere! + Watch me now, for here I go + Out of sight! I told you so!" + +With the last words, Striped Chipmunk was nowhere to be seen. It seemed +as if the earth must have opened and swallowed him. But it hadn't, for +two minutes later Happy Jack saw him flirting his funny little tail in +the sauciest way as he scampered along an old log. + +Happy Jack began to suspect that Striped Chipmunk was just having fun +with him. What else could he mean by saying such things? And yet Happy +Jack was sure that Striped Chipmunk hadn't seen him, for, all the time +he was watching, Happy Jack had taken the greatest care to keep hidden +himself. No, it couldn't be, it just couldn't be that Striped Chipmunk +knew that he was anywhere about. He would just be patient a little +longer, and he would surely see that smart little cousin of his go to +his storehouse. So Happy Jack waited and watched. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +STRIPED CHIPMUNK HAS FUN WITH HAPPY JACK + +Thrift is the meat in the nut of success. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Striped Chipmunk would shout in his shrillest voice: + + "Hipperty, hopperty, one, two, three! + What do you think becomes of me?" + +Then he would vanish from sight all in the wink of an eye. You couldn't +tell where he went to. At least Happy Jack couldn't, and his eyes are +sharper than yours or mine. Happy Jack was spying, you remember. He was +watching Striped Chipmunk without letting Striped Chipmunk know it. At +least he thought he was. But really he wasn't. Those sharp twinkling +eyes of Striped Chipmunk see everything. You know, he is such a very +little fellow that he has to be very wide-awake to keep out of danger. + +And he _is_ wide-awake. Oh, my, yes, indeed! When he is awake, and that +is every minute of the daytime, he is the most wide-awake little fellow +you ever did see. He had seen Happy Jack the very first thing, and he +had guessed right away that Happy Jack was spying on him so as to find +out if he had any of the big, fat hickory nuts. Now Striped Chipmunk had +_all_ of those fat hickory nuts safely hidden in his splendid new +storehouse, but he didn't intend to let Happy Jack know it. So he just +pretended not to see Happy Jack, or to know that he was anywhere near, +but acted as if he was just going about his own business. Really he was +just having the best time ever fooling Happy Jack. + + "The corn is ripe; the nuts do fall; + Acorns are sweet and plump. + I soon will have my storehouse full + Inside the hollow stump." + +Striped Chipmunk sang this just as if no one was anywhere near, and he +was singing just for joy. Of course Happy Jack heard it and he grinned. + +"So your storehouse is in a hollow stump, my smart little cousin!" said +Happy Jack to himself. "If that's the case, I'll soon find it." + +Striped Chipmunk scurried along, and now he took pains to always keep in +sight. Happy Jack followed, hiding behind the trees. Pretty soon Striped +Chipmunk picked up a plump acorn and put it in the pocket of his right +cheek. Then he picked up another and put that in the pocket in his left +cheek. Then he crowded another into each; and his face was swelled so +that you would hardly have guessed that it was Striped Chipmunk if you +had chanced to meet him. My, my, he was a funny sight! Happy Jack +grinned again as he watched, partly because Striped Chipmunk looked so +funny, and partly because he knew that if Striped Chipmunk was going to +eat the acorns right away, he wouldn't stuff them into the pockets in +his cheeks. But he had done this very thing, and so he must be going to +take them to his storehouse. + +Off scampered Striped Chipmunk, and after him stole Happy Jack, his eyes +shining with excitement. Pretty soon he saw an old stump which looked as +if it must be hollow. Happy Jack grinned more than ever as he carefully +hid himself and watched. Striped Chipmunk scrambled up on the old stump, +looked this way and that way, as if to be sure that no one was watching +him, then with a flirt of his funny little tail he darted into a little +round doorway. He was gone a long time, but by and by out he popped, +looked this way and that way, and then scampered off in the direction +from which he had come. Happy Jack didn't try to follow him. He waited +until he was sure that Striped Chipmunk was out of sight and hearing, +and then he walked over to the old stump. + +"It's his storehouse fast enough," said Happy Jack. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +HAPPY JACK TURNS BURGLAR + + As trees from little acorns, so + Great sums from little pennies grow. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack Squirrel stood in front of the old stump into which he had +seen Striped Chipmunk go with the pockets in his cheeks full of acorns, +and out of which he had come with the pockets of his cheeks quite empty. + +"It certainly is his storehouse, and now I'll find out if he is the one +who got all those big, fat hickory nuts," muttered Happy Jack. + +First he looked this way, and then he looked that way, to be sure that +no one saw him, for what he was planning to do was a very dreadful +thing, and he knew it. Happy Jack was going to turn burglar. A burglar, +you know, is one who breaks into another's house or barn to steal, which +is a very, very dreadful thing to do. Yet this is just what Happy Jack +Squirrel was planning to do. He was going to get into that old stump, +and if those big, fat hickory nuts were there, as he was sure they were, +he was going to take them. He tried very hard to make himself believe +that it wouldn't be stealing. He had watched those nuts in the top of +the tall hickory tree so long that he had grown to think that they +belonged to him. Of course they didn't, but he had made himself think +they did. + +Happy Jack walked all around the old stump, and then he climbed up on +top of it. There was only one doorway, and that was the little round +hole through which Striped Chipmunk had entered and then come out. It +was too small for Happy Jack to even get his head through, though his +cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, who is much smaller, could have +slipped in easily. Happy Jack sniffed and sniffed. He could smell nuts +and corn and other good things. My, how good they did smell! His eyes +shone greedily. + +Happy Jack took one more hasty look around to see that no one was +watching, then with his long sharp teeth he began to make the doorway +larger. The wood was tough, but Happy Jack worked with might and main, +for he wanted to get those nuts and get away before Striped Chipmunk +should return, or any one else should happen along and see him. Soon the +hole was big enough for him to get his head inside. It was a storehouse, +sure enough. Happy Jack worked harder than ever, and soon the hole was +large enough for him to get wholly inside. + +What a sight! There was corn! and there were chestnuts and acorns! and +there were a few hickory nuts, though these did not look so big and fat +as the ones Happy Jack was looking for! Happy Jack chuckled to himself, +a wicked, greedy chuckle, as he looked. And then something happened. + +"Oh! Oh! Stop it! Leave me alone!" yelled Happy Jack. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL'S SAD MISTAKE + +A Squirrel always is thrifty. Be as wise as a Squirrel. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +"Let me go! Let me go!" yelled Happy Jack, as he backed out of the +hollow stump faster than he had gone in, a great deal faster. Can you +guess why? I'll tell you. It was because he was being pulled out. Yes, +Sir, Happy Jack Squirrel was being pulled out by his big, bushy tail. + +Happy Jack was more frightened than hurt. To be sure, it is not at all +comfortable to have one's tail pulled, but Happy Jack wouldn't have +minded this so much had it not been so unexpected, or if he could have +seen who was pulling it. And then, right inside Happy Jack didn't feel a +bit good. Why? Well, because he was doing a dreadful thing, and he +_knew_ that it was a dreadful thing. He had broken into somebody's +storehouse to steal. He was sure that it was Striped Chipmunk's +storehouse, and he wouldn't admit to himself that he was going to steal, +actually _steal_. But all the time, right down deep in his heart, he +knew that if he took any of those hickory nuts it would be stealing. + +But Happy Jack had been careless. When he had made the doorway big +enough for him to crawl inside, he had left his tail hanging outside. +Some one had very, very softly stolen up and grabbed it and begun to +pull. It was so sudden and unexpected that Happy Jack yelled with +fright. When he could get his wits together, he thought of course +Striped Chipmunk had come back and was pulling his tail. When he thought +that, he got over his fright right away, for Striped Chipmunk is such a +little fellow that Happy Jack knew that he had nothing; to fear from +him. + +So as fast as he could, Happy Jack backed out of the hole and whirled +around. Of course he expected to face a very angry little Chipmunk. But +he didn't. No, Sir, he didn't. Instead, he looked right into the angry +face of his other cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel. And Chatterer +_was_ angry! Oh my, my, how angry Chatterer was! For a minute he +couldn't find his voice, because his anger fairly choked him. And when +he did, how his tongue did fly! + +"You thief! You robber! What are you doing in my storehouse?" he +shrieked. + +Happy Jack backed away hurriedly, for though he is much bigger than +Chatterer, he has a very wholesome respect for Chatterer's sharp teeth, +and when he is very angry, Chatterer is a great fighter. + +"I--I didn't know it was your storehouse," said Happy Jack, backing +away still further. + +"It doesn't make any difference if you didn't; you're a thief just the +same!" screamed Chatterer and rushed at Happy Jack. And what do you +think Happy Jack did? Why, he just turned tail and ran, Chatterer after +him, crying "Thief! Robber! Coward!" at the top of his lungs, so that +every one in the Green Forest could hear. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S HAPPY THOUGHT + + Waste seems to me a dreadful sin; + It works to lose and not to win. + + Thrift will win; it cannot lose. + Between them 'tis for you to choose. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Striped Chipmunk sat on a mossy old log, laughing until his sides ached. +"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho! Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!" +laughed Striped Chipmunk, holding his sides. Over in the Green Forest he +could still hear Chatterer the Red Squirrel crying "Thief! Robber!" as +he chased his big cousin, Happy Jack, and every time he heard it, +Striped Chipmunk laughed harder. + +You see, Striped Chipmunk had known all the time that Happy Jack was +spying on him, and he had had no end of fun fooling Happy Jack by +suddenly disappearing and then bobbing into view. He had known that +Happy Jack was following him so as to find out where his storehouse was. +Then Striped Chipmunk had remembered the storehouse of Chatterer the Red +Squirrel. He had filled the pockets in his cheeks with acorns and gone +straight over to Chatterer's storehouse and put them inside, knowing +that Happy Jack would follow him and would think that that was his +storehouse. And that is just what happened. + +Then Striped Chipmunk had hidden himself where he could see all that +happened. He had seen Happy Jack look all around, to make sure that no +one was near, and then tear open the little round doorway of Chatterer's +storehouse until it was big enough for him to squeeze through. He had +seen Chatterer come up, fly into a rage, and pull Happy Jack out by the +tail. Indeed, he had had to clap both hands over his mouth to keep from +laughing out loud. Then Happy Jack had turned tail and run away with +Chatterer after him, shouting "Thief" and "Robber" at the top of his +voice, and this had tickled Striped Chipmunk still more, for he knew +that Chatterer himself is one of the greatest thieves in the Green +Forest. So he sat on the mossy old log and laughed and laughed and +laughed. + +Finally Striped Chipmunk wiped the tears from his eyes and jumped up. +"My, my, this will never do!" said he. + + "Idle hands and idle feet + Never filled a storehouse yet; + But instead, so I've heard say, + Into mischief surely get." + +"Here it is almost Thanksgiving and--" Striped Chipmunk stopped and +scratched his head, while a funny little pleased look crept into his +face. "I wonder if Happy Jack and Chatterer would come to a +Thanksgiving dinner," he muttered. "I believe I'll ask them just for +fun." + +Then Striped Chipmunk hurried home full of his new idea and chuckled as +he planned his Thanksgiving dinner. Of course he couldn't have it at his +own house. That wouldn't do at all. In the first place, the doorway +would be altogether too small for Happy Jack. Anyway, his home was a +secret, his very own secret, and he didn't propose to let Happy Jack and +Chatterer know where it was, even for a Thanksgiving dinner. Then he +thought of the big, smooth, mossy log he had been sitting on that very +morning. + +"The very place!" cried Striped Chipmunk, and scurried away to find +Happy Jack Squirrel and Chatterer the Red Squirrel to invite them to his +Thanksgiving dinner. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S THANKSGIVING DINNER + + There's nothing quite so sweet in life + As making up and ending strife. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Striped Chipmunk jumped out of bed very early Thanksgiving morning. It +was going to be a very busy day. He had invited Happy Jack the Gray +Squirrel, and Chatterer the Red Squirrel, to eat Thanksgiving dinner +with him, and each had promised to be there. Striped Chipmunk chuckled +as he thought how neither of his guests knew that the other was to be +there. He washed his face and hands, brushed his hair, and ate his +breakfast. Then he scurried over to his splendid new storehouse, which +no one knew of but himself, and stuffed the pockets in his cheeks with +good things to eat. When he couldn't stuff another thing in, he scurried +over to the nice, mossy log on the edge of the Green Forest, and there +he emptied his pockets, for that was to be his dining table. + +Back and forth, back and forth between his secret storehouse and the +smooth, mossy log hurried Striped Chipmunk. He knew that Happy Jack and +the Chatterer have great appetites, and he wanted to be sure that there +was plenty of good things to eat. And as he scurried along, he sang a +little song. + + "Thanksgiving comes but once a year, + But when it comes it brings good cheer. + For in my storehouse on this day + Are piles of good things hid away. + Each day I've worked from early morn + To gather acorns, nuts, and corn, + Till now I've plenty and to spare + Without a worry or a care. + So light of heart the whole day long, + I'll sing a glad Thanksgiving song." + +Promptly at the dinner hour Happy Jack appeared coming from one +direction, and Chatterer the Red Squirrel coming from another direction. +They didn't see each other until just as they reached Striped Chipmunk's +smooth, mossy log. Then they stopped and scowled. Striped Chipmunk +pretended not to notice anything wrong and bustled about, talking all +the time as if his guests were the best of friends. + +On the smooth, mossy log was a great pile of shining yellow corn. There +was another pile of plump ripe acorns, and three little piles of dainty +looking brown seeds. But the thing that Happy Jack couldn't keep his +eyes off was right in the middle. It was a huge pile of big, fat hickory +nuts. Now who could remain ill-tempered and cross with such a lot of +goodies spread before him? Certainly not Happy Jack or his cousin, +Chatterer the Red Squirrel. They just had to smile in spite of +themselves, and when Striped Chipmunk urged them to sit down and help +themselves, they did. In three minutes they were so busy eating that +they had forgotten all about their quarrel and were laughing and +chatting like the best of friends. + +"It's quite a family party, isn't it?" said Striped Chipmunk, for you +know they are all cousins. + +Whitefoot the Wood Mouse happened along, and Striped Chipmunk insisted +that he should join the party. Later Sammy Jay came along, and nothing +would excuse him from sharing in the feast, too. When everybody had +eaten and eaten until they couldn't hold another thing, and it was time +to think of going home, Striped Chipmunk insisted that Happy Jack and +Chatterer should divide between them the big, fat hickory nuts that were +left, and they did without once quarreling about it. + + "Thanksgiving comes but once a year, + And when it comes it brings good cheer," + +said Striped Chipmunk to himself as he watched his guests depart. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +HAPPY JACK DOES SOME THINKING + +To call another a thief doesn't make him one. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack sat up in a chestnut tree, and his face was very sober. The +fact is, Happy Jack was doing some very hard thinking. This is so very +unusual for him that Sammy Jay stopped to ask if he was sick. You see he +is naturally a happy-go-lucky little scamp, and that is one reason that +he is called Happy Jack. But this morning he was thinking and thinking +hard, so hard, in fact, that he almost lost his temper when Sammy Jay +interrupted his thoughts with such a foolish question. + +What was he thinking about? Can you not guess? Why, he was thinking +about those big, fat hickory nuts that Striped Chipmunk had had for his +Thanksgiving dinner, and how Striped Chipmunk had given him some of them +to bring home. He was very sure that they were the very same nuts that +he had watched grow big and fat in the top of the tall hickory tree and +then had knocked down while chasing his cousin, Chatterer. When they had +reached the ground and found the nuts gone, Happy Jack had at once +suspected that Striped Chipmunk had taken them, and now he felt sure +about it. + +But all at once things looked very different to Happy Jack, and the more +he thought about how he had acted, the more ashamed of himself he grew. + +"There certainly must have been enough of those nuts for all of us, and +if I hadn't been so greedy we might all have had a share. As it is, I've +got only those that Striped Chipmunk gave me, and Chatterer has only +those that Striped Chipmunk gave him. It must be that that sharp little +cousin of mine with the striped coat has got the rest, and I guess he +deserves them." + +Then all of a sudden Happy Jack realized how Striped Chipmunk had +fooled him into thinking that the storehouse of Chatterer was his +storehouse, and Happy Jack began to laugh. The more he thought of it, +the harder he laughed. + +"The joke certainly is on me!" he exclaimed. "The joke certainly is on +me, and it served me right. Hereafter I'll mind my own business. If I +had spent half as much time looking for hickory nuts as I did looking +for Striped Chipmunk's storehouse, I would be ready for winter now, and +Chatterer couldn't call me a thief." + +Then he laughed again as he thought how Striped Chipmunk must have +enjoyed seeing him pulled out of Chatterer's storehouse by the tail. + +"What's the joke?" asked Bobby Coon, who happened along just then. + +"I've just learned a lesson," replied Happy Jack. + +"What is it?" asked Bobby. + +Happy Jack grinned as he answered: + + "I've found that greed will never, never pay. + It makes one cross and ugly, and it drives one's friends away. + And being always selfish and always wanting more, + One's very apt to lose the things that one has had before." + +"Pooh!" said Bobby Coon. "Have you just found that out? I learned that a +long time ago." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +HAPPY JACK GETS A WARNING + + It matters not how smart you are, + So be it you are heedless too. + It isn't what you know that counts + So much as what it is to you. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +A fat Gray Squirrel is very tempting to a number of people in the Green +Forest, particularly in winter, when getting a living is hard work. +Almost every day Reddy and Granny Fox stole softly through that part of +the Green Forest where Happy Jack Squirrel lived, hoping to surprise and +catch him on the ground. But they never did. Roughleg the Hawk and +Hooty the Owl wasted a great deal of time, sitting around near Happy +Jack's home, hoping to catch him when he was not watching, but they +never did. + +Happy Jack knew all about these big hungry neighbors, and he was always +on the watch for them. He knew their ways and just where they would be +likely to hide. He took the greatest care to look into every such hiding +place near at hand before he ventured down out of the trees, and because +these hungry neighbors are so big, he never had any trouble in seeing +them if they happened to be around. So Happy Jack didn't do much +worrying about them. The fact is, Happy Jack wasn't afraid of them at +all, for the simple reason that he knew they couldn't follow him into +his hollow tree. + +Having nuts stored away, he would have been perfectly happy but for one +thing. Yes, Sir, there was only one thing to spoil Happy Jack's complete +happiness, and that was the fear that Shadow the Weasel might take it +into his head to pay him a visit. Shadow can go through a smaller hole +than Happy Jack can, and so Happy Jack knew that while he was wholly +safe from his other enemies, he wasn't safe at all from Shadow the +Weasel. And this worried him. Yes, Sir, it worried Happy Jack. He hadn't +seen or heard of Shadow for a long time, but he had a feeling that he +was likely to turn up almost any time, especially now that everything +was covered with snow and ice, and food was scarce and hard to get. He +sometimes actually wished that he wasn't as fat as he was. Then he would +be less tempting to his hungry neighbors. + +But no good comes of worrying. No, Sir, not a bit of good comes of +worrying, and Happy Jack knows it. + +"All I can do is to watch out and not be careless," said he, and dropped +the shell of a nut on the head of Reddy Fox, who happened to be passing +under the tree in which Happy Jack was sitting. Reddy looked up and +showed his teeth angrily. Happy Jack laughed and scampered away through +the tree-tops to another part of the Green Forest where he had some very +secret stores of nuts. + +He was gone most of the day, and when he started back home he was in the +best of spirits, for his stores had not been found by any one else. He +was in such good spirits that for once he quite forgot Shadow the +Weasel. He was just going to pop into his doorway without first looking +inside, a very foolish thing to do, when he heard some one calling him. +He turned to see Tommy Tit the Chickadee hurrying towards him, and it +was very clear that Tommy was greatly excited. + +"Hello, Tommy Tit! What ails you?" exclaimed Happy Jack. + +"Don't go in there, Happy Jack!" cried Tommy Tit. "Shadow the Weasel is +in there waiting for you!" + +Happy Jack turned quite pale. "Are you sure?" he gasped. + +Tommy Tit nodded as if he would nod his head off. "I saw him go in, and +he hasn't come out, for I've kept watch," said he. "You better get away +from here before he knows you are about." + +That was good advice, but it was too late. Even as Tommy Tit spoke, a +sharp face with red, angry eyes was thrust out of Happy Jack's doorway. +It was the face of Shadow the Weasel. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +HAPPY JACK'S RUN FOR LIFE + + A coward he who runs away + When he should stay and fight, + But wise is he who knows when he + Should run with all his might. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +It isn't cowardly to run away when it is quite useless to stay and +fight. So it wasn't so cowardly of Happy Jack Squirrel to turn tail and +run the instant he caught sight of Shadow the Weasel. No, Sir, it wasn't +cowardly at all, although it might have looked so to you had you been +there to see, for Happy Jack is bigger than Shadow. But when it comes to +a fight, Happy Jack is no match at all for Shadow the Weasel, and he +knows it. Shadow is too quick for him, and though Happy Jack were ever +so brave, he would have no chance at all in a fight with Shadow. + +And so the very instant he saw the cruel face of Shadow with its fierce +red eyes glaring at him from his own doorway, Happy Jack turned tail and +ran. Yes, Sir, that is just what he did, and it was the wisest thing he +could have done. He hoped with a mighty hope that Shadow would not +follow him, but he hoped in vain. Shadow had made up his mind to dine on +Squirrel, and he didn't propose to see his dinner run away without +trying to catch it. So the instant Happy Jack started, Shadow started +after him, stopping only long enough to snarl an ugly threat at Tommy +Tit the Chickadee, because Tommy had warned Happy Jack that Shadow was +waiting for him. + +But Tommy didn't mind that threat. Oh, my, no! Tommy didn't mind it at +all. He can fly, and so he had no fear of Shadow the Weasel. But he was +terribly afraid for Happy Jack. He knew, just as Happy Jack knew, that +there wasn't a single place where Happy Jack could hide into which +Shadow could not follow him. So Tommy flitted from tree to tree behind +Happy Jack, hoping that in some way he might be able to help him. + +From tree to tree raced Happy Jack, making desperately long leaps. +Shadow the Weasel followed, and though he ran swiftly, he didn't appear +to be hurrying, and he took no chances on those long leaps. If the leap +was too long to take safely, Shadow simply ran back down the tree, +across to the next one and up that. It didn't worry him at all that +Happy Jack was so far ahead that he was out of sight. He knew that he +could trust his nose to follow the scent of Happy Jack. In fact, it +rather pleased him to have Happy Jack race away in such fright, for in +that way he would soon tire himself out. + +And this is just what Happy Jack did do. He ran and jumped and jumped +and ran as fast as he could until he was so out of breath that he just +had to stop for a rest. But he couldn't rest much. He was too terribly +frightened. He shivered and shook while he got his breath, and never for +a second did he take his eyes from his back trail. Presently he saw a +slim white form darting along the snow straight towards the tree in +which he was resting. Once more Happy Jack ran, and somehow he felt +terribly helpless and hopeless. + +He had to rest oftener now, and each rest was shorter than the one +before, because, you know, Shadow was a less and less distance behind. +Poor Happy Jack! He had tried every trick he knew, and not one of them +had fooled Shadow the Weasel. Now he was too tired to run much farther. +The last little bit of hope left Happy Jack's heart. He blinked his eyes +very fast to keep back the tears, as he thought that this was probably +the last time he would ever look at the beautiful Green Forest he loved +so. Then he gritted his teeth and made up his mind that anyway he would +fight his best, even if it was hopeless. It was just at that very minute +that he heard the voice of Tommy Tit the Chickadee calling to him in +great excitement, and somehow, he didn't know why, a wee bit of hope +sprang up in his heart. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +WHO SAVED HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL? + + Blessed he whose words of cheer + Help put hope in place of fear. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +It never has been fully decided among the little people of the Green +Forest and the Green Meadows just who really did save Happy Jack +Squirrel. Some say that Tommy Tit the Chickadee deserves all the credit, +and some say that--but wait. Let me tell you just what happened, and +then perhaps you can decide for yourself who saved Happy Jack. + +You see, it was this way: Happy Jack had run and run and run and tried +every trick he knew to get away from Shadow the Weasel, but all in vain. +At last he was so out of breath and so tired that he felt that he +couldn't run any more. He had just made up his mind that he would wait +right where he was for Shadow and then put up the best fight he could, +even if it was hopeless, when he heard Tommy Tit calling to him in great +excitement. + +[Illustration: HAPPY JACK TRIED EVERY TRICK HE KNEW TO GET AWAY FROM +SHADOW THE WEASEL.] + +"Dee, dee, chickadee! Come here quick, Happy Jack! Come here quick!" +called Tommy Tit. + +A wee bit of hope sprang up in Happy Jack's heart. He couldn't imagine +what possible help Tommy Tit could be, but he would go see. So taking +a long breath he started on as fast as he could in the direction of +Tommy's voice. He couldn't run very fast, because, you know, he was so +tired, but he did the best he could. Presently he saw Tommy just ahead +of him flying about in great excitement. + +"Dee, dee, dee, there he is! Go to him! Go to him, Happy Jack! Hurry! +Hurry! Dee, dee, dee, oh, do hurry!" cried Tommy Tit. + +For just a second Happy Jack didn't know what he meant. Then he saw +Farmer Brown's boy watching Tommy Tit as if he didn't know what to make +of the little fellow's excitement. + +"Go to him! Go to him!" called Tommy. "He won't hurt you, and he won't +let Shadow the Weasel hurt you! See me! See me! Dee, dee, see me!" And +with that Tommy Tit flew right down on Farmer Brown's boy's hand, for +you know he and Farmer Brown's boy are great friends. + +Happy Jack hesitated. He knew that Farmer Brown's boy had tried to make +friends with him, and every day since the ice and snow had come had put +out nuts and corn for him, but he couldn't quite forget the old fear of +him. He couldn't quite trust him. So now he hesitated. Then he looked +back. Shadow the Weasel was only a few jumps behind him, and his little +eyes glowed red and savage. Farmer Brown's boy might not hurt him, but +Shadow certainly would. Shadow would kill him. Happy Jack made up his +mind, and with a little gasp raced madly across the snow straight to +Farmer Brown's boy and ran right up to his shoulder. + +Shadow the Weasel had been so intent on catching Happy Jack that he +hadn't noticed Farmer Brown's boy at all. Now he saw him for the first +time and stopped short, snarling and spitting. Whatever else you may say +of Shadow the Weasel, he is no coward. For a minute it looked as if he +really meant to follow Happy Jack and get him in spite of Farmer Brown's +boy, and Happy Jack trembled as he looked down into those angry little +red eyes. But Shadow knows when he is well off, and now he knew better +than to come a step nearer. So he snarled and spit, and then, as Farmer +Brown's boy took a step forward, leaped to one side and disappeared in +the old stone wall. + +Very gently and softly Farmer Brown's boy talked to Happy Jack as he +took him to the nearest tree. Then, when Happy Jack was safely up in the +tree, he went over to the stone wall and tried to drive Shadow the +Weasel out. He pulled over the stones until at last Shadow jumped out, +and then Farmer Brown's boy chased him clear into the Green Forest. + +"Dee, dee, dee, what did I tell you?" cried Tommy Tit happily, as he +flew over to where Happy Jack was sitting. + +Now who really saved Happy Jack--Tommy Tit or Farmer Brown's boy? + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +HAPPY JACK MISSES FARMER BROWN'S BOY + + + One and one are always two, + And two and two are four. + And just as true it is you'll find + That love and love make more. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Go ask Happy Jack Squirrel. He knows. He knows because he has proved it. +It began when Farmer Brown's boy saved him from Shadow the Weasel. +Perhaps I should say when Farmer Brown's boy and Tommy Tit saved him, +for if it hadn't been for Tommy, it never would have entered Happy +Jack's head to run to Farmer Brown's boy. After that, of course, Happy +Jack and Farmer Brown's boy became great friends. Farmer Brown's boy +came over to the Green Forest every day to see Happy Jack, and always he +had the most delicious nuts in his pockets. At first Happy Jack had been +a wee bit shy. He couldn't quite get over that old fear he had had so +long. Then he would remember how Farmer Brown's boy had saved him, and +that would make him ashamed, and he would walk right up and take the +nuts. + +Farmer Brown's boy would talk to him in the nicest way and tell him that +he loved him, and that there wasn't the least thing in the world to be +afraid of. Pretty soon Happy Jack began to love Farmer Brown's boy a +little. He couldn't help it. He just had to love any one who was so kind +and gentle to him. Now as soon as he began to love a little, and felt +sure in his own heart that Farmer Brown's boy loved him a little, he +found that love and love make more love, and it wasn't any time at all +before he had become very fond of Farmer Brown's boy, so fond of him +that he was almost jealous of Tommy Tit, who had been a friend of Farmer +Brown's boy for a long time. It got so that Happy Jack looked forward +each day to the visit of Farmer Brown's boy, and as soon as he heard his +whistle, he would hasten to meet him. Some folks were unkind enough to +say that it was just because of the nuts and corn he was sure to find in +Farmer Brown's boy's pockets, but that wasn't so at all. + +At last there came a day when he missed that cheery whistle. He waited +and waited. At last he went clear to the edge of the Green Forest, but +there was no whistle and no sign of Farmer Brown's boy. It was the same +way the next day and the next. Happy Jack forgot to frisk about the way +he usually does. He lost his appetite. He just sat around and moped. + +When Tommy Tit the Chickadee came to call, as he did every day, Happy +Jack found that Tommy was anxious too. Tommy had been up to Farmer +Brown's dooryard several times, and he hadn't seen anything of Farmer +Brown's boy. + +"I think he must have gone away," said Tommy. + +"He would have come down here first and said good-by," replied Happy +Jack. + +"You--you don't suppose something has happened to him, do you?" asked +Tommy. + +"I don't know. I don't know what to think," replied Happy Jack, soberly. +"Do you know, Tommy, I've grown very fond of Farmer Brown's boy." + +"Of course. Dee, dee, dee, of course. Everybody who really knows him is +fond of him. I've said all along that he is the best friend we've got, +but no one seemed to believe me. I'm glad you've found it out for +yourself. I tell you what, I'll go up to his house and have another look +around." And without waiting for a reply, Tommy was off as fast as his +little wings could take him. + +"I hope, I do hope, that nothing has happened to him," mumbled Happy +Jack, as he pretended to hunt for buried nuts while he waited for Tommy +Tit to come back, and by "him" he meant Farmer Brown's boy. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +TOMMY TIT BRINGS NEWS + +No one knows too much, but many know too little. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack very plainly was not happy. His name was the only happy thing +about him. He fussed about on the edge of the Green Forest. He just +couldn't keep still. When he thought anybody was looking, he pretended +to hunt for some of the nuts he had buried in the fall, and dug holes +down through the snow. But as soon as he thought that no one was +watching, he would scamper up a tree where he could look over to Farmer +Brown's house and look and look. It was very clear that Happy Jack was +watching for some one and that he was anxious, very anxious, indeed. + +It was getting late in the afternoon, and soon the Black Shadows would +begin to creep out from the Purple Hills, behind which jolly, round, red +Mr. Sun would go to bed. It would be bedtime for Happy Jack then, for +you know he goes to bed very early, just as soon as it begins to get +dark. The later it got, the more anxious and uneasy Happy Jack grew. He +had just made up his mind that in a few minutes he would have to give up +and go to bed when there was a flit of tiny wings, and Tommy Tit the +Chickadee dropped into the tree beside him. + +"Did you find out anything?" asked Happy Jack eagerly, before Tommy had +a chance to say a word. + +[Illustration: "DID YOU FIND OUT ANYTHING?" ASKED HAPPY JACK EAGERLY.] + +Tommy nodded. "He's there!" he panted, for he was quite out of breath +from hurrying so. + +"Where?" Happy Jack fairly shouted the question. + +"Over there in the house," replied Tommy Tit. + +"Then he hasn't gone away! It's just as I said, he hasn't gone away!" +cried Happy Jack, and he was so relieved that he jumped up and down and +as a result nearly tumbled out of the tree. + +"No," replied Tommy, "he hasn't gone away, but I think there is +something the matter with him." + +Happy Jack grew very sober. "What makes you think so?" he demanded. + +"If you'll give me time to get my breath, I'll tell you all about it," +retorted Tommy Tit. + +"All right, only please hurry," replied Happy Jack, and tried to look +patient even if he wasn't. + +Tommy Tit smoothed out some rumpled feathers and was most provokingly +slow about it. "When I left here," he began at last, "I flew straight up +to Farmer Brown's house, as I said I would. I flew all around it, but +all I saw was that horrid Black Pussy on the back doorsteps, and she +looked at me so hungrily that she made me dreadfully uncomfortable. I +don't see what Farmer Brown keeps her about for, anyway." + +"Never mind her; go on!" interrupted Happy Jack. + +"Then I flew all around the barn, but I didn't see any one there but +that ugly little upstart, Bully the English Sparrow, and he wanted to +pick a fight with me right away." Tommy looked very indignant. + +"Never mind him, go on!" cried Happy Jack impatiently. + +"After that I flew back to the big maple tree close by the house," +continued Tommy. "You know Farmer Brown's boy has kept a piece of suet +tied in that tree all winter for me. I was hungry, and I thought I +would get a bite to eat, but there wasn't any suet there. That pig of a +Sammy Jay had managed to get it untied and had carried it all away. Of +course that made me angry, and twice as hungry as before. I was trying +to make up my mind what to do next when I happened to look over on the +window sill, and what do you think I saw there?" + +"What?" demanded Happy Jack eagerly. + +"A lot of cracked hickory nuts!" declared Tommy. "I just knew that they +were meant for me, and when I was sure that the way was clear, I flew +over there. They tasted so good that I almost forgot about Farmer +Brown's boy, when I just happened to look in the window. You know those +windows are made of some queer stuff that looks like ice and isn't, and +that you can see right through." + +Happy Jack didn't know, for he never had been near enough to see, but he +nodded, and Tommy Tit went on. + +"There were many queer things inside, and I was wondering what they +could be when all of a sudden I saw _him_. He was lying down, and there +was something the matter with him. I tapped on the window to him and +then I hurried back here." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +HAPPY JACK DECIDES TO MAKE A CALL + + You'll find when all is said and done + Two heads are better far than one. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack Squirrel hadn't slept very well. He had had bad dreams. Ever +so many times in the night he had waked up, a very unusual thing for +Happy Jack. The fact is, he had something on his mind. Yes, Sir, Happy +Jack had something on his mind, and that something was Farmer Brown's +boy. He often had had Farmer Brown's boy on his mind before, but in a +very different way. Then it had been in the days when Farmer Brown's boy +hunted through the Green Forest and over the Green Meadows with his +terrible gun. Then everybody had Farmer Brown's boy on their minds most +of the time. Happy Jack had hated him then, hated him because he had +feared him. You know fear almost always leads to hate. But now it was +different. Farmer Brown's boy had put away his terrible gun. Happy Jack +no longer feared him. Love had taken the place of hate in his heart, for +had not Farmer Brown's boy saved him from Shadow the Weasel, and brought +him nuts and corn when food was scarce? And now Tommy Tit had brought +word that some thing was the matter with Farmer Brown's boy. It was this +that was on Happy Jack's mind and had given him such a bad night. + +As soon as it was daylight, Happy Jack scrambled out of bed to look for +Tommy Tit. He didn't have long to wait, for Tommy is quite as early a +riser as Happy Jack. + + + "Dee, dee, chickadee! + I hope you feel as well as me!" + +sang Tommy merrily, as he flitted over to where Happy Jack was looking +for his breakfast. The very sound of Tommy's voice made Happy Jack feel +better. One must feel very badly indeed not to be a little more cheerful +when Tommy Tit is about. The fact is, Tommy Tit packs about so much +good cheer in that small person of his, that no one can be downhearted +when he is about. + +"Hello, Tommy," said Happy Jack. "If I could make other people feel as +good as you do, do you know what I would do?" + +"What?" asked Tommy. + +"I'd go straight up to Farmer Brown's house and try to cheer up Farmer +Brown's boy," replied Happy Jack. + +"That's the very thing I have in mind," chuckled Tommy. "I've come over +here to see if you won't come along with me. I've been up to his house +so often that he won't think half so much of a visit from me as he will +from you. Will you do it?" + +Happy Jack looked a little startled. You see, he never had been over to +Farmer Brown's house, and somehow he couldn't get over the idea that it +would be a very dangerous thing to do. "I--I--do you really suppose I +could?" he asked. + +"I'm sure of it," replied Tommy Tit. "There's no one to be afraid of but +Black Pussy and Bowser the Hound, and it's easy enough to keep out of +their way. You can hide in the old stone wall until the way is clear and +then run across to the big maple tree close to the house. Then you can +look right in and see Farmer Brown's boy, and he can look out and see +you. Will you do it?" + +Happy Jack thought very hard for a few minutes. Then he made up his +mind. "I'll do it!" said he in a very decided tone of voice. "Let's +start right away." + +"Good for you! Dee, dee, good for you!" cried Tommy Tit, and started to +lead the way. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +TOMMY TIT AND HAPPY JACK PAY A VISIT + + As grows the mighty elm tree, + From just a tiny seed, + So often great things happen + From just a kindly deed. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Great things were happening to Happy Jack Squirrel. He was actually on +his way to Farmer Brown's house, and he had a feeling that other things +were likely to happen when he got there. Now you may not think that it +was anything very great that Happy Jack should be on his way to Farmer +Brown's house. Very likely you are saying, "Pooh! that's nothing!" This +may be true, and then again it may not. Suppose you do a little +supposing. Suppose you had all your life been terribly afraid of a great +giant fifty times bigger than you. Suppose that great giant had stopped +hunting you and by little deeds of kindness had at last won your love. +Suppose you learned that something was the matter with him, and you made +up your mind to visit him at his great castle where there were other +great giants whom you did not know. Wouldn't you think that great things +were happening to you? + +Well, that is exactly the way it was with Happy Jack Squirrel, as he +and Tommy Tit the Chickadee started to go over to Farmer Brown's house +to look for Farmer Brown's boy. Tommy Tit had been there often, so he +didn't think anything about it, but Happy Jack never had been there, and +if the truth were known, his heart was going pitapat, pitapat, with +excitement and perhaps just a little fear. Through the Old Orchard they +went, Tommy Tit flitting ahead and keeping a sharp watch for danger. +When they reached the old stone wall on the edge of Farmer Brown's +dooryard, Tommy told Happy Jack to hide there while he went to see if +the way was clear. He was back in a few minutes. + +"Dee, dee, everything is all right," said he. "Bowser the Hound is +eating; his breakfast out back where he can't see you at all, and Black +Pussy is nowhere about. All you have to do is to follow me over to that +big tree close to the house, and I will show you where Farmer Brown's +boy is." + +"I--I'm afraid," confessed Happy Jack. + +"Pooh! There's nothing to be afraid of," asserted Tommy Tit in the most +positive way. "Don't be a coward. Remember how Farmer Brown's boy saved +you from Shadow the Weasel. Come on! Dee, dee, dee, come on!" With that +Tommy flew across to the tree close by the house. + +Happy Jack scrambled up on the old stone wall and looked this way and +looked that way. He couldn't see a thing to be afraid of. He jumped down +and ran a few steps. Then his heart failed, and he scampered back to the +old stone wall in a panic. After a few minutes he tried again, and once +more a foolish fear sent him back. The third time he gritted his teeth, +said to himself over and over, "I will! I will! I will!" and ran with +all his might. In no time at all he was across the dooryard and up in +the big tree, his heart pounding with excitement. + +"Dee, dee, dee," called Tommy Tit. + +Happy Jack looked over to the house, and there sat Tommy on a +window-sill, helping himself to the most delicious-looking cracked nuts. +The sight of them made Happy Jack's mouth water. A long branch hung down +over the window and almost touched the sill. Happy Jack ventured half +way and stopped. Somehow it seemed very dangerous to go so close to that +window. + +"Come on! Come on! What are you afraid of?" called Tommy. + +Something like shame that such a little fellow as Tommy Tit should dare +to go where he did not, crept into Happy Jack's heart. With a quick +little run and jump he was on the sill, and a second later he was +staring in at all the strange things inside. At first he didn't see +anything of Farmer Brown's boy, but in a few minutes he made him out. He +was lying down all covered over except his head. There _was_ something +the matter with him. Happy Jack didn't need to be told that, and a great +pity filled his heart. He wanted to do something for Farmer Brown's boy. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH FARMER BROWN'S BOY? + +He who climbs the highest has the farthest to fall, +but often it is worth the risk. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +All the way home from his visit to Farmer Brown's house Happy Jack +Squirrel puzzled and wondered over what he had seen. He had peeped in at +a window and seen Farmer Brown's boy lying all covered up, with only his +head showing. Happy Jack couldn't see very well, but somehow that head +didn't look just right. One thing was sure, and that was there was +something wrong with Farmer Brown's boy. He never would have been lying +still like that if there hadn't been. + +Happy Jack had been so troubled by what he saw that he had hardly tasted +the nuts he had found on the window-sill. "I am going to make him +another call to-morrow," said he when he and Tommy Tit were once more +back in the Green Forest. + +"Of course," replied Tommy. "I expected you would. I will be around for +you at the same time. You're not afraid any more to go up there, are +you?" + +"No-o," replied Happy Jack, slowly. The truth is, he was still a little +afraid. It seemed to him a terribly venturesome thing to cross that +open dooryard, but having done it once in safety, he knew that it would +be easier the next time. It was. The next morning he and Tommy Tit went +just as before, and this time Happy Jack scampered across the dooryard +the very first time he tried. They found things just as they had been +the day before. They saw Farmer Brown's boy, but he didn't see them. +Tommy Tit was just going to tap on the window to let him know they were +there, when a door inside opened, and in walked Mrs. Brown. It +frightened them so that Tommy Tit flew away without tasting a single +nut, and Happy Jack nearly fell as he scrambled back into the tree close +by the window. You see, they never had made her acquaintance, and +having her walk in so suddenly frightened them terribly. They didn't +stop to think that there was nothing to fear because there was the +window between. Somehow they couldn't understand that queer stuff that +they could see through but which shut them out. If they had seen Mrs. +Brown go to the window and put more cracked nuts on the sill, perhaps +they would have been less afraid. But they had been too badly frightened +to look back, and so they didn't know anything about that. + +The next morning Tommy Tit was on hand as usual, but he found Happy +Jack a little doubtful about paying another visit. He wasn't wholly over +his scare of the day before. It took him some time to make up his mind +to go, but finally he did. This time when they reached the tree close by +the house, they found a great surprise awaiting them. Farmer Brown's boy +was sitting just inside the window, looking out. At least, they thought +it was Farmer Brown's boy, but when they got a little nearer, they grew +doubtful. It looked like Farmer Brown's boy, and yet it didn't. His +cheeks stuck way out just as Striped Chipmunk's do when he has them +stuffed full of corn or nuts. + +Happy Jack stared at him very hard. "My goodness, I didn't know he +carried his food that way!" he exclaimed. "I should think it would be +dreadfully uncomfortable." + +If Farmer Brown's boy could have heard that, he certainly would have +tried to laugh, and if he had--well, it was bad enough when he tried to +smile at the sight of Tommy Tit and Happy Jack. He didn't smile at all +but made up an awful face instead and clapped both hands to his cheeks. +Happy Jack and Tommy Tit didn't know what to make of it, and it was some +time before they made up their minds that it really was Farmer Brown's +boy, and that they had nothing to fear. But when they finally ventured +on to the sill and, as they helped themselves to nuts, saw the smile in +his eyes, though he did not smile with his mouth at all, they knew that +it was he, and that he was glad that they had called. Then they were +glad too. + +But what was the matter with Farmer Brown's boy? Happy Jack puzzled over +it all the rest of the day, and then gave it up. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL GROWS VERY BOLD + + When you find a friend in trouble + Pass along a word of cheer. + Often it is very helpful + Just to feel a friend is near. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Every day Happy Jack visited the window sill of Farmer Brown's house to +call on Farmer Brown's boy, who was always waiting for him just inside +the window. In fact Happy Jack had got into the habit of getting his +breakfast there, for always there were fat, delicious nuts on the +window-sill, and it was much easier and more comfortable to breakfast +there than to hunt up his own hidden supplies and perhaps have to dig +down through the snow to get them. Most people are just like Happy +Jack--they do the easiest thing. + +Each day Farmer Brown's boy looked more and more like himself. His +cheeks stuck out less and less, and finally did not stick out at all. +And now he smiled at Happy Jack with his mouth as well as with his eyes. +You know when his cheeks had stuck out so, he couldn't smile at all +except with his eyes. Happy Jack didn't know what had been the matter +with Farmer Brown's boy, but whatever it was, he was better now, and +that made Happy Jack feel better. + +One morning he got a surprise. When he ran out along the branch of the +tree that led to the window-sill he suddenly discovered something wrong. +There were no nuts on the sill! More than this there was something very +suspicious looking about the window. It didn't look just right. The +truth is it was partly open, but Happy Jack didn't understand this, not +then, anyway. He stopped short and scolded, a way he has when things +don't suit him. Farmer Brown's boy came to the window and called to him. +Then he thrust a hand out, and in it were some of the fattest nuts Happy +Jack ever had seen. His mouth watered right away. There might be +something wrong with the window, but certainly the sill was all right. +It would do no harm to go that far. + +So Happy Jack nimbly jumped across to the window-sill. Farmer Brown's +boy's hand with the fat nuts was still there, and Happy Jack lost no +time in getting one. Then he sat up on the sill to eat it. My, but it +was good! It was just as good as it had looked. Happy Jack's eyes +twinkled as he ate. When he had finished that nut, he wanted another. +But now Farmer Brown's boy had drawn his hand inside the window. He was +still holding it out with the nuts in it, but to get them Happy Jack +must go inside, and he couldn't get it out of his head that that was a +very dangerous thing to do. What if that window should be closed while +he was in there? Then he would be a prisoner. + +So he sat up and begged. He knew that Farmer Brown's boy knew what he +wanted. But Farmer Brown's boy kept his hand just where it was. + +"Come on, you little rascal," said he. "You ought to know me well enough +by this time to know that I won't hurt you or let any harm come to you. +Hurry up, because I can't stand here all day. You see, I've just got +over the mumps, and if I should catch cold I might be sick again. Come +along now, and show how brave you are." + +Of course Happy Jack couldn't understand what he said. If he could +have, he might have guessed that it was the mumps that had made Farmer +Brown's boy look so like Striped Chipmunk when he has his cheeks stuffed +with nuts. But if he couldn't understand what Farmer Brown's boy said, +he had no difficulty in understanding that if he wanted those nuts he +would have to go after them. So at last he screwed up his courage and +put his head inside. Nothing happened, so he went wholly in and sat on +the inside sill. Then by reaching out as far as he could without +tumbling off, he managed to get one of those nuts, and as soon as he had +it, he dodged outside to eat it. + +Farmer Brown's boy laughed, and putting the rest of the nuts outside, +he closed the window. Happy Jack ate his fill and then scampered back to +the Green Forest. He felt all puffed up with pride. He felt that he had +been very, very bold, and he was anxious to tell Tommy Tit the +Chickadee, who had not been with him that morning, how bold he had been. + +"Pooh, that's nothing!" replied Tommy, when he had heard about it. "I've +done that often." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +HAPPY JACK DARES TOMMY TIT + + A wise philosopher is he + Who takes things as they chance to be, + And in them sees that which is best + While trying to forget the rest. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Somehow Happy Jack's day had been spoiled. He knew that he had no +business to allow it to be spoiled, but it was, just the same. You see, +he had been all puffed up with pride because he thought himself a very +bold fellow because he had really been inside Farmer Brown's house. He +couldn't help feeling quite puffed up about it. But when he told Tommy +Tit the Chickadee about it, Tommy had said, "Pooh! I've done that +often." + +That was what had spoiled the day for Happy Jack. He knew that if Tommy +Tit said that he had done a thing, he had, for Tommy always tells the +truth and nothing but the truth. So Happy Jack hadn't been so dreadfully +bold, after all, and had nothing to brag about. It made him feel quite +put out. He actually tried to make himself feel that it was all the +fault of Tommy Tit, and that he wanted to get even with him. He thought +about it all the rest of the day, and just before he fell asleep that +night an idea came to him. + +"I know what I'll do! I'll dare Tommy to go as far inside Farmer +Brown's house as I do!" he exclaimed, and went to sleep to dream that he +was the boldest, bravest squirrel that ever lived. + +The next morning when he reached the tree close by Farmer Brown's house, +he found Tommy Tit already there, flitting about impatiently and calling +his loudest, which wasn't very loud, for you know Tommy is a very little +fellow, and his voice is not very loud. But he was doing his best to +call Farmer Brown's boy. You see, there wasn't a single nut on the +window-sill, and the window was closed. Pretty soon Farmer Brown's boy +came to the window and opened it. But he didn't put out any nuts. Tommy +Tit at once flew over to the sill, and to show that he was just as +bold, Happy Jack followed. Looking inside, they saw Farmer Brown's boy +standing in the middle of the room, holding out a dish of nuts and +smiling at them. This was the chance Happy Jack wanted to try the plan +he had thought of the night before. + +"I dare you to go way in there and get a nut," said he to Tommy Tit. He +hoped that Tommy would be afraid. + +But Tommy wasn't anything of the kind. "Dee, dee, dee! Come on!" he +cried, and flitted over and helped himself to a cracked nut and was back +with it before Happy Jack could make up his mind to jump down inside. +Of course now that he had dared Tommy Tit, and Tommy had taken the dare, +he just had to do it too. It looked a long way in to where Farmer +Brown's boy was standing. Twice he started and turned back. Then he +heard Tommy Tit chuckle. That was too much. He wouldn't be laughed at. +He just wouldn't. He scampered across, grabbed a nut, and rushed back to +the window-sill, where he ate the nut. It was easier to go after the +second nut, and when he went for the third, he had made up his mind that +it was perfectly safe in there, and so he sat up on a chair and ate it. +Presently he felt quite at home, and when he had eaten all the nuts he +wanted, he ran all around the room, examining all the strange things +there. + +This was a little more than Tommy Tit could make up his mind to do. He +wasn't afraid to fly in for a nut and then fly out again, but he +couldn't feel easy inside a house like that. Of course, this made Happy +Jack feel good all over. You see, he felt that now he really did have +something to boast about. No one else in all the Green Forest or on the +Green Meadows could say that they had been all over Farmer Brown's boy's +room as he had. Happy Jack swelled himself out at the thought. Now +everybody would say, "What a bold fellow!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + + +SAMMY JAY IS QUITE UPSET + + I know of nothing sweeter than + Success to Squirrel or to man. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Very few people can be all puffed up with pride without showing it. +Happy Jack Squirrel couldn't. Just to have looked at him you would have +known that he was feeling very, very good about something. When he +thought no one was looking, he would actually strut. And it was all +because he considered himself a very bold fellow. That was a new feeling +for Happy Jack. He knew that all his neighbors considered him rather +timid, and many a time he had envied, actually envied Jimmy Skunk and +Reddy Fox and Unc' Billy Possum and even Sammy Jay because they did such +bold things and had dared to visit Farmer Brown's dooryard and henhouse +in spite of Bowser the Hound. + +But now he felt that he dared do a thing that not one of them dared do. +He dared go right into Farmer Brown's house and make himself quite at +home in the room of Farmer Brown's boy. He felt that he was a +tremendously brave fellow. You see, he quite forgot one thing. He forgot +that he had found out that love destroys fear, and that though it might +look to others like a very bold thing to walk right into Farmer Brown's +house, it really wasn't bold at all, because all the time he _knew_ that +no harm would come to him. It is never brave to do a thing that you are +not afraid to do. It had been brave of him to go in at that open window +the first time, because then he had been afraid, but now he wasn't +afraid, and so it was no longer either brave or bold of him. + +Tommy Tit the Chickadee knew all this, and he used to chuckle to himself +as he saw how proud of himself Happy Jack was, but he said nothing to +any one about it. Of course, it wasn't long before others began to +notice Happy Jack's pride. One of the first was Sammy Jay. There is +very little that escapes Sammy Jay's sharp eyes. Silently stealing +through the Green Forest early one morning, he surprised Happy Jack +strutting. + +"Huh," said he, "what are you feeling so big about?" + +Like a flash the thought came to Happy Jack that here was a chance to +show what a bold fellow he had become. "Hello, Sammy!" he exclaimed. +"Are you feeling very brave this morning?" + +"Me feeling brave? What are you talking about? If I was as timid as you +are, I wouldn't ever talk about bravery to other people. If there is +anything you dare to do that I don't, I've never heard of it," retorted +Sammy Jay. + +"Come on!" cried Happy Jack. "I'm going to get my breakfast, and I dare +you to follow me!" + +Sammy Jay actually laughed right out. "Go ahead. Wherever you go, I'll +go," he declared. + +Happy Jack started right away for Farmer Brown's house, and Sammy +followed. Through the Old Orchard, across the dooryard and into the big +maple tree Happy Jack led the way, and Sammy followed, all the time +wondering what was up. He had been there many times. In fact, he had had +many a good meal of suet there during the cold weather, for Farmer +Brown's boy had kept a big piece tied to a branch of the maple tree for +those who were hungry. + +Sammy was a little surprised when he saw Happy Jack jump over on to the +window-sill. Still, he had been on that window-sill more than once +himself, when he had made sure that no one was near, and had helped +himself to the cracked nuts he had found there. + +"Come on!" called Happy Jack, his eyes twinkling. + +Sammy Jay chuckled. "He thinks I don't dare go over there," he thought. +"Well, I'll fool him." + +With a hasty look to see that no danger was near, he spread his wings to +follow Happy Jack on to the window-sill. Happy Jack waited to make sure +that he really was coming and then slipped in at the open window and +scampered over to a table on the farther side of the room and helped +himself from a dish of nuts there. + +When Sammy saw Happy Jack disappear inside he gave a little gasp. When +he looked inside and saw Happy Jack making himself quite at home, he +gasped again. And when he saw a door open and Farmer Brown's boy enter, +and still Happy Jack did not run, he was too upset for words. He didn't +dare stay to see more, and for once in his life was quite speechless as +he flew back to the Green Forest. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +A DREAM COMES TRUE + + What are all our dreams made up of + That they often are so queer? + Wishes, hopes, and fond desires + All mixed up with foolish fears. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Which is worse, to have a very beautiful dream never come true, or to +have a bad dream really come true? Happy Jack Squirrel says the latter +is worse, much worse. Dreams do come true once in a great while, you +know. One of Happy Jack's did. It came true, and it made a great +difference in Happy Jack's life. You see, it was like this: + +Happy Jack had had so many things to think of that he had almost +forgotten about Shadow the Weasel. Happy Jack hadn't seen or heard +anything of him since Farmer Brown's boy had chased him into the Green +Forest and so saved Happy Jack's life. Since then life had been too full +of pleasant things to think of anything so unpleasant as Shadow the +Weasel. But one night Happy Jack had a bad dream. Yes, Sir, it was a +very bad dream. He dreamed that once more Shadow the Weasel was after +him, and this time there was no Farmer Brown's boy to run to for help. +Shadow was right at his heels and in one more jump would have him. +Happy Jack opened his mouth to scream, and--awoke. + +He was all ashake with fright. It was a great relief to find that it was +only a dream, but even then he couldn't get over it right away. He was +glad that it was almost morning, and just as soon as it was light enough +to see, he crept out. It was too early to go over to Farmer Brown's +house; Farmer Brown's boy wouldn't be up yet. So Happy Jack ran over to +one of his favorite lookouts, a tall chestnut tree, and there, with his +back against the trunk, high above the ground, he watched the Green +Forest wake as the first Sunbeams stole through it. But all the time he +kept thinking of that dreadful dream. + +A little spot of black moving against the white snow caught his sharp +eyes. What was it? He leaned forward and held his breath, as he tried to +make sure. Ah, now he could see! Just ahead of that black thing was a +long, slim fellow all in white, and that black spot was his tail. If it +hadn't been for that, Happy Jack very likely wouldn't have seen him at +all. It was Shadow the Weasel! He was running swiftly, first to one side +and then to the other, with his nose to the snow. He was hunting. There +was no doubt about that. He was hunting for his breakfast. + +Happy Jack's eyes grew wide with fear. Would Shadow find his tracks? It +looked very much as if Shadow was heading for Happy Jack's house, and +Happy Jack was glad, very glad, that that bad dream had waked him and +made him so uneasy that he had come out. Otherwise he might have been +caught right in his own bed. Shadow was almost at Happy Jack's house +when he stopped abruptly with his nose to the snow and sniffed eagerly. +Then he turned, and with his nose to the snow, started straight toward +the tree where Happy Jack was. Happy Jack waited to see no more. He knew +now that Shadow had found his trail and that it was to be a case of run +for his life. + +"My dream has come true!" he sobbed as he ran. "My dream has come true, +and I don't know what to do!" But all the time he kept on running as +fast as ever he could, which really was the only thing to do. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +HAPPY JACK HAS A HAPPY THOUGHT + + Who runs when danger comes his way + Will live to run some other day. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Frightened and breathless, running with all his might from Shadow the +Weasel, Happy Jack Squirrel was in despair. He didn't know what to do or +where to go. The last time he had run from Shadow he had run to Farmer +Brown's boy, who had just happened to be near, and Farmer Brown's boy +had chased Shadow the Weasel away. But now it was too early in the +morning for him to expect to meet Farmer Brown's boy. In fact, jolly, +round, red Mr. Sun had hardly kicked his bedclothes off yet, and Happy +Jack was very sure that Farmer Brown's boy was still asleep. + +Now most of us are creatures of habit. We do the thing that we have been +in the habit of doing, and do it without thinking anything about it. +That is why good habits are such a blessing. Happy Jack Squirrel is just +like the rest of us. He has habits, both good and bad. Of late, he had +been in the habit of getting his breakfast at Farmer Brown's house every +morning, so now when he began to run from Shadow the Weasel he just +naturally ran in the direction of Farmer Brown's house from force of +habit. In fact, he was halfway there before he realized in which +direction he was running. + +Right then a thought came to him. It gave him a wee bit of hope, and +seemed to help him run just a little faster. If the window of Farmer +Brown's boy's room was open, he would run in there, and perhaps Shadow +the Weasel wouldn't dare follow! How he did hope that that window would +be open! He knew that it was his only chance. He wasn't quite sure that +it really was a chance, for Shadow was such a bold fellow that he might +not be afraid to follow him right in, but it was worth trying. + +Along the stone wall beside the Old Orchard raced Happy Jack to the +dooryard of Farmer Brown, and after him ran Shadow the Weasel, and +Shadow looked as if he was enjoying himself. No doubt he was. He knew +just as well as Happy Jack did that there was small chance of meeting +Farmer Brown's boy so early in the morning, so he felt very sure how +that chase was going to end, and that when it did end he would breakfast +on Squirrel. + +By the time Happy Jack reached the dooryard, Shadow was only a few jumps +behind him, and Happy Jack was pretty well out of breath. He didn't stop +to look to see if the way was clear. There wasn't time for that. +Besides, there could be no greater danger in front than was almost at +his heels, and so, without looking one way or another, he scampered +across the dooryard and up the big maple tree close to the house. Shadow +the Weasel was surprised. He had not dreamed that Happy Jack would come +over here. But Shadow is a bold fellow, and it made little difference to +him where Happy Jack went. At least, that is what he thought. + +So he followed Happy Jack across the dooryard and up the maple tree. He +took his time about it, for he knew by the way Happy Jack had run that +he was pretty nearly at the end of his strength. "He never'll get out of +this tree," thought Shadow, as he started to climb it. He fully +expected to find Happy Jack huddled in a miserable little heap somewhere +near the top. Just imagine how surprised he was when he discovered that +Happy Jack wasn't to be seen. He rubbed his angry little red eyes, and +they grew angrier and redder than before. + +"Must be a hollow up here somewhere," he muttered. "I'll just follow the +scent of his feet, and that will lead me to him." + +But when that scent led him out on a branch the tip of which brushed +against Farmer Brown's house Shadow got another surprise. There was no +sign of Happy Jack. He couldn't have reached the roof. There was no +place he could have gone unless--. Shadow stared across at a window open +about two inches. + +"He couldn't have!" muttered Shadow. "He wouldn't dare. He couldn't +have!" + +But Happy Jack had. He had gone inside that window. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +FARMER BROWN'S BOY WAKES WITH A START + + Never think another crazy just because it happens you + Never've heard of just the thing that they have started out to do. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Isn't it queer how hard it seems to be for some boys to go to bed at the +proper time and how much harder it is for them to get up in the morning? +It was just so with Farmer Brown's boy. I suppose he wouldn't have been +a real boy if it hadn't been so. Of course, while he was sick with the +mumps, he didn't have to get up, and while he was getting over the +mumps his mother let him sleep as long as he wanted to in the morning. +That was very nice, but it made it all the harder to get up when he +should after he was well again. In summer it wasn't so bad getting up +early, but in winter--well, that was the one thing about winter that +Farmer Brown's boy didn't like. + +On this particular morning Farmer Brown had called him, and he had +replied with a sleepy "All right." and then had rolled over and promptly +gone to sleep again. In two minutes he was dreaming just as if there +were no such things as duties to be done. For a while they were very +pleasant dreams, very pleasant indeed. But suddenly they changed. A +terrible monster was chasing him. It had great red eyes as big as +saucers, and sparks of fire flew from its mouth. It had great claws as +big as ice tongs, and it roared like a lion. In his dream Farmer Brown's +boy was running with all his might. Then he tripped and fell, and +somehow he couldn't get up again. The terrible monster came nearer and +nearer. Farmer Brown's boy tried to scream and couldn't. He was so +frightened that he had lost his voice. The terrible monster was right +over him now and reached out one of his huge paws with the great claws. +One of them touched him on the cheek, and it burned like fire. + +With a yell, a real, genuine yell, Farmer Brown's boy awoke and sprang +out of bed. For a minute he couldn't think where he was. Then with a +sigh of relief he realized that he was safe in his own snug little room +with the first Jolly Little Sunbeam creeping in at the window to wish +him good morning and chide him for being such a lazy fellow. A thump and +a scurry of little feet caught his attention, and he turned to see a +Gray Squirrel running for the open window. It jumped up on the sill, +looked out, then jumped down inside again, and ran over to a corner of +the room, where he crouched as if in great fear. It was clear that he +had been badly frightened by the yell of Farmer Brown's boy, and that he +was still more frightened by something he had seen when he looked out of +the window. + +A great light broke over Farmer Brown's boy. "Happy Jack, you little +rascal, I believe you are the terrible monster that scared me so!" he +exclaimed. "I believe you were on my bed, and that it was your claws +that I felt on my face. But what ails you? You look frightened almost to +death." + +He went over to the window and looked out. A movement in the big maple +tree just outside caught his attention. He saw a long, slim white form +dart down the tree and disappear. He knew who it was. It was Shadow the +Weasel. + +"So that pesky Weasel has been after you again, and you came to me for +help," said he gently, as he coaxed Happy Jack to come to him. "This is +the place to come to every time. Poor little chap, you're all of a +tremble. I guess I know how you feel when a Weasel is after you. I guess +you feel just as I felt when I dreamed that that monster was after me. +My, but you certainly did give me a scare when you touched my face!" He +gently stroked Happy Jack as he talked, and Happy Jack let him. + +"Breakfast!" called a voice from downstairs. + +"Coming!" replied Farmer Brown's boy as he put Happy Jack on the table +by a dish of nuts and began to scramble into his clothes. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +HAPPY JACK IS AFRAID TO GO HOME + +Safety first is the best rule to insure a long life. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack didn't dare go home. Can you think of anything more dreadful +than to be afraid to go to your own home? Why, home is the dearest place +in the world, and it should be the safest. Just think how you would feel +if you should be away from home, and then you should learn that it +wouldn't be safe for you to go back there again, and you had no other +place to go. It often happens that way with the little people of the +Green Meadows and the Green Forest. It was that way with Happy Jack +Squirrel now. + +You see, Happy Jack knew that Shadow the Weasel is not one to give up +easily. Shadow has one very good trait, and that is persistence. He is +not easily discouraged. When he sets out to do a thing, usually he does +it. If he starts to get a thing, usually he gets it. No, he isn't easily +discouraged. Happy Jack knows this. No one knows it better. So Happy +Jack didn't dare to go home. He knew that any minute of night or day +Shadow might surprise him there, and that would be the end of him. He +more than half suspected that Shadow was at that very time hiding +somewhere along the way ready to spring out on him if he should try to +go back home. + +He had stayed in the room of Farmer Brown's boy until Mrs. Brown had +come to make the bed. Then he had jumped out the window into the big +maple tree. He wasn't quite sure of Mrs. Brown yet. She had kindly eyes. +They were just like the eyes of Farmer Brown's boy. But he didn't feel +really acquainted yet, and he felt safer outside than inside the room +while she was there. + + "Oh dear, oh dear! What shall I do? + I have no home, and so + To keep me warm and snug and safe + I have no place to go!" + +Happy Jack said this over and over as he sat in the maple tree, trying +to decide what was to be done. + +"I wonder what ails that Squirrel. He seems to be doing a lot of +scolding," said Mrs. Brown, as she looked out of the window. And that +shows how easy it is to misunderstand people when we don't know all +about their affairs. Mrs. Brown thought that Happy Jack was scolding, +when all the time he was just frightened and worried and wondering where +he could go and what he could do to feel safe from Shadow the Weasel. + +Because he didn't dare to go back to the Green Forest, he spent most of +the day in the big maple tree close to Farmer Brown's house. The window +had been closed, so he couldn't go inside. He looked at it longingly a +great many times during the day, hoping that he would find it open. But +he didn't. You see, it was opened only at night when Farmer Brown's boy +went to bed, so that he would have plenty of fresh air all night. Of +course Happy Jack didn't know that. All his life he had had plenty of +fresh air all the time, and be couldn't understand how people could live +in houses all shut up. + +Late that afternoon Farmer Brown's boy, who had been at school all day, +came whistling into the yard. He noticed Happy Jack right away. "Hello! +You back again! Isn't one good meal a day enough?" he exclaimed. + +"He's been there all day," said his mother, who had come to the door +just in time to overhear him. "I don't know what ails him." + +Then Farmer Brown's boy noticed how forlorn Happy Jack looked. He +remembered Happy Jack's fright that morning. + +"I know what's the matter!" he cried. "It's that Weasel. The poor little +chap is afraid to go home. We must see what we can do for him. I wonder +if he will stay if I make a new house for him. I believe I'll try it and +see." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +HAPPY JACK FINDS A NEW HOME + + They say the very darkest clouds + Are lined with silver bright and fair, + Though how they know I do not see, + And neither do I really care. + It's good to believe, and so I try + To believe 'tis true with all my might, + That nothing is so seeming dark + But has a hidden side that's bright. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Certainly things couldn't look much darker than they did to Happy Jack +Squirrel as he sat in the big maple tree at the side of Farmer Brown's +house, and saw jolly, round, red Mr. Sun getting ready to go to bed +behind the Purple Hills. He was afraid to go to his home in the Green +Forest because Shadow the Weasel might be waiting for him there. He was +afraid of the night which would soon come. He was cold, and he was +hungry. Altogether he was as miserable a little Squirrel as ever was +seen. + +He had just made up his mind that he would have to go look for a hollow +in one of the trees in the Old Orchard in which to spend the night, when +around the corner of the house came Farmer Brown's boy with something +under one arm and dragging a ladder. He whistled cheerily to Happy Jack +as he put the ladder against the tree and climbed up. By this time Happy +Jack had grown so timid that he was just a little afraid of Farmer +Brown's boy, so he climbed as high up in the tree as he could get and +watched what was going on below. Even if he was afraid, there was +comfort in having Farmer Brown's boy near. + +For some time Farmer Brown's boy worked busily at the place where the +branch that Happy Jack knew so well started out from the trunk of the +tree towards the window of Farmer Brown's boy's room. When he had fixed +things to suit him, he went down the ladder and carried it away with +him. In the crotch of the tree he had left the queer thing that he had +brought under his arm. In spite of his fears, Happy Jack was curious. +Little by little he crept nearer. What he saw was a box with a round +hole, just about big enough for him to go through, in one end, and in +front of it a little shelf. On the shelf were some of the nuts that he +liked best. + +For a long time Happy Jack looked and looked. Was it a trap? Somehow he +couldn't believe that it was. What would Farmer Brown's boy try to trap +him for when they were such good friends? At last the sight of the nuts +was too much for him. It certainly was safe enough to help himself to +those. How good they tasted! Almost before he knew it, they were gone. +Then he got up courage enough to peep inside. The box was filled with +soft hay. It certainly did look inviting in there to a fellow who had no +home and no place to go. He put his head inside. Finally he went wholly +in. It was just as nice as it looked. + +"I believe," thought Happy Jack, "that he made this little house just +for me, and that he put all this hay in here for my bed. He doesn't know +much about making a bed, but I guess he means well." + +With that he went to work happily to make up a bed to suit him, and by +the time the first Black Shadow had crept as far as the big maple tree, +Happy Jack was curled up fast asleep in his new house. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +FARMER BROWN'S BOY TAKES A PRISONER + + The craftiest and cleverest, the strongest and the bold + Will make mistakes like other folks, young, middle-aged, and old. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack Squirrel was happy once more. He liked his new house, the +house that Farmer Brown's boy had made for him and fastened in the big +maple tree close by the house in which he himself lived. Happy Jack and +Farmer Brown's boy were getting to be greater friends than ever. Every +morning Happy Jack jumped over to the window-sill and then in at the +open window of the room of Farmer Brown's boy. There he was sure to find +a good breakfast of fat hickory nuts. When Farmer Brown's boy overslept, +as he did sometimes, Happy Jack would jump up on the bed and waken him. +He thought this great fun. So did Farmer Brown's boy, though sometimes +when he was very sleepy he pretended to scold, especially on Sunday +mornings when he did not have to get up as early as on other days. + +Of course, Black Pussy had soon discovered that Happy Jack was living in +the big maple tree, and she spent a great deal of time sitting at the +foot of it and glaring up at him with a hungry look in her eyes, +although she wasn't hungry at all, for she had plenty to eat. Several +times she climbed up in the tree and tried to catch him. At first he had +been afraid, but he soon found out that Black Pussy was not at all at +home in a tree as he was. After that, he rather enjoyed having her try +to catch him. It was almost like a game. It was great fun to scold at +her and let her get very near him and then, just as she was sure that +she was going to catch him, to jump out of her reach. After a while she +was content to sit at the foot of the tree and just glare at him. + +Happy Jack had only one worry now, and this didn't trouble him a great +deal. It was possible that Shadow the Weasel might take it into his head +to try to surprise him some night. Happy Jack knew that by this time +Shadow must know where he was living, for of course Sammy Jay had found +out, and Sammy is one of those who tells all he knows. Still, being so +close to Farmer Brown's boy gave Happy Jack a very comfortable feeling. + +Now all this time Farmer Brown's boy had not forgotten Shadow the Weasel +and how he had driven Happy Jack out of the Green Forest, and he had +wondered a great many times if it wouldn't be a kindness to the other +little people if he should trap Shadow and put him out of the way. But +you know he had given up trapping, and somehow he didn't like to think +of setting a trap, even for such a mischief-maker as Shadow. Then +something happened that made Farmer Brown's boy very, very angry. One +morning, when he went to feed the biddies, he found that Shadow had +visited the henhouse in the night and killed three of his best pullets. +That decided him. He felt sure that Shadow would come again, and he +meant to give Shadow a surprise. He hunted until he found the little +hole through which Shadow had got into the henhouse, and there he set a +trap. + +"I don't like to do it, but I've got to," said he. "If he had been +content with one, it would have been bad enough, but he killed three +just from the love of killing, and it is high time that something be +done to get rid of him." + +The very next morning Happy Jack saw Farmer Brown's boy coming from the +henhouse with something under his arm. He came straight over to the foot +of the big maple tree and put the thing he was carrying down on the +ground. He whistled to Happy Jack, and as Happy Jack came down to see +what it was all about, Farmer Brown's boy grinned. "Here's a friend of +yours you probably will be glad to see," said he. + +At first, all Happy Jack could make out was a kind of wire box. Then he +saw something white inside, and it moved. Very suspiciously Happy Jack +came nearer. Then his heart gave a great leap. That wire box was a cage, +and glaring between the wires with red, angry eyes was Shadow the +Weasel! He was a prisoner! Right away Happy Jack was so excited that he +acted as if he were crazy. He no longer had a single thing to be afraid +of. Do you wonder that he was excited? + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +A PRISONER WITHOUT FEAR + +A bad name is easy to get but hard to live down. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Shadow the Weasel was a prisoner. He who always had been free to go and +come as he pleased and to do as he pleased was now in a little narrow +cage and quite helpless. For once he had been careless, and this was the +result. Farmer Brown's boy had caught him in a trap. Of course, he +should have known better than to have visited the henhouse a second time +after killing three of the best pullets there. He should have known +that Farmer Brown's boy would be sure to do something about it. The +truth is, he had yielded to temptation when common sense had warned him +not to. So he had no one to blame for his present difficulty but +himself, and he knew it. + +At first he had been in a terrible rage and had bitten at the wires +until he had made his mouth sore. When he had made sure that the wires +were stouter than his teeth, he wisely stopped trying to get out in that +way, and made up his mind that the only thing to do was to watch for a +chance to slip out, if the door of the cage should happen to be left +unfastened. + +Of course it hurt his pride terribly to be made fun of by those who +always had feared him. Happy Jack Squirrel was the first one of these to +see him. Farmer Brown's boy had put the cage down near the foot of the +big maple tree in which Happy Jack was living, because Shadow had driven +him out of the Green Forest. As soon as Happy Jack had made sure that +Shadow really and truly was a prisoner and so quite harmless, he had +acted as if he were crazy. Perhaps he was--crazy with joy. You see, he +no longer had anything to be really afraid of, for there was no one but +Shadow from whom he could not get away by running into his house. Billy +Mink was the only other one who could follow him there, and Billy was +not likely to come climbing up a tree so close to Farmer Brown's house. + +So Happy Jack raced up and down the tree in the very greatest +excitement, and his tongue went quite as fast as his legs. He wanted +everybody to know that Shadow was a prisoner at last. At first he did +not dare go very close to the cage. You see, he had so long feared +Shadow that he was still afraid of him even though he was so helpless. +But little by little Happy Jack grew bolder and came very close. And +then he began doing something not at all nice. He began calling Shadow +names and making fun of him, and telling him how he wasn't afraid of +him. It was all very foolish and worse--it was like hitting a foe who +was helpless. + +Of course Happy Jack hastened to tell everybody he met all about Shadow, +so it wasn't long before Shadow began to receive many visitors. Whenever +Farmer Brown's boy was not around there was sure to be one or more of +the little people who had feared Shadow to taunt him and make fun of +him. Somehow it seems as if always it is that way when people get into +trouble. You know it is very easy to appear to be bold and brave when +there is nothing to be afraid of. Of course that isn't bravery at all, +though many seem to think it is. + +[Illustration: IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE SHADOW BEGAN TO RECEIVE MANY +VISITORS.] + +Now what do you think that right down in their hearts all these little +people who came to jeer at Shadow the Weasel hoped they would see? Why, +they hoped they would see Shadow afraid. Yes, Sir, that is just what +they hoped. But they didn't. That is where they were disappointed. Not +once did Shadow show the least sign of fear. He didn't know what Farmer +Brown's boy would do with him, and he had every reason to fear that if +he was not to be kept a prisoner for the rest of his natural life, +something dreadful would be the end. But he was too proud and too brave +to let any one know that any such fear ever entered his mind. Whatever +his faults, Shadow is no coward. He boldly took bits of meat which +Farmer Brown's boy brought to him, and not once appeared in the least +afraid, so that, much as he disliked him, Farmer Brown's boy actually +had to admire him. He was a prisoner, but he kept just as stout a heart +as ever. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +WHAT FARMER BROWN'S BOY DID WITH SHADOW + + Ribble, dibble, dibble, dab! + Some people have the gift of gab! + Some people have no tongues at all + To trip them up and make them fall. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +It is a fact, one of the biggest facts in all the world, that tongues +make the greatest part of all the trouble that brings uncomfortable +feelings, and bitterness and sadness and suffering and sorrow. If it +wasn't for unruly, careless, mean tongues, the Great World would be a +million times better to live in, a million times happier. It is because +of his unruly tongue that Sammy Jay is forever getting into trouble. It +is the same way with Chatterer the Red Squirrel. And it is just the same +way with a great many little boys and girls, and with grown-ups as well. + +When the little people of the Green Forest and Green Meadows who fear +Shadow the Weasel found that he was a prisoner, many of them took +particular pains to visit him when the way was clear, just to make fun +of him and tease him and tell him that they were not afraid of him and +that they were glad that he was a prisoner, and that they were sure +something dreadful would happen to him and they hoped it would. Shadow +said never a word in reply. He was too wise to do that. He just turned +his back on them. But all the time he was storing up in his mind all +these hateful things, and he meant, if ever he got free again, to make +life very uncomfortable for those whose foolish tongues were trying to +make him more miserable than he already felt. + +But these little people with the foolish tongues didn't stop to think of +what might happen. They just took it for granted that Shadow never again +would run wild and free in the Green Forest, and so they just let their +tongues run and enjoyed doing it. Perhaps they wouldn't have, if they +could have known just what was going on in the mind of Farmer Brown's +boy. Ever since he had found Shadow in the trap which he had set for him +in the henhouse, Farmer Brown's boy had been puzzling over what he +should do with his prisoner. At first he had thought he would keep him +in a cage the rest of his life. But somehow, whenever he looked into +Shadow's fierce little eyes and saw how unafraid they looked, he got to +thinking of how terrible it must be to be shut up in a little narrow +cage when one has had all the Green Forest in which to go and come. Then +he thought that he would kill Shadow and put him out of his misery at +once. + +"He killed my pullets, and he is always hunting the harmless little +people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows, so he deserves to be +killed," thought Farmer Brown's boy. "He's a pest." + +Then he remembered that after all Shadow was one of Old Mother Nature's +little people, and that he must serve some purpose in Mother Nature's +great plan. Bad as he seemed, she must have some use for him. Perhaps it +was to teach others through fear of him how to be smarter and take +better care of themselves and so be better fitted to do their parts. The +more he thought of this, the harder it was for Farmer Brown's boy to +make up his mind to kill him. But if he couldn't keep him a prisoner +and he couldn't kill him, what could he do? + +He was scowling down at Shadow one morning and puzzling over this when a +happy idea came to him. "I know what I'll do!" he exclaimed. Without +another word he picked up the cage with Shadow in it and started off +across the Green Meadows, which now, you know, were not green at all but +covered with snow. Happy Jack watched him out of sight. He had gone in +the direction of the Old Pasture. He was gone a long time, and when he +did return, the cage was empty. + +Happy Jack blinked at the empty cage. Then he began to ask in a +scolding tone, "What did you do with him? What did you do with him?" + +Farmer Brown's boy just smiled and tossed a nut to Happy Jack. And far +up in the Old Pasture, Shadow the Weasel was once more free. It was well +for Happy Jack's peace of mind that he didn't know that. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +HAPPY JACK IS PERFECTLY HAPPY + + Never say a thing is so + Unless you absolutely know. + Just remember every day + To be quite sure of what you say. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Taking things for granted doesn't do at all in this world. To take a +thing for granted is to think that it is so without taking the trouble +to find out whether it is or not. It is apt not only to get you yourself +into trouble, but to make trouble for other people as well. Happy Jack +saw Farmer Brown's boy carry Shadow the Weasel away in a cage, and he +saw him bring back the cage empty. What could he have done with Shadow? +For a while he teased Farmer Brown's boy to tell him, but of course +Farmer Brown's boy didn't understand Happy Jack's language. + +Now Happy Jack knew just what he would like to believe. He would like to +believe that Farmer Brown's boy had taken Shadow away and made an end of +him. And because he wanted to believe that, it wasn't very hard to +believe it. There was the empty cage. Of course Farmer Brown's boy +wouldn't have gone to the trouble of trapping Shadow unless he intended +to get rid of him for good. + +"He's made an end of him, that's what he's done!" said Happy Jack to +himself, because that is what he would have done if he had been in +Farmer Brown's boy's place. So having made up his mind that this is what +had been done with Shadow, he at once told all his friends that it was +so, and was himself supremely happy. You see, he felt that he no longer +had anything to worry about. Yes, Sir, Happy Jack was happy. He liked +the house Farmer Brown's boy had made for him in the big maple tree +close by his own house. He was sure of plenty to eat, because Farmer +Brown's boy always looked out for that, and as a result Happy Jack was +growing fat. None of his enemies of the Green Forest dared come so near +to Farmer Brown's house, and the only one he had to watch out for at +all was Black Pussy. By this time he wasn't afraid of her; not a bit. In +fact, he rather enjoyed teasing her and getting her to chase him. When +she was dozing on the doorstep he liked to steal very close, wake her +with a sharp bark, and then race for the nearest tree, and there scold +her to his heart's content. He had made friends with Mrs. Brown and with +Farmer Brown, and he even felt almost friends with Bowser the Hound. +Sometimes he would climb up on the roof of Bowser's little house and +drop nutshells on Bowser's head when he was asleep. The funny thing was +Bowser never seemed to mind. He would lazily open his eyes and wink one +of them at Happy Jack and thump with his tail. He seemed to feel that +now Happy Jack was one of the family, just as he was. + +So Happy Jack was just as happy as a fat Gray Squirrel with nothing to +worry him could be. He was so happy that Sammy Jay actually became +jealous. You know Sammy is a born trouble maker. He visited Happy Jack +every morning, and while he helped himself to the good things that he +always found spread for him, for Farmer Brown's boy always had something +for the little feathered folk to eat, he would hint darkly that such +goodness and kindness was not to be trusted, and that something was sure +to happen. That is just the way with some folks; they always are +suspicious. + +But nothing that Sammy Jay could say troubled Happy Jack; and Sammy +would fly away quite put out because he couldn't spoil Happy Jack's +happiness the least little bit. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +SAMMY JAY UPSETS HAPPY JACK + +A good deed well done often is overlooked, +but you never are allowed to forget a mistake. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Sammy Jay chuckled as he flew across the snow-covered Green Meadows on +his way to his home in the Green Forest. He chuckled and he chuckled. To +have heard him you would have thought that either he had thought of +something very pleasant, or something very pleasant had happened to him. +Once he turned in the direction of Farmer Brown's house, but changed his +mind as he saw the Black Shadows creeping out from the Purple Hills, +and once more headed for the Green Forest. + +"Too late to-day. Time I was home now. It'll keep until to-morrow," he +muttered. Then he chuckled, and he was still chuckling when he reached +the big hemlock tree, among the thick branches of which he spent each +night. + +"Don't know what started me off to the Old Pasture this afternoon, but +I'm glad I went. My, my, my, but I'm glad I went," said he, as he +fluffed out his feathers and prepared to tuck his head under his wing. +"It pays to snoop around in this world and see what is going on. I +learned a long time ago not to believe everything I hear, and that the +surest way to make sure of things is to find out for myself. Nothing +like using my own eyes and my own ears. Well, I must get to sleep." He +began to chuckle again, and he was still chuckling as he fell asleep. + +The next morning Sammy Jay was astir at the very first sign of light. He +waited just long enough to see that every feather was in place, for +Sammy is a bit vain, and very particular about his dress. Then he headed +straight for Farmer Brown's house. Just as he expected he found Happy +Jack Squirrel was awake, for Happy Jack is an early riser. + +"Good morning," said Sammy Jay, and tried very hard to make his voice +sound smooth and pleasant, a very hard thing for Sammy to do, for his +voice, you know, is naturally harsh and unpleasant. "You seem to be +looking as happy as ever." + +"Of course I am," replied Happy Jack. "Why shouldn't I be? I haven't a +thing to worry about. Of course I'm happy, and I hope you're just as +happy as I am. I'm going to get my breakfast now, and then I'll be +happier still." + +"That's so. There's nothing like a good breakfast to make one happy," +said Sammy Jay, helping himself to some suet tied to a branch of the +maple tree. "By the way, I saw an old friend of yours yesterday. He +inquired after you particularly. He didn't exactly send his love, but he +said that he hoped you are as well and fat as ever, and that he will see +you again some time. He said that he didn't know of any one he likes to +look at better than you." + +Happy Jack looked flattered. "That was very nice of him," said he. "Who +was it?" + +"Guess," replied Sammy. + +Happy Jack scratched his head thoughtfully. There were not many friends +in winter. Most of them were asleep or had gone to the far away +southland. + +"Peter Rabbit," he ventured. + +Sammy shook his head. + +"Jimmy Skunk!" + +Again Sammy shook his head. + +"Jumper the Hare!" + +"Guess again," said Sammy, chuckling. + +"Little Joe Otter!" + +"Wrong," replied Sammy. + +"I give up. Who was it? Do tell me," begged Happy Jack. + +"It was Shadow the Weasel!" cried Sammy, triumphantly. + +Happy Jack dropped the nut he was just going to eat, and in place of +happiness something very like fear grew and grew in his eyes. "I--I +don't believe you," he stammered. "Farmer Brown's boy took him away and +put an end to him. I saw him take him." + +"But you didn't see him put an end to Shadow," declared Sammy, "because +he didn't. He took him 'way up in the Old Pasture and let him go, and I +saw him up there yesterday. That's what comes of guessing at things. +Shadow is no more dead than you are. Well, I must be going along. I hope +you'll enjoy your breakfast." + +With this, off flew Sammy Jay, chuckling as if he thought he had done a +very smart thing in upsetting Happy Jack, which goes to show what queer +ideas some people have. + +As for Happy Jack, he worried for a while, but as Shadow didn't come, +and there was nothing else to worry about, little by little Happy Jack's +high spirits returned, until he was as happy as ever. And now, though +he has had many adventures since then, I must leave him, for there is no +more room in this book. Perhaps if you ask him, he will tell you of +these other adventures himself. Meanwhile, bashful little Mrs. Peter +Rabbit is anxious that you should know something about her. So I have +promised to call the next book, "Mrs. Peter Rabbit." + + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Happy Jack, by Thornton Burgess + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13355 *** diff --git a/13355-h/13355-h.htm b/13355-h/13355-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0f69901 --- /dev/null +++ b/13355-h/13355-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,2784 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content= + "text/html; charset=UTF-8"> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Happy Jack, by Thornton W. Burgess. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + P { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + } + HR { width: 33%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + } + BODY{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .note {margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;} /* footnote */ + .blkquot {margin-left: 4em; margin-right: 4em;} /* block indent */ + .pagenum {position: absolute; left: 92%; font-size: smaller; text-align: right;} /* page numbers */ + .sidenote {width: 20%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding-left: 1em; font-size: smaller; float: right; clear: right;} + .first {font-size: 300%; float: left; padding-right: .1em; padding-left: .1em;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span {display: block; margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em;} + .poem span.i3 {display: block; margin-left: 3em;} + + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> + </head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13355 ***</div> + +<br /> + + +<h1>HAPPY JACK</h1> + +<h3>BY</h3> + +<h2>THORNTON W. BURGESS</h2> + +<p style='text-align: center;'><i>With Illustrations by HARRISON CADY</i></p> + +<p style='text-align: center;'>This book, while produced under wartime conditions, in full compliance<br /> +with government regulations for the conservation of paper and other<br /> +essential materials, is COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED.</p> + + + +<p style='text-align: center;'><i>1918,</i></p> + + + +<br /> + +<p style='text-align: center;'>TO</p> + +<p style='text-align: center;'>DR. WILLIAM T. HORNADAY</p> + +<p>TO WHOM POSTERITY WILL OWE A DEBT OF GRATITUDE FOR HIS VALIANT FIGHT TO +PRESERVE AMERICAN WILD LIFE, WHO HAS BEEN A LIFELONG CHAMPION OF HAPPY +JACK SQUIRREL, AND TO WHOM THE AUTHOR IS DEEPLY INDEBTED FOR +ENCOURAGEMENT AND ASSISTANCE THIS BOOK IS GRATEFULLY DEDICATED</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CONTENTS'></a><h2>CONTENTS</h2> + + +<table align='center' border='0' cellpadding='6' cellspacing='0' summary=''> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_I'><b>I.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_I'><b>HAPPY JACK DROPS A NUT</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_II'><b>II.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_II'><b>THE QUARREL</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_III'><b>III.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_III'><b>STRIPED CHIPMUNK Is KEPT VERY BUSY</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_IV'><b>IV.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_IV'><b>HAPPY JACK AND CHATTERER FEEL FOOLISH</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_V'><b>V.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_V'><b>HAPPY JACK SUSPECTS STRIPED CHIPMUNK</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_VI'><b>VI.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_VI'><b>HAPPY JACK SPIES ON STRIPED CHIPMUNK</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_VII'><b>VII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_VII'><b>STRIPED CHIPMUNK HAS FUN WITH HAPPY JACK</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_VIII'><b>VIII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_VIII'><b>HAPPY JACK TURNS BURGLAR</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_IX'><b>IX.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_IX'><b>HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL'S SAD MISTAKE</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_X'><b>X.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_X'><b>STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S HAPPY THOUGHT</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XI'><b>XI.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XI'><b>STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S THANKSGIVING DINNER</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XII'><b>XII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XII'><b>HAPPY JACK DOES SOME THINKING</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIII'><b>XIII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XIII'><b>HAPPY JACK GETS A WARNING</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIV'><b>XIV.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XIV'><b>HAPPY JACK'S RUN FOR LIFE</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XV'><b>XV.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XV'><b>WHO SAVED HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL?</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XVI'><b>XVI.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XVI'><b>HAPPY JACK MISSES FARMER BROWN'S BOY</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XVII'><b>XVII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XVII'><b>TOMMY TIT BRINGS NEWS</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XVIII'><b>XVIII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XVIII'><b>HAPPY JACK DECIDES TO MAKE A CALL</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIX'><b>XIX.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XIX'><b>TOMMY TIT AND HAPPY JACK PAY A VISIT</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XX'><b>XX.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XX'><b>WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH FARMER BROWN'S BOY?</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXI'><b>XXI.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXI'><b>HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL GROWS VERY BOLD</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXII'><b>XXII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXII'><b>HAPPY JACK DARES TOMMY TIT</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIII'><b>XXIII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIII'><b>SAMMY JAY IS QUITE UPSET</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIV'><b>XXIV.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIV'><b>A DREAM COMES TRUE</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXV'><b>XXV.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXV'><b>HAPPY JACK HAS A HAPPY THOUGHT</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVI'><b>XXVI.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVI'><b>FARMER BROWN'S BOY WAKES WITH A START</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVII'><b>XXVII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVII'><b>HAPPY JACK IS AFRAID TO GO HOME</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVIII'><b>XXVIII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVIII'><b>HAPPY JACK FINDS A NEW HOME</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIX'><b>XXIX.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIX'><b>FARMER BROWN'S BOY TAKES A PRISONER</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXX'><b>XXX.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXX'><b>A PRISONER WITHOUT FEAR</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXI'><b>XXXI.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXI'><b>WHAT FARMER BROWN'S BOY DID WITH SHADOW</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXII'><b>XXXII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXII'><b>HAPPY JACK IS PERFECTLY HAPPY</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXIII'><b>XXXIII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXIII'><b>SAMMY JAY UPSETS HAPPY JACK</b></a></td></tr></table> + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS'></a><h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +<p style='text-align: center;'><a href='#ears'>Peter Rabbit, who happened along just then, put his hands over his ears</a></p> + +<p style='text-align: center;'><a href='#trick'>Happy Jack tried every trick he knew to get away from Shadow the Weasel</a></p> + +<p style='text-align: center;'><a href='#find'>"Did you find out anything?" asked Happy Jack eagerly</a></p> + +<p style='text-align: center;'><a href='#visitors'>It wasn't long before Shadow began to receive many visitors</a></p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h1>HAPPY JACK</h1> + +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_I'></a><h2>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK DROPS A NUT</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'>Save a little every day,<br /> +And for the future put away.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack Squirrel sat on the tip of one of the highest branches of a +big hickory tree. Happy Jack was up very early that morning. In fact, +jolly, round, red Mr. Sun was still in his bed behind the Purple Hills +when Happy Jack hopped briskly out of bed. He washed himself thoroughly +and was ready for business by the time Mr. Sun began his climb up in +the blue, blue sky.</p> + +<p>You see, Happy Jack had found that big hickory tree just loaded with +nuts all ripe and ready to gather. He was quite sure that no one else +had found that special tree, and he wanted to get all the nuts before +any one else found out about them. So he was all ready and off he raced +to the big tree just as soon as it was light enough to see.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"The nuts that grow in the hickory tree—<br /></span> +<span>They're all for me! They're all for me!"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Happy Jack was humming that little song as he rested for a few minutes +'way up in the top of the tree and wondered if his storehouse would hold +all these big, fat nuts. Just then he heard a great scolding a little +way over in the Green Forest. Happy Jack stopped humming and listened. +He knew that voice. It was his cousin's voice—the voice of Chatterer +the Red Squirrel. Happy Jack frowned. "I hope he won't come over this +way," muttered Happy Jack. He does not love his cousin Chatterer anyway, +and then there was the big tree full of hickory nuts! He didn't want +Chatterer to find that.</p> + +<p>I am afraid that Happy Jack was selfish. There were more nuts than he +could possibly eat in one winter, and yet he wasn't willing that his +cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, should have a single one. Now +Chatterer is short-tempered and a great scold. Some one or something +had upset him this morning, and he was scolding as fast as his tongue +could go, as he came running right towards the tree in which Happy Jack +was sitting. Happy Jack sat perfectly still and watched. He didn't move +so much as the tip of his big gray tail. Would Chatterer go past and not +see that big tree full of nuts? It looked very much as if he would, for +he was so busy scolding that he wasn't paying much attention to other +things.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack smiled as Chatterer came running under the tree without once +looking up. He was so tickled that he started to hug himself and didn't +remember that he was holding a big, fat nut in his hands. Of course he +dropped it. Where do you think it went? Well, Sir, it fell straight +down, from the top of that tall tree, and it landed right on the head of +Chatterer the Red Squirrel!</p> + +<p>"My stars!" cried Chatterer, stopping his scolding and his running +together, and rubbing his head where the nut had hit him. Then he looked +up to see where it had come from. Of course, he looked straight up at +Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"You did that purposely!" screamed Chatterer, his short temper flaring +up.</p> + +<p>"I didn't!" snapped Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"You did!"</p> + +<p>"I didn't!"</p> + +<p>Oh, dear, oh, dear, such a sight! two little Squirrels, one in a gray +suit and one in a red suit, contradicting each other and calling names! +It was such a sad, sad sight, for you know they were cousins.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_II'></a><h2>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>THE QUARREL</h3> + + +<p style='text-align: center;'>It's up to you and up to me<br /> +To see how thrifty we can be.<br /> +To do our bit like soldiers true<br /> +It's up to me and up to you.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>T</span>wo angry little people were making a dreadful noise in the Green +Forest. It was a beautiful morning, a very beautiful fall morning, but +all the beauty of it was being spoiled by the dreadful noise these two +little people. You see they were quarreling. Yes, Sir, they were +quarreling, and it wasn't at all nice to see or nice to hear.</p> + +<p>You know who they were. One was Happy Jack Squirrel, who wears a coat +of gray, and the other was Chatterer the Red Squirrel, who always wears +a red coat with vest of white. When Happy Jack had dropped that nut from +the tiptop of the tall hickory tree and it had landed right on top of +Chatterer's head it really had been an accident. All the time Happy Jack +had been sitting as still as still could be, hoping that his cousin +Chatterer would pass by without looking up and so seeing the big fat +nuts in the top of that tree. You see Happy Jack was greedy and wanted +all of them himself. Now Chatterer the Red Squirrel has a sharp temper, +and also he has sharp eyes. All the time he was scolding Happy Jack and +calling him names Chatterer's bright eyes were taking note of all those +big, fat hickory-nuts and his mouth began to water. Without wasting any +more time he started up the tree to get some.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack grew very angry, very angry indeed. He hurried down to meet +Chatterer the Red Squirrel and to prevent him climbing the tree.</p> + +<p>"You keep out of this tree; it's mine!" he shrieked.</p> + +<p>"No such thing! You don't own the tree and I've got just as much right +here as you have!" screamed Chatterer, dodging around to the other side +of the tree.</p> + +<p>"'Tis, too, mine! I found it first!" shouted Happy Jack. "You're a +thief, so there!"</p> + +<p>"I'm not!"</p> + +<p>"You are!"</p> + +<p>"You're a pig, Happy Jack! You're just a great big pig!"</p> + +<p>"I'm not a pig! I found these nuts first and I tell you they're mine!" +shrieked Happy Jack, so angry that every time he spoke he jerked his +tail. And all the time he was chasing round and round the trunk of the +tree trying to prevent Chatterer getting up.</p> + +<p>Now Happy Jack is ever so much bigger than his cousin Chatterer but he +isn't as spry. So in spite of him Chatterer got past, and like a little +red flash was up in the top of the tree where the big, fat nuts were. +But he didn't have time to pick even one, for after him came Happy Jack +so angry that Chatterer knew that he would fare badly if Happy Jack +should catch him. Round and round, over and across, this way and that +way, in the top of the tall hickory tree raced Chatterer the Red +Squirrel with his cousin, Happy Jack the Gray Squirrel, right at his +heels, and calling him everything bad to be thought of. Yes, indeed it +was truly dreadful, and Peter Rabbit, who happened along just then, put +his hands over his ears so as not to hear such a dreadful quarrel.</p> + +<a name='ears'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/jack003.jpg' width='397' height='600' alt='PETER RABBIT, WHO HAPPENED ALONG JUST THEN, PUT HIS HANDS +OVER HIS EARS.' title=''> +</center> +<h5>PETER RABBIT, WHO HAPPENED ALONG JUST THEN, PUT HIS HANDS +OVER HIS EARS.</h5> + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_III'></a><h2>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>STRIPED CHIPMUNK IS KEPT VERY BUSY</h3> + + +<p style='text-align: center;'>I prefer big acorns but I never refuse little ones.<br /> +They fit in between.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>S</span>triped Chipmunk was sitting just inside a hollow log, studying about +how he could fill up his new storehouse for the winter. Striped Chipmunk +is very thrifty. He likes to play, and he is one of the merriest of all +the little people who live on the Green Meadows or in the Green Forest. +He lives right on the edge of both and knows everybody, and everybody +knows him. Almost every morning the Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother +West Wind hurry over to have a frolic with him the very first thing. But +though he dearly loves to play, he never lets play interfere with work. +Whatever he does, be it play or work, he does with all his might.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"I love the sun; I love the rain;<br /></span> +<span class='i3'>I love to work; I love to play.<br /></span> +<span>Whatever it may bring to me<br /></span> +<span class='i3'>I love each minute of each day."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>So said Striped Chipmunk, as he sat in the hollow log and studied how he +could fill that splendid big new storehouse. Pretty soon he pricked up +his funny little ears. What was all that noise over in the Green +Forest? Striped Chipmunk peeped out of the hollow log. Over in the top +of a tall hickory tree a terrible fuss was going on. Striped Chipmunk +listened. He heard angry voices, such angry voices! They were the voices +of his big cousins, Happy Jack the Gray Squirrel and Chatterer the Red +Squirrel.</p> + +<p>"Dear me! Dear me! How those two do quarrel! I must go over and see what +it is all about," thought Striped Chipmunk.</p> + +<p>So, with a flirt of his funny, little tail, he scampered out of the +hollow log and over to the tall hickory tree. He knew all about that +tree. Many, many times he had looked up at the big fat nuts in the top +of it, watching them grow bigger and fatter, and hoping that when they +grew ripe, Old Mother West Wind would find time to shake them down to +him. You know Striped Chipmunk is not much of a climber, and so he +cannot go up and pick the nuts as do his big cousins, Happy Jack and +Chatterer.</p> + +<p>When he reached the tall hickory tree, what do you think was happening? +Why, those big, fat nuts were rattling down to the ground on every side, +just as if Old Mother West Wind was shaking the tree as hard as she +could. But Old Mother West Wind wasn't there at all. No, Sir, there +wasn't even one of the Merry Little Breezes up in the tree-tops. The +big fat nuts were rattling down just on account of the dreadful quarrel +of Striped Chipmunk's two foolish cousins, Happy Jack and Chatterer.</p> + +<p>It was all because Happy Jack was greedy. Chatterer had climbed the +tree, and now Happy Jack, who is bigger but not so spry, was chasing +Chatterer round and round and over the tree-top, and both were so angry +that they didn't once notice that they were knocking down the very nuts +over which they were quarreling.</p> + +<p>Striped Chipmunk didn't stop to listen to the quarrel. No, Sir-ee! He +stuffed a big fat nut in each pocket in his cheeks and scampered back +to his splendid new storehouse as fast as his little legs would take +him. Back and forth, back and forth, scampered Striped Chipmunk, and all +the time he was laughing inside and hoping his big cousins would keep +right on quarreling.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_IV'></a><h2>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK AND CHATTERER FEEL FOOLISH</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +If you get and spend a penny,<br /> +Then of course you haven't any.<br /> +Be like me—a Happy Jack—<br /> +And put it where you'll get it back.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack and Chatterer were out of breath. Happy Jack was puffing and +blowing, for he is big and fat, and it is not so easy for him to race +about in the tree-tops as it is for his smaller, slim, nimble cousin, +Chatterer. So Happy Jack was the first to stop. He sat on a branch 'way +up in the top of the tall hickory tree and glared across at Chatterer, +who sat on a branch on the other side of the tall tree.</p> + +<p>"Couldn't catch me, could you, smarty?" taunted Chatterer.</p> + +<p>"You just wait until I do! I'll make you sorry you ever came near my +hickory tree," snapped Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"I'm waiting. Besides, it isn't your tree any more than it's mine," +replied Chatterer, and made a face at Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack hopped up as if he meant to begin the chase again, but he had +a pain in his side from running so hard and so long, and so he sat down +again. Right down in his heart Happy Jack knew that Chatterer was +right, that the tree didn't belong to him any more than to his cousin. +But when he thought of all those big, fat nuts with which the tall +hickory tree had been loaded, greedy thoughts chased out all thoughts of +right and he said to himself again, as he had said when he first saw his +cousin, that Chatterer shouldn't have <i>one</i> of them. He stopped scolding +long enough to steal a look at them, and then—what do you think Happy +Jack did? Why, he gave such a jump of surprise that he nearly lost his +balance. Not a nut was to be seen! Happy Jack blinked. Then, he rubbed +his eyes and looked again. He couldn't see a nut anywhere!</p> + +<p>There were the husks in which the nuts had grown big and fat until they +were ripe, but now every husk was empty. Chatterer saw the queer look on +Happy Jack's face, and he looked too. Now Chatterer the Red Squirrel had +very quick wits, and he guessed right away what had happened. He knew +that while they had been quarreling and racing over the top of the tall +hickory tree, they must have knocked down all the nuts, which were just +ready to fall anyway. Like a little red flash, Chatterer started down +the tree. Then Happy Jack guessed too, and down he started as fast as he +could go, crying, "Stop, thief!" all the way.</p> + +<p>When he reached the ground, there was Chatterer scurrying around and +poking under the fallen leaves, but he hadn't found a single nut. Happy +Jack couldn't stop to quarrel any more, because you see he was afraid +that Chatterer would find the biggest and fattest nuts, so he began to +scurry around and hunt too. It was queer, very queer, how those nuts +could have hidden so! They hunted and hunted, but no nuts were to be +found. Then they stopped and stared up at the top of the tall hickory +tree. Not a nut could they see. Then they stared at each other, and +gradually a foolish, a very foolish look crept over each face.</p> + +<p>"Where—where do you suppose they have gone?" asked Happy Jack in a +queer-sounding voice.</p> + +<p>Just then they heard some one laughing fit to kill himself. It was Peter +Rabbit.</p> + +<p>"Did you take our hickory nuts?" they both shouted angrily.</p> + +<p>"No," replied Peter, "no, I didn't take them, though they were not +yours, anyway!" And then he went off into another fit of laughter, for +Peter had seen Striped Chipmunk very hard at work taking away those very +nuts while his two big cousins had been quarreling in the tree-top.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_V'></a><h2>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK SUSPECTS STRIPED CHIPMUNK</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +Thrift is one test of true loyalty to your country.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack didn't look happy a bit. Indeed, Happy Jack looked very +unhappy. You see, he looked just as he felt. He had set his heart on +having all the big, fat nuts that he had found in the top of that tall +hickory tree, and now, instead of having all of them, he hadn't any of +them. Worse still, he knew right down in his heart that it was his own +fault. He had been too greedy. But what <i>had</i> become of those nuts?</p> + +<p>Happy Jack was studying about this as he sat with his back against a +big chestnut tree. He remembered how hard Peter Rabbit had laughed when +Happy Jack and his cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, had been so +surprised because they could not find the nuts they had knocked down. +Peter hadn't taken them, for Peter has no use for them, but he must know +what had become of them, for he was still laughing as he had gone off +down the Lone Little Path. While he was thinking of all this, Happy +Jack's bright eyes had been wide open, as they usually are, so that no +danger should come near. Suddenly they saw something moving among the +brown-and-yellow leaves on the ground. Happy Jack looked sharply, and +then a sudden thought popped into his head.</p> + +<p>"Hi, there, Cousin Chipmunk!" he shouted.</p> + +<p>"Hi, there, your own self!" replied Striped Chipmunk, for it was he.</p> + +<p>"What are you doing down there?" asked Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"Looking for hickory nuts," replied Striped Chipmunk, and his eyes +twinkled as he said it, for there wasn't a hickory tree near.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack looked hard at Striped Chipmunk, for that sudden thought +which had popped into his head when he first saw Striped Chipmunk was +growing into a strong, a very strong, suspicion that Striped Chipmunk +knew something about those lost hickory nuts. But Striped Chipmunk +looked back at him so innocently that Happy Jack didn't know just what +to think.</p> + +<p>"Have you begun to fill your storehouse for winter yet?" inquired Happy +Jack.</p> + +<p>"Of course I have. I don't mean to let Jack Frost catch me with an empty +storehouse," replied Striped Chipmunk.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"When leaves turn yellow, brown, and red,<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>And nuts come pitter, patter down;<br /></span> +<span>When days are short and swiftly sped,<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>And Autumn wears her colored gown,<br /></span> +<span>I'm up before old Mr. Sun<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>His nightcap has a chance to doff,<br /></span> +<span>And have my day's work well begun<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>When others kick their bedclothes off."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>"What are you filling your storehouse with?" asked Happy Jack, trying +not to show too much interest.</p> + +<p>"Corn, nice ripe yellow corn, and seeds and acorns and chestnuts," +answered Striped Chipmunk. "And now I'm looking for some big, fat +hickory nuts," he added, and his bright eyes twinkled. "Have you seen +any, Happy Jack?"</p> + +<p>Happy Jack said that he hadn't seen any, and Striped Chipmunk remarked +that he couldn't waste any more time talking, and scurried away. Happy +Jack watched him go, a puzzled little frown puckering up his brows.</p> + +<p>"I believe he knows something about those nuts. I think I'll follow him +and have a peep into his storehouse," he muttered.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_VI'></a><h2>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK SPIES ON STRIPED CHIPMUNK</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +It's more important to mind your own affairs than to know what your +neighbors are doing, but not nearly so interesting.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>S</span>triped Chipmunk was whisking about among the brown-and-yellow leaves +that covered the ground on the edge of the Green Forest. He is such a +little fellow that he looked almost like a brown leaf himself, and when +one of Old Mother West Wind's Merry Little Breezes whirled the brown +leaves in a mad little dance around him, it was the hardest work in the +world to see Striped Chipmunk at all. Anyway, Happy Jack Squirrel found +it so.</p> + +<p>You see, Happy Jack was spying on Striped Chipmunk. Yes, Sir, Happy Jack +was spying. Spying, you know, is secretly watching other people and +trying to find out what they are doing. It isn't a nice thing to do, not +a bit nice. Happy Jack knew it, and all the time he was doing it, he was +feeling very much ashamed of himself. But he said to himself that he +just <i>had</i> to know where Striped Chipmunk's storehouse was, because he +just <i>had</i> to peep inside and find out if it held any of the big, fat +hickory nuts that had disappeared from under the tall hickory tree +while he was quarreling up in the top of it with his cousin, Chatterer +the Red Squirrel.</p> + +<p>But spying on Striped Chipmunk isn't the easiest thing in the world. +Happy Jack was finding it the hardest work he had ever undertaken. +Striped Chipmunk is so spry, and whisks about so, that you need eyes all +around your head to keep track of him. Happy Jack found that his two +eyes, bright and quick as they are, couldn't keep that little elf of a +cousin of his always in sight. Every few minutes he would disappear and +then bob up again in the most unexpected place and most provoking way.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"Now I'm here, and now I'm there!<br /></span> +<span>Now I am not anywhere!<br /></span> +<span>Watch me now, for here I go<br /></span> +<span>Out of sight! I told you so!"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>With the last words, Striped Chipmunk was nowhere to be seen. It seemed +as if the earth must have opened and swallowed him. But it hadn't, for +two minutes later Happy Jack saw him flirting his funny little tail in +the sauciest way as he scampered along an old log.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack began to suspect that Striped Chipmunk was just having fun +with him. What else could he mean by saying such things? And yet Happy +Jack was sure that Striped Chipmunk hadn't seen him, for, all the time +he was watching, Happy Jack had taken the greatest care to keep hidden +himself. No, it couldn't be, it just couldn't be that Striped Chipmunk +knew that he was anywhere about. He would just be patient a little +longer, and he would surely see that smart little cousin of his go to +his storehouse. So Happy Jack waited and watched.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_VII'></a><h2>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>STRIPED CHIPMUNK HAS FUN WITH HAPPY JACK</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'>Thrift is the meat in the nut of success.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>S</span>triped Chipmunk would shout in his shrillest voice:</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"Hipperty, hopperty, one, two, three!<br /></span> +<span>What do you think becomes of me?"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Then he would vanish from sight all in the wink of an eye. You couldn't +tell where he went to. At least Happy Jack couldn't, and his eyes are +sharper than yours or mine. Happy Jack was spying, you remember. He was +watching Striped Chipmunk without letting Striped Chipmunk know it. At +least he thought he was. But really he wasn't. Those sharp twinkling +eyes of Striped Chipmunk see everything. You know, he is such a very +little fellow that he has to be very wide-awake to keep out of danger.</p> + +<p>And he <i>is</i> wide-awake. Oh, my, yes, indeed! When he is awake, and that +is every minute of the daytime, he is the most wide-awake little fellow +you ever did see. He had seen Happy Jack the very first thing, and he +had guessed right away that Happy Jack was spying on him so as to find +out if he had any of the big, fat hickory nuts. Now Striped Chipmunk had +<i>all</i> of those fat hickory nuts safely hidden in his splendid new +storehouse, but he didn't intend to let Happy Jack know it. So he just +pretended not to see Happy Jack, or to know that he was anywhere near, +but acted as if he was just going about his own business. Really he was +just having the best time ever fooling Happy Jack.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"The corn is ripe; the nuts do fall;<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>Acorns are sweet and plump.<br /></span> +<span>I soon will have my storehouse full<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>Inside the hollow stump."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Striped Chipmunk sang this just as if no one was anywhere near, and he +was singing just for joy. Of course Happy Jack heard it and he grinned.</p> + +<p>"So your storehouse is in a hollow stump, my smart little cousin!" said +Happy Jack to himself. "If that's the case, I'll soon find it."</p> + +<p>Striped Chipmunk scurried along, and now he took pains to always keep in +sight. Happy Jack followed, hiding behind the trees. Pretty soon Striped +Chipmunk picked up a plump acorn and put it in the pocket of his right +cheek. Then he picked up another and put that in the pocket in his left +cheek. Then he crowded another into each; and his face was swelled so +that you would hardly have guessed that it was Striped Chipmunk if you +had chanced to meet him. My, my, he was a funny sight! Happy Jack +grinned again as he watched, partly because Striped Chipmunk looked so +funny, and partly because he knew that if Striped Chipmunk was going to +eat the acorns right away, he wouldn't stuff them into the pockets in +his cheeks. But he had done this very thing, and so he must be going to +take them to his storehouse.</p> + +<p>Off scampered Striped Chipmunk, and after him stole Happy Jack, his eyes +shining with excitement. Pretty soon he saw an old stump which looked as +if it must be hollow. Happy Jack grinned more than ever as he carefully +hid himself and watched. Striped Chipmunk scrambled up on the old stump, +looked this way and that way, as if to be sure that no one was watching +him, then with a flirt of his funny little tail he darted into a little +round doorway. He was gone a long time, but by and by out he popped, +looked this way and that way, and then scampered off in the direction +from which he had come. Happy Jack didn't try to follow him. He waited +until he was sure that Striped Chipmunk was out of sight and hearing, +and then he walked over to the old stump.</p> + +<p>"It's his storehouse fast enough," said Happy Jack.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_VIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK TURNS BURGLAR</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +As trees from little acorns, so<br /> +Great sums from little pennies grow.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack Squirrel stood in front of the old stump into which he had +seen Striped Chipmunk go with the pockets in his cheeks full of acorns, +and out of which he had come with the pockets of his cheeks quite empty.</p> + +<p>"It certainly is his storehouse, and now I'll find out if he is the one +who got all those big, fat hickory nuts," muttered Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>First he looked this way, and then he looked that way, to be sure that +no one saw him, for what he was planning to do was a very dreadful +thing, and he knew it. Happy Jack was going to turn burglar. A burglar, +you know, is one who breaks into another's house or barn to steal, which +is a very, very dreadful thing to do. Yet this is just what Happy Jack +Squirrel was planning to do. He was going to get into that old stump, +and if those big, fat hickory nuts were there, as he was sure they were, +he was going to take them. He tried very hard to make himself believe +that it wouldn't be stealing. He had watched those nuts in the top of +the tall hickory tree so long that he had grown to think that they +belonged to him. Of course they didn't, but he had made himself think +they did.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack walked all around the old stump, and then he climbed up on +top of it. There was only one doorway, and that was the little round +hole through which Striped Chipmunk had entered and then come out. It +was too small for Happy Jack to even get his head through, though his +cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, who is much smaller, could have +slipped in easily. Happy Jack sniffed and sniffed. He could smell nuts +and corn and other good things. My, how good they did smell! His eyes +shone greedily.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack took one more hasty look around to see that no one was +watching, then with his long sharp teeth he began to make the doorway +larger. The wood was tough, but Happy Jack worked with might and main, +for he wanted to get those nuts and get away before Striped Chipmunk +should return, or any one else should happen along and see him. Soon the +hole was big enough for him to get his head inside. It was a storehouse, +sure enough. Happy Jack worked harder than ever, and soon the hole was +large enough for him to get wholly inside.</p> + +<p>What a sight! There was corn! and there were chestnuts and acorns! and +there were a few hickory nuts, though these did not look so big and fat +as the ones Happy Jack was looking for! Happy Jack chuckled to himself, +a wicked, greedy chuckle, as he looked. And then something happened.</p> + +<p>"Oh! Oh! Stop it! Leave me alone!" yelled Happy Jack.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_IX'></a><h2>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL'S SAD MISTAKE</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +A Squirrel always is thrifty. Be as wise as a Squirrel.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p>"Let me go! Let me go!" yelled Happy Jack, as he backed out of the +hollow stump faster than he had gone in, a great deal faster. Can you +guess why? I'll tell you. It was because he was being pulled out. Yes, +Sir, Happy Jack Squirrel was being pulled out by his big, bushy tail.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack was more frightened than hurt. To be sure, it is not at all +comfortable to have one's tail pulled, but Happy Jack wouldn't have +minded this so much had it not been so unexpected, or if he could have +seen who was pulling it. And then, right inside Happy Jack didn't feel a +bit good. Why? Well, because he was doing a dreadful thing, and he +<i>knew</i> that it was a dreadful thing. He had broken into somebody's +storehouse to steal. He was sure that it was Striped Chipmunk's +storehouse, and he wouldn't admit to himself that he was going to steal, +actually <i>steal</i>. But all the time, right down deep in his heart, he +knew that if he took any of those hickory nuts it would be stealing.</p> + +<p>But Happy Jack had been careless. When he had made the doorway big +enough for him to crawl inside, he had left his tail hanging outside. +Some one had very, very softly stolen up and grabbed it and begun to +pull. It was so sudden and unexpected that Happy Jack yelled with +fright. When he could get his wits together, he thought of course +Striped Chipmunk had come back and was pulling his tail. When he thought +that, he got over his fright right away, for Striped Chipmunk is such a +little fellow that Happy Jack knew that he had nothing; to fear from +him.</p> + +<p>So as fast as he could, Happy Jack backed out of the hole and whirled +around. Of course he expected to face a very angry little Chipmunk. But +he didn't. No, Sir, he didn't. Instead, he looked right into the angry +face of his other cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel. And Chatterer +<i>was</i> angry! Oh my, my, how angry Chatterer was! For a minute he +couldn't find his voice, because his anger fairly choked him. And when +he did, how his tongue did fly!</p> + +<p>"You thief! You robber! What are you doing in my storehouse?" he +shrieked.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack backed away hurriedly, for though he is much bigger than +Chatterer, he has a very wholesome respect for Chatterer's sharp teeth, +and when he is very angry, Chatterer is a great fighter.</p> + +<p>"I—I didn't know it was your storehouse," said Happy Jack, backing +away still further.</p> + +<p>"It doesn't make any difference if you didn't; you're a thief just the +same!" screamed Chatterer and rushed at Happy Jack. And what do you +think Happy Jack did? Why, he just turned tail and ran, Chatterer after +him, crying "Thief! Robber! Coward!" at the top of his lungs, so that +every one in the Green Forest could hear.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_X'></a><h2>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3>STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S HAPPY THOUGHT</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +Waste seems to me a dreadful sin;<br /> +It works to lose and not to win.<br /> +<br /> +Thrift will win; it cannot lose.<br /> +Between them 'tis for you to choose.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>S</span>triped Chipmunk sat on a mossy old log, laughing until his sides ached. +"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho! Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!" +laughed Striped Chipmunk, holding his sides. Over in the Green Forest he +could still hear Chatterer the Red Squirrel crying "Thief! Robber!" as +he chased his big cousin, Happy Jack, and every time he heard it, +Striped Chipmunk laughed harder.</p> + +<p>You see, Striped Chipmunk had known all the time that Happy Jack was +spying on him, and he had had no end of fun fooling Happy Jack by +suddenly disappearing and then bobbing into view. He had known that +Happy Jack was following him so as to find out where his storehouse was. +Then Striped Chipmunk had remembered the storehouse of Chatterer the Red +Squirrel. He had filled the pockets in his cheeks with acorns and gone +straight over to Chatterer's storehouse and put them inside, knowing +that Happy Jack would follow him and would think that that was his +storehouse. And that is just what happened.</p> + +<p>Then Striped Chipmunk had hidden himself where he could see all that +happened. He had seen Happy Jack look all around, to make sure that no +one was near, and then tear open the little round doorway of Chatterer's +storehouse until it was big enough for him to squeeze through. He had +seen Chatterer come up, fly into a rage, and pull Happy Jack out by the +tail. Indeed, he had had to clap both hands over his mouth to keep from +laughing out loud. Then Happy Jack had turned tail and run away with +Chatterer after him, shouting "Thief" and "Robber" at the top of his +voice, and this had tickled Striped Chipmunk still more, for he knew +that Chatterer himself is one of the greatest thieves in the Green +Forest. So he sat on the mossy old log and laughed and laughed and +laughed.</p> + +<p>Finally Striped Chipmunk wiped the tears from his eyes and jumped up. +"My, my, this will never do!" said he.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"Idle hands and idle feet<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>Never filled a storehouse yet;<br /></span> +<span>But instead, so I've heard say,<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>Into mischief surely get."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>"Here it is almost Thanksgiving and—" Striped Chipmunk stopped and +scratched his head, while a funny little pleased look crept into his +face. "I wonder if Happy Jack and Chatterer would come to a +Thanksgiving dinner," he muttered. "I believe I'll ask them just for +fun."</p> + +<p>Then Striped Chipmunk hurried home full of his new idea and chuckled as +he planned his Thanksgiving dinner. Of course he couldn't have it at his +own house. That wouldn't do at all. In the first place, the doorway +would be altogether too small for Happy Jack. Anyway, his home was a +secret, his very own secret, and he didn't propose to let Happy Jack and +Chatterer know where it was, even for a Thanksgiving dinner. Then he +thought of the big, smooth, mossy log he had been sitting on that very +morning.</p> + +<p>"The very place!" cried Striped Chipmunk, and scurried away to find +Happy Jack Squirrel and Chatterer the Red Squirrel to invite them to his +Thanksgiving dinner.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3>STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S THANKSGIVING DINNER</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +There's nothing quite so sweet in life<br /> +As making up and ending strife.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>S</span>triped Chipmunk jumped out of bed very early Thanksgiving morning. It +was going to be a very busy day. He had invited Happy Jack the Gray +Squirrel, and Chatterer the Red Squirrel, to eat Thanksgiving dinner +with him, and each had promised to be there. Striped Chipmunk chuckled +as he thought how neither of his guests knew that the other was to be +there. He washed his face and hands, brushed his hair, and ate his +breakfast. Then he scurried over to his splendid new storehouse, which +no one knew of but himself, and stuffed the pockets in his cheeks with +good things to eat. When he couldn't stuff another thing in, he scurried +over to the nice, mossy log on the edge of the Green Forest, and there +he emptied his pockets, for that was to be his dining table.</p> + +<p>Back and forth, back and forth between his secret storehouse and the +smooth, mossy log hurried Striped Chipmunk. He knew that Happy Jack and +the Chatterer have great appetites, and he wanted to be sure that there +was plenty of good things to eat. And as he scurried along, he sang a +little song.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"Thanksgiving comes but once a year,<br /></span> +<span>But when it comes it brings good cheer.<br /></span> +<span>For in my storehouse on this day<br /></span> +<span>Are piles of good things hid away.<br /></span> +<span>Each day I've worked from early morn<br /></span> +<span>To gather acorns, nuts, and corn,<br /></span> +<span>Till now I've plenty and to spare<br /></span> +<span>Without a worry or a care.<br /></span> +<span>So light of heart the whole day long,<br /></span> +<span>I'll sing a glad Thanksgiving song."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Promptly at the dinner hour Happy Jack appeared coming from one +direction, and Chatterer the Red Squirrel coming from another direction. +They didn't see each other until just as they reached Striped Chipmunk's +smooth, mossy log. Then they stopped and scowled. Striped Chipmunk +pretended not to notice anything wrong and bustled about, talking all +the time as if his guests were the best of friends.</p> + +<p>On the smooth, mossy log was a great pile of shining yellow corn. There +was another pile of plump ripe acorns, and three little piles of dainty +looking brown seeds. But the thing that Happy Jack couldn't keep his +eyes off was right in the middle. It was a huge pile of big, fat hickory +nuts. Now who could remain ill-tempered and cross with such a lot of +goodies spread before him? Certainly not Happy Jack or his cousin, +Chatterer the Red Squirrel. They just had to smile in spite of +themselves, and when Striped Chipmunk urged them to sit down and help +themselves, they did. In three minutes they were so busy eating that +they had forgotten all about their quarrel and were laughing and +chatting like the best of friends.</p> + +<p>"It's quite a family party, isn't it?" said Striped Chipmunk, for you +know they are all cousins.</p> + +<p>Whitefoot the Wood Mouse happened along, and Striped Chipmunk insisted +that he should join the party. Later Sammy Jay came along, and nothing +would excuse him from sharing in the feast, too. When everybody had +eaten and eaten until they couldn't hold another thing, and it was time +to think of going home, Striped Chipmunk insisted that Happy Jack and +Chatterer should divide between them the big, fat hickory nuts that were +left, and they did without once quarreling about it.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"Thanksgiving comes but once a year,<br /></span> +<span>And when it comes it brings good cheer,"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>said Striped Chipmunk to himself as he watched his guests depart.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK DOES SOME THINKING</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +To call another a thief doesn't make him one.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack sat up in a chestnut tree, and his face was very sober. The +fact is, Happy Jack was doing some very hard thinking. This is so very +unusual for him that Sammy Jay stopped to ask if he was sick. You see he +is naturally a happy-go-lucky little scamp, and that is one reason that +he is called Happy Jack. But this morning he was thinking and thinking +hard, so hard, in fact, that he almost lost his temper when Sammy Jay +interrupted his thoughts with such a foolish question.</p> + +<p>What was he thinking about? Can you not guess? Why, he was thinking +about those big, fat hickory nuts that Striped Chipmunk had had for his +Thanksgiving dinner, and how Striped Chipmunk had given him some of them +to bring home. He was very sure that they were the very same nuts that +he had watched grow big and fat in the top of the tall hickory tree and +then had knocked down while chasing his cousin, Chatterer. When they had +reached the ground and found the nuts gone, Happy Jack had at once +suspected that Striped Chipmunk had taken them, and now he felt sure +about it.</p> + +<p>But all at once things looked very different to Happy Jack, and the more +he thought about how he had acted, the more ashamed of himself he grew.</p> + +<p>"There certainly must have been enough of those nuts for all of us, and +if I hadn't been so greedy we might all have had a share. As it is, I've +got only those that Striped Chipmunk gave me, and Chatterer has only +those that Striped Chipmunk gave him. It must be that that sharp little +cousin of mine with the striped coat has got the rest, and I guess he +deserves them."</p> + +<p>Then all of a sudden Happy Jack realized how Striped Chipmunk had +fooled him into thinking that the storehouse of Chatterer was his +storehouse, and Happy Jack began to laugh. The more he thought of it, +the harder he laughed.</p> + +<p>"The joke certainly is on me!" he exclaimed. "The joke certainly is on +me, and it served me right. Hereafter I'll mind my own business. If I +had spent half as much time looking for hickory nuts as I did looking +for Striped Chipmunk's storehouse, I would be ready for winter now, and +Chatterer couldn't call me a thief."</p> + +<p>Then he laughed again as he thought how Striped Chipmunk must have +enjoyed seeing him pulled out of Chatterer's storehouse by the tail.</p> + +<p>"What's the joke?" asked Bobby Coon, who happened along just then.</p> + +<p>"I've just learned a lesson," replied Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"What is it?" asked Bobby.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack grinned as he answered:</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"I've found that greed will never, never pay.<br /></span> +<span>It makes one cross and ugly, and it drives one's friends away.<br /></span> +<span>And being always selfish and always wanting more,<br /></span> +<span>One's very apt to lose the things that one has had before."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>"Pooh!" said Bobby Coon. "Have you just found that out? I learned that a +long time ago."</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK GETS A WARNING</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +It matters not how smart you are,<br /> +So be it you are heedless too.<br /> +It isn't what you know that counts<br /> +So much as what it is to you.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>A</span> fat Gray Squirrel is very tempting to a number of people in the Green +Forest, particularly in winter, when getting a living is hard work. +Almost every day Reddy and Granny Fox stole softly through that part of +the Green Forest where Happy Jack Squirrel lived, hoping to surprise and +catch him on the ground. But they never did. Roughleg the Hawk and +Hooty the Owl wasted a great deal of time, sitting around near Happy +Jack's home, hoping to catch him when he was not watching, but they +never did.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack knew all about these big hungry neighbors, and he was always +on the watch for them. He knew their ways and just where they would be +likely to hide. He took the greatest care to look into every such hiding +place near at hand before he ventured down out of the trees, and because +these hungry neighbors are so big, he never had any trouble in seeing +them if they happened to be around. So Happy Jack didn't do much +worrying about them. The fact is, Happy Jack wasn't afraid of them at +all, for the simple reason that he knew they couldn't follow him into +his hollow tree.</p> + +<p>Having nuts stored away, he would have been perfectly happy but for one +thing. Yes, Sir, there was only one thing to spoil Happy Jack's complete +happiness, and that was the fear that Shadow the Weasel might take it +into his head to pay him a visit. Shadow can go through a smaller hole +than Happy Jack can, and so Happy Jack knew that while he was wholly +safe from his other enemies, he wasn't safe at all from Shadow the +Weasel. And this worried him. Yes, Sir, it worried Happy Jack. He hadn't +seen or heard of Shadow for a long time, but he had a feeling that he +was likely to turn up almost any time, especially now that everything +was covered with snow and ice, and food was scarce and hard to get. He +sometimes actually wished that he wasn't as fat as he was. Then he would +be less tempting to his hungry neighbors.</p> + +<p>But no good comes of worrying. No, Sir, not a bit of good comes of +worrying, and Happy Jack knows it.</p> + +<p>"All I can do is to watch out and not be careless," said he, and dropped +the shell of a nut on the head of Reddy Fox, who happened to be passing +under the tree in which Happy Jack was sitting. Reddy looked up and +showed his teeth angrily. Happy Jack laughed and scampered away through +the tree-tops to another part of the Green Forest where he had some very +secret stores of nuts.</p> + +<p>He was gone most of the day, and when he started back home he was in the +best of spirits, for his stores had not been found by any one else. He +was in such good spirits that for once he quite forgot Shadow the +Weasel. He was just going to pop into his doorway without first looking +inside, a very foolish thing to do, when he heard some one calling him. +He turned to see Tommy Tit the Chickadee hurrying towards him, and it +was very clear that Tommy was greatly excited.</p> + +<p>"Hello, Tommy Tit! What ails you?" exclaimed Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"Don't go in there, Happy Jack!" cried Tommy Tit. "Shadow the Weasel is +in there waiting for you!"</p> + +<p>Happy Jack turned quite pale. "Are you sure?" he gasped.</p> + +<p>Tommy Tit nodded as if he would nod his head off. "I saw him go in, and +he hasn't come out, for I've kept watch," said he. "You better get away +from here before he knows you are about."</p> + +<p>That was good advice, but it was too late. Even as Tommy Tit spoke, a +sharp face with red, angry eyes was thrust out of Happy Jack's doorway. +It was the face of Shadow the Weasel.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XIV'></a><h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK'S RUN FOR LIFE</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +A coward he who runs away<br /> +When he should stay and fight,<br /> +But wise is he who knows when he<br /> +Should run with all his might.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>I</span>t isn't cowardly to run away when it is quite useless to stay and +fight. So it wasn't so cowardly of Happy Jack Squirrel to turn tail and +run the instant he caught sight of Shadow the Weasel. No, Sir, it wasn't +cowardly at all, although it might have looked so to you had you been +there to see, for Happy Jack is bigger than Shadow. But when it comes to +a fight, Happy Jack is no match at all for Shadow the Weasel, and he +knows it. Shadow is too quick for him, and though Happy Jack were ever +so brave, he would have no chance at all in a fight with Shadow.</p> + +<p>And so the very instant he saw the cruel face of Shadow with its fierce +red eyes glaring at him from his own doorway, Happy Jack turned tail and +ran. Yes, Sir, that is just what he did, and it was the wisest thing he +could have done. He hoped with a mighty hope that Shadow would not +follow him, but he hoped in vain. Shadow had made up his mind to dine on +Squirrel, and he didn't propose to see his dinner run away without +trying to catch it. So the instant Happy Jack started, Shadow started +after him, stopping only long enough to snarl an ugly threat at Tommy +Tit the Chickadee, because Tommy had warned Happy Jack that Shadow was +waiting for him.</p> + +<p>But Tommy didn't mind that threat. Oh, my, no! Tommy didn't mind it at +all. He can fly, and so he had no fear of Shadow the Weasel. But he was +terribly afraid for Happy Jack. He knew, just as Happy Jack knew, that +there wasn't a single place where Happy Jack could hide into which +Shadow could not follow him. So Tommy flitted from tree to tree behind +Happy Jack, hoping that in some way he might be able to help him.</p> + +<p>From tree to tree raced Happy Jack, making desperately long leaps. +Shadow the Weasel followed, and though he ran swiftly, he didn't appear +to be hurrying, and he took no chances on those long leaps. If the leap +was too long to take safely, Shadow simply ran back down the tree, +across to the next one and up that. It didn't worry him at all that +Happy Jack was so far ahead that he was out of sight. He knew that he +could trust his nose to follow the scent of Happy Jack. In fact, it +rather pleased him to have Happy Jack race away in such fright, for in +that way he would soon tire himself out.</p> + +<p>And this is just what Happy Jack did do. He ran and jumped and jumped +and ran as fast as he could until he was so out of breath that he just +had to stop for a rest. But he couldn't rest much. He was too terribly +frightened. He shivered and shook while he got his breath, and never for +a second did he take his eyes from his back trail. Presently he saw a +slim white form darting along the snow straight towards the tree in +which he was resting. Once more Happy Jack ran, and somehow he felt +terribly helpless and hopeless.</p> + +<p>He had to rest oftener now, and each rest was shorter than the one +before, because, you know, Shadow was a less and less distance behind. +Poor Happy Jack! He had tried every trick he knew, and not one of them +had fooled Shadow the Weasel. Now he was too tired to run much farther. +The last little bit of hope left Happy Jack's heart. He blinked his eyes +very fast to keep back the tears, as he thought that this was probably +the last time he would ever look at the beautiful Green Forest he loved +so. Then he gritted his teeth and made up his mind that anyway he would +fight his best, even if it was hopeless. It was just at that very minute +that he heard the voice of Tommy Tit the Chickadee calling to him in +great excitement, and somehow, he didn't know why, a wee bit of hope +sprang up in his heart.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XV'></a><h2>CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<h3>WHO SAVED HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL?</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +Blessed he whose words of cheer<br /> +Help put hope in place of fear.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>I</span>t never has been fully decided among the little people of the Green +Forest and the Green Meadows just who really did save Happy Jack +Squirrel. Some say that Tommy Tit the Chickadee deserves all the credit, +and some say that—but wait. Let me tell you just what happened, and +then perhaps you can decide for yourself who saved Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>You see, it was this way: Happy Jack had run and run and run and tried +every trick he knew to get away from Shadow the Weasel, but all in vain. +At last he was so out of breath and so tired that he felt that he +couldn't run any more. He had just made up his mind that he would wait +right where he was for Shadow and then put up the best fight he could, +even if it was hopeless, when he heard Tommy Tit calling to him in great +excitement.</p> + +<a name='trick'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/jack002.jpg' width='396' height='600' alt='HAPPY JACK TRIED EVERY TRICK HE KNEW TO GET AWAY FROM +SHADOW THE WEASEL.' title=''> +</center> +<h5>HAPPY JACK TRIED EVERY TRICK HE KNEW TO GET AWAY FROM +SHADOW THE WEASEL.</h5> + +<p>"Dee, dee, chickadee! Come here quick, Happy Jack! Come here quick!" +called Tommy Tit.</p> + +<p>A wee bit of hope sprang up in Happy Jack's heart. He couldn't imagine +what possible help Tommy Tit could be, but he would go see. So taking +a long breath he started on as fast as he could in the direction of +Tommy's voice. He couldn't run very fast, because, you know, he was so +tired, but he did the best he could. Presently he saw Tommy just ahead +of him flying about in great excitement.</p> + +<p>"Dee, dee, dee, there he is! Go to him! Go to him, Happy Jack! Hurry! +Hurry! Dee, dee, dee, oh, do hurry!" cried Tommy Tit.</p> + +<p>For just a second Happy Jack didn't know what he meant. Then he saw +Farmer Brown's boy watching Tommy Tit as if he didn't know what to make +of the little fellow's excitement.</p> + +<p>"Go to him! Go to him!" called Tommy. "He won't hurt you, and he won't +let Shadow the Weasel hurt you! See me! See me! Dee, dee, see me!" And +with that Tommy Tit flew right down on Farmer Brown's boy's hand, for +you know he and Farmer Brown's boy are great friends.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack hesitated. He knew that Farmer Brown's boy had tried to make +friends with him, and every day since the ice and snow had come had put +out nuts and corn for him, but he couldn't quite forget the old fear of +him. He couldn't quite trust him. So now he hesitated. Then he looked +back. Shadow the Weasel was only a few jumps behind him, and his little +eyes glowed red and savage. Farmer Brown's boy might not hurt him, but +Shadow certainly would. Shadow would kill him. Happy Jack made up his +mind, and with a little gasp raced madly across the snow straight to +Farmer Brown's boy and ran right up to his shoulder.</p> + +<p>Shadow the Weasel had been so intent on catching Happy Jack that he +hadn't noticed Farmer Brown's boy at all. Now he saw him for the first +time and stopped short, snarling and spitting. Whatever else you may say +of Shadow the Weasel, he is no coward. For a minute it looked as if he +really meant to follow Happy Jack and get him in spite of Farmer Brown's +boy, and Happy Jack trembled as he looked down into those angry little +red eyes. But Shadow knows when he is well off, and now he knew better +than to come a step nearer. So he snarled and spit, and then, as Farmer +Brown's boy took a step forward, leaped to one side and disappeared in +the old stone wall.</p> + +<p>Very gently and softly Farmer Brown's boy talked to Happy Jack as he +took him to the nearest tree. Then, when Happy Jack was safely up in the +tree, he went over to the stone wall and tried to drive Shadow the +Weasel out. He pulled over the stones until at last Shadow jumped out, +and then Farmer Brown's boy chased him clear into the Green Forest.</p> + +<p>"Dee, dee, dee, what did I tell you?" cried Tommy Tit happily, as he +flew over to where Happy Jack was sitting.</p> + +<p>Now who really saved Happy Jack—Tommy Tit or Farmer Brown's boy?</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XVI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XVI</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK MISSES FARMER BROWN'S BOY</h3> + + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +One and one are always two,<br /> +And two and two are four.<br /> +And just as true it is you'll find<br /> +That love and love make more.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>G</span>o ask Happy Jack Squirrel. He knows. He knows because he has proved it. +It began when Farmer Brown's boy saved him from Shadow the Weasel. +Perhaps I should say when Farmer Brown's boy and Tommy Tit saved him, +for if it hadn't been for Tommy, it never would have entered Happy +Jack's head to run to Farmer Brown's boy. After that, of course, Happy +Jack and Farmer Brown's boy became great friends. Farmer Brown's boy +came over to the Green Forest every day to see Happy Jack, and always he +had the most delicious nuts in his pockets. At first Happy Jack had been +a wee bit shy. He couldn't quite get over that old fear he had had so +long. Then he would remember how Farmer Brown's boy had saved him, and +that would make him ashamed, and he would walk right up and take the +nuts.</p> + +<p>Farmer Brown's boy would talk to him in the nicest way and tell him that +he loved him, and that there wasn't the least thing in the world to be +afraid of. Pretty soon Happy Jack began to love Farmer Brown's boy a +little. He couldn't help it. He just had to love any one who was so kind +and gentle to him. Now as soon as he began to love a little, and felt +sure in his own heart that Farmer Brown's boy loved him a little, he +found that love and love make more love, and it wasn't any time at all +before he had become very fond of Farmer Brown's boy, so fond of him +that he was almost jealous of Tommy Tit, who had been a friend of Farmer +Brown's boy for a long time. It got so that Happy Jack looked forward +each day to the visit of Farmer Brown's boy, and as soon as he heard his +whistle, he would hasten to meet him. Some folks were unkind enough to +say that it was just because of the nuts and corn he was sure to find in +Farmer Brown's boy's pockets, but that wasn't so at all.</p> + +<p>At last there came a day when he missed that cheery whistle. He waited +and waited. At last he went clear to the edge of the Green Forest, but +there was no whistle and no sign of Farmer Brown's boy. It was the same +way the next day and the next. Happy Jack forgot to frisk about the way +he usually does. He lost his appetite. He just sat around and moped.</p> + +<p>When Tommy Tit the Chickadee came to call, as he did every day, Happy +Jack found that Tommy was anxious too. Tommy had been up to Farmer +Brown's dooryard several times, and he hadn't seen anything of Farmer +Brown's boy.</p> + +<p>"I think he must have gone away," said Tommy.</p> + +<p>"He would have come down here first and said good-by," replied Happy +Jack.</p> + +<p>"You—you don't suppose something has happened to him, do you?" asked +Tommy.</p> + +<p>"I don't know. I don't know what to think," replied Happy Jack, soberly. +"Do you know, Tommy, I've grown very fond of Farmer Brown's boy."</p> + +<p>"Of course. Dee, dee, dee, of course. Everybody who really knows him is +fond of him. I've said all along that he is the best friend we've got, +but no one seemed to believe me. I'm glad you've found it out for +yourself. I tell you what, I'll go up to his house and have another look +around." And without waiting for a reply, Tommy was off as fast as his +little wings could take him.</p> + +<p>"I hope, I do hope, that nothing has happened to him," mumbled Happy +Jack, as he pretended to hunt for buried nuts while he waited for Tommy +Tit to come back, and by "him" he meant Farmer Brown's boy.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XVII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XVII</h2> + +<h3>TOMMY TIT BRINGS NEWS</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +No one knows too much, but many know too little.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack very plainly was not happy. His name was the only happy thing +about him. He fussed about on the edge of the Green Forest. He just +couldn't keep still. When he thought anybody was looking, he pretended +to hunt for some of the nuts he had buried in the fall, and dug holes +down through the snow. But as soon as he thought that no one was +watching, he would scamper up a tree where he could look over to Farmer +Brown's house and look and look. It was very clear that Happy Jack was +watching for some one and that he was anxious, very anxious, indeed.</p> + +<p>It was getting late in the afternoon, and soon the Black Shadows would +begin to creep out from the Purple Hills, behind which jolly, round, red +Mr. Sun would go to bed. It would be bedtime for Happy Jack then, for +you know he goes to bed very early, just as soon as it begins to get +dark. The later it got, the more anxious and uneasy Happy Jack grew. He +had just made up his mind that in a few minutes he would have to give up +and go to bed when there was a flit of tiny wings, and Tommy Tit the +Chickadee dropped into the tree beside him.</p> + +<p>"Did you find out anything?" asked Happy Jack eagerly, before Tommy had +a chance to say a word.</p> + +<a name='find'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/jack001.jpg' width='402' height='600' alt='"DID YOU FIND OUT ANYTHING?" ASKED HAPPY JACK EAGERLY.' title=''> +</center> +<h5>"DID YOU FIND OUT ANYTHING?" ASKED HAPPY JACK EAGERLY.</h5> + +<p>Tommy nodded. "He's there!" he panted, for he was quite out of breath +from hurrying so.</p> + +<p>"Where?" Happy Jack fairly shouted the question.</p> + +<p>"Over there in the house," replied Tommy Tit.</p> + +<p>"Then he hasn't gone away! It's just as I said, he hasn't gone away!" +cried Happy Jack, and he was so relieved that he jumped up and down and +as a result nearly tumbled out of the tree.</p> + +<p>"No," replied Tommy, "he hasn't gone away, but I think there is +something the matter with him."</p> + +<p>Happy Jack grew very sober. "What makes you think so?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>"If you'll give me time to get my breath, I'll tell you all about it," +retorted Tommy Tit.</p> + +<p>"All right, only please hurry," replied Happy Jack, and tried to look +patient even if he wasn't.</p> + +<p>Tommy Tit smoothed out some rumpled feathers and was most provokingly +slow about it. "When I left here," he began at last, "I flew straight up +to Farmer Brown's house, as I said I would. I flew all around it, but +all I saw was that horrid Black Pussy on the back doorsteps, and she +looked at me so hungrily that she made me dreadfully uncomfortable. I +don't see what Farmer Brown keeps her about for, anyway."</p> + +<p>"Never mind her; go on!" interrupted Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"Then I flew all around the barn, but I didn't see any one there but +that ugly little upstart, Bully the English Sparrow, and he wanted to +pick a fight with me right away." Tommy looked very indignant.</p> + +<p>"Never mind him, go on!" cried Happy Jack impatiently.</p> + +<p>"After that I flew back to the big maple tree close by the house," +continued Tommy. "You know Farmer Brown's boy has kept a piece of suet +tied in that tree all winter for me. I was hungry, and I thought I +would get a bite to eat, but there wasn't any suet there. That pig of a +Sammy Jay had managed to get it untied and had carried it all away. Of +course that made me angry, and twice as hungry as before. I was trying +to make up my mind what to do next when I happened to look over on the +window sill, and what do you think I saw there?"</p> + +<p>"What?" demanded Happy Jack eagerly.</p> + +<p>"A lot of cracked hickory nuts!" declared Tommy. "I just knew that they +were meant for me, and when I was sure that the way was clear, I flew +over there. They tasted so good that I almost forgot about Farmer +Brown's boy, when I just happened to look in the window. You know those +windows are made of some queer stuff that looks like ice and isn't, and +that you can see right through."</p> + +<p>Happy Jack didn't know, for he never had been near enough to see, but he +nodded, and Tommy Tit went on.</p> + +<p>"There were many queer things inside, and I was wondering what they +could be when all of a sudden I saw <i>him</i>. He was lying down, and there +was something the matter with him. I tapped on the window to him and +then I hurried back here."</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XVIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK DECIDES TO MAKE A CALL</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +You'll find when all is said and done<br /> +Two heads are better far than one.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack Squirrel hadn't slept very well. He had had bad dreams. Ever +so many times in the night he had waked up, a very unusual thing for +Happy Jack. The fact is, he had something on his mind. Yes, Sir, Happy +Jack had something on his mind, and that something was Farmer Brown's +boy. He often had had Farmer Brown's boy on his mind before, but in a +very different way. Then it had been in the days when Farmer Brown's boy +hunted through the Green Forest and over the Green Meadows with his +terrible gun. Then everybody had Farmer Brown's boy on their minds most +of the time. Happy Jack had hated him then, hated him because he had +feared him. You know fear almost always leads to hate. But now it was +different. Farmer Brown's boy had put away his terrible gun. Happy Jack +no longer feared him. Love had taken the place of hate in his heart, for +had not Farmer Brown's boy saved him from Shadow the Weasel, and brought +him nuts and corn when food was scarce? And now Tommy Tit had brought +word that some thing was the matter with Farmer Brown's boy. It was this +that was on Happy Jack's mind and had given him such a bad night.</p> + +<p>As soon as it was daylight, Happy Jack scrambled out of bed to look for +Tommy Tit. He didn't have long to wait, for Tommy is quite as early a +riser as Happy Jack.</p> + + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"Dee, dee, chickadee!<br /></span> +<span>I hope you feel as well as me!"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>sang Tommy merrily, as he flitted over to where Happy Jack was looking +for his breakfast. The very sound of Tommy's voice made Happy Jack feel +better. One must feel very badly indeed not to be a little more cheerful +when Tommy Tit is about. The fact is, Tommy Tit packs about so much +good cheer in that small person of his, that no one can be downhearted +when he is about.</p> + +<p>"Hello, Tommy," said Happy Jack. "If I could make other people feel as +good as you do, do you know what I would do?"</p> + +<p>"What?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"I'd go straight up to Farmer Brown's house and try to cheer up Farmer +Brown's boy," replied Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"That's the very thing I have in mind," chuckled Tommy. "I've come over +here to see if you won't come along with me. I've been up to his house +so often that he won't think half so much of a visit from me as he will +from you. Will you do it?"</p> + +<p>Happy Jack looked a little startled. You see, he never had been over to +Farmer Brown's house, and somehow he couldn't get over the idea that it +would be a very dangerous thing to do. "I—I—do you really suppose I +could?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I'm sure of it," replied Tommy Tit. "There's no one to be afraid of but +Black Pussy and Bowser the Hound, and it's easy enough to keep out of +their way. You can hide in the old stone wall until the way is clear and +then run across to the big maple tree close to the house. Then you can +look right in and see Farmer Brown's boy, and he can look out and see +you. Will you do it?"</p> + +<p>Happy Jack thought very hard for a few minutes. Then he made up his +mind. "I'll do it!" said he in a very decided tone of voice. "Let's +start right away."</p> + +<p>"Good for you! Dee, dee, good for you!" cried Tommy Tit, and started to +lead the way.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XIX'></a><h2>CHAPTER XIX</h2> + +<h3>TOMMY TIT AND HAPPY JACK PAY A VISIT</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +As grows the mighty elm tree,<br /> +From just a tiny seed,<br /> +So often great things happen<br /> +From just a kindly deed.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>G</span>reat things were happening to Happy Jack Squirrel. He was actually on +his way to Farmer Brown's house, and he had a feeling that other things +were likely to happen when he got there. Now you may not think that it +was anything very great that Happy Jack should be on his way to Farmer +Brown's house. Very likely you are saying, "Pooh! that's nothing!" This +may be true, and then again it may not. Suppose you do a little +supposing. Suppose you had all your life been terribly afraid of a great +giant fifty times bigger than you. Suppose that great giant had stopped +hunting you and by little deeds of kindness had at last won your love. +Suppose you learned that something was the matter with him, and you made +up your mind to visit him at his great castle where there were other +great giants whom you did not know. Wouldn't you think that great things +were happening to you?</p> + +<p>Well, that is exactly the way it was with Happy Jack Squirrel, as he +and Tommy Tit the Chickadee started to go over to Farmer Brown's house +to look for Farmer Brown's boy. Tommy Tit had been there often, so he +didn't think anything about it, but Happy Jack never had been there, and +if the truth were known, his heart was going pitapat, pitapat, with +excitement and perhaps just a little fear. Through the Old Orchard they +went, Tommy Tit flitting ahead and keeping a sharp watch for danger. +When they reached the old stone wall on the edge of Farmer Brown's +dooryard, Tommy told Happy Jack to hide there while he went to see if +the way was clear. He was back in a few minutes.</p> + +<p>"Dee, dee, everything is all right," said he. "Bowser the Hound is +eating; his breakfast out back where he can't see you at all, and Black +Pussy is nowhere about. All you have to do is to follow me over to that +big tree close to the house, and I will show you where Farmer Brown's +boy is."</p> + +<p>"I—I'm afraid," confessed Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"Pooh! There's nothing to be afraid of," asserted Tommy Tit in the most +positive way. "Don't be a coward. Remember how Farmer Brown's boy saved +you from Shadow the Weasel. Come on! Dee, dee, dee, come on!" With that +Tommy flew across to the tree close by the house.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack scrambled up on the old stone wall and looked this way and +looked that way. He couldn't see a thing to be afraid of. He jumped down +and ran a few steps. Then his heart failed, and he scampered back to the +old stone wall in a panic. After a few minutes he tried again, and once +more a foolish fear sent him back. The third time he gritted his teeth, +said to himself over and over, "I will! I will! I will!" and ran with +all his might. In no time at all he was across the dooryard and up in +the big tree, his heart pounding with excitement.</p> + +<p>"Dee, dee, dee," called Tommy Tit.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack looked over to the house, and there sat Tommy on a +window-sill, helping himself to the most delicious-looking cracked nuts. +The sight of them made Happy Jack's mouth water. A long branch hung down +over the window and almost touched the sill. Happy Jack ventured half +way and stopped. Somehow it seemed very dangerous to go so close to that +window.</p> + +<p>"Come on! Come on! What are you afraid of?" called Tommy.</p> + +<p>Something like shame that such a little fellow as Tommy Tit should dare +to go where he did not, crept into Happy Jack's heart. With a quick +little run and jump he was on the sill, and a second later he was +staring in at all the strange things inside. At first he didn't see +anything of Farmer Brown's boy, but in a few minutes he made him out. He +was lying down all covered over except his head. There <i>was</i> something +the matter with him. Happy Jack didn't need to be told that, and a great +pity filled his heart. He wanted to do something for Farmer Brown's boy.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XX'></a><h2>CHAPTER XX</h2> + +<h3>WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH FARMER BROWN'S BOY?</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +He who climbs the highest has the farthest to fall, +but often it is worth the risk.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>A</span>ll the way home from his visit to Farmer Brown's house Happy Jack +Squirrel puzzled and wondered over what he had seen. He had peeped in at +a window and seen Farmer Brown's boy lying all covered up, with only his +head showing. Happy Jack couldn't see very well, but somehow that head +didn't look just right. One thing was sure, and that was there was +something wrong with Farmer Brown's boy. He never would have been lying +still like that if there hadn't been.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack had been so troubled by what he saw that he had hardly tasted +the nuts he had found on the window-sill. "I am going to make him +another call to-morrow," said he when he and Tommy Tit were once more +back in the Green Forest.</p> + +<p>"Of course," replied Tommy. "I expected you would. I will be around for +you at the same time. You're not afraid any more to go up there, are +you?"</p> + +<p>"No-o," replied Happy Jack, slowly. The truth is, he was still a little +afraid. It seemed to him a terribly venturesome thing to cross that +open dooryard, but having done it once in safety, he knew that it would +be easier the next time. It was. The next morning he and Tommy Tit went +just as before, and this time Happy Jack scampered across the dooryard +the very first time he tried. They found things just as they had been +the day before. They saw Farmer Brown's boy, but he didn't see them. +Tommy Tit was just going to tap on the window to let him know they were +there, when a door inside opened, and in walked Mrs. Brown. It +frightened them so that Tommy Tit flew away without tasting a single +nut, and Happy Jack nearly fell as he scrambled back into the tree close +by the window. You see, they never had made her acquaintance, and +having her walk in so suddenly frightened them terribly. They didn't +stop to think that there was nothing to fear because there was the +window between. Somehow they couldn't understand that queer stuff that +they could see through but which shut them out. If they had seen Mrs. +Brown go to the window and put more cracked nuts on the sill, perhaps +they would have been less afraid. But they had been too badly frightened +to look back, and so they didn't know anything about that.</p> + +<p>The next morning Tommy Tit was on hand as usual, but he found Happy +Jack a little doubtful about paying another visit. He wasn't wholly over +his scare of the day before. It took him some time to make up his mind +to go, but finally he did. This time when they reached the tree close by +the house, they found a great surprise awaiting them. Farmer Brown's boy +was sitting just inside the window, looking out. At least, they thought +it was Farmer Brown's boy, but when they got a little nearer, they grew +doubtful. It looked like Farmer Brown's boy, and yet it didn't. His +cheeks stuck way out just as Striped Chipmunk's do when he has them +stuffed full of corn or nuts.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack stared at him very hard. "My goodness, I didn't know he +carried his food that way!" he exclaimed. "I should think it would be +dreadfully uncomfortable."</p> + +<p>If Farmer Brown's boy could have heard that, he certainly would have +tried to laugh, and if he had—well, it was bad enough when he tried to +smile at the sight of Tommy Tit and Happy Jack. He didn't smile at all +but made up an awful face instead and clapped both hands to his cheeks. +Happy Jack and Tommy Tit didn't know what to make of it, and it was some +time before they made up their minds that it really was Farmer Brown's +boy, and that they had nothing to fear. But when they finally ventured +on to the sill and, as they helped themselves to nuts, saw the smile in +his eyes, though he did not smile with his mouth at all, they knew that +it was he, and that he was glad that they had called. Then they were +glad too.</p> + +<p>But what was the matter with Farmer Brown's boy? Happy Jack puzzled over +it all the rest of the day, and then gave it up.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXI</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL GROWS VERY BOLD</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +When you find a friend in trouble<br /> +Pass along a word of cheer.<br /> +Often it is very helpful<br /> +Just to feel a friend is near.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>E</span>very day Happy Jack visited the window sill of Farmer Brown's house to +call on Farmer Brown's boy, who was always waiting for him just inside +the window. In fact Happy Jack had got into the habit of getting his +breakfast there, for always there were fat, delicious nuts on the +window-sill, and it was much easier and more comfortable to breakfast +there than to hunt up his own hidden supplies and perhaps have to dig +down through the snow to get them. Most people are just like Happy +Jack—they do the easiest thing.</p> + +<p>Each day Farmer Brown's boy looked more and more like himself. His +cheeks stuck out less and less, and finally did not stick out at all. +And now he smiled at Happy Jack with his mouth as well as with his eyes. +You know when his cheeks had stuck out so, he couldn't smile at all +except with his eyes. Happy Jack didn't know what had been the matter +with Farmer Brown's boy, but whatever it was, he was better now, and +that made Happy Jack feel better.</p> + +<p>One morning he got a surprise. When he ran out along the branch of the +tree that led to the window-sill he suddenly discovered something wrong. +There were no nuts on the sill! More than this there was something very +suspicious looking about the window. It didn't look just right. The +truth is it was partly open, but Happy Jack didn't understand this, not +then, anyway. He stopped short and scolded, a way he has when things +don't suit him. Farmer Brown's boy came to the window and called to him. +Then he thrust a hand out, and in it were some of the fattest nuts Happy +Jack ever had seen. His mouth watered right away. There might be +something wrong with the window, but certainly the sill was all right. +It would do no harm to go that far.</p> + +<p>So Happy Jack nimbly jumped across to the window-sill. Farmer Brown's +boy's hand with the fat nuts was still there, and Happy Jack lost no +time in getting one. Then he sat up on the sill to eat it. My, but it +was good! It was just as good as it had looked. Happy Jack's eyes +twinkled as he ate. When he had finished that nut, he wanted another. +But now Farmer Brown's boy had drawn his hand inside the window. He was +still holding it out with the nuts in it, but to get them Happy Jack +must go inside, and he couldn't get it out of his head that that was a +very dangerous thing to do. What if that window should be closed while +he was in there? Then he would be a prisoner.</p> + +<p>So he sat up and begged. He knew that Farmer Brown's boy knew what he +wanted. But Farmer Brown's boy kept his hand just where it was.</p> + +<p>"Come on, you little rascal," said he. "You ought to know me well enough +by this time to know that I won't hurt you or let any harm come to you. +Hurry up, because I can't stand here all day. You see, I've just got +over the mumps, and if I should catch cold I might be sick again. Come +along now, and show how brave you are."</p> + +<p>Of course Happy Jack couldn't understand what he said. If he could +have, he might have guessed that it was the mumps that had made Farmer +Brown's boy look so like Striped Chipmunk when he has his cheeks stuffed +with nuts. But if he couldn't understand what Farmer Brown's boy said, +he had no difficulty in understanding that if he wanted those nuts he +would have to go after them. So at last he screwed up his courage and +put his head inside. Nothing happened, so he went wholly in and sat on +the inside sill. Then by reaching out as far as he could without +tumbling off, he managed to get one of those nuts, and as soon as he had +it, he dodged outside to eat it.</p> + +<p>Farmer Brown's boy laughed, and putting the rest of the nuts outside, +he closed the window. Happy Jack ate his fill and then scampered back to +the Green Forest. He felt all puffed up with pride. He felt that he had +been very, very bold, and he was anxious to tell Tommy Tit the +Chickadee, who had not been with him that morning, how bold he had been.</p> + +<p>"Pooh, that's nothing!" replied Tommy, when he had heard about it. "I've +done that often."</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXII</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK DARES TOMMY TIT</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +A wise philosopher is he<br /> +Who takes things as they chance to be,<br /> +And in them sees that which is best<br /> +While trying to forget the rest.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>S</span>omehow Happy Jack's day had been spoiled. He knew that he had no +business to allow it to be spoiled, but it was, just the same. You see, +he had been all puffed up with pride because he thought himself a very +bold fellow because he had really been inside Farmer Brown's house. He +couldn't help feeling quite puffed up about it. But when he told Tommy +Tit the Chickadee about it, Tommy had said, "Pooh! I've done that +often."</p> + +<p>That was what had spoiled the day for Happy Jack. He knew that if Tommy +Tit said that he had done a thing, he had, for Tommy always tells the +truth and nothing but the truth. So Happy Jack hadn't been so dreadfully +bold, after all, and had nothing to brag about. It made him feel quite +put out. He actually tried to make himself feel that it was all the +fault of Tommy Tit, and that he wanted to get even with him. He thought +about it all the rest of the day, and just before he fell asleep that +night an idea came to him.</p> + +<p>"I know what I'll do! I'll dare Tommy to go as far inside Farmer +Brown's house as I do!" he exclaimed, and went to sleep to dream that he +was the boldest, bravest squirrel that ever lived.</p> + +<p>The next morning when he reached the tree close by Farmer Brown's house, +he found Tommy Tit already there, flitting about impatiently and calling +his loudest, which wasn't very loud, for you know Tommy is a very little +fellow, and his voice is not very loud. But he was doing his best to +call Farmer Brown's boy. You see, there wasn't a single nut on the +window-sill, and the window was closed. Pretty soon Farmer Brown's boy +came to the window and opened it. But he didn't put out any nuts. Tommy +Tit at once flew over to the sill, and to show that he was just as +bold, Happy Jack followed. Looking inside, they saw Farmer Brown's boy +standing in the middle of the room, holding out a dish of nuts and +smiling at them. This was the chance Happy Jack wanted to try the plan +he had thought of the night before.</p> + +<p>"I dare you to go way in there and get a nut," said he to Tommy Tit. He +hoped that Tommy would be afraid.</p> + +<p>But Tommy wasn't anything of the kind. "Dee, dee, dee! Come on!" he +cried, and flitted over and helped himself to a cracked nut and was back +with it before Happy Jack could make up his mind to jump down inside. +Of course now that he had dared Tommy Tit, and Tommy had taken the dare, +he just had to do it too. It looked a long way in to where Farmer +Brown's boy was standing. Twice he started and turned back. Then he +heard Tommy Tit chuckle. That was too much. He wouldn't be laughed at. +He just wouldn't. He scampered across, grabbed a nut, and rushed back to +the window-sill, where he ate the nut. It was easier to go after the +second nut, and when he went for the third, he had made up his mind that +it was perfectly safe in there, and so he sat up on a chair and ate it. +Presently he felt quite at home, and when he had eaten all the nuts he +wanted, he ran all around the room, examining all the strange things +there.</p> + +<p>This was a little more than Tommy Tit could make up his mind to do. He +wasn't afraid to fly in for a nut and then fly out again, but he +couldn't feel easy inside a house like that. Of course, this made Happy +Jack feel good all over. You see, he felt that now he really did have +something to boast about. No one else in all the Green Forest or on the +Green Meadows could say that they had been all over Farmer Brown's boy's +room as he had. Happy Jack swelled himself out at the thought. Now +everybody would say, "What a bold fellow!"</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXIII</h2> +<br /> + +<h3>SAMMY JAY IS QUITE UPSET</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +I know of nothing sweeter than<br /> +Success to Squirrel or to man.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>V</span>ery few people can be all puffed up with pride without showing it. +Happy Jack Squirrel couldn't. Just to have looked at him you would have +known that he was feeling very, very good about something. When he +thought no one was looking, he would actually strut. And it was all +because he considered himself a very bold fellow. That was a new feeling +for Happy Jack. He knew that all his neighbors considered him rather +timid, and many a time he had envied, actually envied Jimmy Skunk and +Reddy Fox and Unc' Billy Possum and even Sammy Jay because they did such +bold things and had dared to visit Farmer Brown's dooryard and henhouse +in spite of Bowser the Hound.</p> + +<p>But now he felt that he dared do a thing that not one of them dared do. +He dared go right into Farmer Brown's house and make himself quite at +home in the room of Farmer Brown's boy. He felt that he was a +tremendously brave fellow. You see, he quite forgot one thing. He forgot +that he had found out that love destroys fear, and that though it might +look to others like a very bold thing to walk right into Farmer Brown's +house, it really wasn't bold at all, because all the time he <i>knew</i> that +no harm would come to him. It is never brave to do a thing that you are +not afraid to do. It had been brave of him to go in at that open window +the first time, because then he had been afraid, but now he wasn't +afraid, and so it was no longer either brave or bold of him.</p> + +<p>Tommy Tit the Chickadee knew all this, and he used to chuckle to himself +as he saw how proud of himself Happy Jack was, but he said nothing to +any one about it. Of course, it wasn't long before others began to +notice Happy Jack's pride. One of the first was Sammy Jay. There is +very little that escapes Sammy Jay's sharp eyes. Silently stealing +through the Green Forest early one morning, he surprised Happy Jack +strutting.</p> + +<p>"Huh," said he, "what are you feeling so big about?"</p> + +<p>Like a flash the thought came to Happy Jack that here was a chance to +show what a bold fellow he had become. "Hello, Sammy!" he exclaimed. +"Are you feeling very brave this morning?"</p> + +<p>"Me feeling brave? What are you talking about? If I was as timid as you +are, I wouldn't ever talk about bravery to other people. If there is +anything you dare to do that I don't, I've never heard of it," retorted +Sammy Jay.</p> + +<p>"Come on!" cried Happy Jack. "I'm going to get my breakfast, and I dare +you to follow me!"</p> + +<p>Sammy Jay actually laughed right out. "Go ahead. Wherever you go, I'll +go," he declared.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack started right away for Farmer Brown's house, and Sammy +followed. Through the Old Orchard, across the dooryard and into the big +maple tree Happy Jack led the way, and Sammy followed, all the time +wondering what was up. He had been there many times. In fact, he had had +many a good meal of suet there during the cold weather, for Farmer +Brown's boy had kept a big piece tied to a branch of the maple tree for +those who were hungry.</p> + +<p>Sammy was a little surprised when he saw Happy Jack jump over on to the +window-sill. Still, he had been on that window-sill more than once +himself, when he had made sure that no one was near, and had helped +himself to the cracked nuts he had found there.</p> + +<p>"Come on!" called Happy Jack, his eyes twinkling.</p> + +<p>Sammy Jay chuckled. "He thinks I don't dare go over there," he thought. +"Well, I'll fool him."</p> + +<p>With a hasty look to see that no danger was near, he spread his wings to +follow Happy Jack on to the window-sill. Happy Jack waited to make sure +that he really was coming and then slipped in at the open window and +scampered over to a table on the farther side of the room and helped +himself from a dish of nuts there.</p> + +<p>When Sammy saw Happy Jack disappear inside he gave a little gasp. When +he looked inside and saw Happy Jack making himself quite at home, he +gasped again. And when he saw a door open and Farmer Brown's boy enter, +and still Happy Jack did not run, he was too upset for words. He didn't +dare stay to see more, and for once in his life was quite speechless as +he flew back to the Green Forest.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXIV'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXIV</h2> + +<h3>A DREAM COMES TRUE</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +What are all our dreams made up of<br /> +That they often are so queer?<br /> +Wishes, hopes, and fond desires<br /> +All mixed up with foolish fears.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>W</span>hich is worse, to have a very beautiful dream never come true, or to +have a bad dream really come true? Happy Jack Squirrel says the latter +is worse, much worse. Dreams do come true once in a great while, you +know. One of Happy Jack's did. It came true, and it made a great +difference in Happy Jack's life. You see, it was like this:</p> + +<p>Happy Jack had had so many things to think of that he had almost +forgotten about Shadow the Weasel. Happy Jack hadn't seen or heard +anything of him since Farmer Brown's boy had chased him into the Green +Forest and so saved Happy Jack's life. Since then life had been too full +of pleasant things to think of anything so unpleasant as Shadow the +Weasel. But one night Happy Jack had a bad dream. Yes, Sir, it was a +very bad dream. He dreamed that once more Shadow the Weasel was after +him, and this time there was no Farmer Brown's boy to run to for help. +Shadow was right at his heels and in one more jump would have him. +Happy Jack opened his mouth to scream, and—awoke.</p> + +<p>He was all ashake with fright. It was a great relief to find that it was +only a dream, but even then he couldn't get over it right away. He was +glad that it was almost morning, and just as soon as it was light enough +to see, he crept out. It was too early to go over to Farmer Brown's +house; Farmer Brown's boy wouldn't be up yet. So Happy Jack ran over to +one of his favorite lookouts, a tall chestnut tree, and there, with his +back against the trunk, high above the ground, he watched the Green +Forest wake as the first Sunbeams stole through it. But all the time he +kept thinking of that dreadful dream.</p> + +<p>A little spot of black moving against the white snow caught his sharp +eyes. What was it? He leaned forward and held his breath, as he tried to +make sure. Ah, now he could see! Just ahead of that black thing was a +long, slim fellow all in white, and that black spot was his tail. If it +hadn't been for that, Happy Jack very likely wouldn't have seen him at +all. It was Shadow the Weasel! He was running swiftly, first to one side +and then to the other, with his nose to the snow. He was hunting. There +was no doubt about that. He was hunting for his breakfast.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack's eyes grew wide with fear. Would Shadow find his tracks? It +looked very much as if Shadow was heading for Happy Jack's house, and +Happy Jack was glad, very glad, that that bad dream had waked him and +made him so uneasy that he had come out. Otherwise he might have been +caught right in his own bed. Shadow was almost at Happy Jack's house +when he stopped abruptly with his nose to the snow and sniffed eagerly. +Then he turned, and with his nose to the snow, started straight toward +the tree where Happy Jack was. Happy Jack waited to see no more. He knew +now that Shadow had found his trail and that it was to be a case of run +for his life.</p> + +<p>"My dream has come true!" he sobbed as he ran. "My dream has come true, +and I don't know what to do!" But all the time he kept on running as +fast as ever he could, which really was the only thing to do.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXV'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXV</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK HAS A HAPPY THOUGHT</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +Who runs when danger comes his way<br /> +Will live to run some other day.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>F</span>rightened and breathless, running with all his might from Shadow the +Weasel, Happy Jack Squirrel was in despair. He didn't know what to do or +where to go. The last time he had run from Shadow he had run to Farmer +Brown's boy, who had just happened to be near, and Farmer Brown's boy +had chased Shadow the Weasel away. But now it was too early in the +morning for him to expect to meet Farmer Brown's boy. In fact, jolly, +round, red Mr. Sun had hardly kicked his bedclothes off yet, and Happy +Jack was very sure that Farmer Brown's boy was still asleep.</p> + +<p>Now most of us are creatures of habit. We do the thing that we have been +in the habit of doing, and do it without thinking anything about it. +That is why good habits are such a blessing. Happy Jack Squirrel is just +like the rest of us. He has habits, both good and bad. Of late, he had +been in the habit of getting his breakfast at Farmer Brown's house every +morning, so now when he began to run from Shadow the Weasel he just +naturally ran in the direction of Farmer Brown's house from force of +habit. In fact, he was halfway there before he realized in which +direction he was running.</p> + +<p>Right then a thought came to him. It gave him a wee bit of hope, and +seemed to help him run just a little faster. If the window of Farmer +Brown's boy's room was open, he would run in there, and perhaps Shadow +the Weasel wouldn't dare follow! How he did hope that that window would +be open! He knew that it was his only chance. He wasn't quite sure that +it really was a chance, for Shadow was such a bold fellow that he might +not be afraid to follow him right in, but it was worth trying.</p> + +<p>Along the stone wall beside the Old Orchard raced Happy Jack to the +dooryard of Farmer Brown, and after him ran Shadow the Weasel, and +Shadow looked as if he was enjoying himself. No doubt he was. He knew +just as well as Happy Jack did that there was small chance of meeting +Farmer Brown's boy so early in the morning, so he felt very sure how +that chase was going to end, and that when it did end he would breakfast +on Squirrel.</p> + +<p>By the time Happy Jack reached the dooryard, Shadow was only a few jumps +behind him, and Happy Jack was pretty well out of breath. He didn't stop +to look to see if the way was clear. There wasn't time for that. +Besides, there could be no greater danger in front than was almost at +his heels, and so, without looking one way or another, he scampered +across the dooryard and up the big maple tree close to the house. Shadow +the Weasel was surprised. He had not dreamed that Happy Jack would come +over here. But Shadow is a bold fellow, and it made little difference to +him where Happy Jack went. At least, that is what he thought.</p> + +<p>So he followed Happy Jack across the dooryard and up the maple tree. He +took his time about it, for he knew by the way Happy Jack had run that +he was pretty nearly at the end of his strength. "He never'll get out of +this tree," thought Shadow, as he started to climb it. He fully +expected to find Happy Jack huddled in a miserable little heap somewhere +near the top. Just imagine how surprised he was when he discovered that +Happy Jack wasn't to be seen. He rubbed his angry little red eyes, and +they grew angrier and redder than before.</p> + +<p>"Must be a hollow up here somewhere," he muttered. "I'll just follow the +scent of his feet, and that will lead me to him."</p> + +<p>But when that scent led him out on a branch the tip of which brushed +against Farmer Brown's house Shadow got another surprise. There was no +sign of Happy Jack. He couldn't have reached the roof. There was no +place he could have gone unless—. Shadow stared across at a window open +about two inches.</p> + +<p>"He couldn't have!" muttered Shadow. "He wouldn't dare. He couldn't +have!"</p> + +<p>But Happy Jack had. He had gone inside that window.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXVI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXVI</h2> + +<h3>FARMER BROWN'S BOY WAKES WITH A START</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +Never think another crazy just because it happens you<br /> +Never've heard of just the thing that they have started out to do.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>I</span>sn't it queer how hard it seems to be for some boys to go to bed at the +proper time and how much harder it is for them to get up in the morning? +It was just so with Farmer Brown's boy. I suppose he wouldn't have been +a real boy if it hadn't been so. Of course, while he was sick with the +mumps, he didn't have to get up, and while he was getting over the +mumps his mother let him sleep as long as he wanted to in the morning. +That was very nice, but it made it all the harder to get up when he +should after he was well again. In summer it wasn't so bad getting up +early, but in winter—well, that was the one thing about winter that +Farmer Brown's boy didn't like.</p> + +<p>On this particular morning Farmer Brown had called him, and he had +replied with a sleepy "All right." and then had rolled over and promptly +gone to sleep again. In two minutes he was dreaming just as if there +were no such things as duties to be done. For a while they were very +pleasant dreams, very pleasant indeed. But suddenly they changed. A +terrible monster was chasing him. It had great red eyes as big as +saucers, and sparks of fire flew from its mouth. It had great claws as +big as ice tongs, and it roared like a lion. In his dream Farmer Brown's +boy was running with all his might. Then he tripped and fell, and +somehow he couldn't get up again. The terrible monster came nearer and +nearer. Farmer Brown's boy tried to scream and couldn't. He was so +frightened that he had lost his voice. The terrible monster was right +over him now and reached out one of his huge paws with the great claws. +One of them touched him on the cheek, and it burned like fire.</p> + +<p>With a yell, a real, genuine yell, Farmer Brown's boy awoke and sprang +out of bed. For a minute he couldn't think where he was. Then with a +sigh of relief he realized that he was safe in his own snug little room +with the first Jolly Little Sunbeam creeping in at the window to wish +him good morning and chide him for being such a lazy fellow. A thump and +a scurry of little feet caught his attention, and he turned to see a +Gray Squirrel running for the open window. It jumped up on the sill, +looked out, then jumped down inside again, and ran over to a corner of +the room, where he crouched as if in great fear. It was clear that he +had been badly frightened by the yell of Farmer Brown's boy, and that he +was still more frightened by something he had seen when he looked out of +the window.</p> + +<p>A great light broke over Farmer Brown's boy. "Happy Jack, you little +rascal, I believe you are the terrible monster that scared me so!" he +exclaimed. "I believe you were on my bed, and that it was your claws +that I felt on my face. But what ails you? You look frightened almost to +death."</p> + +<p>He went over to the window and looked out. A movement in the big maple +tree just outside caught his attention. He saw a long, slim white form +dart down the tree and disappear. He knew who it was. It was Shadow the +Weasel.</p> + +<p>"So that pesky Weasel has been after you again, and you came to me for +help," said he gently, as he coaxed Happy Jack to come to him. "This is +the place to come to every time. Poor little chap, you're all of a +tremble. I guess I know how you feel when a Weasel is after you. I guess +you feel just as I felt when I dreamed that that monster was after me. +My, but you certainly did give me a scare when you touched my face!" He +gently stroked Happy Jack as he talked, and Happy Jack let him.</p> + +<p>"Breakfast!" called a voice from downstairs.</p> + +<p>"Coming!" replied Farmer Brown's boy as he put Happy Jack on the table +by a dish of nuts and began to scramble into his clothes.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXVII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXVII</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK IS AFRAID TO GO HOME</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +Safety first is the best rule to insure a long life.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack didn't dare go home. Can you think of anything more dreadful +than to be afraid to go to your own home? Why, home is the dearest place +in the world, and it should be the safest. Just think how you would feel +if you should be away from home, and then you should learn that it +wouldn't be safe for you to go back there again, and you had no other +place to go. It often happens that way with the little people of the +Green Meadows and the Green Forest. It was that way with Happy Jack +Squirrel now.</p> + +<p>You see, Happy Jack knew that Shadow the Weasel is not one to give up +easily. Shadow has one very good trait, and that is persistence. He is +not easily discouraged. When he sets out to do a thing, usually he does +it. If he starts to get a thing, usually he gets it. No, he isn't easily +discouraged. Happy Jack knows this. No one knows it better. So Happy +Jack didn't dare to go home. He knew that any minute of night or day +Shadow might surprise him there, and that would be the end of him. He +more than half suspected that Shadow was at that very time hiding +somewhere along the way ready to spring out on him if he should try to +go back home.</p> + +<p>He had stayed in the room of Farmer Brown's boy until Mrs. Brown had +come to make the bed. Then he had jumped out the window into the big +maple tree. He wasn't quite sure of Mrs. Brown yet. She had kindly eyes. +They were just like the eyes of Farmer Brown's boy. But he didn't feel +really acquainted yet, and he felt safer outside than inside the room +while she was there.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"Oh dear, oh dear! What shall I do?<br /></span> +<span class='i3'>I have no home, and so<br /></span> +<span>To keep me warm and snug and safe<br /></span> +<span class='i3'>I have no place to go!"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Happy Jack said this over and over as he sat in the maple tree, trying +to decide what was to be done.</p> + +<p>"I wonder what ails that Squirrel. He seems to be doing a lot of +scolding," said Mrs. Brown, as she looked out of the window. And that +shows how easy it is to misunderstand people when we don't know all +about their affairs. Mrs. Brown thought that Happy Jack was scolding, +when all the time he was just frightened and worried and wondering where +he could go and what he could do to feel safe from Shadow the Weasel.</p> + +<p>Because he didn't dare to go back to the Green Forest, he spent most of +the day in the big maple tree close to Farmer Brown's house. The window +had been closed, so he couldn't go inside. He looked at it longingly a +great many times during the day, hoping that he would find it open. But +he didn't. You see, it was opened only at night when Farmer Brown's boy +went to bed, so that he would have plenty of fresh air all night. Of +course Happy Jack didn't know that. All his life he had had plenty of +fresh air all the time, and be couldn't understand how people could live +in houses all shut up.</p> + +<p>Late that afternoon Farmer Brown's boy, who had been at school all day, +came whistling into the yard. He noticed Happy Jack right away. "Hello! +You back again! Isn't one good meal a day enough?" he exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"He's been there all day," said his mother, who had come to the door +just in time to overhear him. "I don't know what ails him."</p> + +<p>Then Farmer Brown's boy noticed how forlorn Happy Jack looked. He +remembered Happy Jack's fright that morning.</p> + +<p>"I know what's the matter!" he cried. "It's that Weasel. The poor little +chap is afraid to go home. We must see what we can do for him. I wonder +if he will stay if I make a new house for him. I believe I'll try it and +see."</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXVIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXVIII</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK FINDS A NEW HOME</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +They say the very darkest clouds<br /> +Are lined with silver bright and fair,<br /> +Though how they know I do not see,<br /> +And neither do I really care.<br /> +It's good to believe, and so I try<br /> +To believe 'tis true with all my might,<br /> +That nothing is so seeming dark<br /> +But has a hidden side that's bright.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>C</span>ertainly things couldn't look much darker than they did to Happy Jack +Squirrel as he sat in the big maple tree at the side of Farmer Brown's +house, and saw jolly, round, red Mr. Sun getting ready to go to bed +behind the Purple Hills. He was afraid to go to his home in the Green +Forest because Shadow the Weasel might be waiting for him there. He was +afraid of the night which would soon come. He was cold, and he was +hungry. Altogether he was as miserable a little Squirrel as ever was +seen.</p> + +<p>He had just made up his mind that he would have to go look for a hollow +in one of the trees in the Old Orchard in which to spend the night, when +around the corner of the house came Farmer Brown's boy with something +under one arm and dragging a ladder. He whistled cheerily to Happy Jack +as he put the ladder against the tree and climbed up. By this time Happy +Jack had grown so timid that he was just a little afraid of Farmer +Brown's boy, so he climbed as high up in the tree as he could get and +watched what was going on below. Even if he was afraid, there was +comfort in having Farmer Brown's boy near.</p> + +<p>For some time Farmer Brown's boy worked busily at the place where the +branch that Happy Jack knew so well started out from the trunk of the +tree towards the window of Farmer Brown's boy's room. When he had fixed +things to suit him, he went down the ladder and carried it away with +him. In the crotch of the tree he had left the queer thing that he had +brought under his arm. In spite of his fears, Happy Jack was curious. +Little by little he crept nearer. What he saw was a box with a round +hole, just about big enough for him to go through, in one end, and in +front of it a little shelf. On the shelf were some of the nuts that he +liked best.</p> + +<p>For a long time Happy Jack looked and looked. Was it a trap? Somehow he +couldn't believe that it was. What would Farmer Brown's boy try to trap +him for when they were such good friends? At last the sight of the nuts +was too much for him. It certainly was safe enough to help himself to +those. How good they tasted! Almost before he knew it, they were gone. +Then he got up courage enough to peep inside. The box was filled with +soft hay. It certainly did look inviting in there to a fellow who had no +home and no place to go. He put his head inside. Finally he went wholly +in. It was just as nice as it looked.</p> + +<p>"I believe," thought Happy Jack, "that he made this little house just +for me, and that he put all this hay in here for my bed. He doesn't know +much about making a bed, but I guess he means well."</p> + +<p>With that he went to work happily to make up a bed to suit him, and by +the time the first Black Shadow had crept as far as the big maple tree, +Happy Jack was curled up fast asleep in his new house.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXIX'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXIX</h2> + +<h3>FARMER BROWN'S BOY TAKES A PRISONER</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +The craftiest and cleverest, the strongest and the bold<br /> +Will make mistakes like other folks, young, middle-aged, and old.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack Squirrel was happy once more. He liked his new house, the +house that Farmer Brown's boy had made for him and fastened in the big +maple tree close by the house in which he himself lived. Happy Jack and +Farmer Brown's boy were getting to be greater friends than ever. Every +morning Happy Jack jumped over to the window-sill and then in at the +open window of the room of Farmer Brown's boy. There he was sure to find +a good breakfast of fat hickory nuts. When Farmer Brown's boy overslept, +as he did sometimes, Happy Jack would jump up on the bed and waken him. +He thought this great fun. So did Farmer Brown's boy, though sometimes +when he was very sleepy he pretended to scold, especially on Sunday +mornings when he did not have to get up as early as on other days.</p> + +<p>Of course, Black Pussy had soon discovered that Happy Jack was living in +the big maple tree, and she spent a great deal of time sitting at the +foot of it and glaring up at him with a hungry look in her eyes, +although she wasn't hungry at all, for she had plenty to eat. Several +times she climbed up in the tree and tried to catch him. At first he had +been afraid, but he soon found out that Black Pussy was not at all at +home in a tree as he was. After that, he rather enjoyed having her try +to catch him. It was almost like a game. It was great fun to scold at +her and let her get very near him and then, just as she was sure that +she was going to catch him, to jump out of her reach. After a while she +was content to sit at the foot of the tree and just glare at him.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack had only one worry now, and this didn't trouble him a great +deal. It was possible that Shadow the Weasel might take it into his head +to try to surprise him some night. Happy Jack knew that by this time +Shadow must know where he was living, for of course Sammy Jay had found +out, and Sammy is one of those who tells all he knows. Still, being so +close to Farmer Brown's boy gave Happy Jack a very comfortable feeling.</p> + +<p>Now all this time Farmer Brown's boy had not forgotten Shadow the Weasel +and how he had driven Happy Jack out of the Green Forest, and he had +wondered a great many times if it wouldn't be a kindness to the other +little people if he should trap Shadow and put him out of the way. But +you know he had given up trapping, and somehow he didn't like to think +of setting a trap, even for such a mischief-maker as Shadow. Then +something happened that made Farmer Brown's boy very, very angry. One +morning, when he went to feed the biddies, he found that Shadow had +visited the henhouse in the night and killed three of his best pullets. +That decided him. He felt sure that Shadow would come again, and he +meant to give Shadow a surprise. He hunted until he found the little +hole through which Shadow had got into the henhouse, and there he set a +trap.</p> + +<p>"I don't like to do it, but I've got to," said he. "If he had been +content with one, it would have been bad enough, but he killed three +just from the love of killing, and it is high time that something be +done to get rid of him."</p> + +<p>The very next morning Happy Jack saw Farmer Brown's boy coming from the +henhouse with something under his arm. He came straight over to the foot +of the big maple tree and put the thing he was carrying down on the +ground. He whistled to Happy Jack, and as Happy Jack came down to see +what it was all about, Farmer Brown's boy grinned. "Here's a friend of +yours you probably will be glad to see," said he.</p> + +<p>At first, all Happy Jack could make out was a kind of wire box. Then he +saw something white inside, and it moved. Very suspiciously Happy Jack +came nearer. Then his heart gave a great leap. That wire box was a cage, +and glaring between the wires with red, angry eyes was Shadow the +Weasel! He was a prisoner! Right away Happy Jack was so excited that he +acted as if he were crazy. He no longer had a single thing to be afraid +of. Do you wonder that he was excited?</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXX'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXX</h2> + +<h3>A PRISONER WITHOUT FEAR</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +A bad name is easy to get but hard to live down.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>S</span>hadow the Weasel was a prisoner. He who always had been free to go and +come as he pleased and to do as he pleased was now in a little narrow +cage and quite helpless. For once he had been careless, and this was the +result. Farmer Brown's boy had caught him in a trap. Of course, he +should have known better than to have visited the henhouse a second time +after killing three of the best pullets there. He should have known +that Farmer Brown's boy would be sure to do something about it. The +truth is, he had yielded to temptation when common sense had warned him +not to. So he had no one to blame for his present difficulty but +himself, and he knew it.</p> + +<p>At first he had been in a terrible rage and had bitten at the wires +until he had made his mouth sore. When he had made sure that the wires +were stouter than his teeth, he wisely stopped trying to get out in that +way, and made up his mind that the only thing to do was to watch for a +chance to slip out, if the door of the cage should happen to be left +unfastened.</p> + +<p>Of course it hurt his pride terribly to be made fun of by those who +always had feared him. Happy Jack Squirrel was the first one of these to +see him. Farmer Brown's boy had put the cage down near the foot of the +big maple tree in which Happy Jack was living, because Shadow had driven +him out of the Green Forest. As soon as Happy Jack had made sure that +Shadow really and truly was a prisoner and so quite harmless, he had +acted as if he were crazy. Perhaps he was—crazy with joy. You see, he +no longer had anything to be really afraid of, for there was no one but +Shadow from whom he could not get away by running into his house. Billy +Mink was the only other one who could follow him there, and Billy was +not likely to come climbing up a tree so close to Farmer Brown's house.</p> + +<p>So Happy Jack raced up and down the tree in the very greatest +excitement, and his tongue went quite as fast as his legs. He wanted +everybody to know that Shadow was a prisoner at last. At first he did +not dare go very close to the cage. You see, he had so long feared +Shadow that he was still afraid of him even though he was so helpless. +But little by little Happy Jack grew bolder and came very close. And +then he began doing something not at all nice. He began calling Shadow +names and making fun of him, and telling him how he wasn't afraid of +him. It was all very foolish and worse—it was like hitting a foe who +was helpless.</p> + +<p>Of course Happy Jack hastened to tell everybody he met all about Shadow, +so it wasn't long before Shadow began to receive many visitors. Whenever +Farmer Brown's boy was not around there was sure to be one or more of +the little people who had feared Shadow to taunt him and make fun of +him. Somehow it seems as if always it is that way when people get into +trouble. You know it is very easy to appear to be bold and brave when +there is nothing to be afraid of. Of course that isn't bravery at all, +though many seem to think it is.</p> + +<a name='visitors'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/jack004.jpg' width='397' height='600' alt='IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE SHADOW BEGAN TO RECEIVE MANY +VISITORS.' title=''> +</center> +<h5>IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE SHADOW BEGAN TO RECEIVE MANY +VISITORS.</h5> + +<p>Now what do you think that right down in their hearts all these little +people who came to jeer at Shadow the Weasel hoped they would see? Why, +they hoped they would see Shadow afraid. Yes, Sir, that is just what +they hoped. But they didn't. That is where they were disappointed. Not +once did Shadow show the least sign of fear. He didn't know what Farmer +Brown's boy would do with him, and he had every reason to fear that if +he was not to be kept a prisoner for the rest of his natural life, +something dreadful would be the end. But he was too proud and too brave +to let any one know that any such fear ever entered his mind. Whatever +his faults, Shadow is no coward. He boldly took bits of meat which +Farmer Brown's boy brought to him, and not once appeared in the least +afraid, so that, much as he disliked him, Farmer Brown's boy actually +had to admire him. He was a prisoner, but he kept just as stout a heart +as ever.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXXI</h2> + +<h3>WHAT FARMER BROWN'S BOY DID WITH SHADOW</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +Ribble, dibble, dibble, dab!<br /> +Some people have the gift of gab!<br /> +Some people have no tongues at all<br /> +To trip them up and make them fall.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>I</span>t is a fact, one of the biggest facts in all the world, that tongues +make the greatest part of all the trouble that brings uncomfortable +feelings, and bitterness and sadness and suffering and sorrow. If it +wasn't for unruly, careless, mean tongues, the Great World would be a +million times better to live in, a million times happier. It is because +of his unruly tongue that Sammy Jay is forever getting into trouble. It +is the same way with Chatterer the Red Squirrel. And it is just the same +way with a great many little boys and girls, and with grown-ups as well.</p> + +<p>When the little people of the Green Forest and Green Meadows who fear +Shadow the Weasel found that he was a prisoner, many of them took +particular pains to visit him when the way was clear, just to make fun +of him and tease him and tell him that they were not afraid of him and +that they were glad that he was a prisoner, and that they were sure +something dreadful would happen to him and they hoped it would. Shadow +said never a word in reply. He was too wise to do that. He just turned +his back on them. But all the time he was storing up in his mind all +these hateful things, and he meant, if ever he got free again, to make +life very uncomfortable for those whose foolish tongues were trying to +make him more miserable than he already felt.</p> + +<p>But these little people with the foolish tongues didn't stop to think of +what might happen. They just took it for granted that Shadow never again +would run wild and free in the Green Forest, and so they just let their +tongues run and enjoyed doing it. Perhaps they wouldn't have, if they +could have known just what was going on in the mind of Farmer Brown's +boy. Ever since he had found Shadow in the trap which he had set for him +in the henhouse, Farmer Brown's boy had been puzzling over what he +should do with his prisoner. At first he had thought he would keep him +in a cage the rest of his life. But somehow, whenever he looked into +Shadow's fierce little eyes and saw how unafraid they looked, he got to +thinking of how terrible it must be to be shut up in a little narrow +cage when one has had all the Green Forest in which to go and come. Then +he thought that he would kill Shadow and put him out of his misery at +once.</p> + +<p>"He killed my pullets, and he is always hunting the harmless little +people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows, so he deserves to be +killed," thought Farmer Brown's boy. "He's a pest."</p> + +<p>Then he remembered that after all Shadow was one of Old Mother Nature's +little people, and that he must serve some purpose in Mother Nature's +great plan. Bad as he seemed, she must have some use for him. Perhaps it +was to teach others through fear of him how to be smarter and take +better care of themselves and so be better fitted to do their parts. The +more he thought of this, the harder it was for Farmer Brown's boy to +make up his mind to kill him. But if he couldn't keep him a prisoner +and he couldn't kill him, what could he do?</p> + +<p>He was scowling down at Shadow one morning and puzzling over this when a +happy idea came to him. "I know what I'll do!" he exclaimed. Without +another word he picked up the cage with Shadow in it and started off +across the Green Meadows, which now, you know, were not green at all but +covered with snow. Happy Jack watched him out of sight. He had gone in +the direction of the Old Pasture. He was gone a long time, and when he +did return, the cage was empty.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack blinked at the empty cage. Then he began to ask in a +scolding tone, "What did you do with him? What did you do with him?"</p> + +<p>Farmer Brown's boy just smiled and tossed a nut to Happy Jack. And far +up in the Old Pasture, Shadow the Weasel was once more free. It was well +for Happy Jack's peace of mind that he didn't know that.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXXII</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK IS PERFECTLY HAPPY</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +Never say a thing is so<br /> +Unless you absolutely know.<br /> +Just remember every day<br /> +To be quite sure of what you say.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>T</span>aking things for granted doesn't do at all in this world. To take a +thing for granted is to think that it is so without taking the trouble +to find out whether it is or not. It is apt not only to get you yourself +into trouble, but to make trouble for other people as well. Happy Jack +saw Farmer Brown's boy carry Shadow the Weasel away in a cage, and he +saw him bring back the cage empty. What could he have done with Shadow? +For a while he teased Farmer Brown's boy to tell him, but of course +Farmer Brown's boy didn't understand Happy Jack's language.</p> + +<p>Now Happy Jack knew just what he would like to believe. He would like to +believe that Farmer Brown's boy had taken Shadow away and made an end of +him. And because he wanted to believe that, it wasn't very hard to +believe it. There was the empty cage. Of course Farmer Brown's boy +wouldn't have gone to the trouble of trapping Shadow unless he intended +to get rid of him for good.</p> + +<p>"He's made an end of him, that's what he's done!" said Happy Jack to +himself, because that is what he would have done if he had been in +Farmer Brown's boy's place. So having made up his mind that this is what +had been done with Shadow, he at once told all his friends that it was +so, and was himself supremely happy. You see, he felt that he no longer +had anything to worry about. Yes, Sir, Happy Jack was happy. He liked +the house Farmer Brown's boy had made for him in the big maple tree +close by his own house. He was sure of plenty to eat, because Farmer +Brown's boy always looked out for that, and as a result Happy Jack was +growing fat. None of his enemies of the Green Forest dared come so near +to Farmer Brown's house, and the only one he had to watch out for at +all was Black Pussy. By this time he wasn't afraid of her; not a bit. In +fact, he rather enjoyed teasing her and getting her to chase him. When +she was dozing on the doorstep he liked to steal very close, wake her +with a sharp bark, and then race for the nearest tree, and there scold +her to his heart's content. He had made friends with Mrs. Brown and with +Farmer Brown, and he even felt almost friends with Bowser the Hound. +Sometimes he would climb up on the roof of Bowser's little house and +drop nutshells on Bowser's head when he was asleep. The funny thing was +Bowser never seemed to mind. He would lazily open his eyes and wink one +of them at Happy Jack and thump with his tail. He seemed to feel that +now Happy Jack was one of the family, just as he was.</p> + +<p>So Happy Jack was just as happy as a fat Gray Squirrel with nothing to +worry him could be. He was so happy that Sammy Jay actually became +jealous. You know Sammy is a born trouble maker. He visited Happy Jack +every morning, and while he helped himself to the good things that he +always found spread for him, for Farmer Brown's boy always had something +for the little feathered folk to eat, he would hint darkly that such +goodness and kindness was not to be trusted, and that something was sure +to happen. That is just the way with some folks; they always are +suspicious.</p> + +<p>But nothing that Sammy Jay could say troubled Happy Jack; and Sammy +would fly away quite put out because he couldn't spoil Happy Jack's +happiness the least little bit.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXXIII</h2> + +<h3>SAMMY JAY UPSETS HAPPY JACK</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +A good deed well done often is overlooked, +but you never are allowed to forget a mistake.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>S</span>ammy Jay chuckled as he flew across the snow-covered Green Meadows on +his way to his home in the Green Forest. He chuckled and he chuckled. To +have heard him you would have thought that either he had thought of +something very pleasant, or something very pleasant had happened to him. +Once he turned in the direction of Farmer Brown's house, but changed his +mind as he saw the Black Shadows creeping out from the Purple Hills, +and once more headed for the Green Forest.</p> + +<p>"Too late to-day. Time I was home now. It'll keep until to-morrow," he +muttered. Then he chuckled, and he was still chuckling when he reached +the big hemlock tree, among the thick branches of which he spent each +night.</p> + +<p>"Don't know what started me off to the Old Pasture this afternoon, but +I'm glad I went. My, my, my, but I'm glad I went," said he, as he +fluffed out his feathers and prepared to tuck his head under his wing. +"It pays to snoop around in this world and see what is going on. I +learned a long time ago not to believe everything I hear, and that the +surest way to make sure of things is to find out for myself. Nothing +like using my own eyes and my own ears. Well, I must get to sleep." He +began to chuckle again, and he was still chuckling as he fell asleep.</p> + +<p>The next morning Sammy Jay was astir at the very first sign of light. He +waited just long enough to see that every feather was in place, for +Sammy is a bit vain, and very particular about his dress. Then he headed +straight for Farmer Brown's house. Just as he expected he found Happy +Jack Squirrel was awake, for Happy Jack is an early riser.</p> + +<p>"Good morning," said Sammy Jay, and tried very hard to make his voice +sound smooth and pleasant, a very hard thing for Sammy to do, for his +voice, you know, is naturally harsh and unpleasant. "You seem to be +looking as happy as ever."</p> + +<p>"Of course I am," replied Happy Jack. "Why shouldn't I be? I haven't a +thing to worry about. Of course I'm happy, and I hope you're just as +happy as I am. I'm going to get my breakfast now, and then I'll be +happier still."</p> + +<p>"That's so. There's nothing like a good breakfast to make one happy," +said Sammy Jay, helping himself to some suet tied to a branch of the +maple tree. "By the way, I saw an old friend of yours yesterday. He +inquired after you particularly. He didn't exactly send his love, but he +said that he hoped you are as well and fat as ever, and that he will see +you again some time. He said that he didn't know of any one he likes to +look at better than you."</p> + +<p>Happy Jack looked flattered. "That was very nice of him," said he. "Who +was it?"</p> + +<p>"Guess," replied Sammy.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack scratched his head thoughtfully. There were not many friends +in winter. Most of them were asleep or had gone to the far away +southland.</p> + +<p>"Peter Rabbit," he ventured.</p> + +<p>Sammy shook his head.</p> + +<p>"Jimmy Skunk!"</p> + +<p>Again Sammy shook his head.</p> + +<p>"Jumper the Hare!"</p> + +<p>"Guess again," said Sammy, chuckling.</p> + +<p>"Little Joe Otter!"</p> + +<p>"Wrong," replied Sammy.</p> + +<p>"I give up. Who was it? Do tell me," begged Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"It was Shadow the Weasel!" cried Sammy, triumphantly.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack dropped the nut he was just going to eat, and in place of +happiness something very like fear grew and grew in his eyes. "I—I +don't believe you," he stammered. "Farmer Brown's boy took him away and +put an end to him. I saw him take him."</p> + +<p>"But you didn't see him put an end to Shadow," declared Sammy, "because +he didn't. He took him 'way up in the Old Pasture and let him go, and I +saw him up there yesterday. That's what comes of guessing at things. +Shadow is no more dead than you are. Well, I must be going along. I hope +you'll enjoy your breakfast."</p> + +<p>With this, off flew Sammy Jay, chuckling as if he thought he had done a +very smart thing in upsetting Happy Jack, which goes to show what queer +ideas some people have.</p> + +<p>As for Happy Jack, he worried for a while, but as Shadow didn't come, +and there was nothing else to worry about, little by little Happy Jack's +high spirits returned, until he was as happy as ever. And now, though +he has had many adventures since then, I must leave him, for there is no +more room in this book. Perhaps if you ask him, he will tell you of +these other adventures himself. Meanwhile, bashful little Mrs. Peter +Rabbit is anxious that you should know something about her. So I have +promised to call the next book, "Mrs. Peter Rabbit."</p> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13355 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + + diff --git a/13355-h/images/jack001.jpg b/13355-h/images/jack001.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..036e9eb --- /dev/null +++ b/13355-h/images/jack001.jpg diff --git a/13355-h/images/jack002.jpg b/13355-h/images/jack002.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..015b885 --- /dev/null +++ b/13355-h/images/jack002.jpg diff --git a/13355-h/images/jack003.jpg b/13355-h/images/jack003.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..1029adb --- /dev/null +++ b/13355-h/images/jack003.jpg diff --git a/13355-h/images/jack004.jpg b/13355-h/images/jack004.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b28ca26 --- /dev/null +++ b/13355-h/images/jack004.jpg diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Happy Jack + +Author: Thornton Burgess + +Release Date: September 2, 2004 [EBook #13355] +Last Updated: Januarey, 2020 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAPPY JACK *** + + + + +Produced by Stephen Schulze and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + +</pre> + +<br /> + + +<h1>HAPPY JACK</h1> + +<h3>BY</h3> + +<h2>THORNTON W. BURGESS</h2> + +<p style='text-align: center;'><i>With Illustrations by HARRISON CADY</i></p> + +<p style='text-align: center;'>This book, while produced under wartime conditions, in full compliance<br /> +with government regulations for the conservation of paper and other<br /> +essential materials, is COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED.</p> + + + +<p style='text-align: center;'><i>1918,</i></p> + + + +<br /> + +<p style='text-align: center;'>TO</p> + +<p style='text-align: center;'>DR. WILLIAM T. HORNADAY</p> + +<p>TO WHOM POSTERITY WILL OWE A DEBT OF GRATITUDE FOR HIS VALIANT FIGHT TO +PRESERVE AMERICAN WILD LIFE, WHO HAS BEEN A LIFELONG CHAMPION OF HAPPY +JACK SQUIRREL, AND TO WHOM THE AUTHOR IS DEEPLY INDEBTED FOR +ENCOURAGEMENT AND ASSISTANCE THIS BOOK IS GRATEFULLY DEDICATED</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CONTENTS'></a><h2>CONTENTS</h2> + + +<table align='center' border='0' cellpadding='6' cellspacing='0' summary=''> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_I'><b>I.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_I'><b>HAPPY JACK DROPS A NUT</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_II'><b>II.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_II'><b>THE QUARREL</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_III'><b>III.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_III'><b>STRIPED CHIPMUNK Is KEPT VERY BUSY</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_IV'><b>IV.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_IV'><b>HAPPY JACK AND CHATTERER FEEL FOOLISH</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_V'><b>V.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_V'><b>HAPPY JACK SUSPECTS STRIPED CHIPMUNK</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_VI'><b>VI.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_VI'><b>HAPPY JACK SPIES ON STRIPED CHIPMUNK</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_VII'><b>VII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_VII'><b>STRIPED CHIPMUNK HAS FUN WITH HAPPY JACK</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_VIII'><b>VIII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_VIII'><b>HAPPY JACK TURNS BURGLAR</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_IX'><b>IX.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_IX'><b>HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL'S SAD MISTAKE</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_X'><b>X.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_X'><b>STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S HAPPY THOUGHT</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XI'><b>XI.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XI'><b>STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S THANKSGIVING DINNER</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XII'><b>XII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XII'><b>HAPPY JACK DOES SOME THINKING</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIII'><b>XIII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XIII'><b>HAPPY JACK GETS A WARNING</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIV'><b>XIV.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XIV'><b>HAPPY JACK'S RUN FOR LIFE</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XV'><b>XV.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XV'><b>WHO SAVED HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL?</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XVI'><b>XVI.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XVI'><b>HAPPY JACK MISSES FARMER BROWN'S BOY</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XVII'><b>XVII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XVII'><b>TOMMY TIT BRINGS NEWS</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XVIII'><b>XVIII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XVIII'><b>HAPPY JACK DECIDES TO MAKE A CALL</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIX'><b>XIX.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XIX'><b>TOMMY TIT AND HAPPY JACK PAY A VISIT</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XX'><b>XX.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XX'><b>WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH FARMER BROWN'S BOY?</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXI'><b>XXI.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXI'><b>HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL GROWS VERY BOLD</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXII'><b>XXII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXII'><b>HAPPY JACK DARES TOMMY TIT</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIII'><b>XXIII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIII'><b>SAMMY JAY IS QUITE UPSET</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIV'><b>XXIV.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIV'><b>A DREAM COMES TRUE</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXV'><b>XXV.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXV'><b>HAPPY JACK HAS A HAPPY THOUGHT</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVI'><b>XXVI.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVI'><b>FARMER BROWN'S BOY WAKES WITH A START</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVII'><b>XXVII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVII'><b>HAPPY JACK IS AFRAID TO GO HOME</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVIII'><b>XXVIII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVIII'><b>HAPPY JACK FINDS A NEW HOME</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIX'><b>XXIX.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIX'><b>FARMER BROWN'S BOY TAKES A PRISONER</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXX'><b>XXX.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXX'><b>A PRISONER WITHOUT FEAR</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXI'><b>XXXI.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXI'><b>WHAT FARMER BROWN'S BOY DID WITH SHADOW</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXII'><b>XXXII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXII'><b>HAPPY JACK IS PERFECTLY HAPPY</b></a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXIII'><b>XXXIII.</b></a></td><td><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXIII'><b>SAMMY JAY UPSETS HAPPY JACK</b></a></td></tr></table> + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS'></a><h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +<p style='text-align: center;'><a href='#ears'>Peter Rabbit, who happened along just then, put his hands over his ears</a></p> + +<p style='text-align: center;'><a href='#trick'>Happy Jack tried every trick he knew to get away from Shadow the Weasel</a></p> + +<p style='text-align: center;'><a href='#find'>"Did you find out anything?" asked Happy Jack eagerly</a></p> + +<p style='text-align: center;'><a href='#visitors'>It wasn't long before Shadow began to receive many visitors</a></p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h1>HAPPY JACK</h1> + +<br /> +<br /> + +<a name='CHAPTER_I'></a><h2>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK DROPS A NUT</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'>Save a little every day,<br /> +And for the future put away.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack Squirrel sat on the tip of one of the highest branches of a +big hickory tree. Happy Jack was up very early that morning. In fact, +jolly, round, red Mr. Sun was still in his bed behind the Purple Hills +when Happy Jack hopped briskly out of bed. He washed himself thoroughly +and was ready for business by the time Mr. Sun began his climb up in +the blue, blue sky.</p> + +<p>You see, Happy Jack had found that big hickory tree just loaded with +nuts all ripe and ready to gather. He was quite sure that no one else +had found that special tree, and he wanted to get all the nuts before +any one else found out about them. So he was all ready and off he raced +to the big tree just as soon as it was light enough to see.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"The nuts that grow in the hickory tree—<br /></span> +<span>They're all for me! They're all for me!"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Happy Jack was humming that little song as he rested for a few minutes +'way up in the top of the tree and wondered if his storehouse would hold +all these big, fat nuts. Just then he heard a great scolding a little +way over in the Green Forest. Happy Jack stopped humming and listened. +He knew that voice. It was his cousin's voice—the voice of Chatterer +the Red Squirrel. Happy Jack frowned. "I hope he won't come over this +way," muttered Happy Jack. He does not love his cousin Chatterer anyway, +and then there was the big tree full of hickory nuts! He didn't want +Chatterer to find that.</p> + +<p>I am afraid that Happy Jack was selfish. There were more nuts than he +could possibly eat in one winter, and yet he wasn't willing that his +cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, should have a single one. Now +Chatterer is short-tempered and a great scold. Some one or something +had upset him this morning, and he was scolding as fast as his tongue +could go, as he came running right towards the tree in which Happy Jack +was sitting. Happy Jack sat perfectly still and watched. He didn't move +so much as the tip of his big gray tail. Would Chatterer go past and not +see that big tree full of nuts? It looked very much as if he would, for +he was so busy scolding that he wasn't paying much attention to other +things.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack smiled as Chatterer came running under the tree without once +looking up. He was so tickled that he started to hug himself and didn't +remember that he was holding a big, fat nut in his hands. Of course he +dropped it. Where do you think it went? Well, Sir, it fell straight +down, from the top of that tall tree, and it landed right on the head of +Chatterer the Red Squirrel!</p> + +<p>"My stars!" cried Chatterer, stopping his scolding and his running +together, and rubbing his head where the nut had hit him. Then he looked +up to see where it had come from. Of course, he looked straight up at +Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"You did that purposely!" screamed Chatterer, his short temper flaring +up.</p> + +<p>"I didn't!" snapped Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"You did!"</p> + +<p>"I didn't!"</p> + +<p>Oh, dear, oh, dear, such a sight! two little Squirrels, one in a gray +suit and one in a red suit, contradicting each other and calling names! +It was such a sad, sad sight, for you know they were cousins.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_II'></a><h2>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>THE QUARREL</h3> + + +<p style='text-align: center;'>It's up to you and up to me<br /> +To see how thrifty we can be.<br /> +To do our bit like soldiers true<br /> +It's up to me and up to you.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>T</span>wo angry little people were making a dreadful noise in the Green +Forest. It was a beautiful morning, a very beautiful fall morning, but +all the beauty of it was being spoiled by the dreadful noise these two +little people. You see they were quarreling. Yes, Sir, they were +quarreling, and it wasn't at all nice to see or nice to hear.</p> + +<p>You know who they were. One was Happy Jack Squirrel, who wears a coat +of gray, and the other was Chatterer the Red Squirrel, who always wears +a red coat with vest of white. When Happy Jack had dropped that nut from +the tiptop of the tall hickory tree and it had landed right on top of +Chatterer's head it really had been an accident. All the time Happy Jack +had been sitting as still as still could be, hoping that his cousin +Chatterer would pass by without looking up and so seeing the big fat +nuts in the top of that tree. You see Happy Jack was greedy and wanted +all of them himself. Now Chatterer the Red Squirrel has a sharp temper, +and also he has sharp eyes. All the time he was scolding Happy Jack and +calling him names Chatterer's bright eyes were taking note of all those +big, fat hickory-nuts and his mouth began to water. Without wasting any +more time he started up the tree to get some.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack grew very angry, very angry indeed. He hurried down to meet +Chatterer the Red Squirrel and to prevent him climbing the tree.</p> + +<p>"You keep out of this tree; it's mine!" he shrieked.</p> + +<p>"No such thing! You don't own the tree and I've got just as much right +here as you have!" screamed Chatterer, dodging around to the other side +of the tree.</p> + +<p>"'Tis, too, mine! I found it first!" shouted Happy Jack. "You're a +thief, so there!"</p> + +<p>"I'm not!"</p> + +<p>"You are!"</p> + +<p>"You're a pig, Happy Jack! You're just a great big pig!"</p> + +<p>"I'm not a pig! I found these nuts first and I tell you they're mine!" +shrieked Happy Jack, so angry that every time he spoke he jerked his +tail. And all the time he was chasing round and round the trunk of the +tree trying to prevent Chatterer getting up.</p> + +<p>Now Happy Jack is ever so much bigger than his cousin Chatterer but he +isn't as spry. So in spite of him Chatterer got past, and like a little +red flash was up in the top of the tree where the big, fat nuts were. +But he didn't have time to pick even one, for after him came Happy Jack +so angry that Chatterer knew that he would fare badly if Happy Jack +should catch him. Round and round, over and across, this way and that +way, in the top of the tall hickory tree raced Chatterer the Red +Squirrel with his cousin, Happy Jack the Gray Squirrel, right at his +heels, and calling him everything bad to be thought of. Yes, indeed it +was truly dreadful, and Peter Rabbit, who happened along just then, put +his hands over his ears so as not to hear such a dreadful quarrel.</p> + +<a name='ears'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/jack003.jpg' width='397' height='600' alt='PETER RABBIT, WHO HAPPENED ALONG JUST THEN, PUT HIS HANDS +OVER HIS EARS.' title=''> +</center> +<h5>PETER RABBIT, WHO HAPPENED ALONG JUST THEN, PUT HIS HANDS +OVER HIS EARS.</h5> + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_III'></a><h2>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>STRIPED CHIPMUNK IS KEPT VERY BUSY</h3> + + +<p style='text-align: center;'>I prefer big acorns but I never refuse little ones.<br /> +They fit in between.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>S</span>triped Chipmunk was sitting just inside a hollow log, studying about +how he could fill up his new storehouse for the winter. Striped Chipmunk +is very thrifty. He likes to play, and he is one of the merriest of all +the little people who live on the Green Meadows or in the Green Forest. +He lives right on the edge of both and knows everybody, and everybody +knows him. Almost every morning the Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother +West Wind hurry over to have a frolic with him the very first thing. But +though he dearly loves to play, he never lets play interfere with work. +Whatever he does, be it play or work, he does with all his might.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"I love the sun; I love the rain;<br /></span> +<span class='i3'>I love to work; I love to play.<br /></span> +<span>Whatever it may bring to me<br /></span> +<span class='i3'>I love each minute of each day."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>So said Striped Chipmunk, as he sat in the hollow log and studied how he +could fill that splendid big new storehouse. Pretty soon he pricked up +his funny little ears. What was all that noise over in the Green +Forest? Striped Chipmunk peeped out of the hollow log. Over in the top +of a tall hickory tree a terrible fuss was going on. Striped Chipmunk +listened. He heard angry voices, such angry voices! They were the voices +of his big cousins, Happy Jack the Gray Squirrel and Chatterer the Red +Squirrel.</p> + +<p>"Dear me! Dear me! How those two do quarrel! I must go over and see what +it is all about," thought Striped Chipmunk.</p> + +<p>So, with a flirt of his funny, little tail, he scampered out of the +hollow log and over to the tall hickory tree. He knew all about that +tree. Many, many times he had looked up at the big fat nuts in the top +of it, watching them grow bigger and fatter, and hoping that when they +grew ripe, Old Mother West Wind would find time to shake them down to +him. You know Striped Chipmunk is not much of a climber, and so he +cannot go up and pick the nuts as do his big cousins, Happy Jack and +Chatterer.</p> + +<p>When he reached the tall hickory tree, what do you think was happening? +Why, those big, fat nuts were rattling down to the ground on every side, +just as if Old Mother West Wind was shaking the tree as hard as she +could. But Old Mother West Wind wasn't there at all. No, Sir, there +wasn't even one of the Merry Little Breezes up in the tree-tops. The +big fat nuts were rattling down just on account of the dreadful quarrel +of Striped Chipmunk's two foolish cousins, Happy Jack and Chatterer.</p> + +<p>It was all because Happy Jack was greedy. Chatterer had climbed the +tree, and now Happy Jack, who is bigger but not so spry, was chasing +Chatterer round and round and over the tree-top, and both were so angry +that they didn't once notice that they were knocking down the very nuts +over which they were quarreling.</p> + +<p>Striped Chipmunk didn't stop to listen to the quarrel. No, Sir-ee! He +stuffed a big fat nut in each pocket in his cheeks and scampered back +to his splendid new storehouse as fast as his little legs would take +him. Back and forth, back and forth, scampered Striped Chipmunk, and all +the time he was laughing inside and hoping his big cousins would keep +right on quarreling.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_IV'></a><h2>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK AND CHATTERER FEEL FOOLISH</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +If you get and spend a penny,<br /> +Then of course you haven't any.<br /> +Be like me—a Happy Jack—<br /> +And put it where you'll get it back.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack and Chatterer were out of breath. Happy Jack was puffing and +blowing, for he is big and fat, and it is not so easy for him to race +about in the tree-tops as it is for his smaller, slim, nimble cousin, +Chatterer. So Happy Jack was the first to stop. He sat on a branch 'way +up in the top of the tall hickory tree and glared across at Chatterer, +who sat on a branch on the other side of the tall tree.</p> + +<p>"Couldn't catch me, could you, smarty?" taunted Chatterer.</p> + +<p>"You just wait until I do! I'll make you sorry you ever came near my +hickory tree," snapped Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"I'm waiting. Besides, it isn't your tree any more than it's mine," +replied Chatterer, and made a face at Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack hopped up as if he meant to begin the chase again, but he had +a pain in his side from running so hard and so long, and so he sat down +again. Right down in his heart Happy Jack knew that Chatterer was +right, that the tree didn't belong to him any more than to his cousin. +But when he thought of all those big, fat nuts with which the tall +hickory tree had been loaded, greedy thoughts chased out all thoughts of +right and he said to himself again, as he had said when he first saw his +cousin, that Chatterer shouldn't have <i>one</i> of them. He stopped scolding +long enough to steal a look at them, and then—what do you think Happy +Jack did? Why, he gave such a jump of surprise that he nearly lost his +balance. Not a nut was to be seen! Happy Jack blinked. Then, he rubbed +his eyes and looked again. He couldn't see a nut anywhere!</p> + +<p>There were the husks in which the nuts had grown big and fat until they +were ripe, but now every husk was empty. Chatterer saw the queer look on +Happy Jack's face, and he looked too. Now Chatterer the Red Squirrel had +very quick wits, and he guessed right away what had happened. He knew +that while they had been quarreling and racing over the top of the tall +hickory tree, they must have knocked down all the nuts, which were just +ready to fall anyway. Like a little red flash, Chatterer started down +the tree. Then Happy Jack guessed too, and down he started as fast as he +could go, crying, "Stop, thief!" all the way.</p> + +<p>When he reached the ground, there was Chatterer scurrying around and +poking under the fallen leaves, but he hadn't found a single nut. Happy +Jack couldn't stop to quarrel any more, because you see he was afraid +that Chatterer would find the biggest and fattest nuts, so he began to +scurry around and hunt too. It was queer, very queer, how those nuts +could have hidden so! They hunted and hunted, but no nuts were to be +found. Then they stopped and stared up at the top of the tall hickory +tree. Not a nut could they see. Then they stared at each other, and +gradually a foolish, a very foolish look crept over each face.</p> + +<p>"Where—where do you suppose they have gone?" asked Happy Jack in a +queer-sounding voice.</p> + +<p>Just then they heard some one laughing fit to kill himself. It was Peter +Rabbit.</p> + +<p>"Did you take our hickory nuts?" they both shouted angrily.</p> + +<p>"No," replied Peter, "no, I didn't take them, though they were not +yours, anyway!" And then he went off into another fit of laughter, for +Peter had seen Striped Chipmunk very hard at work taking away those very +nuts while his two big cousins had been quarreling in the tree-top.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_V'></a><h2>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK SUSPECTS STRIPED CHIPMUNK</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +Thrift is one test of true loyalty to your country.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack didn't look happy a bit. Indeed, Happy Jack looked very +unhappy. You see, he looked just as he felt. He had set his heart on +having all the big, fat nuts that he had found in the top of that tall +hickory tree, and now, instead of having all of them, he hadn't any of +them. Worse still, he knew right down in his heart that it was his own +fault. He had been too greedy. But what <i>had</i> become of those nuts?</p> + +<p>Happy Jack was studying about this as he sat with his back against a +big chestnut tree. He remembered how hard Peter Rabbit had laughed when +Happy Jack and his cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, had been so +surprised because they could not find the nuts they had knocked down. +Peter hadn't taken them, for Peter has no use for them, but he must know +what had become of them, for he was still laughing as he had gone off +down the Lone Little Path. While he was thinking of all this, Happy +Jack's bright eyes had been wide open, as they usually are, so that no +danger should come near. Suddenly they saw something moving among the +brown-and-yellow leaves on the ground. Happy Jack looked sharply, and +then a sudden thought popped into his head.</p> + +<p>"Hi, there, Cousin Chipmunk!" he shouted.</p> + +<p>"Hi, there, your own self!" replied Striped Chipmunk, for it was he.</p> + +<p>"What are you doing down there?" asked Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"Looking for hickory nuts," replied Striped Chipmunk, and his eyes +twinkled as he said it, for there wasn't a hickory tree near.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack looked hard at Striped Chipmunk, for that sudden thought +which had popped into his head when he first saw Striped Chipmunk was +growing into a strong, a very strong, suspicion that Striped Chipmunk +knew something about those lost hickory nuts. But Striped Chipmunk +looked back at him so innocently that Happy Jack didn't know just what +to think.</p> + +<p>"Have you begun to fill your storehouse for winter yet?" inquired Happy +Jack.</p> + +<p>"Of course I have. I don't mean to let Jack Frost catch me with an empty +storehouse," replied Striped Chipmunk.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"When leaves turn yellow, brown, and red,<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>And nuts come pitter, patter down;<br /></span> +<span>When days are short and swiftly sped,<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>And Autumn wears her colored gown,<br /></span> +<span>I'm up before old Mr. Sun<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>His nightcap has a chance to doff,<br /></span> +<span>And have my day's work well begun<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>When others kick their bedclothes off."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>"What are you filling your storehouse with?" asked Happy Jack, trying +not to show too much interest.</p> + +<p>"Corn, nice ripe yellow corn, and seeds and acorns and chestnuts," +answered Striped Chipmunk. "And now I'm looking for some big, fat +hickory nuts," he added, and his bright eyes twinkled. "Have you seen +any, Happy Jack?"</p> + +<p>Happy Jack said that he hadn't seen any, and Striped Chipmunk remarked +that he couldn't waste any more time talking, and scurried away. Happy +Jack watched him go, a puzzled little frown puckering up his brows.</p> + +<p>"I believe he knows something about those nuts. I think I'll follow him +and have a peep into his storehouse," he muttered.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_VI'></a><h2>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK SPIES ON STRIPED CHIPMUNK</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +It's more important to mind your own affairs than to know what your +neighbors are doing, but not nearly so interesting.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>S</span>triped Chipmunk was whisking about among the brown-and-yellow leaves +that covered the ground on the edge of the Green Forest. He is such a +little fellow that he looked almost like a brown leaf himself, and when +one of Old Mother West Wind's Merry Little Breezes whirled the brown +leaves in a mad little dance around him, it was the hardest work in the +world to see Striped Chipmunk at all. Anyway, Happy Jack Squirrel found +it so.</p> + +<p>You see, Happy Jack was spying on Striped Chipmunk. Yes, Sir, Happy Jack +was spying. Spying, you know, is secretly watching other people and +trying to find out what they are doing. It isn't a nice thing to do, not +a bit nice. Happy Jack knew it, and all the time he was doing it, he was +feeling very much ashamed of himself. But he said to himself that he +just <i>had</i> to know where Striped Chipmunk's storehouse was, because he +just <i>had</i> to peep inside and find out if it held any of the big, fat +hickory nuts that had disappeared from under the tall hickory tree +while he was quarreling up in the top of it with his cousin, Chatterer +the Red Squirrel.</p> + +<p>But spying on Striped Chipmunk isn't the easiest thing in the world. +Happy Jack was finding it the hardest work he had ever undertaken. +Striped Chipmunk is so spry, and whisks about so, that you need eyes all +around your head to keep track of him. Happy Jack found that his two +eyes, bright and quick as they are, couldn't keep that little elf of a +cousin of his always in sight. Every few minutes he would disappear and +then bob up again in the most unexpected place and most provoking way.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"Now I'm here, and now I'm there!<br /></span> +<span>Now I am not anywhere!<br /></span> +<span>Watch me now, for here I go<br /></span> +<span>Out of sight! I told you so!"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>With the last words, Striped Chipmunk was nowhere to be seen. It seemed +as if the earth must have opened and swallowed him. But it hadn't, for +two minutes later Happy Jack saw him flirting his funny little tail in +the sauciest way as he scampered along an old log.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack began to suspect that Striped Chipmunk was just having fun +with him. What else could he mean by saying such things? And yet Happy +Jack was sure that Striped Chipmunk hadn't seen him, for, all the time +he was watching, Happy Jack had taken the greatest care to keep hidden +himself. No, it couldn't be, it just couldn't be that Striped Chipmunk +knew that he was anywhere about. He would just be patient a little +longer, and he would surely see that smart little cousin of his go to +his storehouse. So Happy Jack waited and watched.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_VII'></a><h2>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>STRIPED CHIPMUNK HAS FUN WITH HAPPY JACK</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'>Thrift is the meat in the nut of success.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>S</span>triped Chipmunk would shout in his shrillest voice:</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"Hipperty, hopperty, one, two, three!<br /></span> +<span>What do you think becomes of me?"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Then he would vanish from sight all in the wink of an eye. You couldn't +tell where he went to. At least Happy Jack couldn't, and his eyes are +sharper than yours or mine. Happy Jack was spying, you remember. He was +watching Striped Chipmunk without letting Striped Chipmunk know it. At +least he thought he was. But really he wasn't. Those sharp twinkling +eyes of Striped Chipmunk see everything. You know, he is such a very +little fellow that he has to be very wide-awake to keep out of danger.</p> + +<p>And he <i>is</i> wide-awake. Oh, my, yes, indeed! When he is awake, and that +is every minute of the daytime, he is the most wide-awake little fellow +you ever did see. He had seen Happy Jack the very first thing, and he +had guessed right away that Happy Jack was spying on him so as to find +out if he had any of the big, fat hickory nuts. Now Striped Chipmunk had +<i>all</i> of those fat hickory nuts safely hidden in his splendid new +storehouse, but he didn't intend to let Happy Jack know it. So he just +pretended not to see Happy Jack, or to know that he was anywhere near, +but acted as if he was just going about his own business. Really he was +just having the best time ever fooling Happy Jack.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"The corn is ripe; the nuts do fall;<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>Acorns are sweet and plump.<br /></span> +<span>I soon will have my storehouse full<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>Inside the hollow stump."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Striped Chipmunk sang this just as if no one was anywhere near, and he +was singing just for joy. Of course Happy Jack heard it and he grinned.</p> + +<p>"So your storehouse is in a hollow stump, my smart little cousin!" said +Happy Jack to himself. "If that's the case, I'll soon find it."</p> + +<p>Striped Chipmunk scurried along, and now he took pains to always keep in +sight. Happy Jack followed, hiding behind the trees. Pretty soon Striped +Chipmunk picked up a plump acorn and put it in the pocket of his right +cheek. Then he picked up another and put that in the pocket in his left +cheek. Then he crowded another into each; and his face was swelled so +that you would hardly have guessed that it was Striped Chipmunk if you +had chanced to meet him. My, my, he was a funny sight! Happy Jack +grinned again as he watched, partly because Striped Chipmunk looked so +funny, and partly because he knew that if Striped Chipmunk was going to +eat the acorns right away, he wouldn't stuff them into the pockets in +his cheeks. But he had done this very thing, and so he must be going to +take them to his storehouse.</p> + +<p>Off scampered Striped Chipmunk, and after him stole Happy Jack, his eyes +shining with excitement. Pretty soon he saw an old stump which looked as +if it must be hollow. Happy Jack grinned more than ever as he carefully +hid himself and watched. Striped Chipmunk scrambled up on the old stump, +looked this way and that way, as if to be sure that no one was watching +him, then with a flirt of his funny little tail he darted into a little +round doorway. He was gone a long time, but by and by out he popped, +looked this way and that way, and then scampered off in the direction +from which he had come. Happy Jack didn't try to follow him. He waited +until he was sure that Striped Chipmunk was out of sight and hearing, +and then he walked over to the old stump.</p> + +<p>"It's his storehouse fast enough," said Happy Jack.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_VIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK TURNS BURGLAR</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +As trees from little acorns, so<br /> +Great sums from little pennies grow.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack Squirrel stood in front of the old stump into which he had +seen Striped Chipmunk go with the pockets in his cheeks full of acorns, +and out of which he had come with the pockets of his cheeks quite empty.</p> + +<p>"It certainly is his storehouse, and now I'll find out if he is the one +who got all those big, fat hickory nuts," muttered Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>First he looked this way, and then he looked that way, to be sure that +no one saw him, for what he was planning to do was a very dreadful +thing, and he knew it. Happy Jack was going to turn burglar. A burglar, +you know, is one who breaks into another's house or barn to steal, which +is a very, very dreadful thing to do. Yet this is just what Happy Jack +Squirrel was planning to do. He was going to get into that old stump, +and if those big, fat hickory nuts were there, as he was sure they were, +he was going to take them. He tried very hard to make himself believe +that it wouldn't be stealing. He had watched those nuts in the top of +the tall hickory tree so long that he had grown to think that they +belonged to him. Of course they didn't, but he had made himself think +they did.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack walked all around the old stump, and then he climbed up on +top of it. There was only one doorway, and that was the little round +hole through which Striped Chipmunk had entered and then come out. It +was too small for Happy Jack to even get his head through, though his +cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, who is much smaller, could have +slipped in easily. Happy Jack sniffed and sniffed. He could smell nuts +and corn and other good things. My, how good they did smell! His eyes +shone greedily.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack took one more hasty look around to see that no one was +watching, then with his long sharp teeth he began to make the doorway +larger. The wood was tough, but Happy Jack worked with might and main, +for he wanted to get those nuts and get away before Striped Chipmunk +should return, or any one else should happen along and see him. Soon the +hole was big enough for him to get his head inside. It was a storehouse, +sure enough. Happy Jack worked harder than ever, and soon the hole was +large enough for him to get wholly inside.</p> + +<p>What a sight! There was corn! and there were chestnuts and acorns! and +there were a few hickory nuts, though these did not look so big and fat +as the ones Happy Jack was looking for! Happy Jack chuckled to himself, +a wicked, greedy chuckle, as he looked. And then something happened.</p> + +<p>"Oh! Oh! Stop it! Leave me alone!" yelled Happy Jack.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_IX'></a><h2>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL'S SAD MISTAKE</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +A Squirrel always is thrifty. Be as wise as a Squirrel.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p>"Let me go! Let me go!" yelled Happy Jack, as he backed out of the +hollow stump faster than he had gone in, a great deal faster. Can you +guess why? I'll tell you. It was because he was being pulled out. Yes, +Sir, Happy Jack Squirrel was being pulled out by his big, bushy tail.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack was more frightened than hurt. To be sure, it is not at all +comfortable to have one's tail pulled, but Happy Jack wouldn't have +minded this so much had it not been so unexpected, or if he could have +seen who was pulling it. And then, right inside Happy Jack didn't feel a +bit good. Why? Well, because he was doing a dreadful thing, and he +<i>knew</i> that it was a dreadful thing. He had broken into somebody's +storehouse to steal. He was sure that it was Striped Chipmunk's +storehouse, and he wouldn't admit to himself that he was going to steal, +actually <i>steal</i>. But all the time, right down deep in his heart, he +knew that if he took any of those hickory nuts it would be stealing.</p> + +<p>But Happy Jack had been careless. When he had made the doorway big +enough for him to crawl inside, he had left his tail hanging outside. +Some one had very, very softly stolen up and grabbed it and begun to +pull. It was so sudden and unexpected that Happy Jack yelled with +fright. When he could get his wits together, he thought of course +Striped Chipmunk had come back and was pulling his tail. When he thought +that, he got over his fright right away, for Striped Chipmunk is such a +little fellow that Happy Jack knew that he had nothing; to fear from +him.</p> + +<p>So as fast as he could, Happy Jack backed out of the hole and whirled +around. Of course he expected to face a very angry little Chipmunk. But +he didn't. No, Sir, he didn't. Instead, he looked right into the angry +face of his other cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel. And Chatterer +<i>was</i> angry! Oh my, my, how angry Chatterer was! For a minute he +couldn't find his voice, because his anger fairly choked him. And when +he did, how his tongue did fly!</p> + +<p>"You thief! You robber! What are you doing in my storehouse?" he +shrieked.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack backed away hurriedly, for though he is much bigger than +Chatterer, he has a very wholesome respect for Chatterer's sharp teeth, +and when he is very angry, Chatterer is a great fighter.</p> + +<p>"I—I didn't know it was your storehouse," said Happy Jack, backing +away still further.</p> + +<p>"It doesn't make any difference if you didn't; you're a thief just the +same!" screamed Chatterer and rushed at Happy Jack. And what do you +think Happy Jack did? Why, he just turned tail and ran, Chatterer after +him, crying "Thief! Robber! Coward!" at the top of his lungs, so that +every one in the Green Forest could hear.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_X'></a><h2>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3>STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S HAPPY THOUGHT</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +Waste seems to me a dreadful sin;<br /> +It works to lose and not to win.<br /> +<br /> +Thrift will win; it cannot lose.<br /> +Between them 'tis for you to choose.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>S</span>triped Chipmunk sat on a mossy old log, laughing until his sides ached. +"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho! Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!" +laughed Striped Chipmunk, holding his sides. Over in the Green Forest he +could still hear Chatterer the Red Squirrel crying "Thief! Robber!" as +he chased his big cousin, Happy Jack, and every time he heard it, +Striped Chipmunk laughed harder.</p> + +<p>You see, Striped Chipmunk had known all the time that Happy Jack was +spying on him, and he had had no end of fun fooling Happy Jack by +suddenly disappearing and then bobbing into view. He had known that +Happy Jack was following him so as to find out where his storehouse was. +Then Striped Chipmunk had remembered the storehouse of Chatterer the Red +Squirrel. He had filled the pockets in his cheeks with acorns and gone +straight over to Chatterer's storehouse and put them inside, knowing +that Happy Jack would follow him and would think that that was his +storehouse. And that is just what happened.</p> + +<p>Then Striped Chipmunk had hidden himself where he could see all that +happened. He had seen Happy Jack look all around, to make sure that no +one was near, and then tear open the little round doorway of Chatterer's +storehouse until it was big enough for him to squeeze through. He had +seen Chatterer come up, fly into a rage, and pull Happy Jack out by the +tail. Indeed, he had had to clap both hands over his mouth to keep from +laughing out loud. Then Happy Jack had turned tail and run away with +Chatterer after him, shouting "Thief" and "Robber" at the top of his +voice, and this had tickled Striped Chipmunk still more, for he knew +that Chatterer himself is one of the greatest thieves in the Green +Forest. So he sat on the mossy old log and laughed and laughed and +laughed.</p> + +<p>Finally Striped Chipmunk wiped the tears from his eyes and jumped up. +"My, my, this will never do!" said he.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"Idle hands and idle feet<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>Never filled a storehouse yet;<br /></span> +<span>But instead, so I've heard say,<br /></span> +<span class='i2'>Into mischief surely get."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>"Here it is almost Thanksgiving and—" Striped Chipmunk stopped and +scratched his head, while a funny little pleased look crept into his +face. "I wonder if Happy Jack and Chatterer would come to a +Thanksgiving dinner," he muttered. "I believe I'll ask them just for +fun."</p> + +<p>Then Striped Chipmunk hurried home full of his new idea and chuckled as +he planned his Thanksgiving dinner. Of course he couldn't have it at his +own house. That wouldn't do at all. In the first place, the doorway +would be altogether too small for Happy Jack. Anyway, his home was a +secret, his very own secret, and he didn't propose to let Happy Jack and +Chatterer know where it was, even for a Thanksgiving dinner. Then he +thought of the big, smooth, mossy log he had been sitting on that very +morning.</p> + +<p>"The very place!" cried Striped Chipmunk, and scurried away to find +Happy Jack Squirrel and Chatterer the Red Squirrel to invite them to his +Thanksgiving dinner.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3>STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S THANKSGIVING DINNER</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +There's nothing quite so sweet in life<br /> +As making up and ending strife.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>S</span>triped Chipmunk jumped out of bed very early Thanksgiving morning. It +was going to be a very busy day. He had invited Happy Jack the Gray +Squirrel, and Chatterer the Red Squirrel, to eat Thanksgiving dinner +with him, and each had promised to be there. Striped Chipmunk chuckled +as he thought how neither of his guests knew that the other was to be +there. He washed his face and hands, brushed his hair, and ate his +breakfast. Then he scurried over to his splendid new storehouse, which +no one knew of but himself, and stuffed the pockets in his cheeks with +good things to eat. When he couldn't stuff another thing in, he scurried +over to the nice, mossy log on the edge of the Green Forest, and there +he emptied his pockets, for that was to be his dining table.</p> + +<p>Back and forth, back and forth between his secret storehouse and the +smooth, mossy log hurried Striped Chipmunk. He knew that Happy Jack and +the Chatterer have great appetites, and he wanted to be sure that there +was plenty of good things to eat. And as he scurried along, he sang a +little song.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"Thanksgiving comes but once a year,<br /></span> +<span>But when it comes it brings good cheer.<br /></span> +<span>For in my storehouse on this day<br /></span> +<span>Are piles of good things hid away.<br /></span> +<span>Each day I've worked from early morn<br /></span> +<span>To gather acorns, nuts, and corn,<br /></span> +<span>Till now I've plenty and to spare<br /></span> +<span>Without a worry or a care.<br /></span> +<span>So light of heart the whole day long,<br /></span> +<span>I'll sing a glad Thanksgiving song."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Promptly at the dinner hour Happy Jack appeared coming from one +direction, and Chatterer the Red Squirrel coming from another direction. +They didn't see each other until just as they reached Striped Chipmunk's +smooth, mossy log. Then they stopped and scowled. Striped Chipmunk +pretended not to notice anything wrong and bustled about, talking all +the time as if his guests were the best of friends.</p> + +<p>On the smooth, mossy log was a great pile of shining yellow corn. There +was another pile of plump ripe acorns, and three little piles of dainty +looking brown seeds. But the thing that Happy Jack couldn't keep his +eyes off was right in the middle. It was a huge pile of big, fat hickory +nuts. Now who could remain ill-tempered and cross with such a lot of +goodies spread before him? Certainly not Happy Jack or his cousin, +Chatterer the Red Squirrel. They just had to smile in spite of +themselves, and when Striped Chipmunk urged them to sit down and help +themselves, they did. In three minutes they were so busy eating that +they had forgotten all about their quarrel and were laughing and +chatting like the best of friends.</p> + +<p>"It's quite a family party, isn't it?" said Striped Chipmunk, for you +know they are all cousins.</p> + +<p>Whitefoot the Wood Mouse happened along, and Striped Chipmunk insisted +that he should join the party. Later Sammy Jay came along, and nothing +would excuse him from sharing in the feast, too. When everybody had +eaten and eaten until they couldn't hold another thing, and it was time +to think of going home, Striped Chipmunk insisted that Happy Jack and +Chatterer should divide between them the big, fat hickory nuts that were +left, and they did without once quarreling about it.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"Thanksgiving comes but once a year,<br /></span> +<span>And when it comes it brings good cheer,"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>said Striped Chipmunk to himself as he watched his guests depart.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK DOES SOME THINKING</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +To call another a thief doesn't make him one.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack sat up in a chestnut tree, and his face was very sober. The +fact is, Happy Jack was doing some very hard thinking. This is so very +unusual for him that Sammy Jay stopped to ask if he was sick. You see he +is naturally a happy-go-lucky little scamp, and that is one reason that +he is called Happy Jack. But this morning he was thinking and thinking +hard, so hard, in fact, that he almost lost his temper when Sammy Jay +interrupted his thoughts with such a foolish question.</p> + +<p>What was he thinking about? Can you not guess? Why, he was thinking +about those big, fat hickory nuts that Striped Chipmunk had had for his +Thanksgiving dinner, and how Striped Chipmunk had given him some of them +to bring home. He was very sure that they were the very same nuts that +he had watched grow big and fat in the top of the tall hickory tree and +then had knocked down while chasing his cousin, Chatterer. When they had +reached the ground and found the nuts gone, Happy Jack had at once +suspected that Striped Chipmunk had taken them, and now he felt sure +about it.</p> + +<p>But all at once things looked very different to Happy Jack, and the more +he thought about how he had acted, the more ashamed of himself he grew.</p> + +<p>"There certainly must have been enough of those nuts for all of us, and +if I hadn't been so greedy we might all have had a share. As it is, I've +got only those that Striped Chipmunk gave me, and Chatterer has only +those that Striped Chipmunk gave him. It must be that that sharp little +cousin of mine with the striped coat has got the rest, and I guess he +deserves them."</p> + +<p>Then all of a sudden Happy Jack realized how Striped Chipmunk had +fooled him into thinking that the storehouse of Chatterer was his +storehouse, and Happy Jack began to laugh. The more he thought of it, +the harder he laughed.</p> + +<p>"The joke certainly is on me!" he exclaimed. "The joke certainly is on +me, and it served me right. Hereafter I'll mind my own business. If I +had spent half as much time looking for hickory nuts as I did looking +for Striped Chipmunk's storehouse, I would be ready for winter now, and +Chatterer couldn't call me a thief."</p> + +<p>Then he laughed again as he thought how Striped Chipmunk must have +enjoyed seeing him pulled out of Chatterer's storehouse by the tail.</p> + +<p>"What's the joke?" asked Bobby Coon, who happened along just then.</p> + +<p>"I've just learned a lesson," replied Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"What is it?" asked Bobby.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack grinned as he answered:</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"I've found that greed will never, never pay.<br /></span> +<span>It makes one cross and ugly, and it drives one's friends away.<br /></span> +<span>And being always selfish and always wanting more,<br /></span> +<span>One's very apt to lose the things that one has had before."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>"Pooh!" said Bobby Coon. "Have you just found that out? I learned that a +long time ago."</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK GETS A WARNING</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +It matters not how smart you are,<br /> +So be it you are heedless too.<br /> +It isn't what you know that counts<br /> +So much as what it is to you.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>A</span> fat Gray Squirrel is very tempting to a number of people in the Green +Forest, particularly in winter, when getting a living is hard work. +Almost every day Reddy and Granny Fox stole softly through that part of +the Green Forest where Happy Jack Squirrel lived, hoping to surprise and +catch him on the ground. But they never did. Roughleg the Hawk and +Hooty the Owl wasted a great deal of time, sitting around near Happy +Jack's home, hoping to catch him when he was not watching, but they +never did.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack knew all about these big hungry neighbors, and he was always +on the watch for them. He knew their ways and just where they would be +likely to hide. He took the greatest care to look into every such hiding +place near at hand before he ventured down out of the trees, and because +these hungry neighbors are so big, he never had any trouble in seeing +them if they happened to be around. So Happy Jack didn't do much +worrying about them. The fact is, Happy Jack wasn't afraid of them at +all, for the simple reason that he knew they couldn't follow him into +his hollow tree.</p> + +<p>Having nuts stored away, he would have been perfectly happy but for one +thing. Yes, Sir, there was only one thing to spoil Happy Jack's complete +happiness, and that was the fear that Shadow the Weasel might take it +into his head to pay him a visit. Shadow can go through a smaller hole +than Happy Jack can, and so Happy Jack knew that while he was wholly +safe from his other enemies, he wasn't safe at all from Shadow the +Weasel. And this worried him. Yes, Sir, it worried Happy Jack. He hadn't +seen or heard of Shadow for a long time, but he had a feeling that he +was likely to turn up almost any time, especially now that everything +was covered with snow and ice, and food was scarce and hard to get. He +sometimes actually wished that he wasn't as fat as he was. Then he would +be less tempting to his hungry neighbors.</p> + +<p>But no good comes of worrying. No, Sir, not a bit of good comes of +worrying, and Happy Jack knows it.</p> + +<p>"All I can do is to watch out and not be careless," said he, and dropped +the shell of a nut on the head of Reddy Fox, who happened to be passing +under the tree in which Happy Jack was sitting. Reddy looked up and +showed his teeth angrily. Happy Jack laughed and scampered away through +the tree-tops to another part of the Green Forest where he had some very +secret stores of nuts.</p> + +<p>He was gone most of the day, and when he started back home he was in the +best of spirits, for his stores had not been found by any one else. He +was in such good spirits that for once he quite forgot Shadow the +Weasel. He was just going to pop into his doorway without first looking +inside, a very foolish thing to do, when he heard some one calling him. +He turned to see Tommy Tit the Chickadee hurrying towards him, and it +was very clear that Tommy was greatly excited.</p> + +<p>"Hello, Tommy Tit! What ails you?" exclaimed Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"Don't go in there, Happy Jack!" cried Tommy Tit. "Shadow the Weasel is +in there waiting for you!"</p> + +<p>Happy Jack turned quite pale. "Are you sure?" he gasped.</p> + +<p>Tommy Tit nodded as if he would nod his head off. "I saw him go in, and +he hasn't come out, for I've kept watch," said he. "You better get away +from here before he knows you are about."</p> + +<p>That was good advice, but it was too late. Even as Tommy Tit spoke, a +sharp face with red, angry eyes was thrust out of Happy Jack's doorway. +It was the face of Shadow the Weasel.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XIV'></a><h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK'S RUN FOR LIFE</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +A coward he who runs away<br /> +When he should stay and fight,<br /> +But wise is he who knows when he<br /> +Should run with all his might.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>I</span>t isn't cowardly to run away when it is quite useless to stay and +fight. So it wasn't so cowardly of Happy Jack Squirrel to turn tail and +run the instant he caught sight of Shadow the Weasel. No, Sir, it wasn't +cowardly at all, although it might have looked so to you had you been +there to see, for Happy Jack is bigger than Shadow. But when it comes to +a fight, Happy Jack is no match at all for Shadow the Weasel, and he +knows it. Shadow is too quick for him, and though Happy Jack were ever +so brave, he would have no chance at all in a fight with Shadow.</p> + +<p>And so the very instant he saw the cruel face of Shadow with its fierce +red eyes glaring at him from his own doorway, Happy Jack turned tail and +ran. Yes, Sir, that is just what he did, and it was the wisest thing he +could have done. He hoped with a mighty hope that Shadow would not +follow him, but he hoped in vain. Shadow had made up his mind to dine on +Squirrel, and he didn't propose to see his dinner run away without +trying to catch it. So the instant Happy Jack started, Shadow started +after him, stopping only long enough to snarl an ugly threat at Tommy +Tit the Chickadee, because Tommy had warned Happy Jack that Shadow was +waiting for him.</p> + +<p>But Tommy didn't mind that threat. Oh, my, no! Tommy didn't mind it at +all. He can fly, and so he had no fear of Shadow the Weasel. But he was +terribly afraid for Happy Jack. He knew, just as Happy Jack knew, that +there wasn't a single place where Happy Jack could hide into which +Shadow could not follow him. So Tommy flitted from tree to tree behind +Happy Jack, hoping that in some way he might be able to help him.</p> + +<p>From tree to tree raced Happy Jack, making desperately long leaps. +Shadow the Weasel followed, and though he ran swiftly, he didn't appear +to be hurrying, and he took no chances on those long leaps. If the leap +was too long to take safely, Shadow simply ran back down the tree, +across to the next one and up that. It didn't worry him at all that +Happy Jack was so far ahead that he was out of sight. He knew that he +could trust his nose to follow the scent of Happy Jack. In fact, it +rather pleased him to have Happy Jack race away in such fright, for in +that way he would soon tire himself out.</p> + +<p>And this is just what Happy Jack did do. He ran and jumped and jumped +and ran as fast as he could until he was so out of breath that he just +had to stop for a rest. But he couldn't rest much. He was too terribly +frightened. He shivered and shook while he got his breath, and never for +a second did he take his eyes from his back trail. Presently he saw a +slim white form darting along the snow straight towards the tree in +which he was resting. Once more Happy Jack ran, and somehow he felt +terribly helpless and hopeless.</p> + +<p>He had to rest oftener now, and each rest was shorter than the one +before, because, you know, Shadow was a less and less distance behind. +Poor Happy Jack! He had tried every trick he knew, and not one of them +had fooled Shadow the Weasel. Now he was too tired to run much farther. +The last little bit of hope left Happy Jack's heart. He blinked his eyes +very fast to keep back the tears, as he thought that this was probably +the last time he would ever look at the beautiful Green Forest he loved +so. Then he gritted his teeth and made up his mind that anyway he would +fight his best, even if it was hopeless. It was just at that very minute +that he heard the voice of Tommy Tit the Chickadee calling to him in +great excitement, and somehow, he didn't know why, a wee bit of hope +sprang up in his heart.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XV'></a><h2>CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<h3>WHO SAVED HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL?</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +Blessed he whose words of cheer<br /> +Help put hope in place of fear.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>I</span>t never has been fully decided among the little people of the Green +Forest and the Green Meadows just who really did save Happy Jack +Squirrel. Some say that Tommy Tit the Chickadee deserves all the credit, +and some say that—but wait. Let me tell you just what happened, and +then perhaps you can decide for yourself who saved Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>You see, it was this way: Happy Jack had run and run and run and tried +every trick he knew to get away from Shadow the Weasel, but all in vain. +At last he was so out of breath and so tired that he felt that he +couldn't run any more. He had just made up his mind that he would wait +right where he was for Shadow and then put up the best fight he could, +even if it was hopeless, when he heard Tommy Tit calling to him in great +excitement.</p> + +<a name='trick'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/jack002.jpg' width='396' height='600' alt='HAPPY JACK TRIED EVERY TRICK HE KNEW TO GET AWAY FROM +SHADOW THE WEASEL.' title=''> +</center> +<h5>HAPPY JACK TRIED EVERY TRICK HE KNEW TO GET AWAY FROM +SHADOW THE WEASEL.</h5> + +<p>"Dee, dee, chickadee! Come here quick, Happy Jack! Come here quick!" +called Tommy Tit.</p> + +<p>A wee bit of hope sprang up in Happy Jack's heart. He couldn't imagine +what possible help Tommy Tit could be, but he would go see. So taking +a long breath he started on as fast as he could in the direction of +Tommy's voice. He couldn't run very fast, because, you know, he was so +tired, but he did the best he could. Presently he saw Tommy just ahead +of him flying about in great excitement.</p> + +<p>"Dee, dee, dee, there he is! Go to him! Go to him, Happy Jack! Hurry! +Hurry! Dee, dee, dee, oh, do hurry!" cried Tommy Tit.</p> + +<p>For just a second Happy Jack didn't know what he meant. Then he saw +Farmer Brown's boy watching Tommy Tit as if he didn't know what to make +of the little fellow's excitement.</p> + +<p>"Go to him! Go to him!" called Tommy. "He won't hurt you, and he won't +let Shadow the Weasel hurt you! See me! See me! Dee, dee, see me!" And +with that Tommy Tit flew right down on Farmer Brown's boy's hand, for +you know he and Farmer Brown's boy are great friends.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack hesitated. He knew that Farmer Brown's boy had tried to make +friends with him, and every day since the ice and snow had come had put +out nuts and corn for him, but he couldn't quite forget the old fear of +him. He couldn't quite trust him. So now he hesitated. Then he looked +back. Shadow the Weasel was only a few jumps behind him, and his little +eyes glowed red and savage. Farmer Brown's boy might not hurt him, but +Shadow certainly would. Shadow would kill him. Happy Jack made up his +mind, and with a little gasp raced madly across the snow straight to +Farmer Brown's boy and ran right up to his shoulder.</p> + +<p>Shadow the Weasel had been so intent on catching Happy Jack that he +hadn't noticed Farmer Brown's boy at all. Now he saw him for the first +time and stopped short, snarling and spitting. Whatever else you may say +of Shadow the Weasel, he is no coward. For a minute it looked as if he +really meant to follow Happy Jack and get him in spite of Farmer Brown's +boy, and Happy Jack trembled as he looked down into those angry little +red eyes. But Shadow knows when he is well off, and now he knew better +than to come a step nearer. So he snarled and spit, and then, as Farmer +Brown's boy took a step forward, leaped to one side and disappeared in +the old stone wall.</p> + +<p>Very gently and softly Farmer Brown's boy talked to Happy Jack as he +took him to the nearest tree. Then, when Happy Jack was safely up in the +tree, he went over to the stone wall and tried to drive Shadow the +Weasel out. He pulled over the stones until at last Shadow jumped out, +and then Farmer Brown's boy chased him clear into the Green Forest.</p> + +<p>"Dee, dee, dee, what did I tell you?" cried Tommy Tit happily, as he +flew over to where Happy Jack was sitting.</p> + +<p>Now who really saved Happy Jack—Tommy Tit or Farmer Brown's boy?</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XVI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XVI</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK MISSES FARMER BROWN'S BOY</h3> + + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +One and one are always two,<br /> +And two and two are four.<br /> +And just as true it is you'll find<br /> +That love and love make more.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>G</span>o ask Happy Jack Squirrel. He knows. He knows because he has proved it. +It began when Farmer Brown's boy saved him from Shadow the Weasel. +Perhaps I should say when Farmer Brown's boy and Tommy Tit saved him, +for if it hadn't been for Tommy, it never would have entered Happy +Jack's head to run to Farmer Brown's boy. After that, of course, Happy +Jack and Farmer Brown's boy became great friends. Farmer Brown's boy +came over to the Green Forest every day to see Happy Jack, and always he +had the most delicious nuts in his pockets. At first Happy Jack had been +a wee bit shy. He couldn't quite get over that old fear he had had so +long. Then he would remember how Farmer Brown's boy had saved him, and +that would make him ashamed, and he would walk right up and take the +nuts.</p> + +<p>Farmer Brown's boy would talk to him in the nicest way and tell him that +he loved him, and that there wasn't the least thing in the world to be +afraid of. Pretty soon Happy Jack began to love Farmer Brown's boy a +little. He couldn't help it. He just had to love any one who was so kind +and gentle to him. Now as soon as he began to love a little, and felt +sure in his own heart that Farmer Brown's boy loved him a little, he +found that love and love make more love, and it wasn't any time at all +before he had become very fond of Farmer Brown's boy, so fond of him +that he was almost jealous of Tommy Tit, who had been a friend of Farmer +Brown's boy for a long time. It got so that Happy Jack looked forward +each day to the visit of Farmer Brown's boy, and as soon as he heard his +whistle, he would hasten to meet him. Some folks were unkind enough to +say that it was just because of the nuts and corn he was sure to find in +Farmer Brown's boy's pockets, but that wasn't so at all.</p> + +<p>At last there came a day when he missed that cheery whistle. He waited +and waited. At last he went clear to the edge of the Green Forest, but +there was no whistle and no sign of Farmer Brown's boy. It was the same +way the next day and the next. Happy Jack forgot to frisk about the way +he usually does. He lost his appetite. He just sat around and moped.</p> + +<p>When Tommy Tit the Chickadee came to call, as he did every day, Happy +Jack found that Tommy was anxious too. Tommy had been up to Farmer +Brown's dooryard several times, and he hadn't seen anything of Farmer +Brown's boy.</p> + +<p>"I think he must have gone away," said Tommy.</p> + +<p>"He would have come down here first and said good-by," replied Happy +Jack.</p> + +<p>"You—you don't suppose something has happened to him, do you?" asked +Tommy.</p> + +<p>"I don't know. I don't know what to think," replied Happy Jack, soberly. +"Do you know, Tommy, I've grown very fond of Farmer Brown's boy."</p> + +<p>"Of course. Dee, dee, dee, of course. Everybody who really knows him is +fond of him. I've said all along that he is the best friend we've got, +but no one seemed to believe me. I'm glad you've found it out for +yourself. I tell you what, I'll go up to his house and have another look +around." And without waiting for a reply, Tommy was off as fast as his +little wings could take him.</p> + +<p>"I hope, I do hope, that nothing has happened to him," mumbled Happy +Jack, as he pretended to hunt for buried nuts while he waited for Tommy +Tit to come back, and by "him" he meant Farmer Brown's boy.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XVII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XVII</h2> + +<h3>TOMMY TIT BRINGS NEWS</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +No one knows too much, but many know too little.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack very plainly was not happy. His name was the only happy thing +about him. He fussed about on the edge of the Green Forest. He just +couldn't keep still. When he thought anybody was looking, he pretended +to hunt for some of the nuts he had buried in the fall, and dug holes +down through the snow. But as soon as he thought that no one was +watching, he would scamper up a tree where he could look over to Farmer +Brown's house and look and look. It was very clear that Happy Jack was +watching for some one and that he was anxious, very anxious, indeed.</p> + +<p>It was getting late in the afternoon, and soon the Black Shadows would +begin to creep out from the Purple Hills, behind which jolly, round, red +Mr. Sun would go to bed. It would be bedtime for Happy Jack then, for +you know he goes to bed very early, just as soon as it begins to get +dark. The later it got, the more anxious and uneasy Happy Jack grew. He +had just made up his mind that in a few minutes he would have to give up +and go to bed when there was a flit of tiny wings, and Tommy Tit the +Chickadee dropped into the tree beside him.</p> + +<p>"Did you find out anything?" asked Happy Jack eagerly, before Tommy had +a chance to say a word.</p> + +<a name='find'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/jack001.jpg' width='402' height='600' alt='"DID YOU FIND OUT ANYTHING?" ASKED HAPPY JACK EAGERLY.' title=''> +</center> +<h5>"DID YOU FIND OUT ANYTHING?" ASKED HAPPY JACK EAGERLY.</h5> + +<p>Tommy nodded. "He's there!" he panted, for he was quite out of breath +from hurrying so.</p> + +<p>"Where?" Happy Jack fairly shouted the question.</p> + +<p>"Over there in the house," replied Tommy Tit.</p> + +<p>"Then he hasn't gone away! It's just as I said, he hasn't gone away!" +cried Happy Jack, and he was so relieved that he jumped up and down and +as a result nearly tumbled out of the tree.</p> + +<p>"No," replied Tommy, "he hasn't gone away, but I think there is +something the matter with him."</p> + +<p>Happy Jack grew very sober. "What makes you think so?" he demanded.</p> + +<p>"If you'll give me time to get my breath, I'll tell you all about it," +retorted Tommy Tit.</p> + +<p>"All right, only please hurry," replied Happy Jack, and tried to look +patient even if he wasn't.</p> + +<p>Tommy Tit smoothed out some rumpled feathers and was most provokingly +slow about it. "When I left here," he began at last, "I flew straight up +to Farmer Brown's house, as I said I would. I flew all around it, but +all I saw was that horrid Black Pussy on the back doorsteps, and she +looked at me so hungrily that she made me dreadfully uncomfortable. I +don't see what Farmer Brown keeps her about for, anyway."</p> + +<p>"Never mind her; go on!" interrupted Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"Then I flew all around the barn, but I didn't see any one there but +that ugly little upstart, Bully the English Sparrow, and he wanted to +pick a fight with me right away." Tommy looked very indignant.</p> + +<p>"Never mind him, go on!" cried Happy Jack impatiently.</p> + +<p>"After that I flew back to the big maple tree close by the house," +continued Tommy. "You know Farmer Brown's boy has kept a piece of suet +tied in that tree all winter for me. I was hungry, and I thought I +would get a bite to eat, but there wasn't any suet there. That pig of a +Sammy Jay had managed to get it untied and had carried it all away. Of +course that made me angry, and twice as hungry as before. I was trying +to make up my mind what to do next when I happened to look over on the +window sill, and what do you think I saw there?"</p> + +<p>"What?" demanded Happy Jack eagerly.</p> + +<p>"A lot of cracked hickory nuts!" declared Tommy. "I just knew that they +were meant for me, and when I was sure that the way was clear, I flew +over there. They tasted so good that I almost forgot about Farmer +Brown's boy, when I just happened to look in the window. You know those +windows are made of some queer stuff that looks like ice and isn't, and +that you can see right through."</p> + +<p>Happy Jack didn't know, for he never had been near enough to see, but he +nodded, and Tommy Tit went on.</p> + +<p>"There were many queer things inside, and I was wondering what they +could be when all of a sudden I saw <i>him</i>. He was lying down, and there +was something the matter with him. I tapped on the window to him and +then I hurried back here."</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XVIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK DECIDES TO MAKE A CALL</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +You'll find when all is said and done<br /> +Two heads are better far than one.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack Squirrel hadn't slept very well. He had had bad dreams. Ever +so many times in the night he had waked up, a very unusual thing for +Happy Jack. The fact is, he had something on his mind. Yes, Sir, Happy +Jack had something on his mind, and that something was Farmer Brown's +boy. He often had had Farmer Brown's boy on his mind before, but in a +very different way. Then it had been in the days when Farmer Brown's boy +hunted through the Green Forest and over the Green Meadows with his +terrible gun. Then everybody had Farmer Brown's boy on their minds most +of the time. Happy Jack had hated him then, hated him because he had +feared him. You know fear almost always leads to hate. But now it was +different. Farmer Brown's boy had put away his terrible gun. Happy Jack +no longer feared him. Love had taken the place of hate in his heart, for +had not Farmer Brown's boy saved him from Shadow the Weasel, and brought +him nuts and corn when food was scarce? And now Tommy Tit had brought +word that some thing was the matter with Farmer Brown's boy. It was this +that was on Happy Jack's mind and had given him such a bad night.</p> + +<p>As soon as it was daylight, Happy Jack scrambled out of bed to look for +Tommy Tit. He didn't have long to wait, for Tommy is quite as early a +riser as Happy Jack.</p> + + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"Dee, dee, chickadee!<br /></span> +<span>I hope you feel as well as me!"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>sang Tommy merrily, as he flitted over to where Happy Jack was looking +for his breakfast. The very sound of Tommy's voice made Happy Jack feel +better. One must feel very badly indeed not to be a little more cheerful +when Tommy Tit is about. The fact is, Tommy Tit packs about so much +good cheer in that small person of his, that no one can be downhearted +when he is about.</p> + +<p>"Hello, Tommy," said Happy Jack. "If I could make other people feel as +good as you do, do you know what I would do?"</p> + +<p>"What?" asked Tommy.</p> + +<p>"I'd go straight up to Farmer Brown's house and try to cheer up Farmer +Brown's boy," replied Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"That's the very thing I have in mind," chuckled Tommy. "I've come over +here to see if you won't come along with me. I've been up to his house +so often that he won't think half so much of a visit from me as he will +from you. Will you do it?"</p> + +<p>Happy Jack looked a little startled. You see, he never had been over to +Farmer Brown's house, and somehow he couldn't get over the idea that it +would be a very dangerous thing to do. "I—I—do you really suppose I +could?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"I'm sure of it," replied Tommy Tit. "There's no one to be afraid of but +Black Pussy and Bowser the Hound, and it's easy enough to keep out of +their way. You can hide in the old stone wall until the way is clear and +then run across to the big maple tree close to the house. Then you can +look right in and see Farmer Brown's boy, and he can look out and see +you. Will you do it?"</p> + +<p>Happy Jack thought very hard for a few minutes. Then he made up his +mind. "I'll do it!" said he in a very decided tone of voice. "Let's +start right away."</p> + +<p>"Good for you! Dee, dee, good for you!" cried Tommy Tit, and started to +lead the way.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XIX'></a><h2>CHAPTER XIX</h2> + +<h3>TOMMY TIT AND HAPPY JACK PAY A VISIT</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +As grows the mighty elm tree,<br /> +From just a tiny seed,<br /> +So often great things happen<br /> +From just a kindly deed.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>G</span>reat things were happening to Happy Jack Squirrel. He was actually on +his way to Farmer Brown's house, and he had a feeling that other things +were likely to happen when he got there. Now you may not think that it +was anything very great that Happy Jack should be on his way to Farmer +Brown's house. Very likely you are saying, "Pooh! that's nothing!" This +may be true, and then again it may not. Suppose you do a little +supposing. Suppose you had all your life been terribly afraid of a great +giant fifty times bigger than you. Suppose that great giant had stopped +hunting you and by little deeds of kindness had at last won your love. +Suppose you learned that something was the matter with him, and you made +up your mind to visit him at his great castle where there were other +great giants whom you did not know. Wouldn't you think that great things +were happening to you?</p> + +<p>Well, that is exactly the way it was with Happy Jack Squirrel, as he +and Tommy Tit the Chickadee started to go over to Farmer Brown's house +to look for Farmer Brown's boy. Tommy Tit had been there often, so he +didn't think anything about it, but Happy Jack never had been there, and +if the truth were known, his heart was going pitapat, pitapat, with +excitement and perhaps just a little fear. Through the Old Orchard they +went, Tommy Tit flitting ahead and keeping a sharp watch for danger. +When they reached the old stone wall on the edge of Farmer Brown's +dooryard, Tommy told Happy Jack to hide there while he went to see if +the way was clear. He was back in a few minutes.</p> + +<p>"Dee, dee, everything is all right," said he. "Bowser the Hound is +eating; his breakfast out back where he can't see you at all, and Black +Pussy is nowhere about. All you have to do is to follow me over to that +big tree close to the house, and I will show you where Farmer Brown's +boy is."</p> + +<p>"I—I'm afraid," confessed Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"Pooh! There's nothing to be afraid of," asserted Tommy Tit in the most +positive way. "Don't be a coward. Remember how Farmer Brown's boy saved +you from Shadow the Weasel. Come on! Dee, dee, dee, come on!" With that +Tommy flew across to the tree close by the house.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack scrambled up on the old stone wall and looked this way and +looked that way. He couldn't see a thing to be afraid of. He jumped down +and ran a few steps. Then his heart failed, and he scampered back to the +old stone wall in a panic. After a few minutes he tried again, and once +more a foolish fear sent him back. The third time he gritted his teeth, +said to himself over and over, "I will! I will! I will!" and ran with +all his might. In no time at all he was across the dooryard and up in +the big tree, his heart pounding with excitement.</p> + +<p>"Dee, dee, dee," called Tommy Tit.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack looked over to the house, and there sat Tommy on a +window-sill, helping himself to the most delicious-looking cracked nuts. +The sight of them made Happy Jack's mouth water. A long branch hung down +over the window and almost touched the sill. Happy Jack ventured half +way and stopped. Somehow it seemed very dangerous to go so close to that +window.</p> + +<p>"Come on! Come on! What are you afraid of?" called Tommy.</p> + +<p>Something like shame that such a little fellow as Tommy Tit should dare +to go where he did not, crept into Happy Jack's heart. With a quick +little run and jump he was on the sill, and a second later he was +staring in at all the strange things inside. At first he didn't see +anything of Farmer Brown's boy, but in a few minutes he made him out. He +was lying down all covered over except his head. There <i>was</i> something +the matter with him. Happy Jack didn't need to be told that, and a great +pity filled his heart. He wanted to do something for Farmer Brown's boy.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XX'></a><h2>CHAPTER XX</h2> + +<h3>WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH FARMER BROWN'S BOY?</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +He who climbs the highest has the farthest to fall, +but often it is worth the risk.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>A</span>ll the way home from his visit to Farmer Brown's house Happy Jack +Squirrel puzzled and wondered over what he had seen. He had peeped in at +a window and seen Farmer Brown's boy lying all covered up, with only his +head showing. Happy Jack couldn't see very well, but somehow that head +didn't look just right. One thing was sure, and that was there was +something wrong with Farmer Brown's boy. He never would have been lying +still like that if there hadn't been.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack had been so troubled by what he saw that he had hardly tasted +the nuts he had found on the window-sill. "I am going to make him +another call to-morrow," said he when he and Tommy Tit were once more +back in the Green Forest.</p> + +<p>"Of course," replied Tommy. "I expected you would. I will be around for +you at the same time. You're not afraid any more to go up there, are +you?"</p> + +<p>"No-o," replied Happy Jack, slowly. The truth is, he was still a little +afraid. It seemed to him a terribly venturesome thing to cross that +open dooryard, but having done it once in safety, he knew that it would +be easier the next time. It was. The next morning he and Tommy Tit went +just as before, and this time Happy Jack scampered across the dooryard +the very first time he tried. They found things just as they had been +the day before. They saw Farmer Brown's boy, but he didn't see them. +Tommy Tit was just going to tap on the window to let him know they were +there, when a door inside opened, and in walked Mrs. Brown. It +frightened them so that Tommy Tit flew away without tasting a single +nut, and Happy Jack nearly fell as he scrambled back into the tree close +by the window. You see, they never had made her acquaintance, and +having her walk in so suddenly frightened them terribly. They didn't +stop to think that there was nothing to fear because there was the +window between. Somehow they couldn't understand that queer stuff that +they could see through but which shut them out. If they had seen Mrs. +Brown go to the window and put more cracked nuts on the sill, perhaps +they would have been less afraid. But they had been too badly frightened +to look back, and so they didn't know anything about that.</p> + +<p>The next morning Tommy Tit was on hand as usual, but he found Happy +Jack a little doubtful about paying another visit. He wasn't wholly over +his scare of the day before. It took him some time to make up his mind +to go, but finally he did. This time when they reached the tree close by +the house, they found a great surprise awaiting them. Farmer Brown's boy +was sitting just inside the window, looking out. At least, they thought +it was Farmer Brown's boy, but when they got a little nearer, they grew +doubtful. It looked like Farmer Brown's boy, and yet it didn't. His +cheeks stuck way out just as Striped Chipmunk's do when he has them +stuffed full of corn or nuts.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack stared at him very hard. "My goodness, I didn't know he +carried his food that way!" he exclaimed. "I should think it would be +dreadfully uncomfortable."</p> + +<p>If Farmer Brown's boy could have heard that, he certainly would have +tried to laugh, and if he had—well, it was bad enough when he tried to +smile at the sight of Tommy Tit and Happy Jack. He didn't smile at all +but made up an awful face instead and clapped both hands to his cheeks. +Happy Jack and Tommy Tit didn't know what to make of it, and it was some +time before they made up their minds that it really was Farmer Brown's +boy, and that they had nothing to fear. But when they finally ventured +on to the sill and, as they helped themselves to nuts, saw the smile in +his eyes, though he did not smile with his mouth at all, they knew that +it was he, and that he was glad that they had called. Then they were +glad too.</p> + +<p>But what was the matter with Farmer Brown's boy? Happy Jack puzzled over +it all the rest of the day, and then gave it up.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXI</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL GROWS VERY BOLD</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +When you find a friend in trouble<br /> +Pass along a word of cheer.<br /> +Often it is very helpful<br /> +Just to feel a friend is near.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>E</span>very day Happy Jack visited the window sill of Farmer Brown's house to +call on Farmer Brown's boy, who was always waiting for him just inside +the window. In fact Happy Jack had got into the habit of getting his +breakfast there, for always there were fat, delicious nuts on the +window-sill, and it was much easier and more comfortable to breakfast +there than to hunt up his own hidden supplies and perhaps have to dig +down through the snow to get them. Most people are just like Happy +Jack—they do the easiest thing.</p> + +<p>Each day Farmer Brown's boy looked more and more like himself. His +cheeks stuck out less and less, and finally did not stick out at all. +And now he smiled at Happy Jack with his mouth as well as with his eyes. +You know when his cheeks had stuck out so, he couldn't smile at all +except with his eyes. Happy Jack didn't know what had been the matter +with Farmer Brown's boy, but whatever it was, he was better now, and +that made Happy Jack feel better.</p> + +<p>One morning he got a surprise. When he ran out along the branch of the +tree that led to the window-sill he suddenly discovered something wrong. +There were no nuts on the sill! More than this there was something very +suspicious looking about the window. It didn't look just right. The +truth is it was partly open, but Happy Jack didn't understand this, not +then, anyway. He stopped short and scolded, a way he has when things +don't suit him. Farmer Brown's boy came to the window and called to him. +Then he thrust a hand out, and in it were some of the fattest nuts Happy +Jack ever had seen. His mouth watered right away. There might be +something wrong with the window, but certainly the sill was all right. +It would do no harm to go that far.</p> + +<p>So Happy Jack nimbly jumped across to the window-sill. Farmer Brown's +boy's hand with the fat nuts was still there, and Happy Jack lost no +time in getting one. Then he sat up on the sill to eat it. My, but it +was good! It was just as good as it had looked. Happy Jack's eyes +twinkled as he ate. When he had finished that nut, he wanted another. +But now Farmer Brown's boy had drawn his hand inside the window. He was +still holding it out with the nuts in it, but to get them Happy Jack +must go inside, and he couldn't get it out of his head that that was a +very dangerous thing to do. What if that window should be closed while +he was in there? Then he would be a prisoner.</p> + +<p>So he sat up and begged. He knew that Farmer Brown's boy knew what he +wanted. But Farmer Brown's boy kept his hand just where it was.</p> + +<p>"Come on, you little rascal," said he. "You ought to know me well enough +by this time to know that I won't hurt you or let any harm come to you. +Hurry up, because I can't stand here all day. You see, I've just got +over the mumps, and if I should catch cold I might be sick again. Come +along now, and show how brave you are."</p> + +<p>Of course Happy Jack couldn't understand what he said. If he could +have, he might have guessed that it was the mumps that had made Farmer +Brown's boy look so like Striped Chipmunk when he has his cheeks stuffed +with nuts. But if he couldn't understand what Farmer Brown's boy said, +he had no difficulty in understanding that if he wanted those nuts he +would have to go after them. So at last he screwed up his courage and +put his head inside. Nothing happened, so he went wholly in and sat on +the inside sill. Then by reaching out as far as he could without +tumbling off, he managed to get one of those nuts, and as soon as he had +it, he dodged outside to eat it.</p> + +<p>Farmer Brown's boy laughed, and putting the rest of the nuts outside, +he closed the window. Happy Jack ate his fill and then scampered back to +the Green Forest. He felt all puffed up with pride. He felt that he had +been very, very bold, and he was anxious to tell Tommy Tit the +Chickadee, who had not been with him that morning, how bold he had been.</p> + +<p>"Pooh, that's nothing!" replied Tommy, when he had heard about it. "I've +done that often."</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXII</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK DARES TOMMY TIT</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +A wise philosopher is he<br /> +Who takes things as they chance to be,<br /> +And in them sees that which is best<br /> +While trying to forget the rest.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>S</span>omehow Happy Jack's day had been spoiled. He knew that he had no +business to allow it to be spoiled, but it was, just the same. You see, +he had been all puffed up with pride because he thought himself a very +bold fellow because he had really been inside Farmer Brown's house. He +couldn't help feeling quite puffed up about it. But when he told Tommy +Tit the Chickadee about it, Tommy had said, "Pooh! I've done that +often."</p> + +<p>That was what had spoiled the day for Happy Jack. He knew that if Tommy +Tit said that he had done a thing, he had, for Tommy always tells the +truth and nothing but the truth. So Happy Jack hadn't been so dreadfully +bold, after all, and had nothing to brag about. It made him feel quite +put out. He actually tried to make himself feel that it was all the +fault of Tommy Tit, and that he wanted to get even with him. He thought +about it all the rest of the day, and just before he fell asleep that +night an idea came to him.</p> + +<p>"I know what I'll do! I'll dare Tommy to go as far inside Farmer +Brown's house as I do!" he exclaimed, and went to sleep to dream that he +was the boldest, bravest squirrel that ever lived.</p> + +<p>The next morning when he reached the tree close by Farmer Brown's house, +he found Tommy Tit already there, flitting about impatiently and calling +his loudest, which wasn't very loud, for you know Tommy is a very little +fellow, and his voice is not very loud. But he was doing his best to +call Farmer Brown's boy. You see, there wasn't a single nut on the +window-sill, and the window was closed. Pretty soon Farmer Brown's boy +came to the window and opened it. But he didn't put out any nuts. Tommy +Tit at once flew over to the sill, and to show that he was just as +bold, Happy Jack followed. Looking inside, they saw Farmer Brown's boy +standing in the middle of the room, holding out a dish of nuts and +smiling at them. This was the chance Happy Jack wanted to try the plan +he had thought of the night before.</p> + +<p>"I dare you to go way in there and get a nut," said he to Tommy Tit. He +hoped that Tommy would be afraid.</p> + +<p>But Tommy wasn't anything of the kind. "Dee, dee, dee! Come on!" he +cried, and flitted over and helped himself to a cracked nut and was back +with it before Happy Jack could make up his mind to jump down inside. +Of course now that he had dared Tommy Tit, and Tommy had taken the dare, +he just had to do it too. It looked a long way in to where Farmer +Brown's boy was standing. Twice he started and turned back. Then he +heard Tommy Tit chuckle. That was too much. He wouldn't be laughed at. +He just wouldn't. He scampered across, grabbed a nut, and rushed back to +the window-sill, where he ate the nut. It was easier to go after the +second nut, and when he went for the third, he had made up his mind that +it was perfectly safe in there, and so he sat up on a chair and ate it. +Presently he felt quite at home, and when he had eaten all the nuts he +wanted, he ran all around the room, examining all the strange things +there.</p> + +<p>This was a little more than Tommy Tit could make up his mind to do. He +wasn't afraid to fly in for a nut and then fly out again, but he +couldn't feel easy inside a house like that. Of course, this made Happy +Jack feel good all over. You see, he felt that now he really did have +something to boast about. No one else in all the Green Forest or on the +Green Meadows could say that they had been all over Farmer Brown's boy's +room as he had. Happy Jack swelled himself out at the thought. Now +everybody would say, "What a bold fellow!"</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXIII</h2> +<br /> + +<h3>SAMMY JAY IS QUITE UPSET</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +I know of nothing sweeter than<br /> +Success to Squirrel or to man.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>V</span>ery few people can be all puffed up with pride without showing it. +Happy Jack Squirrel couldn't. Just to have looked at him you would have +known that he was feeling very, very good about something. When he +thought no one was looking, he would actually strut. And it was all +because he considered himself a very bold fellow. That was a new feeling +for Happy Jack. He knew that all his neighbors considered him rather +timid, and many a time he had envied, actually envied Jimmy Skunk and +Reddy Fox and Unc' Billy Possum and even Sammy Jay because they did such +bold things and had dared to visit Farmer Brown's dooryard and henhouse +in spite of Bowser the Hound.</p> + +<p>But now he felt that he dared do a thing that not one of them dared do. +He dared go right into Farmer Brown's house and make himself quite at +home in the room of Farmer Brown's boy. He felt that he was a +tremendously brave fellow. You see, he quite forgot one thing. He forgot +that he had found out that love destroys fear, and that though it might +look to others like a very bold thing to walk right into Farmer Brown's +house, it really wasn't bold at all, because all the time he <i>knew</i> that +no harm would come to him. It is never brave to do a thing that you are +not afraid to do. It had been brave of him to go in at that open window +the first time, because then he had been afraid, but now he wasn't +afraid, and so it was no longer either brave or bold of him.</p> + +<p>Tommy Tit the Chickadee knew all this, and he used to chuckle to himself +as he saw how proud of himself Happy Jack was, but he said nothing to +any one about it. Of course, it wasn't long before others began to +notice Happy Jack's pride. One of the first was Sammy Jay. There is +very little that escapes Sammy Jay's sharp eyes. Silently stealing +through the Green Forest early one morning, he surprised Happy Jack +strutting.</p> + +<p>"Huh," said he, "what are you feeling so big about?"</p> + +<p>Like a flash the thought came to Happy Jack that here was a chance to +show what a bold fellow he had become. "Hello, Sammy!" he exclaimed. +"Are you feeling very brave this morning?"</p> + +<p>"Me feeling brave? What are you talking about? If I was as timid as you +are, I wouldn't ever talk about bravery to other people. If there is +anything you dare to do that I don't, I've never heard of it," retorted +Sammy Jay.</p> + +<p>"Come on!" cried Happy Jack. "I'm going to get my breakfast, and I dare +you to follow me!"</p> + +<p>Sammy Jay actually laughed right out. "Go ahead. Wherever you go, I'll +go," he declared.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack started right away for Farmer Brown's house, and Sammy +followed. Through the Old Orchard, across the dooryard and into the big +maple tree Happy Jack led the way, and Sammy followed, all the time +wondering what was up. He had been there many times. In fact, he had had +many a good meal of suet there during the cold weather, for Farmer +Brown's boy had kept a big piece tied to a branch of the maple tree for +those who were hungry.</p> + +<p>Sammy was a little surprised when he saw Happy Jack jump over on to the +window-sill. Still, he had been on that window-sill more than once +himself, when he had made sure that no one was near, and had helped +himself to the cracked nuts he had found there.</p> + +<p>"Come on!" called Happy Jack, his eyes twinkling.</p> + +<p>Sammy Jay chuckled. "He thinks I don't dare go over there," he thought. +"Well, I'll fool him."</p> + +<p>With a hasty look to see that no danger was near, he spread his wings to +follow Happy Jack on to the window-sill. Happy Jack waited to make sure +that he really was coming and then slipped in at the open window and +scampered over to a table on the farther side of the room and helped +himself from a dish of nuts there.</p> + +<p>When Sammy saw Happy Jack disappear inside he gave a little gasp. When +he looked inside and saw Happy Jack making himself quite at home, he +gasped again. And when he saw a door open and Farmer Brown's boy enter, +and still Happy Jack did not run, he was too upset for words. He didn't +dare stay to see more, and for once in his life was quite speechless as +he flew back to the Green Forest.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXIV'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXIV</h2> + +<h3>A DREAM COMES TRUE</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +What are all our dreams made up of<br /> +That they often are so queer?<br /> +Wishes, hopes, and fond desires<br /> +All mixed up with foolish fears.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>W</span>hich is worse, to have a very beautiful dream never come true, or to +have a bad dream really come true? Happy Jack Squirrel says the latter +is worse, much worse. Dreams do come true once in a great while, you +know. One of Happy Jack's did. It came true, and it made a great +difference in Happy Jack's life. You see, it was like this:</p> + +<p>Happy Jack had had so many things to think of that he had almost +forgotten about Shadow the Weasel. Happy Jack hadn't seen or heard +anything of him since Farmer Brown's boy had chased him into the Green +Forest and so saved Happy Jack's life. Since then life had been too full +of pleasant things to think of anything so unpleasant as Shadow the +Weasel. But one night Happy Jack had a bad dream. Yes, Sir, it was a +very bad dream. He dreamed that once more Shadow the Weasel was after +him, and this time there was no Farmer Brown's boy to run to for help. +Shadow was right at his heels and in one more jump would have him. +Happy Jack opened his mouth to scream, and—awoke.</p> + +<p>He was all ashake with fright. It was a great relief to find that it was +only a dream, but even then he couldn't get over it right away. He was +glad that it was almost morning, and just as soon as it was light enough +to see, he crept out. It was too early to go over to Farmer Brown's +house; Farmer Brown's boy wouldn't be up yet. So Happy Jack ran over to +one of his favorite lookouts, a tall chestnut tree, and there, with his +back against the trunk, high above the ground, he watched the Green +Forest wake as the first Sunbeams stole through it. But all the time he +kept thinking of that dreadful dream.</p> + +<p>A little spot of black moving against the white snow caught his sharp +eyes. What was it? He leaned forward and held his breath, as he tried to +make sure. Ah, now he could see! Just ahead of that black thing was a +long, slim fellow all in white, and that black spot was his tail. If it +hadn't been for that, Happy Jack very likely wouldn't have seen him at +all. It was Shadow the Weasel! He was running swiftly, first to one side +and then to the other, with his nose to the snow. He was hunting. There +was no doubt about that. He was hunting for his breakfast.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack's eyes grew wide with fear. Would Shadow find his tracks? It +looked very much as if Shadow was heading for Happy Jack's house, and +Happy Jack was glad, very glad, that that bad dream had waked him and +made him so uneasy that he had come out. Otherwise he might have been +caught right in his own bed. Shadow was almost at Happy Jack's house +when he stopped abruptly with his nose to the snow and sniffed eagerly. +Then he turned, and with his nose to the snow, started straight toward +the tree where Happy Jack was. Happy Jack waited to see no more. He knew +now that Shadow had found his trail and that it was to be a case of run +for his life.</p> + +<p>"My dream has come true!" he sobbed as he ran. "My dream has come true, +and I don't know what to do!" But all the time he kept on running as +fast as ever he could, which really was the only thing to do.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXV'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXV</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK HAS A HAPPY THOUGHT</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +Who runs when danger comes his way<br /> +Will live to run some other day.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>F</span>rightened and breathless, running with all his might from Shadow the +Weasel, Happy Jack Squirrel was in despair. He didn't know what to do or +where to go. The last time he had run from Shadow he had run to Farmer +Brown's boy, who had just happened to be near, and Farmer Brown's boy +had chased Shadow the Weasel away. But now it was too early in the +morning for him to expect to meet Farmer Brown's boy. In fact, jolly, +round, red Mr. Sun had hardly kicked his bedclothes off yet, and Happy +Jack was very sure that Farmer Brown's boy was still asleep.</p> + +<p>Now most of us are creatures of habit. We do the thing that we have been +in the habit of doing, and do it without thinking anything about it. +That is why good habits are such a blessing. Happy Jack Squirrel is just +like the rest of us. He has habits, both good and bad. Of late, he had +been in the habit of getting his breakfast at Farmer Brown's house every +morning, so now when he began to run from Shadow the Weasel he just +naturally ran in the direction of Farmer Brown's house from force of +habit. In fact, he was halfway there before he realized in which +direction he was running.</p> + +<p>Right then a thought came to him. It gave him a wee bit of hope, and +seemed to help him run just a little faster. If the window of Farmer +Brown's boy's room was open, he would run in there, and perhaps Shadow +the Weasel wouldn't dare follow! How he did hope that that window would +be open! He knew that it was his only chance. He wasn't quite sure that +it really was a chance, for Shadow was such a bold fellow that he might +not be afraid to follow him right in, but it was worth trying.</p> + +<p>Along the stone wall beside the Old Orchard raced Happy Jack to the +dooryard of Farmer Brown, and after him ran Shadow the Weasel, and +Shadow looked as if he was enjoying himself. No doubt he was. He knew +just as well as Happy Jack did that there was small chance of meeting +Farmer Brown's boy so early in the morning, so he felt very sure how +that chase was going to end, and that when it did end he would breakfast +on Squirrel.</p> + +<p>By the time Happy Jack reached the dooryard, Shadow was only a few jumps +behind him, and Happy Jack was pretty well out of breath. He didn't stop +to look to see if the way was clear. There wasn't time for that. +Besides, there could be no greater danger in front than was almost at +his heels, and so, without looking one way or another, he scampered +across the dooryard and up the big maple tree close to the house. Shadow +the Weasel was surprised. He had not dreamed that Happy Jack would come +over here. But Shadow is a bold fellow, and it made little difference to +him where Happy Jack went. At least, that is what he thought.</p> + +<p>So he followed Happy Jack across the dooryard and up the maple tree. He +took his time about it, for he knew by the way Happy Jack had run that +he was pretty nearly at the end of his strength. "He never'll get out of +this tree," thought Shadow, as he started to climb it. He fully +expected to find Happy Jack huddled in a miserable little heap somewhere +near the top. Just imagine how surprised he was when he discovered that +Happy Jack wasn't to be seen. He rubbed his angry little red eyes, and +they grew angrier and redder than before.</p> + +<p>"Must be a hollow up here somewhere," he muttered. "I'll just follow the +scent of his feet, and that will lead me to him."</p> + +<p>But when that scent led him out on a branch the tip of which brushed +against Farmer Brown's house Shadow got another surprise. There was no +sign of Happy Jack. He couldn't have reached the roof. There was no +place he could have gone unless—. Shadow stared across at a window open +about two inches.</p> + +<p>"He couldn't have!" muttered Shadow. "He wouldn't dare. He couldn't +have!"</p> + +<p>But Happy Jack had. He had gone inside that window.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXVI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXVI</h2> + +<h3>FARMER BROWN'S BOY WAKES WITH A START</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +Never think another crazy just because it happens you<br /> +Never've heard of just the thing that they have started out to do.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>I</span>sn't it queer how hard it seems to be for some boys to go to bed at the +proper time and how much harder it is for them to get up in the morning? +It was just so with Farmer Brown's boy. I suppose he wouldn't have been +a real boy if it hadn't been so. Of course, while he was sick with the +mumps, he didn't have to get up, and while he was getting over the +mumps his mother let him sleep as long as he wanted to in the morning. +That was very nice, but it made it all the harder to get up when he +should after he was well again. In summer it wasn't so bad getting up +early, but in winter—well, that was the one thing about winter that +Farmer Brown's boy didn't like.</p> + +<p>On this particular morning Farmer Brown had called him, and he had +replied with a sleepy "All right." and then had rolled over and promptly +gone to sleep again. In two minutes he was dreaming just as if there +were no such things as duties to be done. For a while they were very +pleasant dreams, very pleasant indeed. But suddenly they changed. A +terrible monster was chasing him. It had great red eyes as big as +saucers, and sparks of fire flew from its mouth. It had great claws as +big as ice tongs, and it roared like a lion. In his dream Farmer Brown's +boy was running with all his might. Then he tripped and fell, and +somehow he couldn't get up again. The terrible monster came nearer and +nearer. Farmer Brown's boy tried to scream and couldn't. He was so +frightened that he had lost his voice. The terrible monster was right +over him now and reached out one of his huge paws with the great claws. +One of them touched him on the cheek, and it burned like fire.</p> + +<p>With a yell, a real, genuine yell, Farmer Brown's boy awoke and sprang +out of bed. For a minute he couldn't think where he was. Then with a +sigh of relief he realized that he was safe in his own snug little room +with the first Jolly Little Sunbeam creeping in at the window to wish +him good morning and chide him for being such a lazy fellow. A thump and +a scurry of little feet caught his attention, and he turned to see a +Gray Squirrel running for the open window. It jumped up on the sill, +looked out, then jumped down inside again, and ran over to a corner of +the room, where he crouched as if in great fear. It was clear that he +had been badly frightened by the yell of Farmer Brown's boy, and that he +was still more frightened by something he had seen when he looked out of +the window.</p> + +<p>A great light broke over Farmer Brown's boy. "Happy Jack, you little +rascal, I believe you are the terrible monster that scared me so!" he +exclaimed. "I believe you were on my bed, and that it was your claws +that I felt on my face. But what ails you? You look frightened almost to +death."</p> + +<p>He went over to the window and looked out. A movement in the big maple +tree just outside caught his attention. He saw a long, slim white form +dart down the tree and disappear. He knew who it was. It was Shadow the +Weasel.</p> + +<p>"So that pesky Weasel has been after you again, and you came to me for +help," said he gently, as he coaxed Happy Jack to come to him. "This is +the place to come to every time. Poor little chap, you're all of a +tremble. I guess I know how you feel when a Weasel is after you. I guess +you feel just as I felt when I dreamed that that monster was after me. +My, but you certainly did give me a scare when you touched my face!" He +gently stroked Happy Jack as he talked, and Happy Jack let him.</p> + +<p>"Breakfast!" called a voice from downstairs.</p> + +<p>"Coming!" replied Farmer Brown's boy as he put Happy Jack on the table +by a dish of nuts and began to scramble into his clothes.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXVII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXVII</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK IS AFRAID TO GO HOME</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +Safety first is the best rule to insure a long life.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack didn't dare go home. Can you think of anything more dreadful +than to be afraid to go to your own home? Why, home is the dearest place +in the world, and it should be the safest. Just think how you would feel +if you should be away from home, and then you should learn that it +wouldn't be safe for you to go back there again, and you had no other +place to go. It often happens that way with the little people of the +Green Meadows and the Green Forest. It was that way with Happy Jack +Squirrel now.</p> + +<p>You see, Happy Jack knew that Shadow the Weasel is not one to give up +easily. Shadow has one very good trait, and that is persistence. He is +not easily discouraged. When he sets out to do a thing, usually he does +it. If he starts to get a thing, usually he gets it. No, he isn't easily +discouraged. Happy Jack knows this. No one knows it better. So Happy +Jack didn't dare to go home. He knew that any minute of night or day +Shadow might surprise him there, and that would be the end of him. He +more than half suspected that Shadow was at that very time hiding +somewhere along the way ready to spring out on him if he should try to +go back home.</p> + +<p>He had stayed in the room of Farmer Brown's boy until Mrs. Brown had +come to make the bed. Then he had jumped out the window into the big +maple tree. He wasn't quite sure of Mrs. Brown yet. She had kindly eyes. +They were just like the eyes of Farmer Brown's boy. But he didn't feel +really acquainted yet, and he felt safer outside than inside the room +while she was there.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>"Oh dear, oh dear! What shall I do?<br /></span> +<span class='i3'>I have no home, and so<br /></span> +<span>To keep me warm and snug and safe<br /></span> +<span class='i3'>I have no place to go!"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Happy Jack said this over and over as he sat in the maple tree, trying +to decide what was to be done.</p> + +<p>"I wonder what ails that Squirrel. He seems to be doing a lot of +scolding," said Mrs. Brown, as she looked out of the window. And that +shows how easy it is to misunderstand people when we don't know all +about their affairs. Mrs. Brown thought that Happy Jack was scolding, +when all the time he was just frightened and worried and wondering where +he could go and what he could do to feel safe from Shadow the Weasel.</p> + +<p>Because he didn't dare to go back to the Green Forest, he spent most of +the day in the big maple tree close to Farmer Brown's house. The window +had been closed, so he couldn't go inside. He looked at it longingly a +great many times during the day, hoping that he would find it open. But +he didn't. You see, it was opened only at night when Farmer Brown's boy +went to bed, so that he would have plenty of fresh air all night. Of +course Happy Jack didn't know that. All his life he had had plenty of +fresh air all the time, and be couldn't understand how people could live +in houses all shut up.</p> + +<p>Late that afternoon Farmer Brown's boy, who had been at school all day, +came whistling into the yard. He noticed Happy Jack right away. "Hello! +You back again! Isn't one good meal a day enough?" he exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"He's been there all day," said his mother, who had come to the door +just in time to overhear him. "I don't know what ails him."</p> + +<p>Then Farmer Brown's boy noticed how forlorn Happy Jack looked. He +remembered Happy Jack's fright that morning.</p> + +<p>"I know what's the matter!" he cried. "It's that Weasel. The poor little +chap is afraid to go home. We must see what we can do for him. I wonder +if he will stay if I make a new house for him. I believe I'll try it and +see."</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXVIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXVIII</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK FINDS A NEW HOME</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +They say the very darkest clouds<br /> +Are lined with silver bright and fair,<br /> +Though how they know I do not see,<br /> +And neither do I really care.<br /> +It's good to believe, and so I try<br /> +To believe 'tis true with all my might,<br /> +That nothing is so seeming dark<br /> +But has a hidden side that's bright.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>C</span>ertainly things couldn't look much darker than they did to Happy Jack +Squirrel as he sat in the big maple tree at the side of Farmer Brown's +house, and saw jolly, round, red Mr. Sun getting ready to go to bed +behind the Purple Hills. He was afraid to go to his home in the Green +Forest because Shadow the Weasel might be waiting for him there. He was +afraid of the night which would soon come. He was cold, and he was +hungry. Altogether he was as miserable a little Squirrel as ever was +seen.</p> + +<p>He had just made up his mind that he would have to go look for a hollow +in one of the trees in the Old Orchard in which to spend the night, when +around the corner of the house came Farmer Brown's boy with something +under one arm and dragging a ladder. He whistled cheerily to Happy Jack +as he put the ladder against the tree and climbed up. By this time Happy +Jack had grown so timid that he was just a little afraid of Farmer +Brown's boy, so he climbed as high up in the tree as he could get and +watched what was going on below. Even if he was afraid, there was +comfort in having Farmer Brown's boy near.</p> + +<p>For some time Farmer Brown's boy worked busily at the place where the +branch that Happy Jack knew so well started out from the trunk of the +tree towards the window of Farmer Brown's boy's room. When he had fixed +things to suit him, he went down the ladder and carried it away with +him. In the crotch of the tree he had left the queer thing that he had +brought under his arm. In spite of his fears, Happy Jack was curious. +Little by little he crept nearer. What he saw was a box with a round +hole, just about big enough for him to go through, in one end, and in +front of it a little shelf. On the shelf were some of the nuts that he +liked best.</p> + +<p>For a long time Happy Jack looked and looked. Was it a trap? Somehow he +couldn't believe that it was. What would Farmer Brown's boy try to trap +him for when they were such good friends? At last the sight of the nuts +was too much for him. It certainly was safe enough to help himself to +those. How good they tasted! Almost before he knew it, they were gone. +Then he got up courage enough to peep inside. The box was filled with +soft hay. It certainly did look inviting in there to a fellow who had no +home and no place to go. He put his head inside. Finally he went wholly +in. It was just as nice as it looked.</p> + +<p>"I believe," thought Happy Jack, "that he made this little house just +for me, and that he put all this hay in here for my bed. He doesn't know +much about making a bed, but I guess he means well."</p> + +<p>With that he went to work happily to make up a bed to suit him, and by +the time the first Black Shadow had crept as far as the big maple tree, +Happy Jack was curled up fast asleep in his new house.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXIX'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXIX</h2> + +<h3>FARMER BROWN'S BOY TAKES A PRISONER</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +The craftiest and cleverest, the strongest and the bold<br /> +Will make mistakes like other folks, young, middle-aged, and old.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>H</span>appy Jack Squirrel was happy once more. He liked his new house, the +house that Farmer Brown's boy had made for him and fastened in the big +maple tree close by the house in which he himself lived. Happy Jack and +Farmer Brown's boy were getting to be greater friends than ever. Every +morning Happy Jack jumped over to the window-sill and then in at the +open window of the room of Farmer Brown's boy. There he was sure to find +a good breakfast of fat hickory nuts. When Farmer Brown's boy overslept, +as he did sometimes, Happy Jack would jump up on the bed and waken him. +He thought this great fun. So did Farmer Brown's boy, though sometimes +when he was very sleepy he pretended to scold, especially on Sunday +mornings when he did not have to get up as early as on other days.</p> + +<p>Of course, Black Pussy had soon discovered that Happy Jack was living in +the big maple tree, and she spent a great deal of time sitting at the +foot of it and glaring up at him with a hungry look in her eyes, +although she wasn't hungry at all, for she had plenty to eat. Several +times she climbed up in the tree and tried to catch him. At first he had +been afraid, but he soon found out that Black Pussy was not at all at +home in a tree as he was. After that, he rather enjoyed having her try +to catch him. It was almost like a game. It was great fun to scold at +her and let her get very near him and then, just as she was sure that +she was going to catch him, to jump out of her reach. After a while she +was content to sit at the foot of the tree and just glare at him.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack had only one worry now, and this didn't trouble him a great +deal. It was possible that Shadow the Weasel might take it into his head +to try to surprise him some night. Happy Jack knew that by this time +Shadow must know where he was living, for of course Sammy Jay had found +out, and Sammy is one of those who tells all he knows. Still, being so +close to Farmer Brown's boy gave Happy Jack a very comfortable feeling.</p> + +<p>Now all this time Farmer Brown's boy had not forgotten Shadow the Weasel +and how he had driven Happy Jack out of the Green Forest, and he had +wondered a great many times if it wouldn't be a kindness to the other +little people if he should trap Shadow and put him out of the way. But +you know he had given up trapping, and somehow he didn't like to think +of setting a trap, even for such a mischief-maker as Shadow. Then +something happened that made Farmer Brown's boy very, very angry. One +morning, when he went to feed the biddies, he found that Shadow had +visited the henhouse in the night and killed three of his best pullets. +That decided him. He felt sure that Shadow would come again, and he +meant to give Shadow a surprise. He hunted until he found the little +hole through which Shadow had got into the henhouse, and there he set a +trap.</p> + +<p>"I don't like to do it, but I've got to," said he. "If he had been +content with one, it would have been bad enough, but he killed three +just from the love of killing, and it is high time that something be +done to get rid of him."</p> + +<p>The very next morning Happy Jack saw Farmer Brown's boy coming from the +henhouse with something under his arm. He came straight over to the foot +of the big maple tree and put the thing he was carrying down on the +ground. He whistled to Happy Jack, and as Happy Jack came down to see +what it was all about, Farmer Brown's boy grinned. "Here's a friend of +yours you probably will be glad to see," said he.</p> + +<p>At first, all Happy Jack could make out was a kind of wire box. Then he +saw something white inside, and it moved. Very suspiciously Happy Jack +came nearer. Then his heart gave a great leap. That wire box was a cage, +and glaring between the wires with red, angry eyes was Shadow the +Weasel! He was a prisoner! Right away Happy Jack was so excited that he +acted as if he were crazy. He no longer had a single thing to be afraid +of. Do you wonder that he was excited?</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXX'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXX</h2> + +<h3>A PRISONER WITHOUT FEAR</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +A bad name is easy to get but hard to live down.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>S</span>hadow the Weasel was a prisoner. He who always had been free to go and +come as he pleased and to do as he pleased was now in a little narrow +cage and quite helpless. For once he had been careless, and this was the +result. Farmer Brown's boy had caught him in a trap. Of course, he +should have known better than to have visited the henhouse a second time +after killing three of the best pullets there. He should have known +that Farmer Brown's boy would be sure to do something about it. The +truth is, he had yielded to temptation when common sense had warned him +not to. So he had no one to blame for his present difficulty but +himself, and he knew it.</p> + +<p>At first he had been in a terrible rage and had bitten at the wires +until he had made his mouth sore. When he had made sure that the wires +were stouter than his teeth, he wisely stopped trying to get out in that +way, and made up his mind that the only thing to do was to watch for a +chance to slip out, if the door of the cage should happen to be left +unfastened.</p> + +<p>Of course it hurt his pride terribly to be made fun of by those who +always had feared him. Happy Jack Squirrel was the first one of these to +see him. Farmer Brown's boy had put the cage down near the foot of the +big maple tree in which Happy Jack was living, because Shadow had driven +him out of the Green Forest. As soon as Happy Jack had made sure that +Shadow really and truly was a prisoner and so quite harmless, he had +acted as if he were crazy. Perhaps he was—crazy with joy. You see, he +no longer had anything to be really afraid of, for there was no one but +Shadow from whom he could not get away by running into his house. Billy +Mink was the only other one who could follow him there, and Billy was +not likely to come climbing up a tree so close to Farmer Brown's house.</p> + +<p>So Happy Jack raced up and down the tree in the very greatest +excitement, and his tongue went quite as fast as his legs. He wanted +everybody to know that Shadow was a prisoner at last. At first he did +not dare go very close to the cage. You see, he had so long feared +Shadow that he was still afraid of him even though he was so helpless. +But little by little Happy Jack grew bolder and came very close. And +then he began doing something not at all nice. He began calling Shadow +names and making fun of him, and telling him how he wasn't afraid of +him. It was all very foolish and worse—it was like hitting a foe who +was helpless.</p> + +<p>Of course Happy Jack hastened to tell everybody he met all about Shadow, +so it wasn't long before Shadow began to receive many visitors. Whenever +Farmer Brown's boy was not around there was sure to be one or more of +the little people who had feared Shadow to taunt him and make fun of +him. Somehow it seems as if always it is that way when people get into +trouble. You know it is very easy to appear to be bold and brave when +there is nothing to be afraid of. Of course that isn't bravery at all, +though many seem to think it is.</p> + +<a name='visitors'></a> +<center> +<img src='images/jack004.jpg' width='397' height='600' alt='IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE SHADOW BEGAN TO RECEIVE MANY +VISITORS.' title=''> +</center> +<h5>IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE SHADOW BEGAN TO RECEIVE MANY +VISITORS.</h5> + +<p>Now what do you think that right down in their hearts all these little +people who came to jeer at Shadow the Weasel hoped they would see? Why, +they hoped they would see Shadow afraid. Yes, Sir, that is just what +they hoped. But they didn't. That is where they were disappointed. Not +once did Shadow show the least sign of fear. He didn't know what Farmer +Brown's boy would do with him, and he had every reason to fear that if +he was not to be kept a prisoner for the rest of his natural life, +something dreadful would be the end. But he was too proud and too brave +to let any one know that any such fear ever entered his mind. Whatever +his faults, Shadow is no coward. He boldly took bits of meat which +Farmer Brown's boy brought to him, and not once appeared in the least +afraid, so that, much as he disliked him, Farmer Brown's boy actually +had to admire him. He was a prisoner, but he kept just as stout a heart +as ever.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXXI</h2> + +<h3>WHAT FARMER BROWN'S BOY DID WITH SHADOW</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +Ribble, dibble, dibble, dab!<br /> +Some people have the gift of gab!<br /> +Some people have no tongues at all<br /> +To trip them up and make them fall.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>I</span>t is a fact, one of the biggest facts in all the world, that tongues +make the greatest part of all the trouble that brings uncomfortable +feelings, and bitterness and sadness and suffering and sorrow. If it +wasn't for unruly, careless, mean tongues, the Great World would be a +million times better to live in, a million times happier. It is because +of his unruly tongue that Sammy Jay is forever getting into trouble. It +is the same way with Chatterer the Red Squirrel. And it is just the same +way with a great many little boys and girls, and with grown-ups as well.</p> + +<p>When the little people of the Green Forest and Green Meadows who fear +Shadow the Weasel found that he was a prisoner, many of them took +particular pains to visit him when the way was clear, just to make fun +of him and tease him and tell him that they were not afraid of him and +that they were glad that he was a prisoner, and that they were sure +something dreadful would happen to him and they hoped it would. Shadow +said never a word in reply. He was too wise to do that. He just turned +his back on them. But all the time he was storing up in his mind all +these hateful things, and he meant, if ever he got free again, to make +life very uncomfortable for those whose foolish tongues were trying to +make him more miserable than he already felt.</p> + +<p>But these little people with the foolish tongues didn't stop to think of +what might happen. They just took it for granted that Shadow never again +would run wild and free in the Green Forest, and so they just let their +tongues run and enjoyed doing it. Perhaps they wouldn't have, if they +could have known just what was going on in the mind of Farmer Brown's +boy. Ever since he had found Shadow in the trap which he had set for him +in the henhouse, Farmer Brown's boy had been puzzling over what he +should do with his prisoner. At first he had thought he would keep him +in a cage the rest of his life. But somehow, whenever he looked into +Shadow's fierce little eyes and saw how unafraid they looked, he got to +thinking of how terrible it must be to be shut up in a little narrow +cage when one has had all the Green Forest in which to go and come. Then +he thought that he would kill Shadow and put him out of his misery at +once.</p> + +<p>"He killed my pullets, and he is always hunting the harmless little +people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows, so he deserves to be +killed," thought Farmer Brown's boy. "He's a pest."</p> + +<p>Then he remembered that after all Shadow was one of Old Mother Nature's +little people, and that he must serve some purpose in Mother Nature's +great plan. Bad as he seemed, she must have some use for him. Perhaps it +was to teach others through fear of him how to be smarter and take +better care of themselves and so be better fitted to do their parts. The +more he thought of this, the harder it was for Farmer Brown's boy to +make up his mind to kill him. But if he couldn't keep him a prisoner +and he couldn't kill him, what could he do?</p> + +<p>He was scowling down at Shadow one morning and puzzling over this when a +happy idea came to him. "I know what I'll do!" he exclaimed. Without +another word he picked up the cage with Shadow in it and started off +across the Green Meadows, which now, you know, were not green at all but +covered with snow. Happy Jack watched him out of sight. He had gone in +the direction of the Old Pasture. He was gone a long time, and when he +did return, the cage was empty.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack blinked at the empty cage. Then he began to ask in a +scolding tone, "What did you do with him? What did you do with him?"</p> + +<p>Farmer Brown's boy just smiled and tossed a nut to Happy Jack. And far +up in the Old Pasture, Shadow the Weasel was once more free. It was well +for Happy Jack's peace of mind that he didn't know that.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXXII</h2> + +<h3>HAPPY JACK IS PERFECTLY HAPPY</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +Never say a thing is so<br /> +Unless you absolutely know.<br /> +Just remember every day<br /> +To be quite sure of what you say.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>T</span>aking things for granted doesn't do at all in this world. To take a +thing for granted is to think that it is so without taking the trouble +to find out whether it is or not. It is apt not only to get you yourself +into trouble, but to make trouble for other people as well. Happy Jack +saw Farmer Brown's boy carry Shadow the Weasel away in a cage, and he +saw him bring back the cage empty. What could he have done with Shadow? +For a while he teased Farmer Brown's boy to tell him, but of course +Farmer Brown's boy didn't understand Happy Jack's language.</p> + +<p>Now Happy Jack knew just what he would like to believe. He would like to +believe that Farmer Brown's boy had taken Shadow away and made an end of +him. And because he wanted to believe that, it wasn't very hard to +believe it. There was the empty cage. Of course Farmer Brown's boy +wouldn't have gone to the trouble of trapping Shadow unless he intended +to get rid of him for good.</p> + +<p>"He's made an end of him, that's what he's done!" said Happy Jack to +himself, because that is what he would have done if he had been in +Farmer Brown's boy's place. So having made up his mind that this is what +had been done with Shadow, he at once told all his friends that it was +so, and was himself supremely happy. You see, he felt that he no longer +had anything to worry about. Yes, Sir, Happy Jack was happy. He liked +the house Farmer Brown's boy had made for him in the big maple tree +close by his own house. He was sure of plenty to eat, because Farmer +Brown's boy always looked out for that, and as a result Happy Jack was +growing fat. None of his enemies of the Green Forest dared come so near +to Farmer Brown's house, and the only one he had to watch out for at +all was Black Pussy. By this time he wasn't afraid of her; not a bit. In +fact, he rather enjoyed teasing her and getting her to chase him. When +she was dozing on the doorstep he liked to steal very close, wake her +with a sharp bark, and then race for the nearest tree, and there scold +her to his heart's content. He had made friends with Mrs. Brown and with +Farmer Brown, and he even felt almost friends with Bowser the Hound. +Sometimes he would climb up on the roof of Bowser's little house and +drop nutshells on Bowser's head when he was asleep. The funny thing was +Bowser never seemed to mind. He would lazily open his eyes and wink one +of them at Happy Jack and thump with his tail. He seemed to feel that +now Happy Jack was one of the family, just as he was.</p> + +<p>So Happy Jack was just as happy as a fat Gray Squirrel with nothing to +worry him could be. He was so happy that Sammy Jay actually became +jealous. You know Sammy is a born trouble maker. He visited Happy Jack +every morning, and while he helped himself to the good things that he +always found spread for him, for Farmer Brown's boy always had something +for the little feathered folk to eat, he would hint darkly that such +goodness and kindness was not to be trusted, and that something was sure +to happen. That is just the way with some folks; they always are +suspicious.</p> + +<p>But nothing that Sammy Jay could say troubled Happy Jack; and Sammy +would fly away quite put out because he couldn't spoil Happy Jack's +happiness the least little bit.</p> + + + +<hr style='width: 65%;' /> +<a name='CHAPTER_XXXIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXXIII</h2> + +<h3>SAMMY JAY UPSETS HAPPY JACK</h3> + +<p style='text-align: center;'> +A good deed well done often is overlooked, +but you never are allowed to forget a mistake.<br /> +<br /> +<i>Happy Jack.</i></p> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='first'>S</span>ammy Jay chuckled as he flew across the snow-covered Green Meadows on +his way to his home in the Green Forest. He chuckled and he chuckled. To +have heard him you would have thought that either he had thought of +something very pleasant, or something very pleasant had happened to him. +Once he turned in the direction of Farmer Brown's house, but changed his +mind as he saw the Black Shadows creeping out from the Purple Hills, +and once more headed for the Green Forest.</p> + +<p>"Too late to-day. Time I was home now. It'll keep until to-morrow," he +muttered. Then he chuckled, and he was still chuckling when he reached +the big hemlock tree, among the thick branches of which he spent each +night.</p> + +<p>"Don't know what started me off to the Old Pasture this afternoon, but +I'm glad I went. My, my, my, but I'm glad I went," said he, as he +fluffed out his feathers and prepared to tuck his head under his wing. +"It pays to snoop around in this world and see what is going on. I +learned a long time ago not to believe everything I hear, and that the +surest way to make sure of things is to find out for myself. Nothing +like using my own eyes and my own ears. Well, I must get to sleep." He +began to chuckle again, and he was still chuckling as he fell asleep.</p> + +<p>The next morning Sammy Jay was astir at the very first sign of light. He +waited just long enough to see that every feather was in place, for +Sammy is a bit vain, and very particular about his dress. Then he headed +straight for Farmer Brown's house. Just as he expected he found Happy +Jack Squirrel was awake, for Happy Jack is an early riser.</p> + +<p>"Good morning," said Sammy Jay, and tried very hard to make his voice +sound smooth and pleasant, a very hard thing for Sammy to do, for his +voice, you know, is naturally harsh and unpleasant. "You seem to be +looking as happy as ever."</p> + +<p>"Of course I am," replied Happy Jack. "Why shouldn't I be? I haven't a +thing to worry about. Of course I'm happy, and I hope you're just as +happy as I am. I'm going to get my breakfast now, and then I'll be +happier still."</p> + +<p>"That's so. There's nothing like a good breakfast to make one happy," +said Sammy Jay, helping himself to some suet tied to a branch of the +maple tree. "By the way, I saw an old friend of yours yesterday. He +inquired after you particularly. He didn't exactly send his love, but he +said that he hoped you are as well and fat as ever, and that he will see +you again some time. He said that he didn't know of any one he likes to +look at better than you."</p> + +<p>Happy Jack looked flattered. "That was very nice of him," said he. "Who +was it?"</p> + +<p>"Guess," replied Sammy.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack scratched his head thoughtfully. There were not many friends +in winter. Most of them were asleep or had gone to the far away +southland.</p> + +<p>"Peter Rabbit," he ventured.</p> + +<p>Sammy shook his head.</p> + +<p>"Jimmy Skunk!"</p> + +<p>Again Sammy shook his head.</p> + +<p>"Jumper the Hare!"</p> + +<p>"Guess again," said Sammy, chuckling.</p> + +<p>"Little Joe Otter!"</p> + +<p>"Wrong," replied Sammy.</p> + +<p>"I give up. Who was it? Do tell me," begged Happy Jack.</p> + +<p>"It was Shadow the Weasel!" cried Sammy, triumphantly.</p> + +<p>Happy Jack dropped the nut he was just going to eat, and in place of +happiness something very like fear grew and grew in his eyes. "I—I +don't believe you," he stammered. "Farmer Brown's boy took him away and +put an end to him. I saw him take him."</p> + +<p>"But you didn't see him put an end to Shadow," declared Sammy, "because +he didn't. He took him 'way up in the Old Pasture and let him go, and I +saw him up there yesterday. That's what comes of guessing at things. +Shadow is no more dead than you are. Well, I must be going along. I hope +you'll enjoy your breakfast."</p> + +<p>With this, off flew Sammy Jay, chuckling as if he thought he had done a +very smart thing in upsetting Happy Jack, which goes to show what queer +ideas some people have.</p> + +<p>As for Happy Jack, he worried for a while, but as Shadow didn't come, +and there was nothing else to worry about, little by little Happy Jack's +high spirits returned, until he was as happy as ever. And now, though +he has had many adventures since then, I must leave him, for there is no +more room in this book. Perhaps if you ask him, he will tell you of +these other adventures himself. Meanwhile, bashful little Mrs. Peter +Rabbit is anxious that you should know something about her. So I have +promised to call the next book, "Mrs. Peter Rabbit."</p> +<br /> +<br /> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Happy Jack, by Thornton Burgess + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAPPY JACK *** + +***** This file should be named 13355-h.htm or 13355-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/3/5/13355/ + +Produced by Stephen Schulze and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Happy Jack + +Author: Thornton Burgess + +Release Date: September 2, 2004 [EBook #13355] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAPPY JACK *** + + + + +Produced by Stephen Schulze and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + +HAPPY JACK + +BY + +THORNTON W. BURGESS + +_With Illustrations by HARRISON CADY_ + +This book, while produced under wartime conditions, in full compliance +with government regulations for the conservation of paper and other +essential materials, is COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED. + + + +_1918,_ + + + + +TO + +DR. WILLIAM T. HORNADAY + +TO WHOM POSTERITY WILL OWE A DEBT OF GRATITUDE FOR HIS VALIANT FIGHT TO +PRESERVE AMERICAN WILD LIFE, WHO HAS BEEN A LIFELONG CHAMPION OF HAPPY +JACK SQUIRREL, AND TO WHOM THE AUTHOR IS DEEPLY INDEBTED FOR +ENCOURAGEMENT AND ASSISTANCE THIS BOOK IS GRATEFULLY DEDICATED + + + + +CONTENTS + + + I. HAPPY JACK DROPS A NUT + + II. THE QUARREL + + III. STRIPED CHIPMUNK Is KEPT VERY BUSY + + IV. HAPPY JACK AND CHATTERER FEEL FOOLISH + + V. HAPPY JACK SUSPECTS STRIPED CHIPMUNK + + VI. HAPPY JACK SPIES ON STRIPED CHIPMUNK + + VII. STRIPED CHIPMUNK HAS FUN WITH HAPPY JACK + + VIII. HAPPY JACK TURNS BURGLAR + + IX. HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL'S SAD MISTAKE + + X. STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S HAPPY THOUGHT + + XI. STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S THANKSGIVING DINNER + + XII. HAPPY JACK DOES SOME THINKING + + XIII. HAPPY JACK GETS A WARNING + + XIV. HAPPY JACK'S RUN FOR LIFE + + XV. WHO SAVED HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL? + + XVI. HAPPY JACK MISSES FARMER BROWN'S BOY + + XVII. TOMMY TIT BRINGS NEWS + + XVIII. HAPPY JACK DECIDES TO MAKE A CALL + + XIX. TOMMY TIT AND HAPPY JACK PAY A VISIT + + XX. WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH FARMER BROWN'S BOY? + + XXI. HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL GROWS VERY BOLD + + XXII. HAPPY JACK DARES TOMMY TIT + + XXIII. SAMMY JAY IS QUITE UPSET + + XXIV. A DREAM COMES TRUE + + XXV. HAPPY JACK HAS A HAPPY THOUGHT + + XXVI. FARMER BROWN'S BOY WAKES WITH A START + + XXVII. HAPPY JACK IS AFRAID TO GO HOME + + XXVIII. HAPPY JACK FINDS A NEW HOME + + XXIX. FARMER BROWN'S BOY TAKES A PRISONER + + XXX. A PRISONER WITHOUT FEAR + + XXXI. WHAT FARMER BROWN'S BOY DID WITH SHADOW + + XXXII. HAPPY JACK IS PERFECTLY HAPPY + + XXXIII. SAMMY JAY UPSETS HAPPY JACK + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + +Peter Rabbit, who happened along just then, put his hands over his ears + +Happy Jack tried every trick he knew to get away from Shadow the Weasel + +"Did you find out anything?" asked Happy Jack eagerly + +It wasn't long before Shadow began to receive many visitors + + + + +HAPPY JACK + + + + +CHAPTER I + +HAPPY JACK DROPS A NUT + + Save a little every day, + And for the future put away. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack Squirrel sat on the tip of one of the highest branches of a +big hickory tree. Happy Jack was up very early that morning. In fact, +jolly, round, red Mr. Sun was still in his bed behind the Purple Hills +when Happy Jack hopped briskly out of bed. He washed himself thoroughly +and was ready for business by the time Mr. Sun began his climb up in +the blue, blue sky. + +You see, Happy Jack had found that big hickory tree just loaded with +nuts all ripe and ready to gather. He was quite sure that no one else +had found that special tree, and he wanted to get all the nuts before +any one else found out about them. So he was all ready and off he raced +to the big tree just as soon as it was light enough to see. + + "The nuts that grow in the hickory tree-- + They're all for me! They're all for me!" + +Happy Jack was humming that little song as he rested for a few minutes +'way up in the top of the tree and wondered if his storehouse would hold +all these big, fat nuts. Just then he heard a great scolding a little +way over in the Green Forest. Happy Jack stopped humming and listened. +He knew that voice. It was his cousin's voice--the voice of Chatterer +the Red Squirrel. Happy Jack frowned. "I hope he won't come over this +way," muttered Happy Jack. He does not love his cousin Chatterer anyway, +and then there was the big tree full of hickory nuts! He didn't want +Chatterer to find that. + +I am afraid that Happy Jack was selfish. There were more nuts than he +could possibly eat in one winter, and yet he wasn't willing that his +cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, should have a single one. Now +Chatterer is short-tempered and a great scold. Some one or something +had upset him this morning, and he was scolding as fast as his tongue +could go, as he came running right towards the tree in which Happy Jack +was sitting. Happy Jack sat perfectly still and watched. He didn't move +so much as the tip of his big gray tail. Would Chatterer go past and not +see that big tree full of nuts? It looked very much as if he would, for +he was so busy scolding that he wasn't paying much attention to other +things. + +Happy Jack smiled as Chatterer came running under the tree without once +looking up. He was so tickled that he started to hug himself and didn't +remember that he was holding a big, fat nut in his hands. Of course he +dropped it. Where do you think it went? Well, Sir, it fell straight +down, from the top of that tall tree, and it landed right on the head of +Chatterer the Red Squirrel! + +"My stars!" cried Chatterer, stopping his scolding and his running +together, and rubbing his head where the nut had hit him. Then he looked +up to see where it had come from. Of course, he looked straight up at +Happy Jack. + +"You did that purposely!" screamed Chatterer, his short temper flaring +up. + +"I didn't!" snapped Happy Jack. + +"You did!" + +"I didn't!" + +Oh, dear, oh, dear, such a sight! two little Squirrels, one in a gray +suit and one in a red suit, contradicting each other and calling names! +It was such a sad, sad sight, for you know they were cousins. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE QUARREL + + It's up to you and up to me + To see how thrifty we can be. + To do our bit like soldiers true + It's up to me and up to you. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Two angry little people were making a dreadful noise in the Green +Forest. It was a beautiful morning, a very beautiful fall morning, but +all the beauty of it was being spoiled by the dreadful noise these two +little people. You see they were quarreling. Yes, Sir, they were +quarreling, and it wasn't at all nice to see or nice to hear. + +You know who they were. One was Happy Jack Squirrel, who wears a coat +of gray, and the other was Chatterer the Red Squirrel, who always wears +a red coat with vest of white. When Happy Jack had dropped that nut from +the tiptop of the tall hickory tree and it had landed right on top of +Chatterer's head it really had been an accident. All the time Happy Jack +had been sitting as still as still could be, hoping that his cousin +Chatterer would pass by without looking up and so seeing the big fat +nuts in the top of that tree. You see Happy Jack was greedy and wanted +all of them himself. Now Chatterer the Red Squirrel has a sharp temper, +and also he has sharp eyes. All the time he was scolding Happy Jack and +calling him names Chatterer's bright eyes were taking note of all those +big, fat hickory-nuts and his mouth began to water. Without wasting any +more time he started up the tree to get some. + +Happy Jack grew very angry, very angry indeed. He hurried down to meet +Chatterer the Red Squirrel and to prevent him climbing the tree. + +"You keep out of this tree; it's mine!" he shrieked. + +"No such thing! You don't own the tree and I've got just as much right +here as you have!" screamed Chatterer, dodging around to the other side +of the tree. + +"'Tis, too, mine! I found it first!" shouted Happy Jack. "You're a +thief, so there!" + +"I'm not!" + +"You are!" + +"You're a pig, Happy Jack! You're just a great big pig!" + +"I'm not a pig! I found these nuts first and I tell you they're mine!" +shrieked Happy Jack, so angry that every time he spoke he jerked his +tail. And all the time he was chasing round and round the trunk of the +tree trying to prevent Chatterer getting up. + +Now Happy Jack is ever so much bigger than his cousin Chatterer but he +isn't as spry. So in spite of him Chatterer got past, and like a little +red flash was up in the top of the tree where the big, fat nuts were. +But he didn't have time to pick even one, for after him came Happy Jack +so angry that Chatterer knew that he would fare badly if Happy Jack +should catch him. Round and round, over and across, this way and that +way, in the top of the tall hickory tree raced Chatterer the Red +Squirrel with his cousin, Happy Jack the Gray Squirrel, right at his +heels, and calling him everything bad to be thought of. Yes, indeed it +was truly dreadful, and Peter Rabbit, who happened along just then, put +his hands over his ears so as not to hear such a dreadful quarrel. + +[Illustration: PETER RABBIT, WHO HAPPENED ALONG JUST THEN, PUT HIS HANDS +OVER HIS EARS.] + + + + +CHAPTER III + +STRIPED CHIPMUNK IS KEPT VERY BUSY + +I prefer big acorns but I never refuse little ones. +They fit in between. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Striped Chipmunk was sitting just inside a hollow log, studying about +how he could fill up his new storehouse for the winter. Striped Chipmunk +is very thrifty. He likes to play, and he is one of the merriest of all +the little people who live on the Green Meadows or in the Green Forest. +He lives right on the edge of both and knows everybody, and everybody +knows him. Almost every morning the Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother +West Wind hurry over to have a frolic with him the very first thing. But +though he dearly loves to play, he never lets play interfere with work. +Whatever he does, be it play or work, he does with all his might. + + "I love the sun; I love the rain; + I love to work; I love to play. + Whatever it may bring to me + I love each minute of each day." + +So said Striped Chipmunk, as he sat in the hollow log and studied how he +could fill that splendid big new storehouse. Pretty soon he pricked up +his funny little ears. What was all that noise over in the Green +Forest? Striped Chipmunk peeped out of the hollow log. Over in the top +of a tall hickory tree a terrible fuss was going on. Striped Chipmunk +listened. He heard angry voices, such angry voices! They were the voices +of his big cousins, Happy Jack the Gray Squirrel and Chatterer the Red +Squirrel. + +"Dear me! Dear me! How those two do quarrel! I must go over and see what +it is all about," thought Striped Chipmunk. + +So, with a flirt of his funny, little tail, he scampered out of the +hollow log and over to the tall hickory tree. He knew all about that +tree. Many, many times he had looked up at the big fat nuts in the top +of it, watching them grow bigger and fatter, and hoping that when they +grew ripe, Old Mother West Wind would find time to shake them down to +him. You know Striped Chipmunk is not much of a climber, and so he +cannot go up and pick the nuts as do his big cousins, Happy Jack and +Chatterer. + +When he reached the tall hickory tree, what do you think was happening? +Why, those big, fat nuts were rattling down to the ground on every side, +just as if Old Mother West Wind was shaking the tree as hard as she +could. But Old Mother West Wind wasn't there at all. No, Sir, there +wasn't even one of the Merry Little Breezes up in the tree-tops. The +big fat nuts were rattling down just on account of the dreadful quarrel +of Striped Chipmunk's two foolish cousins, Happy Jack and Chatterer. + +It was all because Happy Jack was greedy. Chatterer had climbed the +tree, and now Happy Jack, who is bigger but not so spry, was chasing +Chatterer round and round and over the tree-top, and both were so angry +that they didn't once notice that they were knocking down the very nuts +over which they were quarreling. + +Striped Chipmunk didn't stop to listen to the quarrel. No, Sir-ee! He +stuffed a big fat nut in each pocket in his cheeks and scampered back +to his splendid new storehouse as fast as his little legs would take +him. Back and forth, back and forth, scampered Striped Chipmunk, and all +the time he was laughing inside and hoping his big cousins would keep +right on quarreling. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +HAPPY JACK AND CHATTERER FEEL FOOLISH + + If you get and spend a penny, + Then of course you haven't any. + Be like me--a Happy Jack-- + And put it where you'll get it back. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack and Chatterer were out of breath. Happy Jack was puffing and +blowing, for he is big and fat, and it is not so easy for him to race +about in the tree-tops as it is for his smaller, slim, nimble cousin, +Chatterer. So Happy Jack was the first to stop. He sat on a branch 'way +up in the top of the tall hickory tree and glared across at Chatterer, +who sat on a branch on the other side of the tall tree. + +"Couldn't catch me, could you, smarty?" taunted Chatterer. + +"You just wait until I do! I'll make you sorry you ever came near my +hickory tree," snapped Happy Jack. + +"I'm waiting. Besides, it isn't your tree any more than it's mine," +replied Chatterer, and made a face at Happy Jack. + +Happy Jack hopped up as if he meant to begin the chase again, but he had +a pain in his side from running so hard and so long, and so he sat down +again. Right down in his heart Happy Jack knew that Chatterer was +right, that the tree didn't belong to him any more than to his cousin. +But when he thought of all those big, fat nuts with which the tall +hickory tree had been loaded, greedy thoughts chased out all thoughts of +right and he said to himself again, as he had said when he first saw his +cousin, that Chatterer shouldn't have _one_ of them. He stopped scolding +long enough to steal a look at them, and then--what do you think Happy +Jack did? Why, he gave such a jump of surprise that he nearly lost his +balance. Not a nut was to be seen! Happy Jack blinked. Then, he rubbed +his eyes and looked again. He couldn't see a nut anywhere! + +There were the husks in which the nuts had grown big and fat until they +were ripe, but now every husk was empty. Chatterer saw the queer look on +Happy Jack's face, and he looked too. Now Chatterer the Red Squirrel had +very quick wits, and he guessed right away what had happened. He knew +that while they had been quarreling and racing over the top of the tall +hickory tree, they must have knocked down all the nuts, which were just +ready to fall anyway. Like a little red flash, Chatterer started down +the tree. Then Happy Jack guessed too, and down he started as fast as he +could go, crying, "Stop, thief!" all the way. + +When he reached the ground, there was Chatterer scurrying around and +poking under the fallen leaves, but he hadn't found a single nut. Happy +Jack couldn't stop to quarrel any more, because you see he was afraid +that Chatterer would find the biggest and fattest nuts, so he began to +scurry around and hunt too. It was queer, very queer, how those nuts +could have hidden so! They hunted and hunted, but no nuts were to be +found. Then they stopped and stared up at the top of the tall hickory +tree. Not a nut could they see. Then they stared at each other, and +gradually a foolish, a very foolish look crept over each face. + +"Where--where do you suppose they have gone?" asked Happy Jack in a +queer-sounding voice. + +Just then they heard some one laughing fit to kill himself. It was Peter +Rabbit. + +"Did you take our hickory nuts?" they both shouted angrily. + +"No," replied Peter, "no, I didn't take them, though they were not +yours, anyway!" And then he went off into another fit of laughter, for +Peter had seen Striped Chipmunk very hard at work taking away those very +nuts while his two big cousins had been quarreling in the tree-top. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +HAPPY JACK SUSPECTS STRIPED CHIPMUNK + +Thrift is one test of true loyalty to your country. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack didn't look happy a bit. Indeed, Happy Jack looked very +unhappy. You see, he looked just as he felt. He had set his heart on +having all the big, fat nuts that he had found in the top of that tall +hickory tree, and now, instead of having all of them, he hadn't any of +them. Worse still, he knew right down in his heart that it was his own +fault. He had been too greedy. But what _had_ become of those nuts? + +Happy Jack was studying about this as he sat with his back against a +big chestnut tree. He remembered how hard Peter Rabbit had laughed when +Happy Jack and his cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, had been so +surprised because they could not find the nuts they had knocked down. +Peter hadn't taken them, for Peter has no use for them, but he must know +what had become of them, for he was still laughing as he had gone off +down the Lone Little Path. While he was thinking of all this, Happy +Jack's bright eyes had been wide open, as they usually are, so that no +danger should come near. Suddenly they saw something moving among the +brown-and-yellow leaves on the ground. Happy Jack looked sharply, and +then a sudden thought popped into his head. + +"Hi, there, Cousin Chipmunk!" he shouted. + +"Hi, there, your own self!" replied Striped Chipmunk, for it was he. + +"What are you doing down there?" asked Happy Jack. + +"Looking for hickory nuts," replied Striped Chipmunk, and his eyes +twinkled as he said it, for there wasn't a hickory tree near. + +Happy Jack looked hard at Striped Chipmunk, for that sudden thought +which had popped into his head when he first saw Striped Chipmunk was +growing into a strong, a very strong, suspicion that Striped Chipmunk +knew something about those lost hickory nuts. But Striped Chipmunk +looked back at him so innocently that Happy Jack didn't know just what +to think. + +"Have you begun to fill your storehouse for winter yet?" inquired Happy +Jack. + +"Of course I have. I don't mean to let Jack Frost catch me with an empty +storehouse," replied Striped Chipmunk. + + "When leaves turn yellow, brown, and red, + And nuts come pitter, patter down; + When days are short and swiftly sped, + And Autumn wears her colored gown, + I'm up before old Mr. Sun + His nightcap has a chance to doff, + And have my day's work well begun + When others kick their bedclothes off." + +"What are you filling your storehouse with?" asked Happy Jack, trying +not to show too much interest. + +"Corn, nice ripe yellow corn, and seeds and acorns and chestnuts," +answered Striped Chipmunk. "And now I'm looking for some big, fat +hickory nuts," he added, and his bright eyes twinkled. "Have you seen +any, Happy Jack?" + +Happy Jack said that he hadn't seen any, and Striped Chipmunk remarked +that he couldn't waste any more time talking, and scurried away. Happy +Jack watched him go, a puzzled little frown puckering up his brows. + +"I believe he knows something about those nuts. I think I'll follow him +and have a peep into his storehouse," he muttered. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +HAPPY JACK SPIES ON STRIPED CHIPMUNK + +It's more important to mind your own affairs than to know what your +neighbors are doing, but not nearly so interesting. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Striped Chipmunk was whisking about among the brown-and-yellow leaves +that covered the ground on the edge of the Green Forest. He is such a +little fellow that he looked almost like a brown leaf himself, and when +one of Old Mother West Wind's Merry Little Breezes whirled the brown +leaves in a mad little dance around him, it was the hardest work in the +world to see Striped Chipmunk at all. Anyway, Happy Jack Squirrel found +it so. + +You see, Happy Jack was spying on Striped Chipmunk. Yes, Sir, Happy Jack +was spying. Spying, you know, is secretly watching other people and +trying to find out what they are doing. It isn't a nice thing to do, not +a bit nice. Happy Jack knew it, and all the time he was doing it, he was +feeling very much ashamed of himself. But he said to himself that he +just _had_ to know where Striped Chipmunk's storehouse was, because he +just _had_ to peep inside and find out if it held any of the big, fat +hickory nuts that had disappeared from under the tall hickory tree +while he was quarreling up in the top of it with his cousin, Chatterer +the Red Squirrel. + +But spying on Striped Chipmunk isn't the easiest thing in the world. +Happy Jack was finding it the hardest work he had ever undertaken. +Striped Chipmunk is so spry, and whisks about so, that you need eyes all +around your head to keep track of him. Happy Jack found that his two +eyes, bright and quick as they are, couldn't keep that little elf of a +cousin of his always in sight. Every few minutes he would disappear and +then bob up again in the most unexpected place and most provoking way. + + "Now I'm here, and now I'm there! + Now I am not anywhere! + Watch me now, for here I go + Out of sight! I told you so!" + +With the last words, Striped Chipmunk was nowhere to be seen. It seemed +as if the earth must have opened and swallowed him. But it hadn't, for +two minutes later Happy Jack saw him flirting his funny little tail in +the sauciest way as he scampered along an old log. + +Happy Jack began to suspect that Striped Chipmunk was just having fun +with him. What else could he mean by saying such things? And yet Happy +Jack was sure that Striped Chipmunk hadn't seen him, for, all the time +he was watching, Happy Jack had taken the greatest care to keep hidden +himself. No, it couldn't be, it just couldn't be that Striped Chipmunk +knew that he was anywhere about. He would just be patient a little +longer, and he would surely see that smart little cousin of his go to +his storehouse. So Happy Jack waited and watched. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +STRIPED CHIPMUNK HAS FUN WITH HAPPY JACK + +Thrift is the meat in the nut of success. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Striped Chipmunk would shout in his shrillest voice: + + "Hipperty, hopperty, one, two, three! + What do you think becomes of me?" + +Then he would vanish from sight all in the wink of an eye. You couldn't +tell where he went to. At least Happy Jack couldn't, and his eyes are +sharper than yours or mine. Happy Jack was spying, you remember. He was +watching Striped Chipmunk without letting Striped Chipmunk know it. At +least he thought he was. But really he wasn't. Those sharp twinkling +eyes of Striped Chipmunk see everything. You know, he is such a very +little fellow that he has to be very wide-awake to keep out of danger. + +And he _is_ wide-awake. Oh, my, yes, indeed! When he is awake, and that +is every minute of the daytime, he is the most wide-awake little fellow +you ever did see. He had seen Happy Jack the very first thing, and he +had guessed right away that Happy Jack was spying on him so as to find +out if he had any of the big, fat hickory nuts. Now Striped Chipmunk had +_all_ of those fat hickory nuts safely hidden in his splendid new +storehouse, but he didn't intend to let Happy Jack know it. So he just +pretended not to see Happy Jack, or to know that he was anywhere near, +but acted as if he was just going about his own business. Really he was +just having the best time ever fooling Happy Jack. + + "The corn is ripe; the nuts do fall; + Acorns are sweet and plump. + I soon will have my storehouse full + Inside the hollow stump." + +Striped Chipmunk sang this just as if no one was anywhere near, and he +was singing just for joy. Of course Happy Jack heard it and he grinned. + +"So your storehouse is in a hollow stump, my smart little cousin!" said +Happy Jack to himself. "If that's the case, I'll soon find it." + +Striped Chipmunk scurried along, and now he took pains to always keep in +sight. Happy Jack followed, hiding behind the trees. Pretty soon Striped +Chipmunk picked up a plump acorn and put it in the pocket of his right +cheek. Then he picked up another and put that in the pocket in his left +cheek. Then he crowded another into each; and his face was swelled so +that you would hardly have guessed that it was Striped Chipmunk if you +had chanced to meet him. My, my, he was a funny sight! Happy Jack +grinned again as he watched, partly because Striped Chipmunk looked so +funny, and partly because he knew that if Striped Chipmunk was going to +eat the acorns right away, he wouldn't stuff them into the pockets in +his cheeks. But he had done this very thing, and so he must be going to +take them to his storehouse. + +Off scampered Striped Chipmunk, and after him stole Happy Jack, his eyes +shining with excitement. Pretty soon he saw an old stump which looked as +if it must be hollow. Happy Jack grinned more than ever as he carefully +hid himself and watched. Striped Chipmunk scrambled up on the old stump, +looked this way and that way, as if to be sure that no one was watching +him, then with a flirt of his funny little tail he darted into a little +round doorway. He was gone a long time, but by and by out he popped, +looked this way and that way, and then scampered off in the direction +from which he had come. Happy Jack didn't try to follow him. He waited +until he was sure that Striped Chipmunk was out of sight and hearing, +and then he walked over to the old stump. + +"It's his storehouse fast enough," said Happy Jack. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +HAPPY JACK TURNS BURGLAR + + As trees from little acorns, so + Great sums from little pennies grow. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack Squirrel stood in front of the old stump into which he had +seen Striped Chipmunk go with the pockets in his cheeks full of acorns, +and out of which he had come with the pockets of his cheeks quite empty. + +"It certainly is his storehouse, and now I'll find out if he is the one +who got all those big, fat hickory nuts," muttered Happy Jack. + +First he looked this way, and then he looked that way, to be sure that +no one saw him, for what he was planning to do was a very dreadful +thing, and he knew it. Happy Jack was going to turn burglar. A burglar, +you know, is one who breaks into another's house or barn to steal, which +is a very, very dreadful thing to do. Yet this is just what Happy Jack +Squirrel was planning to do. He was going to get into that old stump, +and if those big, fat hickory nuts were there, as he was sure they were, +he was going to take them. He tried very hard to make himself believe +that it wouldn't be stealing. He had watched those nuts in the top of +the tall hickory tree so long that he had grown to think that they +belonged to him. Of course they didn't, but he had made himself think +they did. + +Happy Jack walked all around the old stump, and then he climbed up on +top of it. There was only one doorway, and that was the little round +hole through which Striped Chipmunk had entered and then come out. It +was too small for Happy Jack to even get his head through, though his +cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, who is much smaller, could have +slipped in easily. Happy Jack sniffed and sniffed. He could smell nuts +and corn and other good things. My, how good they did smell! His eyes +shone greedily. + +Happy Jack took one more hasty look around to see that no one was +watching, then with his long sharp teeth he began to make the doorway +larger. The wood was tough, but Happy Jack worked with might and main, +for he wanted to get those nuts and get away before Striped Chipmunk +should return, or any one else should happen along and see him. Soon the +hole was big enough for him to get his head inside. It was a storehouse, +sure enough. Happy Jack worked harder than ever, and soon the hole was +large enough for him to get wholly inside. + +What a sight! There was corn! and there were chestnuts and acorns! and +there were a few hickory nuts, though these did not look so big and fat +as the ones Happy Jack was looking for! Happy Jack chuckled to himself, +a wicked, greedy chuckle, as he looked. And then something happened. + +"Oh! Oh! Stop it! Leave me alone!" yelled Happy Jack. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL'S SAD MISTAKE + +A Squirrel always is thrifty. Be as wise as a Squirrel. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +"Let me go! Let me go!" yelled Happy Jack, as he backed out of the +hollow stump faster than he had gone in, a great deal faster. Can you +guess why? I'll tell you. It was because he was being pulled out. Yes, +Sir, Happy Jack Squirrel was being pulled out by his big, bushy tail. + +Happy Jack was more frightened than hurt. To be sure, it is not at all +comfortable to have one's tail pulled, but Happy Jack wouldn't have +minded this so much had it not been so unexpected, or if he could have +seen who was pulling it. And then, right inside Happy Jack didn't feel a +bit good. Why? Well, because he was doing a dreadful thing, and he +_knew_ that it was a dreadful thing. He had broken into somebody's +storehouse to steal. He was sure that it was Striped Chipmunk's +storehouse, and he wouldn't admit to himself that he was going to steal, +actually _steal_. But all the time, right down deep in his heart, he +knew that if he took any of those hickory nuts it would be stealing. + +But Happy Jack had been careless. When he had made the doorway big +enough for him to crawl inside, he had left his tail hanging outside. +Some one had very, very softly stolen up and grabbed it and begun to +pull. It was so sudden and unexpected that Happy Jack yelled with +fright. When he could get his wits together, he thought of course +Striped Chipmunk had come back and was pulling his tail. When he thought +that, he got over his fright right away, for Striped Chipmunk is such a +little fellow that Happy Jack knew that he had nothing; to fear from +him. + +So as fast as he could, Happy Jack backed out of the hole and whirled +around. Of course he expected to face a very angry little Chipmunk. But +he didn't. No, Sir, he didn't. Instead, he looked right into the angry +face of his other cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel. And Chatterer +_was_ angry! Oh my, my, how angry Chatterer was! For a minute he +couldn't find his voice, because his anger fairly choked him. And when +he did, how his tongue did fly! + +"You thief! You robber! What are you doing in my storehouse?" he +shrieked. + +Happy Jack backed away hurriedly, for though he is much bigger than +Chatterer, he has a very wholesome respect for Chatterer's sharp teeth, +and when he is very angry, Chatterer is a great fighter. + +"I--I didn't know it was your storehouse," said Happy Jack, backing +away still further. + +"It doesn't make any difference if you didn't; you're a thief just the +same!" screamed Chatterer and rushed at Happy Jack. And what do you +think Happy Jack did? Why, he just turned tail and ran, Chatterer after +him, crying "Thief! Robber! Coward!" at the top of his lungs, so that +every one in the Green Forest could hear. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S HAPPY THOUGHT + + Waste seems to me a dreadful sin; + It works to lose and not to win. + + Thrift will win; it cannot lose. + Between them 'tis for you to choose. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Striped Chipmunk sat on a mossy old log, laughing until his sides ached. +"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho! Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!" +laughed Striped Chipmunk, holding his sides. Over in the Green Forest he +could still hear Chatterer the Red Squirrel crying "Thief! Robber!" as +he chased his big cousin, Happy Jack, and every time he heard it, +Striped Chipmunk laughed harder. + +You see, Striped Chipmunk had known all the time that Happy Jack was +spying on him, and he had had no end of fun fooling Happy Jack by +suddenly disappearing and then bobbing into view. He had known that +Happy Jack was following him so as to find out where his storehouse was. +Then Striped Chipmunk had remembered the storehouse of Chatterer the Red +Squirrel. He had filled the pockets in his cheeks with acorns and gone +straight over to Chatterer's storehouse and put them inside, knowing +that Happy Jack would follow him and would think that that was his +storehouse. And that is just what happened. + +Then Striped Chipmunk had hidden himself where he could see all that +happened. He had seen Happy Jack look all around, to make sure that no +one was near, and then tear open the little round doorway of Chatterer's +storehouse until it was big enough for him to squeeze through. He had +seen Chatterer come up, fly into a rage, and pull Happy Jack out by the +tail. Indeed, he had had to clap both hands over his mouth to keep from +laughing out loud. Then Happy Jack had turned tail and run away with +Chatterer after him, shouting "Thief" and "Robber" at the top of his +voice, and this had tickled Striped Chipmunk still more, for he knew +that Chatterer himself is one of the greatest thieves in the Green +Forest. So he sat on the mossy old log and laughed and laughed and +laughed. + +Finally Striped Chipmunk wiped the tears from his eyes and jumped up. +"My, my, this will never do!" said he. + + "Idle hands and idle feet + Never filled a storehouse yet; + But instead, so I've heard say, + Into mischief surely get." + +"Here it is almost Thanksgiving and--" Striped Chipmunk stopped and +scratched his head, while a funny little pleased look crept into his +face. "I wonder if Happy Jack and Chatterer would come to a +Thanksgiving dinner," he muttered. "I believe I'll ask them just for +fun." + +Then Striped Chipmunk hurried home full of his new idea and chuckled as +he planned his Thanksgiving dinner. Of course he couldn't have it at his +own house. That wouldn't do at all. In the first place, the doorway +would be altogether too small for Happy Jack. Anyway, his home was a +secret, his very own secret, and he didn't propose to let Happy Jack and +Chatterer know where it was, even for a Thanksgiving dinner. Then he +thought of the big, smooth, mossy log he had been sitting on that very +morning. + +"The very place!" cried Striped Chipmunk, and scurried away to find +Happy Jack Squirrel and Chatterer the Red Squirrel to invite them to his +Thanksgiving dinner. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +STRIPED CHIPMUNK'S THANKSGIVING DINNER + + There's nothing quite so sweet in life + As making up and ending strife. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Striped Chipmunk jumped out of bed very early Thanksgiving morning. It +was going to be a very busy day. He had invited Happy Jack the Gray +Squirrel, and Chatterer the Red Squirrel, to eat Thanksgiving dinner +with him, and each had promised to be there. Striped Chipmunk chuckled +as he thought how neither of his guests knew that the other was to be +there. He washed his face and hands, brushed his hair, and ate his +breakfast. Then he scurried over to his splendid new storehouse, which +no one knew of but himself, and stuffed the pockets in his cheeks with +good things to eat. When he couldn't stuff another thing in, he scurried +over to the nice, mossy log on the edge of the Green Forest, and there +he emptied his pockets, for that was to be his dining table. + +Back and forth, back and forth between his secret storehouse and the +smooth, mossy log hurried Striped Chipmunk. He knew that Happy Jack and +the Chatterer have great appetites, and he wanted to be sure that there +was plenty of good things to eat. And as he scurried along, he sang a +little song. + + "Thanksgiving comes but once a year, + But when it comes it brings good cheer. + For in my storehouse on this day + Are piles of good things hid away. + Each day I've worked from early morn + To gather acorns, nuts, and corn, + Till now I've plenty and to spare + Without a worry or a care. + So light of heart the whole day long, + I'll sing a glad Thanksgiving song." + +Promptly at the dinner hour Happy Jack appeared coming from one +direction, and Chatterer the Red Squirrel coming from another direction. +They didn't see each other until just as they reached Striped Chipmunk's +smooth, mossy log. Then they stopped and scowled. Striped Chipmunk +pretended not to notice anything wrong and bustled about, talking all +the time as if his guests were the best of friends. + +On the smooth, mossy log was a great pile of shining yellow corn. There +was another pile of plump ripe acorns, and three little piles of dainty +looking brown seeds. But the thing that Happy Jack couldn't keep his +eyes off was right in the middle. It was a huge pile of big, fat hickory +nuts. Now who could remain ill-tempered and cross with such a lot of +goodies spread before him? Certainly not Happy Jack or his cousin, +Chatterer the Red Squirrel. They just had to smile in spite of +themselves, and when Striped Chipmunk urged them to sit down and help +themselves, they did. In three minutes they were so busy eating that +they had forgotten all about their quarrel and were laughing and +chatting like the best of friends. + +"It's quite a family party, isn't it?" said Striped Chipmunk, for you +know they are all cousins. + +Whitefoot the Wood Mouse happened along, and Striped Chipmunk insisted +that he should join the party. Later Sammy Jay came along, and nothing +would excuse him from sharing in the feast, too. When everybody had +eaten and eaten until they couldn't hold another thing, and it was time +to think of going home, Striped Chipmunk insisted that Happy Jack and +Chatterer should divide between them the big, fat hickory nuts that were +left, and they did without once quarreling about it. + + "Thanksgiving comes but once a year, + And when it comes it brings good cheer," + +said Striped Chipmunk to himself as he watched his guests depart. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +HAPPY JACK DOES SOME THINKING + +To call another a thief doesn't make him one. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack sat up in a chestnut tree, and his face was very sober. The +fact is, Happy Jack was doing some very hard thinking. This is so very +unusual for him that Sammy Jay stopped to ask if he was sick. You see he +is naturally a happy-go-lucky little scamp, and that is one reason that +he is called Happy Jack. But this morning he was thinking and thinking +hard, so hard, in fact, that he almost lost his temper when Sammy Jay +interrupted his thoughts with such a foolish question. + +What was he thinking about? Can you not guess? Why, he was thinking +about those big, fat hickory nuts that Striped Chipmunk had had for his +Thanksgiving dinner, and how Striped Chipmunk had given him some of them +to bring home. He was very sure that they were the very same nuts that +he had watched grow big and fat in the top of the tall hickory tree and +then had knocked down while chasing his cousin, Chatterer. When they had +reached the ground and found the nuts gone, Happy Jack had at once +suspected that Striped Chipmunk had taken them, and now he felt sure +about it. + +But all at once things looked very different to Happy Jack, and the more +he thought about how he had acted, the more ashamed of himself he grew. + +"There certainly must have been enough of those nuts for all of us, and +if I hadn't been so greedy we might all have had a share. As it is, I've +got only those that Striped Chipmunk gave me, and Chatterer has only +those that Striped Chipmunk gave him. It must be that that sharp little +cousin of mine with the striped coat has got the rest, and I guess he +deserves them." + +Then all of a sudden Happy Jack realized how Striped Chipmunk had +fooled him into thinking that the storehouse of Chatterer was his +storehouse, and Happy Jack began to laugh. The more he thought of it, +the harder he laughed. + +"The joke certainly is on me!" he exclaimed. "The joke certainly is on +me, and it served me right. Hereafter I'll mind my own business. If I +had spent half as much time looking for hickory nuts as I did looking +for Striped Chipmunk's storehouse, I would be ready for winter now, and +Chatterer couldn't call me a thief." + +Then he laughed again as he thought how Striped Chipmunk must have +enjoyed seeing him pulled out of Chatterer's storehouse by the tail. + +"What's the joke?" asked Bobby Coon, who happened along just then. + +"I've just learned a lesson," replied Happy Jack. + +"What is it?" asked Bobby. + +Happy Jack grinned as he answered: + + "I've found that greed will never, never pay. + It makes one cross and ugly, and it drives one's friends away. + And being always selfish and always wanting more, + One's very apt to lose the things that one has had before." + +"Pooh!" said Bobby Coon. "Have you just found that out? I learned that a +long time ago." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +HAPPY JACK GETS A WARNING + + It matters not how smart you are, + So be it you are heedless too. + It isn't what you know that counts + So much as what it is to you. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +A fat Gray Squirrel is very tempting to a number of people in the Green +Forest, particularly in winter, when getting a living is hard work. +Almost every day Reddy and Granny Fox stole softly through that part of +the Green Forest where Happy Jack Squirrel lived, hoping to surprise and +catch him on the ground. But they never did. Roughleg the Hawk and +Hooty the Owl wasted a great deal of time, sitting around near Happy +Jack's home, hoping to catch him when he was not watching, but they +never did. + +Happy Jack knew all about these big hungry neighbors, and he was always +on the watch for them. He knew their ways and just where they would be +likely to hide. He took the greatest care to look into every such hiding +place near at hand before he ventured down out of the trees, and because +these hungry neighbors are so big, he never had any trouble in seeing +them if they happened to be around. So Happy Jack didn't do much +worrying about them. The fact is, Happy Jack wasn't afraid of them at +all, for the simple reason that he knew they couldn't follow him into +his hollow tree. + +Having nuts stored away, he would have been perfectly happy but for one +thing. Yes, Sir, there was only one thing to spoil Happy Jack's complete +happiness, and that was the fear that Shadow the Weasel might take it +into his head to pay him a visit. Shadow can go through a smaller hole +than Happy Jack can, and so Happy Jack knew that while he was wholly +safe from his other enemies, he wasn't safe at all from Shadow the +Weasel. And this worried him. Yes, Sir, it worried Happy Jack. He hadn't +seen or heard of Shadow for a long time, but he had a feeling that he +was likely to turn up almost any time, especially now that everything +was covered with snow and ice, and food was scarce and hard to get. He +sometimes actually wished that he wasn't as fat as he was. Then he would +be less tempting to his hungry neighbors. + +But no good comes of worrying. No, Sir, not a bit of good comes of +worrying, and Happy Jack knows it. + +"All I can do is to watch out and not be careless," said he, and dropped +the shell of a nut on the head of Reddy Fox, who happened to be passing +under the tree in which Happy Jack was sitting. Reddy looked up and +showed his teeth angrily. Happy Jack laughed and scampered away through +the tree-tops to another part of the Green Forest where he had some very +secret stores of nuts. + +He was gone most of the day, and when he started back home he was in the +best of spirits, for his stores had not been found by any one else. He +was in such good spirits that for once he quite forgot Shadow the +Weasel. He was just going to pop into his doorway without first looking +inside, a very foolish thing to do, when he heard some one calling him. +He turned to see Tommy Tit the Chickadee hurrying towards him, and it +was very clear that Tommy was greatly excited. + +"Hello, Tommy Tit! What ails you?" exclaimed Happy Jack. + +"Don't go in there, Happy Jack!" cried Tommy Tit. "Shadow the Weasel is +in there waiting for you!" + +Happy Jack turned quite pale. "Are you sure?" he gasped. + +Tommy Tit nodded as if he would nod his head off. "I saw him go in, and +he hasn't come out, for I've kept watch," said he. "You better get away +from here before he knows you are about." + +That was good advice, but it was too late. Even as Tommy Tit spoke, a +sharp face with red, angry eyes was thrust out of Happy Jack's doorway. +It was the face of Shadow the Weasel. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +HAPPY JACK'S RUN FOR LIFE + + A coward he who runs away + When he should stay and fight, + But wise is he who knows when he + Should run with all his might. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +It isn't cowardly to run away when it is quite useless to stay and +fight. So it wasn't so cowardly of Happy Jack Squirrel to turn tail and +run the instant he caught sight of Shadow the Weasel. No, Sir, it wasn't +cowardly at all, although it might have looked so to you had you been +there to see, for Happy Jack is bigger than Shadow. But when it comes to +a fight, Happy Jack is no match at all for Shadow the Weasel, and he +knows it. Shadow is too quick for him, and though Happy Jack were ever +so brave, he would have no chance at all in a fight with Shadow. + +And so the very instant he saw the cruel face of Shadow with its fierce +red eyes glaring at him from his own doorway, Happy Jack turned tail and +ran. Yes, Sir, that is just what he did, and it was the wisest thing he +could have done. He hoped with a mighty hope that Shadow would not +follow him, but he hoped in vain. Shadow had made up his mind to dine on +Squirrel, and he didn't propose to see his dinner run away without +trying to catch it. So the instant Happy Jack started, Shadow started +after him, stopping only long enough to snarl an ugly threat at Tommy +Tit the Chickadee, because Tommy had warned Happy Jack that Shadow was +waiting for him. + +But Tommy didn't mind that threat. Oh, my, no! Tommy didn't mind it at +all. He can fly, and so he had no fear of Shadow the Weasel. But he was +terribly afraid for Happy Jack. He knew, just as Happy Jack knew, that +there wasn't a single place where Happy Jack could hide into which +Shadow could not follow him. So Tommy flitted from tree to tree behind +Happy Jack, hoping that in some way he might be able to help him. + +From tree to tree raced Happy Jack, making desperately long leaps. +Shadow the Weasel followed, and though he ran swiftly, he didn't appear +to be hurrying, and he took no chances on those long leaps. If the leap +was too long to take safely, Shadow simply ran back down the tree, +across to the next one and up that. It didn't worry him at all that +Happy Jack was so far ahead that he was out of sight. He knew that he +could trust his nose to follow the scent of Happy Jack. In fact, it +rather pleased him to have Happy Jack race away in such fright, for in +that way he would soon tire himself out. + +And this is just what Happy Jack did do. He ran and jumped and jumped +and ran as fast as he could until he was so out of breath that he just +had to stop for a rest. But he couldn't rest much. He was too terribly +frightened. He shivered and shook while he got his breath, and never for +a second did he take his eyes from his back trail. Presently he saw a +slim white form darting along the snow straight towards the tree in +which he was resting. Once more Happy Jack ran, and somehow he felt +terribly helpless and hopeless. + +He had to rest oftener now, and each rest was shorter than the one +before, because, you know, Shadow was a less and less distance behind. +Poor Happy Jack! He had tried every trick he knew, and not one of them +had fooled Shadow the Weasel. Now he was too tired to run much farther. +The last little bit of hope left Happy Jack's heart. He blinked his eyes +very fast to keep back the tears, as he thought that this was probably +the last time he would ever look at the beautiful Green Forest he loved +so. Then he gritted his teeth and made up his mind that anyway he would +fight his best, even if it was hopeless. It was just at that very minute +that he heard the voice of Tommy Tit the Chickadee calling to him in +great excitement, and somehow, he didn't know why, a wee bit of hope +sprang up in his heart. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +WHO SAVED HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL? + + Blessed he whose words of cheer + Help put hope in place of fear. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +It never has been fully decided among the little people of the Green +Forest and the Green Meadows just who really did save Happy Jack +Squirrel. Some say that Tommy Tit the Chickadee deserves all the credit, +and some say that--but wait. Let me tell you just what happened, and +then perhaps you can decide for yourself who saved Happy Jack. + +You see, it was this way: Happy Jack had run and run and run and tried +every trick he knew to get away from Shadow the Weasel, but all in vain. +At last he was so out of breath and so tired that he felt that he +couldn't run any more. He had just made up his mind that he would wait +right where he was for Shadow and then put up the best fight he could, +even if it was hopeless, when he heard Tommy Tit calling to him in great +excitement. + +[Illustration: HAPPY JACK TRIED EVERY TRICK HE KNEW TO GET AWAY FROM +SHADOW THE WEASEL.] + +"Dee, dee, chickadee! Come here quick, Happy Jack! Come here quick!" +called Tommy Tit. + +A wee bit of hope sprang up in Happy Jack's heart. He couldn't imagine +what possible help Tommy Tit could be, but he would go see. So taking +a long breath he started on as fast as he could in the direction of +Tommy's voice. He couldn't run very fast, because, you know, he was so +tired, but he did the best he could. Presently he saw Tommy just ahead +of him flying about in great excitement. + +"Dee, dee, dee, there he is! Go to him! Go to him, Happy Jack! Hurry! +Hurry! Dee, dee, dee, oh, do hurry!" cried Tommy Tit. + +For just a second Happy Jack didn't know what he meant. Then he saw +Farmer Brown's boy watching Tommy Tit as if he didn't know what to make +of the little fellow's excitement. + +"Go to him! Go to him!" called Tommy. "He won't hurt you, and he won't +let Shadow the Weasel hurt you! See me! See me! Dee, dee, see me!" And +with that Tommy Tit flew right down on Farmer Brown's boy's hand, for +you know he and Farmer Brown's boy are great friends. + +Happy Jack hesitated. He knew that Farmer Brown's boy had tried to make +friends with him, and every day since the ice and snow had come had put +out nuts and corn for him, but he couldn't quite forget the old fear of +him. He couldn't quite trust him. So now he hesitated. Then he looked +back. Shadow the Weasel was only a few jumps behind him, and his little +eyes glowed red and savage. Farmer Brown's boy might not hurt him, but +Shadow certainly would. Shadow would kill him. Happy Jack made up his +mind, and with a little gasp raced madly across the snow straight to +Farmer Brown's boy and ran right up to his shoulder. + +Shadow the Weasel had been so intent on catching Happy Jack that he +hadn't noticed Farmer Brown's boy at all. Now he saw him for the first +time and stopped short, snarling and spitting. Whatever else you may say +of Shadow the Weasel, he is no coward. For a minute it looked as if he +really meant to follow Happy Jack and get him in spite of Farmer Brown's +boy, and Happy Jack trembled as he looked down into those angry little +red eyes. But Shadow knows when he is well off, and now he knew better +than to come a step nearer. So he snarled and spit, and then, as Farmer +Brown's boy took a step forward, leaped to one side and disappeared in +the old stone wall. + +Very gently and softly Farmer Brown's boy talked to Happy Jack as he +took him to the nearest tree. Then, when Happy Jack was safely up in the +tree, he went over to the stone wall and tried to drive Shadow the +Weasel out. He pulled over the stones until at last Shadow jumped out, +and then Farmer Brown's boy chased him clear into the Green Forest. + +"Dee, dee, dee, what did I tell you?" cried Tommy Tit happily, as he +flew over to where Happy Jack was sitting. + +Now who really saved Happy Jack--Tommy Tit or Farmer Brown's boy? + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +HAPPY JACK MISSES FARMER BROWN'S BOY + + + One and one are always two, + And two and two are four. + And just as true it is you'll find + That love and love make more. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Go ask Happy Jack Squirrel. He knows. He knows because he has proved it. +It began when Farmer Brown's boy saved him from Shadow the Weasel. +Perhaps I should say when Farmer Brown's boy and Tommy Tit saved him, +for if it hadn't been for Tommy, it never would have entered Happy +Jack's head to run to Farmer Brown's boy. After that, of course, Happy +Jack and Farmer Brown's boy became great friends. Farmer Brown's boy +came over to the Green Forest every day to see Happy Jack, and always he +had the most delicious nuts in his pockets. At first Happy Jack had been +a wee bit shy. He couldn't quite get over that old fear he had had so +long. Then he would remember how Farmer Brown's boy had saved him, and +that would make him ashamed, and he would walk right up and take the +nuts. + +Farmer Brown's boy would talk to him in the nicest way and tell him that +he loved him, and that there wasn't the least thing in the world to be +afraid of. Pretty soon Happy Jack began to love Farmer Brown's boy a +little. He couldn't help it. He just had to love any one who was so kind +and gentle to him. Now as soon as he began to love a little, and felt +sure in his own heart that Farmer Brown's boy loved him a little, he +found that love and love make more love, and it wasn't any time at all +before he had become very fond of Farmer Brown's boy, so fond of him +that he was almost jealous of Tommy Tit, who had been a friend of Farmer +Brown's boy for a long time. It got so that Happy Jack looked forward +each day to the visit of Farmer Brown's boy, and as soon as he heard his +whistle, he would hasten to meet him. Some folks were unkind enough to +say that it was just because of the nuts and corn he was sure to find in +Farmer Brown's boy's pockets, but that wasn't so at all. + +At last there came a day when he missed that cheery whistle. He waited +and waited. At last he went clear to the edge of the Green Forest, but +there was no whistle and no sign of Farmer Brown's boy. It was the same +way the next day and the next. Happy Jack forgot to frisk about the way +he usually does. He lost his appetite. He just sat around and moped. + +When Tommy Tit the Chickadee came to call, as he did every day, Happy +Jack found that Tommy was anxious too. Tommy had been up to Farmer +Brown's dooryard several times, and he hadn't seen anything of Farmer +Brown's boy. + +"I think he must have gone away," said Tommy. + +"He would have come down here first and said good-by," replied Happy +Jack. + +"You--you don't suppose something has happened to him, do you?" asked +Tommy. + +"I don't know. I don't know what to think," replied Happy Jack, soberly. +"Do you know, Tommy, I've grown very fond of Farmer Brown's boy." + +"Of course. Dee, dee, dee, of course. Everybody who really knows him is +fond of him. I've said all along that he is the best friend we've got, +but no one seemed to believe me. I'm glad you've found it out for +yourself. I tell you what, I'll go up to his house and have another look +around." And without waiting for a reply, Tommy was off as fast as his +little wings could take him. + +"I hope, I do hope, that nothing has happened to him," mumbled Happy +Jack, as he pretended to hunt for buried nuts while he waited for Tommy +Tit to come back, and by "him" he meant Farmer Brown's boy. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +TOMMY TIT BRINGS NEWS + +No one knows too much, but many know too little. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack very plainly was not happy. His name was the only happy thing +about him. He fussed about on the edge of the Green Forest. He just +couldn't keep still. When he thought anybody was looking, he pretended +to hunt for some of the nuts he had buried in the fall, and dug holes +down through the snow. But as soon as he thought that no one was +watching, he would scamper up a tree where he could look over to Farmer +Brown's house and look and look. It was very clear that Happy Jack was +watching for some one and that he was anxious, very anxious, indeed. + +It was getting late in the afternoon, and soon the Black Shadows would +begin to creep out from the Purple Hills, behind which jolly, round, red +Mr. Sun would go to bed. It would be bedtime for Happy Jack then, for +you know he goes to bed very early, just as soon as it begins to get +dark. The later it got, the more anxious and uneasy Happy Jack grew. He +had just made up his mind that in a few minutes he would have to give up +and go to bed when there was a flit of tiny wings, and Tommy Tit the +Chickadee dropped into the tree beside him. + +"Did you find out anything?" asked Happy Jack eagerly, before Tommy had +a chance to say a word. + +[Illustration: "DID YOU FIND OUT ANYTHING?" ASKED HAPPY JACK EAGERLY.] + +Tommy nodded. "He's there!" he panted, for he was quite out of breath +from hurrying so. + +"Where?" Happy Jack fairly shouted the question. + +"Over there in the house," replied Tommy Tit. + +"Then he hasn't gone away! It's just as I said, he hasn't gone away!" +cried Happy Jack, and he was so relieved that he jumped up and down and +as a result nearly tumbled out of the tree. + +"No," replied Tommy, "he hasn't gone away, but I think there is +something the matter with him." + +Happy Jack grew very sober. "What makes you think so?" he demanded. + +"If you'll give me time to get my breath, I'll tell you all about it," +retorted Tommy Tit. + +"All right, only please hurry," replied Happy Jack, and tried to look +patient even if he wasn't. + +Tommy Tit smoothed out some rumpled feathers and was most provokingly +slow about it. "When I left here," he began at last, "I flew straight up +to Farmer Brown's house, as I said I would. I flew all around it, but +all I saw was that horrid Black Pussy on the back doorsteps, and she +looked at me so hungrily that she made me dreadfully uncomfortable. I +don't see what Farmer Brown keeps her about for, anyway." + +"Never mind her; go on!" interrupted Happy Jack. + +"Then I flew all around the barn, but I didn't see any one there but +that ugly little upstart, Bully the English Sparrow, and he wanted to +pick a fight with me right away." Tommy looked very indignant. + +"Never mind him, go on!" cried Happy Jack impatiently. + +"After that I flew back to the big maple tree close by the house," +continued Tommy. "You know Farmer Brown's boy has kept a piece of suet +tied in that tree all winter for me. I was hungry, and I thought I +would get a bite to eat, but there wasn't any suet there. That pig of a +Sammy Jay had managed to get it untied and had carried it all away. Of +course that made me angry, and twice as hungry as before. I was trying +to make up my mind what to do next when I happened to look over on the +window sill, and what do you think I saw there?" + +"What?" demanded Happy Jack eagerly. + +"A lot of cracked hickory nuts!" declared Tommy. "I just knew that they +were meant for me, and when I was sure that the way was clear, I flew +over there. They tasted so good that I almost forgot about Farmer +Brown's boy, when I just happened to look in the window. You know those +windows are made of some queer stuff that looks like ice and isn't, and +that you can see right through." + +Happy Jack didn't know, for he never had been near enough to see, but he +nodded, and Tommy Tit went on. + +"There were many queer things inside, and I was wondering what they +could be when all of a sudden I saw _him_. He was lying down, and there +was something the matter with him. I tapped on the window to him and +then I hurried back here." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +HAPPY JACK DECIDES TO MAKE A CALL + + You'll find when all is said and done + Two heads are better far than one. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack Squirrel hadn't slept very well. He had had bad dreams. Ever +so many times in the night he had waked up, a very unusual thing for +Happy Jack. The fact is, he had something on his mind. Yes, Sir, Happy +Jack had something on his mind, and that something was Farmer Brown's +boy. He often had had Farmer Brown's boy on his mind before, but in a +very different way. Then it had been in the days when Farmer Brown's boy +hunted through the Green Forest and over the Green Meadows with his +terrible gun. Then everybody had Farmer Brown's boy on their minds most +of the time. Happy Jack had hated him then, hated him because he had +feared him. You know fear almost always leads to hate. But now it was +different. Farmer Brown's boy had put away his terrible gun. Happy Jack +no longer feared him. Love had taken the place of hate in his heart, for +had not Farmer Brown's boy saved him from Shadow the Weasel, and brought +him nuts and corn when food was scarce? And now Tommy Tit had brought +word that some thing was the matter with Farmer Brown's boy. It was this +that was on Happy Jack's mind and had given him such a bad night. + +As soon as it was daylight, Happy Jack scrambled out of bed to look for +Tommy Tit. He didn't have long to wait, for Tommy is quite as early a +riser as Happy Jack. + + + "Dee, dee, chickadee! + I hope you feel as well as me!" + +sang Tommy merrily, as he flitted over to where Happy Jack was looking +for his breakfast. The very sound of Tommy's voice made Happy Jack feel +better. One must feel very badly indeed not to be a little more cheerful +when Tommy Tit is about. The fact is, Tommy Tit packs about so much +good cheer in that small person of his, that no one can be downhearted +when he is about. + +"Hello, Tommy," said Happy Jack. "If I could make other people feel as +good as you do, do you know what I would do?" + +"What?" asked Tommy. + +"I'd go straight up to Farmer Brown's house and try to cheer up Farmer +Brown's boy," replied Happy Jack. + +"That's the very thing I have in mind," chuckled Tommy. "I've come over +here to see if you won't come along with me. I've been up to his house +so often that he won't think half so much of a visit from me as he will +from you. Will you do it?" + +Happy Jack looked a little startled. You see, he never had been over to +Farmer Brown's house, and somehow he couldn't get over the idea that it +would be a very dangerous thing to do. "I--I--do you really suppose I +could?" he asked. + +"I'm sure of it," replied Tommy Tit. "There's no one to be afraid of but +Black Pussy and Bowser the Hound, and it's easy enough to keep out of +their way. You can hide in the old stone wall until the way is clear and +then run across to the big maple tree close to the house. Then you can +look right in and see Farmer Brown's boy, and he can look out and see +you. Will you do it?" + +Happy Jack thought very hard for a few minutes. Then he made up his +mind. "I'll do it!" said he in a very decided tone of voice. "Let's +start right away." + +"Good for you! Dee, dee, good for you!" cried Tommy Tit, and started to +lead the way. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +TOMMY TIT AND HAPPY JACK PAY A VISIT + + As grows the mighty elm tree, + From just a tiny seed, + So often great things happen + From just a kindly deed. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Great things were happening to Happy Jack Squirrel. He was actually on +his way to Farmer Brown's house, and he had a feeling that other things +were likely to happen when he got there. Now you may not think that it +was anything very great that Happy Jack should be on his way to Farmer +Brown's house. Very likely you are saying, "Pooh! that's nothing!" This +may be true, and then again it may not. Suppose you do a little +supposing. Suppose you had all your life been terribly afraid of a great +giant fifty times bigger than you. Suppose that great giant had stopped +hunting you and by little deeds of kindness had at last won your love. +Suppose you learned that something was the matter with him, and you made +up your mind to visit him at his great castle where there were other +great giants whom you did not know. Wouldn't you think that great things +were happening to you? + +Well, that is exactly the way it was with Happy Jack Squirrel, as he +and Tommy Tit the Chickadee started to go over to Farmer Brown's house +to look for Farmer Brown's boy. Tommy Tit had been there often, so he +didn't think anything about it, but Happy Jack never had been there, and +if the truth were known, his heart was going pitapat, pitapat, with +excitement and perhaps just a little fear. Through the Old Orchard they +went, Tommy Tit flitting ahead and keeping a sharp watch for danger. +When they reached the old stone wall on the edge of Farmer Brown's +dooryard, Tommy told Happy Jack to hide there while he went to see if +the way was clear. He was back in a few minutes. + +"Dee, dee, everything is all right," said he. "Bowser the Hound is +eating; his breakfast out back where he can't see you at all, and Black +Pussy is nowhere about. All you have to do is to follow me over to that +big tree close to the house, and I will show you where Farmer Brown's +boy is." + +"I--I'm afraid," confessed Happy Jack. + +"Pooh! There's nothing to be afraid of," asserted Tommy Tit in the most +positive way. "Don't be a coward. Remember how Farmer Brown's boy saved +you from Shadow the Weasel. Come on! Dee, dee, dee, come on!" With that +Tommy flew across to the tree close by the house. + +Happy Jack scrambled up on the old stone wall and looked this way and +looked that way. He couldn't see a thing to be afraid of. He jumped down +and ran a few steps. Then his heart failed, and he scampered back to the +old stone wall in a panic. After a few minutes he tried again, and once +more a foolish fear sent him back. The third time he gritted his teeth, +said to himself over and over, "I will! I will! I will!" and ran with +all his might. In no time at all he was across the dooryard and up in +the big tree, his heart pounding with excitement. + +"Dee, dee, dee," called Tommy Tit. + +Happy Jack looked over to the house, and there sat Tommy on a +window-sill, helping himself to the most delicious-looking cracked nuts. +The sight of them made Happy Jack's mouth water. A long branch hung down +over the window and almost touched the sill. Happy Jack ventured half +way and stopped. Somehow it seemed very dangerous to go so close to that +window. + +"Come on! Come on! What are you afraid of?" called Tommy. + +Something like shame that such a little fellow as Tommy Tit should dare +to go where he did not, crept into Happy Jack's heart. With a quick +little run and jump he was on the sill, and a second later he was +staring in at all the strange things inside. At first he didn't see +anything of Farmer Brown's boy, but in a few minutes he made him out. He +was lying down all covered over except his head. There _was_ something +the matter with him. Happy Jack didn't need to be told that, and a great +pity filled his heart. He wanted to do something for Farmer Brown's boy. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH FARMER BROWN'S BOY? + +He who climbs the highest has the farthest to fall, +but often it is worth the risk. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +All the way home from his visit to Farmer Brown's house Happy Jack +Squirrel puzzled and wondered over what he had seen. He had peeped in at +a window and seen Farmer Brown's boy lying all covered up, with only his +head showing. Happy Jack couldn't see very well, but somehow that head +didn't look just right. One thing was sure, and that was there was +something wrong with Farmer Brown's boy. He never would have been lying +still like that if there hadn't been. + +Happy Jack had been so troubled by what he saw that he had hardly tasted +the nuts he had found on the window-sill. "I am going to make him +another call to-morrow," said he when he and Tommy Tit were once more +back in the Green Forest. + +"Of course," replied Tommy. "I expected you would. I will be around for +you at the same time. You're not afraid any more to go up there, are +you?" + +"No-o," replied Happy Jack, slowly. The truth is, he was still a little +afraid. It seemed to him a terribly venturesome thing to cross that +open dooryard, but having done it once in safety, he knew that it would +be easier the next time. It was. The next morning he and Tommy Tit went +just as before, and this time Happy Jack scampered across the dooryard +the very first time he tried. They found things just as they had been +the day before. They saw Farmer Brown's boy, but he didn't see them. +Tommy Tit was just going to tap on the window to let him know they were +there, when a door inside opened, and in walked Mrs. Brown. It +frightened them so that Tommy Tit flew away without tasting a single +nut, and Happy Jack nearly fell as he scrambled back into the tree close +by the window. You see, they never had made her acquaintance, and +having her walk in so suddenly frightened them terribly. They didn't +stop to think that there was nothing to fear because there was the +window between. Somehow they couldn't understand that queer stuff that +they could see through but which shut them out. If they had seen Mrs. +Brown go to the window and put more cracked nuts on the sill, perhaps +they would have been less afraid. But they had been too badly frightened +to look back, and so they didn't know anything about that. + +The next morning Tommy Tit was on hand as usual, but he found Happy +Jack a little doubtful about paying another visit. He wasn't wholly over +his scare of the day before. It took him some time to make up his mind +to go, but finally he did. This time when they reached the tree close by +the house, they found a great surprise awaiting them. Farmer Brown's boy +was sitting just inside the window, looking out. At least, they thought +it was Farmer Brown's boy, but when they got a little nearer, they grew +doubtful. It looked like Farmer Brown's boy, and yet it didn't. His +cheeks stuck way out just as Striped Chipmunk's do when he has them +stuffed full of corn or nuts. + +Happy Jack stared at him very hard. "My goodness, I didn't know he +carried his food that way!" he exclaimed. "I should think it would be +dreadfully uncomfortable." + +If Farmer Brown's boy could have heard that, he certainly would have +tried to laugh, and if he had--well, it was bad enough when he tried to +smile at the sight of Tommy Tit and Happy Jack. He didn't smile at all +but made up an awful face instead and clapped both hands to his cheeks. +Happy Jack and Tommy Tit didn't know what to make of it, and it was some +time before they made up their minds that it really was Farmer Brown's +boy, and that they had nothing to fear. But when they finally ventured +on to the sill and, as they helped themselves to nuts, saw the smile in +his eyes, though he did not smile with his mouth at all, they knew that +it was he, and that he was glad that they had called. Then they were +glad too. + +But what was the matter with Farmer Brown's boy? Happy Jack puzzled over +it all the rest of the day, and then gave it up. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL GROWS VERY BOLD + + When you find a friend in trouble + Pass along a word of cheer. + Often it is very helpful + Just to feel a friend is near. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Every day Happy Jack visited the window sill of Farmer Brown's house to +call on Farmer Brown's boy, who was always waiting for him just inside +the window. In fact Happy Jack had got into the habit of getting his +breakfast there, for always there were fat, delicious nuts on the +window-sill, and it was much easier and more comfortable to breakfast +there than to hunt up his own hidden supplies and perhaps have to dig +down through the snow to get them. Most people are just like Happy +Jack--they do the easiest thing. + +Each day Farmer Brown's boy looked more and more like himself. His +cheeks stuck out less and less, and finally did not stick out at all. +And now he smiled at Happy Jack with his mouth as well as with his eyes. +You know when his cheeks had stuck out so, he couldn't smile at all +except with his eyes. Happy Jack didn't know what had been the matter +with Farmer Brown's boy, but whatever it was, he was better now, and +that made Happy Jack feel better. + +One morning he got a surprise. When he ran out along the branch of the +tree that led to the window-sill he suddenly discovered something wrong. +There were no nuts on the sill! More than this there was something very +suspicious looking about the window. It didn't look just right. The +truth is it was partly open, but Happy Jack didn't understand this, not +then, anyway. He stopped short and scolded, a way he has when things +don't suit him. Farmer Brown's boy came to the window and called to him. +Then he thrust a hand out, and in it were some of the fattest nuts Happy +Jack ever had seen. His mouth watered right away. There might be +something wrong with the window, but certainly the sill was all right. +It would do no harm to go that far. + +So Happy Jack nimbly jumped across to the window-sill. Farmer Brown's +boy's hand with the fat nuts was still there, and Happy Jack lost no +time in getting one. Then he sat up on the sill to eat it. My, but it +was good! It was just as good as it had looked. Happy Jack's eyes +twinkled as he ate. When he had finished that nut, he wanted another. +But now Farmer Brown's boy had drawn his hand inside the window. He was +still holding it out with the nuts in it, but to get them Happy Jack +must go inside, and he couldn't get it out of his head that that was a +very dangerous thing to do. What if that window should be closed while +he was in there? Then he would be a prisoner. + +So he sat up and begged. He knew that Farmer Brown's boy knew what he +wanted. But Farmer Brown's boy kept his hand just where it was. + +"Come on, you little rascal," said he. "You ought to know me well enough +by this time to know that I won't hurt you or let any harm come to you. +Hurry up, because I can't stand here all day. You see, I've just got +over the mumps, and if I should catch cold I might be sick again. Come +along now, and show how brave you are." + +Of course Happy Jack couldn't understand what he said. If he could +have, he might have guessed that it was the mumps that had made Farmer +Brown's boy look so like Striped Chipmunk when he has his cheeks stuffed +with nuts. But if he couldn't understand what Farmer Brown's boy said, +he had no difficulty in understanding that if he wanted those nuts he +would have to go after them. So at last he screwed up his courage and +put his head inside. Nothing happened, so he went wholly in and sat on +the inside sill. Then by reaching out as far as he could without +tumbling off, he managed to get one of those nuts, and as soon as he had +it, he dodged outside to eat it. + +Farmer Brown's boy laughed, and putting the rest of the nuts outside, +he closed the window. Happy Jack ate his fill and then scampered back to +the Green Forest. He felt all puffed up with pride. He felt that he had +been very, very bold, and he was anxious to tell Tommy Tit the +Chickadee, who had not been with him that morning, how bold he had been. + +"Pooh, that's nothing!" replied Tommy, when he had heard about it. "I've +done that often." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +HAPPY JACK DARES TOMMY TIT + + A wise philosopher is he + Who takes things as they chance to be, + And in them sees that which is best + While trying to forget the rest. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Somehow Happy Jack's day had been spoiled. He knew that he had no +business to allow it to be spoiled, but it was, just the same. You see, +he had been all puffed up with pride because he thought himself a very +bold fellow because he had really been inside Farmer Brown's house. He +couldn't help feeling quite puffed up about it. But when he told Tommy +Tit the Chickadee about it, Tommy had said, "Pooh! I've done that +often." + +That was what had spoiled the day for Happy Jack. He knew that if Tommy +Tit said that he had done a thing, he had, for Tommy always tells the +truth and nothing but the truth. So Happy Jack hadn't been so dreadfully +bold, after all, and had nothing to brag about. It made him feel quite +put out. He actually tried to make himself feel that it was all the +fault of Tommy Tit, and that he wanted to get even with him. He thought +about it all the rest of the day, and just before he fell asleep that +night an idea came to him. + +"I know what I'll do! I'll dare Tommy to go as far inside Farmer +Brown's house as I do!" he exclaimed, and went to sleep to dream that he +was the boldest, bravest squirrel that ever lived. + +The next morning when he reached the tree close by Farmer Brown's house, +he found Tommy Tit already there, flitting about impatiently and calling +his loudest, which wasn't very loud, for you know Tommy is a very little +fellow, and his voice is not very loud. But he was doing his best to +call Farmer Brown's boy. You see, there wasn't a single nut on the +window-sill, and the window was closed. Pretty soon Farmer Brown's boy +came to the window and opened it. But he didn't put out any nuts. Tommy +Tit at once flew over to the sill, and to show that he was just as +bold, Happy Jack followed. Looking inside, they saw Farmer Brown's boy +standing in the middle of the room, holding out a dish of nuts and +smiling at them. This was the chance Happy Jack wanted to try the plan +he had thought of the night before. + +"I dare you to go way in there and get a nut," said he to Tommy Tit. He +hoped that Tommy would be afraid. + +But Tommy wasn't anything of the kind. "Dee, dee, dee! Come on!" he +cried, and flitted over and helped himself to a cracked nut and was back +with it before Happy Jack could make up his mind to jump down inside. +Of course now that he had dared Tommy Tit, and Tommy had taken the dare, +he just had to do it too. It looked a long way in to where Farmer +Brown's boy was standing. Twice he started and turned back. Then he +heard Tommy Tit chuckle. That was too much. He wouldn't be laughed at. +He just wouldn't. He scampered across, grabbed a nut, and rushed back to +the window-sill, where he ate the nut. It was easier to go after the +second nut, and when he went for the third, he had made up his mind that +it was perfectly safe in there, and so he sat up on a chair and ate it. +Presently he felt quite at home, and when he had eaten all the nuts he +wanted, he ran all around the room, examining all the strange things +there. + +This was a little more than Tommy Tit could make up his mind to do. He +wasn't afraid to fly in for a nut and then fly out again, but he +couldn't feel easy inside a house like that. Of course, this made Happy +Jack feel good all over. You see, he felt that now he really did have +something to boast about. No one else in all the Green Forest or on the +Green Meadows could say that they had been all over Farmer Brown's boy's +room as he had. Happy Jack swelled himself out at the thought. Now +everybody would say, "What a bold fellow!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + + +SAMMY JAY IS QUITE UPSET + + I know of nothing sweeter than + Success to Squirrel or to man. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Very few people can be all puffed up with pride without showing it. +Happy Jack Squirrel couldn't. Just to have looked at him you would have +known that he was feeling very, very good about something. When he +thought no one was looking, he would actually strut. And it was all +because he considered himself a very bold fellow. That was a new feeling +for Happy Jack. He knew that all his neighbors considered him rather +timid, and many a time he had envied, actually envied Jimmy Skunk and +Reddy Fox and Unc' Billy Possum and even Sammy Jay because they did such +bold things and had dared to visit Farmer Brown's dooryard and henhouse +in spite of Bowser the Hound. + +But now he felt that he dared do a thing that not one of them dared do. +He dared go right into Farmer Brown's house and make himself quite at +home in the room of Farmer Brown's boy. He felt that he was a +tremendously brave fellow. You see, he quite forgot one thing. He forgot +that he had found out that love destroys fear, and that though it might +look to others like a very bold thing to walk right into Farmer Brown's +house, it really wasn't bold at all, because all the time he _knew_ that +no harm would come to him. It is never brave to do a thing that you are +not afraid to do. It had been brave of him to go in at that open window +the first time, because then he had been afraid, but now he wasn't +afraid, and so it was no longer either brave or bold of him. + +Tommy Tit the Chickadee knew all this, and he used to chuckle to himself +as he saw how proud of himself Happy Jack was, but he said nothing to +any one about it. Of course, it wasn't long before others began to +notice Happy Jack's pride. One of the first was Sammy Jay. There is +very little that escapes Sammy Jay's sharp eyes. Silently stealing +through the Green Forest early one morning, he surprised Happy Jack +strutting. + +"Huh," said he, "what are you feeling so big about?" + +Like a flash the thought came to Happy Jack that here was a chance to +show what a bold fellow he had become. "Hello, Sammy!" he exclaimed. +"Are you feeling very brave this morning?" + +"Me feeling brave? What are you talking about? If I was as timid as you +are, I wouldn't ever talk about bravery to other people. If there is +anything you dare to do that I don't, I've never heard of it," retorted +Sammy Jay. + +"Come on!" cried Happy Jack. "I'm going to get my breakfast, and I dare +you to follow me!" + +Sammy Jay actually laughed right out. "Go ahead. Wherever you go, I'll +go," he declared. + +Happy Jack started right away for Farmer Brown's house, and Sammy +followed. Through the Old Orchard, across the dooryard and into the big +maple tree Happy Jack led the way, and Sammy followed, all the time +wondering what was up. He had been there many times. In fact, he had had +many a good meal of suet there during the cold weather, for Farmer +Brown's boy had kept a big piece tied to a branch of the maple tree for +those who were hungry. + +Sammy was a little surprised when he saw Happy Jack jump over on to the +window-sill. Still, he had been on that window-sill more than once +himself, when he had made sure that no one was near, and had helped +himself to the cracked nuts he had found there. + +"Come on!" called Happy Jack, his eyes twinkling. + +Sammy Jay chuckled. "He thinks I don't dare go over there," he thought. +"Well, I'll fool him." + +With a hasty look to see that no danger was near, he spread his wings to +follow Happy Jack on to the window-sill. Happy Jack waited to make sure +that he really was coming and then slipped in at the open window and +scampered over to a table on the farther side of the room and helped +himself from a dish of nuts there. + +When Sammy saw Happy Jack disappear inside he gave a little gasp. When +he looked inside and saw Happy Jack making himself quite at home, he +gasped again. And when he saw a door open and Farmer Brown's boy enter, +and still Happy Jack did not run, he was too upset for words. He didn't +dare stay to see more, and for once in his life was quite speechless as +he flew back to the Green Forest. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +A DREAM COMES TRUE + + What are all our dreams made up of + That they often are so queer? + Wishes, hopes, and fond desires + All mixed up with foolish fears. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Which is worse, to have a very beautiful dream never come true, or to +have a bad dream really come true? Happy Jack Squirrel says the latter +is worse, much worse. Dreams do come true once in a great while, you +know. One of Happy Jack's did. It came true, and it made a great +difference in Happy Jack's life. You see, it was like this: + +Happy Jack had had so many things to think of that he had almost +forgotten about Shadow the Weasel. Happy Jack hadn't seen or heard +anything of him since Farmer Brown's boy had chased him into the Green +Forest and so saved Happy Jack's life. Since then life had been too full +of pleasant things to think of anything so unpleasant as Shadow the +Weasel. But one night Happy Jack had a bad dream. Yes, Sir, it was a +very bad dream. He dreamed that once more Shadow the Weasel was after +him, and this time there was no Farmer Brown's boy to run to for help. +Shadow was right at his heels and in one more jump would have him. +Happy Jack opened his mouth to scream, and--awoke. + +He was all ashake with fright. It was a great relief to find that it was +only a dream, but even then he couldn't get over it right away. He was +glad that it was almost morning, and just as soon as it was light enough +to see, he crept out. It was too early to go over to Farmer Brown's +house; Farmer Brown's boy wouldn't be up yet. So Happy Jack ran over to +one of his favorite lookouts, a tall chestnut tree, and there, with his +back against the trunk, high above the ground, he watched the Green +Forest wake as the first Sunbeams stole through it. But all the time he +kept thinking of that dreadful dream. + +A little spot of black moving against the white snow caught his sharp +eyes. What was it? He leaned forward and held his breath, as he tried to +make sure. Ah, now he could see! Just ahead of that black thing was a +long, slim fellow all in white, and that black spot was his tail. If it +hadn't been for that, Happy Jack very likely wouldn't have seen him at +all. It was Shadow the Weasel! He was running swiftly, first to one side +and then to the other, with his nose to the snow. He was hunting. There +was no doubt about that. He was hunting for his breakfast. + +Happy Jack's eyes grew wide with fear. Would Shadow find his tracks? It +looked very much as if Shadow was heading for Happy Jack's house, and +Happy Jack was glad, very glad, that that bad dream had waked him and +made him so uneasy that he had come out. Otherwise he might have been +caught right in his own bed. Shadow was almost at Happy Jack's house +when he stopped abruptly with his nose to the snow and sniffed eagerly. +Then he turned, and with his nose to the snow, started straight toward +the tree where Happy Jack was. Happy Jack waited to see no more. He knew +now that Shadow had found his trail and that it was to be a case of run +for his life. + +"My dream has come true!" he sobbed as he ran. "My dream has come true, +and I don't know what to do!" But all the time he kept on running as +fast as ever he could, which really was the only thing to do. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +HAPPY JACK HAS A HAPPY THOUGHT + + Who runs when danger comes his way + Will live to run some other day. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Frightened and breathless, running with all his might from Shadow the +Weasel, Happy Jack Squirrel was in despair. He didn't know what to do or +where to go. The last time he had run from Shadow he had run to Farmer +Brown's boy, who had just happened to be near, and Farmer Brown's boy +had chased Shadow the Weasel away. But now it was too early in the +morning for him to expect to meet Farmer Brown's boy. In fact, jolly, +round, red Mr. Sun had hardly kicked his bedclothes off yet, and Happy +Jack was very sure that Farmer Brown's boy was still asleep. + +Now most of us are creatures of habit. We do the thing that we have been +in the habit of doing, and do it without thinking anything about it. +That is why good habits are such a blessing. Happy Jack Squirrel is just +like the rest of us. He has habits, both good and bad. Of late, he had +been in the habit of getting his breakfast at Farmer Brown's house every +morning, so now when he began to run from Shadow the Weasel he just +naturally ran in the direction of Farmer Brown's house from force of +habit. In fact, he was halfway there before he realized in which +direction he was running. + +Right then a thought came to him. It gave him a wee bit of hope, and +seemed to help him run just a little faster. If the window of Farmer +Brown's boy's room was open, he would run in there, and perhaps Shadow +the Weasel wouldn't dare follow! How he did hope that that window would +be open! He knew that it was his only chance. He wasn't quite sure that +it really was a chance, for Shadow was such a bold fellow that he might +not be afraid to follow him right in, but it was worth trying. + +Along the stone wall beside the Old Orchard raced Happy Jack to the +dooryard of Farmer Brown, and after him ran Shadow the Weasel, and +Shadow looked as if he was enjoying himself. No doubt he was. He knew +just as well as Happy Jack did that there was small chance of meeting +Farmer Brown's boy so early in the morning, so he felt very sure how +that chase was going to end, and that when it did end he would breakfast +on Squirrel. + +By the time Happy Jack reached the dooryard, Shadow was only a few jumps +behind him, and Happy Jack was pretty well out of breath. He didn't stop +to look to see if the way was clear. There wasn't time for that. +Besides, there could be no greater danger in front than was almost at +his heels, and so, without looking one way or another, he scampered +across the dooryard and up the big maple tree close to the house. Shadow +the Weasel was surprised. He had not dreamed that Happy Jack would come +over here. But Shadow is a bold fellow, and it made little difference to +him where Happy Jack went. At least, that is what he thought. + +So he followed Happy Jack across the dooryard and up the maple tree. He +took his time about it, for he knew by the way Happy Jack had run that +he was pretty nearly at the end of his strength. "He never'll get out of +this tree," thought Shadow, as he started to climb it. He fully +expected to find Happy Jack huddled in a miserable little heap somewhere +near the top. Just imagine how surprised he was when he discovered that +Happy Jack wasn't to be seen. He rubbed his angry little red eyes, and +they grew angrier and redder than before. + +"Must be a hollow up here somewhere," he muttered. "I'll just follow the +scent of his feet, and that will lead me to him." + +But when that scent led him out on a branch the tip of which brushed +against Farmer Brown's house Shadow got another surprise. There was no +sign of Happy Jack. He couldn't have reached the roof. There was no +place he could have gone unless--. Shadow stared across at a window open +about two inches. + +"He couldn't have!" muttered Shadow. "He wouldn't dare. He couldn't +have!" + +But Happy Jack had. He had gone inside that window. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +FARMER BROWN'S BOY WAKES WITH A START + + Never think another crazy just because it happens you + Never've heard of just the thing that they have started out to do. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Isn't it queer how hard it seems to be for some boys to go to bed at the +proper time and how much harder it is for them to get up in the morning? +It was just so with Farmer Brown's boy. I suppose he wouldn't have been +a real boy if it hadn't been so. Of course, while he was sick with the +mumps, he didn't have to get up, and while he was getting over the +mumps his mother let him sleep as long as he wanted to in the morning. +That was very nice, but it made it all the harder to get up when he +should after he was well again. In summer it wasn't so bad getting up +early, but in winter--well, that was the one thing about winter that +Farmer Brown's boy didn't like. + +On this particular morning Farmer Brown had called him, and he had +replied with a sleepy "All right." and then had rolled over and promptly +gone to sleep again. In two minutes he was dreaming just as if there +were no such things as duties to be done. For a while they were very +pleasant dreams, very pleasant indeed. But suddenly they changed. A +terrible monster was chasing him. It had great red eyes as big as +saucers, and sparks of fire flew from its mouth. It had great claws as +big as ice tongs, and it roared like a lion. In his dream Farmer Brown's +boy was running with all his might. Then he tripped and fell, and +somehow he couldn't get up again. The terrible monster came nearer and +nearer. Farmer Brown's boy tried to scream and couldn't. He was so +frightened that he had lost his voice. The terrible monster was right +over him now and reached out one of his huge paws with the great claws. +One of them touched him on the cheek, and it burned like fire. + +With a yell, a real, genuine yell, Farmer Brown's boy awoke and sprang +out of bed. For a minute he couldn't think where he was. Then with a +sigh of relief he realized that he was safe in his own snug little room +with the first Jolly Little Sunbeam creeping in at the window to wish +him good morning and chide him for being such a lazy fellow. A thump and +a scurry of little feet caught his attention, and he turned to see a +Gray Squirrel running for the open window. It jumped up on the sill, +looked out, then jumped down inside again, and ran over to a corner of +the room, where he crouched as if in great fear. It was clear that he +had been badly frightened by the yell of Farmer Brown's boy, and that he +was still more frightened by something he had seen when he looked out of +the window. + +A great light broke over Farmer Brown's boy. "Happy Jack, you little +rascal, I believe you are the terrible monster that scared me so!" he +exclaimed. "I believe you were on my bed, and that it was your claws +that I felt on my face. But what ails you? You look frightened almost to +death." + +He went over to the window and looked out. A movement in the big maple +tree just outside caught his attention. He saw a long, slim white form +dart down the tree and disappear. He knew who it was. It was Shadow the +Weasel. + +"So that pesky Weasel has been after you again, and you came to me for +help," said he gently, as he coaxed Happy Jack to come to him. "This is +the place to come to every time. Poor little chap, you're all of a +tremble. I guess I know how you feel when a Weasel is after you. I guess +you feel just as I felt when I dreamed that that monster was after me. +My, but you certainly did give me a scare when you touched my face!" He +gently stroked Happy Jack as he talked, and Happy Jack let him. + +"Breakfast!" called a voice from downstairs. + +"Coming!" replied Farmer Brown's boy as he put Happy Jack on the table +by a dish of nuts and began to scramble into his clothes. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +HAPPY JACK IS AFRAID TO GO HOME + +Safety first is the best rule to insure a long life. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack didn't dare go home. Can you think of anything more dreadful +than to be afraid to go to your own home? Why, home is the dearest place +in the world, and it should be the safest. Just think how you would feel +if you should be away from home, and then you should learn that it +wouldn't be safe for you to go back there again, and you had no other +place to go. It often happens that way with the little people of the +Green Meadows and the Green Forest. It was that way with Happy Jack +Squirrel now. + +You see, Happy Jack knew that Shadow the Weasel is not one to give up +easily. Shadow has one very good trait, and that is persistence. He is +not easily discouraged. When he sets out to do a thing, usually he does +it. If he starts to get a thing, usually he gets it. No, he isn't easily +discouraged. Happy Jack knows this. No one knows it better. So Happy +Jack didn't dare to go home. He knew that any minute of night or day +Shadow might surprise him there, and that would be the end of him. He +more than half suspected that Shadow was at that very time hiding +somewhere along the way ready to spring out on him if he should try to +go back home. + +He had stayed in the room of Farmer Brown's boy until Mrs. Brown had +come to make the bed. Then he had jumped out the window into the big +maple tree. He wasn't quite sure of Mrs. Brown yet. She had kindly eyes. +They were just like the eyes of Farmer Brown's boy. But he didn't feel +really acquainted yet, and he felt safer outside than inside the room +while she was there. + + "Oh dear, oh dear! What shall I do? + I have no home, and so + To keep me warm and snug and safe + I have no place to go!" + +Happy Jack said this over and over as he sat in the maple tree, trying +to decide what was to be done. + +"I wonder what ails that Squirrel. He seems to be doing a lot of +scolding," said Mrs. Brown, as she looked out of the window. And that +shows how easy it is to misunderstand people when we don't know all +about their affairs. Mrs. Brown thought that Happy Jack was scolding, +when all the time he was just frightened and worried and wondering where +he could go and what he could do to feel safe from Shadow the Weasel. + +Because he didn't dare to go back to the Green Forest, he spent most of +the day in the big maple tree close to Farmer Brown's house. The window +had been closed, so he couldn't go inside. He looked at it longingly a +great many times during the day, hoping that he would find it open. But +he didn't. You see, it was opened only at night when Farmer Brown's boy +went to bed, so that he would have plenty of fresh air all night. Of +course Happy Jack didn't know that. All his life he had had plenty of +fresh air all the time, and be couldn't understand how people could live +in houses all shut up. + +Late that afternoon Farmer Brown's boy, who had been at school all day, +came whistling into the yard. He noticed Happy Jack right away. "Hello! +You back again! Isn't one good meal a day enough?" he exclaimed. + +"He's been there all day," said his mother, who had come to the door +just in time to overhear him. "I don't know what ails him." + +Then Farmer Brown's boy noticed how forlorn Happy Jack looked. He +remembered Happy Jack's fright that morning. + +"I know what's the matter!" he cried. "It's that Weasel. The poor little +chap is afraid to go home. We must see what we can do for him. I wonder +if he will stay if I make a new house for him. I believe I'll try it and +see." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +HAPPY JACK FINDS A NEW HOME + + They say the very darkest clouds + Are lined with silver bright and fair, + Though how they know I do not see, + And neither do I really care. + It's good to believe, and so I try + To believe 'tis true with all my might, + That nothing is so seeming dark + But has a hidden side that's bright. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Certainly things couldn't look much darker than they did to Happy Jack +Squirrel as he sat in the big maple tree at the side of Farmer Brown's +house, and saw jolly, round, red Mr. Sun getting ready to go to bed +behind the Purple Hills. He was afraid to go to his home in the Green +Forest because Shadow the Weasel might be waiting for him there. He was +afraid of the night which would soon come. He was cold, and he was +hungry. Altogether he was as miserable a little Squirrel as ever was +seen. + +He had just made up his mind that he would have to go look for a hollow +in one of the trees in the Old Orchard in which to spend the night, when +around the corner of the house came Farmer Brown's boy with something +under one arm and dragging a ladder. He whistled cheerily to Happy Jack +as he put the ladder against the tree and climbed up. By this time Happy +Jack had grown so timid that he was just a little afraid of Farmer +Brown's boy, so he climbed as high up in the tree as he could get and +watched what was going on below. Even if he was afraid, there was +comfort in having Farmer Brown's boy near. + +For some time Farmer Brown's boy worked busily at the place where the +branch that Happy Jack knew so well started out from the trunk of the +tree towards the window of Farmer Brown's boy's room. When he had fixed +things to suit him, he went down the ladder and carried it away with +him. In the crotch of the tree he had left the queer thing that he had +brought under his arm. In spite of his fears, Happy Jack was curious. +Little by little he crept nearer. What he saw was a box with a round +hole, just about big enough for him to go through, in one end, and in +front of it a little shelf. On the shelf were some of the nuts that he +liked best. + +For a long time Happy Jack looked and looked. Was it a trap? Somehow he +couldn't believe that it was. What would Farmer Brown's boy try to trap +him for when they were such good friends? At last the sight of the nuts +was too much for him. It certainly was safe enough to help himself to +those. How good they tasted! Almost before he knew it, they were gone. +Then he got up courage enough to peep inside. The box was filled with +soft hay. It certainly did look inviting in there to a fellow who had no +home and no place to go. He put his head inside. Finally he went wholly +in. It was just as nice as it looked. + +"I believe," thought Happy Jack, "that he made this little house just +for me, and that he put all this hay in here for my bed. He doesn't know +much about making a bed, but I guess he means well." + +With that he went to work happily to make up a bed to suit him, and by +the time the first Black Shadow had crept as far as the big maple tree, +Happy Jack was curled up fast asleep in his new house. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + +FARMER BROWN'S BOY TAKES A PRISONER + + The craftiest and cleverest, the strongest and the bold + Will make mistakes like other folks, young, middle-aged, and old. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Happy Jack Squirrel was happy once more. He liked his new house, the +house that Farmer Brown's boy had made for him and fastened in the big +maple tree close by the house in which he himself lived. Happy Jack and +Farmer Brown's boy were getting to be greater friends than ever. Every +morning Happy Jack jumped over to the window-sill and then in at the +open window of the room of Farmer Brown's boy. There he was sure to find +a good breakfast of fat hickory nuts. When Farmer Brown's boy overslept, +as he did sometimes, Happy Jack would jump up on the bed and waken him. +He thought this great fun. So did Farmer Brown's boy, though sometimes +when he was very sleepy he pretended to scold, especially on Sunday +mornings when he did not have to get up as early as on other days. + +Of course, Black Pussy had soon discovered that Happy Jack was living in +the big maple tree, and she spent a great deal of time sitting at the +foot of it and glaring up at him with a hungry look in her eyes, +although she wasn't hungry at all, for she had plenty to eat. Several +times she climbed up in the tree and tried to catch him. At first he had +been afraid, but he soon found out that Black Pussy was not at all at +home in a tree as he was. After that, he rather enjoyed having her try +to catch him. It was almost like a game. It was great fun to scold at +her and let her get very near him and then, just as she was sure that +she was going to catch him, to jump out of her reach. After a while she +was content to sit at the foot of the tree and just glare at him. + +Happy Jack had only one worry now, and this didn't trouble him a great +deal. It was possible that Shadow the Weasel might take it into his head +to try to surprise him some night. Happy Jack knew that by this time +Shadow must know where he was living, for of course Sammy Jay had found +out, and Sammy is one of those who tells all he knows. Still, being so +close to Farmer Brown's boy gave Happy Jack a very comfortable feeling. + +Now all this time Farmer Brown's boy had not forgotten Shadow the Weasel +and how he had driven Happy Jack out of the Green Forest, and he had +wondered a great many times if it wouldn't be a kindness to the other +little people if he should trap Shadow and put him out of the way. But +you know he had given up trapping, and somehow he didn't like to think +of setting a trap, even for such a mischief-maker as Shadow. Then +something happened that made Farmer Brown's boy very, very angry. One +morning, when he went to feed the biddies, he found that Shadow had +visited the henhouse in the night and killed three of his best pullets. +That decided him. He felt sure that Shadow would come again, and he +meant to give Shadow a surprise. He hunted until he found the little +hole through which Shadow had got into the henhouse, and there he set a +trap. + +"I don't like to do it, but I've got to," said he. "If he had been +content with one, it would have been bad enough, but he killed three +just from the love of killing, and it is high time that something be +done to get rid of him." + +The very next morning Happy Jack saw Farmer Brown's boy coming from the +henhouse with something under his arm. He came straight over to the foot +of the big maple tree and put the thing he was carrying down on the +ground. He whistled to Happy Jack, and as Happy Jack came down to see +what it was all about, Farmer Brown's boy grinned. "Here's a friend of +yours you probably will be glad to see," said he. + +At first, all Happy Jack could make out was a kind of wire box. Then he +saw something white inside, and it moved. Very suspiciously Happy Jack +came nearer. Then his heart gave a great leap. That wire box was a cage, +and glaring between the wires with red, angry eyes was Shadow the +Weasel! He was a prisoner! Right away Happy Jack was so excited that he +acted as if he were crazy. He no longer had a single thing to be afraid +of. Do you wonder that he was excited? + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +A PRISONER WITHOUT FEAR + +A bad name is easy to get but hard to live down. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Shadow the Weasel was a prisoner. He who always had been free to go and +come as he pleased and to do as he pleased was now in a little narrow +cage and quite helpless. For once he had been careless, and this was the +result. Farmer Brown's boy had caught him in a trap. Of course, he +should have known better than to have visited the henhouse a second time +after killing three of the best pullets there. He should have known +that Farmer Brown's boy would be sure to do something about it. The +truth is, he had yielded to temptation when common sense had warned him +not to. So he had no one to blame for his present difficulty but +himself, and he knew it. + +At first he had been in a terrible rage and had bitten at the wires +until he had made his mouth sore. When he had made sure that the wires +were stouter than his teeth, he wisely stopped trying to get out in that +way, and made up his mind that the only thing to do was to watch for a +chance to slip out, if the door of the cage should happen to be left +unfastened. + +Of course it hurt his pride terribly to be made fun of by those who +always had feared him. Happy Jack Squirrel was the first one of these to +see him. Farmer Brown's boy had put the cage down near the foot of the +big maple tree in which Happy Jack was living, because Shadow had driven +him out of the Green Forest. As soon as Happy Jack had made sure that +Shadow really and truly was a prisoner and so quite harmless, he had +acted as if he were crazy. Perhaps he was--crazy with joy. You see, he +no longer had anything to be really afraid of, for there was no one but +Shadow from whom he could not get away by running into his house. Billy +Mink was the only other one who could follow him there, and Billy was +not likely to come climbing up a tree so close to Farmer Brown's house. + +So Happy Jack raced up and down the tree in the very greatest +excitement, and his tongue went quite as fast as his legs. He wanted +everybody to know that Shadow was a prisoner at last. At first he did +not dare go very close to the cage. You see, he had so long feared +Shadow that he was still afraid of him even though he was so helpless. +But little by little Happy Jack grew bolder and came very close. And +then he began doing something not at all nice. He began calling Shadow +names and making fun of him, and telling him how he wasn't afraid of +him. It was all very foolish and worse--it was like hitting a foe who +was helpless. + +Of course Happy Jack hastened to tell everybody he met all about Shadow, +so it wasn't long before Shadow began to receive many visitors. Whenever +Farmer Brown's boy was not around there was sure to be one or more of +the little people who had feared Shadow to taunt him and make fun of +him. Somehow it seems as if always it is that way when people get into +trouble. You know it is very easy to appear to be bold and brave when +there is nothing to be afraid of. Of course that isn't bravery at all, +though many seem to think it is. + +[Illustration: IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE SHADOW BEGAN TO RECEIVE MANY +VISITORS.] + +Now what do you think that right down in their hearts all these little +people who came to jeer at Shadow the Weasel hoped they would see? Why, +they hoped they would see Shadow afraid. Yes, Sir, that is just what +they hoped. But they didn't. That is where they were disappointed. Not +once did Shadow show the least sign of fear. He didn't know what Farmer +Brown's boy would do with him, and he had every reason to fear that if +he was not to be kept a prisoner for the rest of his natural life, +something dreadful would be the end. But he was too proud and too brave +to let any one know that any such fear ever entered his mind. Whatever +his faults, Shadow is no coward. He boldly took bits of meat which +Farmer Brown's boy brought to him, and not once appeared in the least +afraid, so that, much as he disliked him, Farmer Brown's boy actually +had to admire him. He was a prisoner, but he kept just as stout a heart +as ever. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI + +WHAT FARMER BROWN'S BOY DID WITH SHADOW + + Ribble, dibble, dibble, dab! + Some people have the gift of gab! + Some people have no tongues at all + To trip them up and make them fall. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +It is a fact, one of the biggest facts in all the world, that tongues +make the greatest part of all the trouble that brings uncomfortable +feelings, and bitterness and sadness and suffering and sorrow. If it +wasn't for unruly, careless, mean tongues, the Great World would be a +million times better to live in, a million times happier. It is because +of his unruly tongue that Sammy Jay is forever getting into trouble. It +is the same way with Chatterer the Red Squirrel. And it is just the same +way with a great many little boys and girls, and with grown-ups as well. + +When the little people of the Green Forest and Green Meadows who fear +Shadow the Weasel found that he was a prisoner, many of them took +particular pains to visit him when the way was clear, just to make fun +of him and tease him and tell him that they were not afraid of him and +that they were glad that he was a prisoner, and that they were sure +something dreadful would happen to him and they hoped it would. Shadow +said never a word in reply. He was too wise to do that. He just turned +his back on them. But all the time he was storing up in his mind all +these hateful things, and he meant, if ever he got free again, to make +life very uncomfortable for those whose foolish tongues were trying to +make him more miserable than he already felt. + +But these little people with the foolish tongues didn't stop to think of +what might happen. They just took it for granted that Shadow never again +would run wild and free in the Green Forest, and so they just let their +tongues run and enjoyed doing it. Perhaps they wouldn't have, if they +could have known just what was going on in the mind of Farmer Brown's +boy. Ever since he had found Shadow in the trap which he had set for him +in the henhouse, Farmer Brown's boy had been puzzling over what he +should do with his prisoner. At first he had thought he would keep him +in a cage the rest of his life. But somehow, whenever he looked into +Shadow's fierce little eyes and saw how unafraid they looked, he got to +thinking of how terrible it must be to be shut up in a little narrow +cage when one has had all the Green Forest in which to go and come. Then +he thought that he would kill Shadow and put him out of his misery at +once. + +"He killed my pullets, and he is always hunting the harmless little +people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows, so he deserves to be +killed," thought Farmer Brown's boy. "He's a pest." + +Then he remembered that after all Shadow was one of Old Mother Nature's +little people, and that he must serve some purpose in Mother Nature's +great plan. Bad as he seemed, she must have some use for him. Perhaps it +was to teach others through fear of him how to be smarter and take +better care of themselves and so be better fitted to do their parts. The +more he thought of this, the harder it was for Farmer Brown's boy to +make up his mind to kill him. But if he couldn't keep him a prisoner +and he couldn't kill him, what could he do? + +He was scowling down at Shadow one morning and puzzling over this when a +happy idea came to him. "I know what I'll do!" he exclaimed. Without +another word he picked up the cage with Shadow in it and started off +across the Green Meadows, which now, you know, were not green at all but +covered with snow. Happy Jack watched him out of sight. He had gone in +the direction of the Old Pasture. He was gone a long time, and when he +did return, the cage was empty. + +Happy Jack blinked at the empty cage. Then he began to ask in a +scolding tone, "What did you do with him? What did you do with him?" + +Farmer Brown's boy just smiled and tossed a nut to Happy Jack. And far +up in the Old Pasture, Shadow the Weasel was once more free. It was well +for Happy Jack's peace of mind that he didn't know that. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII + +HAPPY JACK IS PERFECTLY HAPPY + + Never say a thing is so + Unless you absolutely know. + Just remember every day + To be quite sure of what you say. + + _Happy Jack._ + + +Taking things for granted doesn't do at all in this world. To take a +thing for granted is to think that it is so without taking the trouble +to find out whether it is or not. It is apt not only to get you yourself +into trouble, but to make trouble for other people as well. Happy Jack +saw Farmer Brown's boy carry Shadow the Weasel away in a cage, and he +saw him bring back the cage empty. What could he have done with Shadow? +For a while he teased Farmer Brown's boy to tell him, but of course +Farmer Brown's boy didn't understand Happy Jack's language. + +Now Happy Jack knew just what he would like to believe. He would like to +believe that Farmer Brown's boy had taken Shadow away and made an end of +him. And because he wanted to believe that, it wasn't very hard to +believe it. There was the empty cage. Of course Farmer Brown's boy +wouldn't have gone to the trouble of trapping Shadow unless he intended +to get rid of him for good. + +"He's made an end of him, that's what he's done!" said Happy Jack to +himself, because that is what he would have done if he had been in +Farmer Brown's boy's place. So having made up his mind that this is what +had been done with Shadow, he at once told all his friends that it was +so, and was himself supremely happy. You see, he felt that he no longer +had anything to worry about. Yes, Sir, Happy Jack was happy. He liked +the house Farmer Brown's boy had made for him in the big maple tree +close by his own house. He was sure of plenty to eat, because Farmer +Brown's boy always looked out for that, and as a result Happy Jack was +growing fat. None of his enemies of the Green Forest dared come so near +to Farmer Brown's house, and the only one he had to watch out for at +all was Black Pussy. By this time he wasn't afraid of her; not a bit. In +fact, he rather enjoyed teasing her and getting her to chase him. When +she was dozing on the doorstep he liked to steal very close, wake her +with a sharp bark, and then race for the nearest tree, and there scold +her to his heart's content. He had made friends with Mrs. Brown and with +Farmer Brown, and he even felt almost friends with Bowser the Hound. +Sometimes he would climb up on the roof of Bowser's little house and +drop nutshells on Bowser's head when he was asleep. The funny thing was +Bowser never seemed to mind. He would lazily open his eyes and wink one +of them at Happy Jack and thump with his tail. He seemed to feel that +now Happy Jack was one of the family, just as he was. + +So Happy Jack was just as happy as a fat Gray Squirrel with nothing to +worry him could be. He was so happy that Sammy Jay actually became +jealous. You know Sammy is a born trouble maker. He visited Happy Jack +every morning, and while he helped himself to the good things that he +always found spread for him, for Farmer Brown's boy always had something +for the little feathered folk to eat, he would hint darkly that such +goodness and kindness was not to be trusted, and that something was sure +to happen. That is just the way with some folks; they always are +suspicious. + +But nothing that Sammy Jay could say troubled Happy Jack; and Sammy +would fly away quite put out because he couldn't spoil Happy Jack's +happiness the least little bit. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII + +SAMMY JAY UPSETS HAPPY JACK + +A good deed well done often is overlooked, +but you never are allowed to forget a mistake. + +_Happy Jack._ + + +Sammy Jay chuckled as he flew across the snow-covered Green Meadows on +his way to his home in the Green Forest. He chuckled and he chuckled. To +have heard him you would have thought that either he had thought of +something very pleasant, or something very pleasant had happened to him. +Once he turned in the direction of Farmer Brown's house, but changed his +mind as he saw the Black Shadows creeping out from the Purple Hills, +and once more headed for the Green Forest. + +"Too late to-day. Time I was home now. It'll keep until to-morrow," he +muttered. Then he chuckled, and he was still chuckling when he reached +the big hemlock tree, among the thick branches of which he spent each +night. + +"Don't know what started me off to the Old Pasture this afternoon, but +I'm glad I went. My, my, my, but I'm glad I went," said he, as he +fluffed out his feathers and prepared to tuck his head under his wing. +"It pays to snoop around in this world and see what is going on. I +learned a long time ago not to believe everything I hear, and that the +surest way to make sure of things is to find out for myself. Nothing +like using my own eyes and my own ears. Well, I must get to sleep." He +began to chuckle again, and he was still chuckling as he fell asleep. + +The next morning Sammy Jay was astir at the very first sign of light. He +waited just long enough to see that every feather was in place, for +Sammy is a bit vain, and very particular about his dress. Then he headed +straight for Farmer Brown's house. Just as he expected he found Happy +Jack Squirrel was awake, for Happy Jack is an early riser. + +"Good morning," said Sammy Jay, and tried very hard to make his voice +sound smooth and pleasant, a very hard thing for Sammy to do, for his +voice, you know, is naturally harsh and unpleasant. "You seem to be +looking as happy as ever." + +"Of course I am," replied Happy Jack. "Why shouldn't I be? I haven't a +thing to worry about. Of course I'm happy, and I hope you're just as +happy as I am. I'm going to get my breakfast now, and then I'll be +happier still." + +"That's so. There's nothing like a good breakfast to make one happy," +said Sammy Jay, helping himself to some suet tied to a branch of the +maple tree. "By the way, I saw an old friend of yours yesterday. He +inquired after you particularly. He didn't exactly send his love, but he +said that he hoped you are as well and fat as ever, and that he will see +you again some time. He said that he didn't know of any one he likes to +look at better than you." + +Happy Jack looked flattered. "That was very nice of him," said he. "Who +was it?" + +"Guess," replied Sammy. + +Happy Jack scratched his head thoughtfully. There were not many friends +in winter. Most of them were asleep or had gone to the far away +southland. + +"Peter Rabbit," he ventured. + +Sammy shook his head. + +"Jimmy Skunk!" + +Again Sammy shook his head. + +"Jumper the Hare!" + +"Guess again," said Sammy, chuckling. + +"Little Joe Otter!" + +"Wrong," replied Sammy. + +"I give up. Who was it? Do tell me," begged Happy Jack. + +"It was Shadow the Weasel!" cried Sammy, triumphantly. + +Happy Jack dropped the nut he was just going to eat, and in place of +happiness something very like fear grew and grew in his eyes. "I--I +don't believe you," he stammered. "Farmer Brown's boy took him away and +put an end to him. I saw him take him." + +"But you didn't see him put an end to Shadow," declared Sammy, "because +he didn't. He took him 'way up in the Old Pasture and let him go, and I +saw him up there yesterday. That's what comes of guessing at things. +Shadow is no more dead than you are. Well, I must be going along. I hope +you'll enjoy your breakfast." + +With this, off flew Sammy Jay, chuckling as if he thought he had done a +very smart thing in upsetting Happy Jack, which goes to show what queer +ideas some people have. + +As for Happy Jack, he worried for a while, but as Shadow didn't come, +and there was nothing else to worry about, little by little Happy Jack's +high spirits returned, until he was as happy as ever. And now, though +he has had many adventures since then, I must leave him, for there is no +more room in this book. Perhaps if you ask him, he will tell you of +these other adventures himself. Meanwhile, bashful little Mrs. Peter +Rabbit is anxious that you should know something about her. So I have +promised to call the next book, "Mrs. Peter Rabbit." + + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Happy Jack, by Thornton Burgess + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAPPY JACK *** + +***** This file should be named 13355.txt or 13355.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/3/5/13355/ + +Produced by Stephen Schulze and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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