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Project Gutenberg's The Tale of Jolly Robin, by Arthur Scott Bailey
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Title: The Tale of Jolly Robin
Author: Arthur Scott Bailey
Illustrator: Harry L. Smith
Release Date: March 9, 2009 [EBook #28293]
Language: English
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<hr class='pb' />
<h1>THE TALE OF JOLLY ROBIN</h1>
<hr class='pb' />
<table width="300" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" summary="" style='border:1px solid black'>
<tr><td>
<table width="250" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="">
<tr><td align="center">
<i>TUCK-ME-IN TALES</i><br />
<span style='font-size:smaller; margin-bottom:.5em;'>(Trademark Registered)</span><br />
<span class="smcap">by</span><br />
ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY<br />
<span class="smcap">author of</span><br />
SLEEPY-TIME TALES<br />
<span style='font-size:smaller; margin-bottom:.5em;'>(Trademark Registered)</span>
</td></tr>
<tr><td><hr class='p15' /></td></tr>
<tr><td align="left">
<span class="smcap">
The Tale of Jolly Robin<br />
The Tale of Old Mr. Crow<br />
The Tale of Solomon Owl<br />
The Tale of Jasper Jay<br />
The Tale of Rusty Wren<br />
The Tale of Daddy Longlegs<br />
The Tale of Kiddie Katydid<br />
The Tale of Buster Bumblebee<br />
The Tale of Freddy Firefly<br />
The Tale of Betsy Butterfly<br />
The Tale of Bobby Bobolink<br />
The Tale or Chirpy Cricket<br />
The Tale of Mrs. Ladybug<br />
The Tale of Reddy Woodpecker<br />
The Tale of Grandmother Goose</span>
</td></tr>
</table>
</td></tr>
</table>
<hr class='pb' />
<div class='figcenter'>
<a name='linki_1' id='linki_1'></a>
<img src='images/illus-fpc.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 327px; height: 469px;' /><br />
<p class='caption' style='margin: 0 auto; text-align:center;width: 327px;'>
Jolly Robin Asks Jasper Jay About The Sign<br />
<i>Frontispiece—(Page 44)</i><br />
</p>
</div>
<hr class='pb' />
<table width="350" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="" style='border:1px solid silver'>
<col style="width:80%;" />
<tr>
<td align="center">
<span style="font-size: 100%;text-decoration:underline"><br /><i>TUCK-ME-IN TALES</i></span><br /><br />
<span style="font-size: 200%;">THE TALE OF</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 200%;">JOLLY ROBIN</span><br /><br /><br />
<span style="font-size: 80%;">BY</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;">ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY</span><br /><br />
<span style="font-size: 80%;">Author of</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;">“SLEEPY-TIME TALES”</span><br /><br /><br />
<span style="font-size: 80%;">(Trademark Registered)</span><br /><br /><br />
<span style="font-size: 80%;">ILLUSTRATED BY</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;">HARRY L. SMITH</span><br /><br /><br />
<span style="font-size: 80%;">NEW YORK</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;">GROSSET & DUNLAP</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 80%;">PUBLISHERS</span><br /><br /><br />
<span style="font-size: 80%;">Made in the United States of America</span><br /><br />
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr class='pb' />
<p style='text-align:center'>Copyright, 1917, by<br />
GROSSET & DUNLAP</p>
<hr class='pb' />
<h2>TABLE OF CONTENTS</h2>
<table border='0' width='400' cellpadding='2' cellspacing='0' summary='Contents' style='margin:1em auto;'>
<tr>
<td align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-size:small;'>CHAPTER</span></td>
<td></td>
<td align='right'><span style='font-size:small;'>PAGE</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>I</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>Nestlings </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#I_NESTLINGS'>1</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>II</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>Learning to Fly </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#II_LEARNING_TO_FLY'>6</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>III</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>The Wide, Wide World </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#III_THE_WIDE_WIDE_WORLD'>11</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>IV</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>What Jolly Did Best </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#IV_WHAT_JOLLY_DID_BEST'>16</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>V</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>Laughing for Mr. Crow </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#V_LAUGHING_FOR_MR_CROW'>21</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>VI</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>Tickling a Nose </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#VI_TICKLING_A_NOSE'>26</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>VII</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>A New Way to Travel </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#VII_A_NEW_WAY_TO_TRAVEL'>33</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>VIII</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>Jolly is Left Behind </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#VIII_JOLLY_IS_LEFT_BEHIND'>38</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>IX</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>Jolly’s Mistake </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#IX_JOLLYS_MISTAKE'>43</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>X</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>The White Giant </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#X_THE_WHITE_GIANT'>48</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XI</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>What a Snowball Did </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XI_WHAT_A_SNOWBALL_DID'>53</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XII</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>Jolly Feels Better </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XII_JOLLY_FEELS_BETTER'>57</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XIII</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>The Hermit </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XIII_THE_HERMIT'>64</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XIV</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>One or Two Blunders </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XIV_ONE_OR_TWO_BLUNDERS'>69</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XV</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>Lost—A Cousin! </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XV_LOSTA_COUSIN'>74</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XVI</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>Jealous Jasper Jay </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XVI_JEALOUS_JASPER_JAY'>80</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XVII</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>Only a Rooster </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XVII_ONLY_A_ROOSTER'>86</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XVIII</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>On Top of the Barn </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XVIII_ON_TOP_OF_THE_BARN'>91</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XIX</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>Curious Mr. Crow </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XIX_CURIOUS_MR_CROW'>96</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XX</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>The Four-Armed Man </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XX_THE_FOURARMED_MAN'>101</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXI</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>A Doleful Ditty </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXI_A_DOLEFUL_DITTY'>107</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXII</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>Shocking Manners </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXII_SHOCKING_MANNERS'>112</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign='top' align='right' style='padding-right:1em;'>XXIII</td>
<td valign='top' align='left'>A Cold Greeting </td>
<td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#XXIII_A_COLD_GREETING'>117</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr class='pb' />
<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_1' name='page_1'></a>1</span></div>
<h1>THE TALE OF JOLLY ROBIN</h1>
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<a name='I_NESTLINGS' id='I_NESTLINGS'></a>
<h2>I</h2>
<h3>NESTLINGS</h3>
</div>
<p>Of course, there was a time, once, when
Jolly Robin was just a nestling himself.
With two brothers and one sister—all of
them, like him, much spotted with black—he
lived in a house in one of Farmer
Green’s apple trees.</p>
<p>The house was made of grass and leaves,
plastered on the inside with mud, and
lined with softer, finer grass, which his
mother had chosen with the greatest care.</p>
<p>But Jolly never paid much attention to
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_2' name='page_2'></a>2</span>
his first home. What interested him more
than anything else was food. From dawn
till dark, he was always <i>cheeping</i> for something
to eat. And since the other children
were just as hungry as he was, those four
growing babies kept their parents busy
finding food for them. It was then that
Jolly Robin learned to like angleworms.
And though he ate greedily of insects and
bugs, as well as wild berries, he liked
angleworms best.</p>
<p>Jolly and his sister and his brothers
could always tell when their father or their
mother brought home some dainty, because
the moment the parent lighted upon
the limb where the nest was built they
could feel their home sink slightly, from
the added weight upon the branch.</p>
<p>Then the youngsters would set up a loud
squalling, with a great craning of necks
and stretching of orange-colored mouths.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_3' name='page_3'></a>3</span></p>
<p>Sometimes, when the dainty was specially
big, Mr. or Mrs. Robin would say,
“<i>Cuck! cuck!</i>” That meant “Open
wide!” But they seldom found it necessary
to give that order.</p>
<p>Somehow, Jolly Robin managed to eat
more than the rest of the nestlings. And
so he grew faster than the others. He
soon learned a few tricks, too. For instance,
if Mrs. Robin happened to be sitting
on the nest, to keep her family warm,
when Mr. Robin returned with a lunch for
the children, Jolly had a trick that he
played on his mother, in case she didn’t
move off the nest fast enough to suit him.</p>
<p>He would whisper to the rest of the children.
And then they would jostle their
fond parent, lifting her up above them,
and sometimes almost upsetting her, so
that she had hard work to keep from falling
off the nest.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_4' name='page_4'></a>4</span></p>
<p>Mrs. Robin did not like that trick very
well. But she knew that Jolly would not
annoy her with it long. Indeed, he was
only eleven days old when he left his
birthplace and went out into the wide
world.</p>
<p>You see, the young folk grew so fast
that they soon more than filled the house.
So there was nothing their parents could
do but persuade them to leave home and
learn to fly.</p>
<p>One day, therefore, Mr. Robin did not
bring his children’s food to the edge of the
nest and drop it into their mouths. Instead,
he stood on the limb a little distance
away from them and showed them a
plump angleworm.</p>
<p>The sight of that dainty was more than
Jolly Robin could resist. He scrambled
boldly out of the nest; and tottering up to
his father on his wobbling legs, he
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_5' name='page_5'></a>5</span>
snatched the tempting morsel out of his
proud parent’s bill.</p>
<p>Jolly never went back to the nest after
that. The next day Mrs. Robin coaxed the
other children from home in the same
fashion. And though it may seem a heartless
act, it was really the best thing that
could have happened to Jolly and his sister
and his brothers.</p>
<p>You see, they had to learn to fly. And
so long as they stayed in the nest they
could never learn a difficult feat like
flying.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_6' name='page_6'></a>6</span>
<a name='II_LEARNING_TO_FLY' id='II_LEARNING_TO_FLY'></a>
<h2>II</h2>
<h3>LEARNING TO FLY</h3>
</div>
<p>After Jolly Robin had gulped down the
fat angleworm with which his father had
coaxed him to leave the nest, he clung desperately
to the limb. With no food in
sight he had plenty of time to look about
him and to be alarmed.</p>
<p>The day was not gone before he had a
great fright. He tumbled out of the apple
tree and fell squawking and fluttering
upon the ground.</p>
<p>Luckily, his mother happened to be at
home. She went to Jolly at once and told
him not to be afraid.</p>
<p>“Nothing will hurt you,” she said, “if
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_7' name='page_7'></a>7</span>
you’ll only keep still. But if you squall
like that, the cat will find you.”</p>
<p>It may seem strange, but his mother’s
words frightened Jolly all the more. They
scared him so thoroughly that he stopped
making a noise, anyhow. And that was
how he learned never to talk when he was
on the ground near a house where a cat
might live.</p>
<p>“Now,” said Jolly’s mother, as soon as
he was still, “I’ll teach you a new game.
Just watch me!” And spreading her
wings, she flapped them, and sprang into
the air.</p>
<p>Soon Jolly was trying to imitate her.
And it was not long before he found himself
gliding a short distance, skimming
along just off the ground.</p>
<p>But in spite of all his efforts, he
couldn’t help falling again. Though his
mother tried to show him how to fly into a
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_8' name='page_8'></a>8</span>
tree-top, Jolly Robin seemed unable to
learn the trick.</p>
<p>At last Mr. Robin said to his wife:</p>
<p>“I’ll teach him the rest. You’ve made
a good beginning. But he must learn
more at once. There’s no telling when the
cat may come into the orchard to hunt for
field-mice. And you know what would
happen then.”</p>
<p>His wife shuddered. But Mr. Robin
told her not to worry.</p>
<p>“I’ll soon have this youngster so he can
fly as well as anybody,” he declared.</p>
<p>So he went and hopped about on the
ground with Jolly for a little while, showing
him how to find worms beneath the
grass carpet of the orchard.</p>
<p>And then, in a loud voice, Mr. Robin
suddenly cried:</p>
<p>“The cat! The cat!” And he flew into
an old tree near-by.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_9' name='page_9'></a>9</span></p>
<p>Jolly Robin had never seen Farmer
Green’s cat. But he had heard that she
was a dreadful, fierce creature. And when
his father shouted her name Jolly was so
startled that he forgot he didn’t quite
know how to fly. Before he knew what he
was doing, he followed his father right up
into the old apple tree and perched himself
on a low branch.</p>
<p>That was the way he learned to fly, for
he never had the least trouble about it
afterward. And as soon as he realized
that he had actually flown from the
ground to the bough he was so pleased that
he began to laugh merrily.</p>
<p>As for the cat, she was not in the orchard
at all. Indeed, Jolly’s father had
not said that she was. You see, he had
played a joke on his son.</p>
<p>Now, up to that time Jolly Robin had
not been named. You must remember
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_10' name='page_10'></a>10</span>
that he was not two weeks old. And having
three other children of the same age,
his parents had not been able to think of
names for all of them.</p>
<p>But this big youngster laughed so heartily
that his father named him “Jolly,” on
the spot. And “Jolly” he remained ever
afterward.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_11' name='page_11'></a>11</span>
<a name='III_THE_WIDE_WIDE_WORLD' id='III_THE_WIDE_WIDE_WORLD'></a>
<h2>III</h2>
<h3>THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD</h3>
</div>
<p>After he learned to fly, Jolly Robin’s
father took him into the woods to spend
each night in a roost where there were
many other young robins, whose fathers
had likewise brought them there.</p>
<p>Jolly learned a great deal from being
with so many new friends. It was not long
before he could find plenty of food for
himself, without help from anyone.</p>
<p>He discovered, too, that there was safety
in numbers. For example, if Jasper Jay
made too great a nuisance of himself by
bullying a young robin, a mob of robins
could easily put Jasper to flight.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_12' name='page_12'></a>12</span></p>
<p>“<i>Always help other people!</i>” That was
a motto that all the youngsters had to
learn. And another was this: “<i>Follow
your father’s lead!</i>”</p>
<p>Later in the season, in October, when
the robin cousins and uncles and aunts and
sisters and brothers and all the rest of
the relations made their long journey to
their winter homes in the South, Jolly
found that there was a good reason for
such rules. If he hadn’t followed his
father then he might have lost his way,
because—since it was the first time he had
ever been out of Pleasant Valley—he
knew nothing whatever about travelling.</p>
<p>He looked forward with much interest
to the journey, for as the days grew
shorter he heard a great deal of talk about
the trip among his elders. And while he
was waiting for the day when they should
leave he became acquainted with many
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_13' name='page_13'></a>13</span>
new and delicious morsels to eat. He
roamed about picking wild grapes, mulberries
and elderberries. And he did not
scorn a large, green katydid when he
chanced to find one.</p>
<p>There was always some new dainty to be
sampled; though as the weather grew
colder Jolly began to understand that in
winter Pleasant Valley would not be so
fine a place to live.</p>
<p>However, he managed to find food
enough so that he continued to grow rapidly.
The night after he found a mountain
ash on a hillside, full of bright red
berries, his father said that he seemed
much taller than he had been that morning.</p>
<p>“You must have eaten a great many of
those berries,” said Mr. Robin.</p>
<p>“Well, I notice one thing,” Jolly observed.
“My waistcoat is fast losing its
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_14' name='page_14'></a>14</span>
black spots. And it’s redder than it was.
The red berries certainly colored it in
some way.”</p>
<p>Mr. Robin replied that he had never
heard of such a thing happening. He
looked curiously at his son’s waistcoat.</p>
<p>“It <i>does</i> seem to look different,” he said.
“It’s brighter than it was.”</p>
<p>Really, that was only because Jolly was
fast growing up. But neither he nor his
father stopped to think of that. And since
Jolly had learned that motto, “<i>Follow
your father’s lead</i>,” he thought his waistcoat
ought to be just as red as old Mr. Robin’s
was.</p>
<p>So Jolly visited the mountain ash each
day and fairly stuffed himself with the
bright red fruit.</p>
<p>It did him no harm, anyhow. And he
enjoyed eating it.</p>
<p>And the next spring, when Jolly Robin
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_15' name='page_15'></a>15</span>
returned to Pleasant Valley, after spending
the winter in the South, there was not
a redder waistcoat than his in all the
neighborhood.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_16' name='page_16'></a>16</span>
<a name='IV_WHAT_JOLLY_DID_BEST' id='IV_WHAT_JOLLY_DID_BEST'></a>
<h2>IV</h2>
<h3>WHAT JOLLY DID BEST</h3>
</div>
<p>Jolly Robin had something on his mind.
For several days he had been turning a
certain matter over in his head. But in
spite of all his thinking, he seemed unable
to find any answer to the question that was
troubling him. So at last he decided he
would have to ask somebody to help him.</p>
<p>And that was why Jolly stopped Jimmy
Rabbit near the garden one day.</p>
<p>“I want your advice,” he told Jimmy
Rabbit.</p>
<p>“Certainly!” that young gentleman replied.
And he sat himself down upon his
wheelbarrow and looked very earnest. “If
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_17' name='page_17'></a>17</span>
it’s anything about gardening,” he said,
“I should advise you to raise cabbages, by
all means.”</p>
<p>But Jolly Robin said he wasn’t thinking
of planting a garden.</p>
<p>“In fact,” he explained, “the trouble
is, I don’t know what to do. I’d like to
have some regular work, you know. And
since you’ve had a good deal of experience,
having run a tooth-pulling parlor,
a barber-shop, and a shoe-store, I thought
you might be able to tell me what would be
a good business for me to take up.”</p>
<p>For a few minutes Jimmy Rabbit did
not speak. But he nodded his head wisely.</p>
<p>“Let me see!” he said at last. “What’s
the thing you do best?”</p>
<p>Jolly Robin replied at once that he
thought he could fly better than he could
do anything else. And he felt so happy,
because he was sure Jimmy Rabbit was
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_18' name='page_18'></a>18</span>
going to help him, that he began to laugh
gaily. And he couldn’t help singing a
snatch of a new song he had heard that
morning. And then he laughed again.</p>
<p>“You’re mistaken,” Jimmy Rabbit said
to him. “You fly well enough, I dare say.
But there are others who can beat you at
flying.... No!” he declared. “What
you can do better than anybody I know
is to <i>laugh</i>. And if I were you I should
make laughing my regular business.”</p>
<p>That idea struck Jolly Robin as being
so funny that he laughed harder than ever.
And Jimmy Rabbit nodded his head
again, as if to say, “I’m right and I know
it!”</p>
<p>At last Jolly Robin stopped laughing
long enough to ask Jimmy to explain how
anyone could make a business of laughing.
“I don’t see how it could be done,”
said Jolly Robin.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_19' name='page_19'></a>19</span></p>
<p>“Why—it’s simple enough!” Jimmy
told him. “All you need do is to find
somebody who will hire you to laugh for
him. There are people, you know, who
find it very difficult to laugh. I should
think they’d be glad to pay somebody to
do their laughing for them.”</p>
<p>“Name someone!” Jolly Robin urged
him.</p>
<p>And Jimmy Rabbit did.</p>
<p>“There’s old Mr. Crow!” he said. “You
know how solemn he is. It’s positively
painful to hear him try to laugh at a joke.
I’m sure he would be delighted with this
idea. And if I were you I’d see him before
somebody else does.”</p>
<p>Jolly Robin looked puzzled.</p>
<p>“Who would ever think of such a thing
but you?” he asked.</p>
<p>“Nobody!” Jimmy Rabbit replied.
“But I like the scheme so well that I almost
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_20' name='page_20'></a>20</span>
wish I hadn’t mentioned it. And
unless you make your bargain with old
Mr. Crow at once I may decide to go into
the laughing business myself.... My
advice to you,” he said, “is to hurry!”</p>
<p>So Jolly Robin thanked him. And then
he flew away to find old Mr. Crow.</p>
<p>Of course, he went to the cornfield first.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_21' name='page_21'></a>21</span>
<a name='V_LAUGHING_FOR_MR_CROW' id='V_LAUGHING_FOR_MR_CROW'></a>
<h2>V</h2>
<h3>LAUGHING FOR MR. CROW</h3>
</div>
<p>Sure enough! old Mr. Crow was in the
cornfield. And though he was feeling
somewhat peevish that morning, because
a coon had disturbed his rest the night before,
he listened to what Jolly Robin had
to say.</p>
<p>“I’ve come to ask you a question,”
Jolly told him. “I’ve decided to go into
business—the laughing business. And I
want to inquire if you wouldn’t like to
engage me to do your laughing for you.”</p>
<p>Well, that struck old Mr. Crow as being
very funny. He forgot all about his
loss of sleep. And his eye twinkled quite
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_22' name='page_22'></a>22</span>
merrily. He tried to laugh, too; but it
was a pitiful attempt—no more than a
hoarse cackle, which was, as Jimmy Rabbit
had said, positively painful. Old Mr.
Crow seemed to realize that he was making
a very queer sound. He hastily turned
his laugh into a cough and pretended that
he had a kernel of corn stuck in his
throat.</p>
<p>“What are your prices?” he asked Jolly
Robin. “Are you going to charge by the
day or by the laugh?”</p>
<p>“Just as you prefer!” Jolly answered.</p>
<p>“Well, I’ll have to think about it,” old
Mr. Crow told him. “It’s a question that
I wouldn’t care to decide in a hurry. If I
paid you by the day you might not laugh
at all. And if I paid you by the laugh you
might laugh all the time.... It would be
pretty expensive, either way. And I don’t
believe I’d like that.”
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_23' name='page_23'></a>23</span></p>
<p>“I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” said Jolly
Robin then. “I’ll stay with you one day
for nothing. And we’ll see how the arrangement
suits us.”</p>
<p>That suggestion pleased Mr. Crow.</p>
<p>“Agreed!” he said quickly. “And
now,” he added, “you may laugh for me,
because I am quite delighted.”</p>
<p>So Jolly Robin laughed happily. And
old Mr. Crow remarked that it was a <i>fair</i>
laugh, though not so loud as he would have
liked.</p>
<p>“I’ll do better next time,” Jolly assured
him.</p>
<p>“Good!” said Mr. Crow. “And now,
since I’ve finished my breakfast, we’ll go
over to the woods and see what’s going on
there this morning.”</p>
<p>The first person they saw in the woods
was Peter Mink. He was fishing for trout
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_24' name='page_24'></a>24</span>
in Broad Brook. And old Mr. Crow, as
soon as he spied him, sang out:</p>
<p>“How many of Farmer Green’s fish
have you eaten this morning?”</p>
<p>Peter Mink was just crawling out of the
water, with a fish in his mouth. When he
heard Mr. Crow calling to him, he dropped
his trout upon a rock and looked up
quickly.</p>
<p>“How much of Farmer Green’s corn
have you stolen for your breakfast?” he
cried.</p>
<p>At that Jolly Robin began to laugh.
But Mr. Crow stopped him quickly.</p>
<p>“Don’t laugh!” the old gentleman
squawked. “There’s nothing to laugh at,
so far as I can see.”</p>
<p>So Jolly managed to smother his laughter,
for he noticed that Mr. Crow was
angry.</p>
<p>“You’ll have to be careful,” Mr. Crow
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_25' name='page_25'></a>25</span>
warned him. “You mustn’t laugh at the
wrong time, you know.”</p>
<p>“I’ll do my best,” Jolly Robin promised.
And he could see already that old
Mr. Crow was going to be hard to please.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_26' name='page_26'></a>26</span>
<a name='VI_TICKLING_A_NOSE' id='VI_TICKLING_A_NOSE'></a>
<h2>VI</h2>
<h3>TICKLING A NOSE</h3>
</div>
<p>Old Mr. Crow did not want to stay near
the brook to talk with Peter Mink. Calling
to Jolly Robin to follow him, he
flapped his way to the edge of the woods
and sat in a tree overlooking the pasture.</p>
<p>“Here comes Tommy Fox!” Mr. Crow
exclaimed. “We ought to have some fun
with him. So when it’s time for you to
laugh for me, don’t forget to laugh
loudly.”</p>
<p>“I’ll remember,” Jolly promised him.
And just by way of practice he chirruped
so merrily that Tommy Fox pricked up
his ears and came bounding up to the tree
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_27' name='page_27'></a>27</span>
where Jolly and Mr. Crow were sitting.</p>
<p>“Good morning!” Mr. Crow cried to
Tommy. “Is that a hen’s feather that’s
stuck behind your ear?” he asked very
solemnly.</p>
<p>“No!” said Tommy Fox. “It’s a crow’s;
and I certainly had a fine breakfast.”</p>
<p>Now, Jolly Robin wasn’t quite sure
whether he ought to laugh or not. And
then Tommy winked at him. So Jolly
thought there must be a joke somewhere
and he began to chirrup as loudly as he
could.</p>
<p>“For pity’s sake, keep still!” old Mr.
Crow snapped.</p>
<p>“But you wanted me to laugh louder,”
Jolly reminded him.</p>
<p>“Yes,” said Mr. Crow—“when there’s
anything to laugh at.”</p>
<p>“But didn’t Tommy Fox make a joke?”
Jolly Robin asked.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_28' name='page_28'></a>28</span></p>
<p>“A very poor one!” old Mr. Crow replied.
“A very poor joke, indeed!...
I see,” he added, “I see you’ve not had
much experience laughing for people.
And here’s where you make a mistake.
You laugh at <i>other people’s</i> jokes, which
is all wrong. After this you must laugh
at <i>my</i> jokes—do you understand?”</p>
<p>Jolly Robin said he understood. And
Mr. Crow remarked that he was glad there
would be no more trouble.</p>
<p>“And now,” the old fellow said, “now
we’ll go over to the swamp, where Uncle
Sammy Coon lives. We ought to have
some fun with him.”</p>
<p>So over to the swamp they flew, where
they found Uncle Sammy Coon sunning
himself in the top of a tall hemlock.</p>
<p>“How-dy-do!” said Mr. Crow.</p>
<p>But Uncle Sammy Coon did not answer.</p>
<p>“We’re in luck!” Mr. Crow said with
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_29' name='page_29'></a>29</span>
a chuckle. “I declare, I believe the old
beggar’s asleep. Just watch me play a
practical joke on him!”</p>
<p>So Mr. Crow lighted on a branch near
Uncle Sammy Coon and began tickling his
nose.</p>
<p>Pretty soon Uncle Sammy Coon
sneezed. And when that happened, Mr.
Crow jumped back quickly. But Uncle
Sammy didn’t awake—at least, he didn’t
open his eyes. So Mr. Crow tickled his
nose again.</p>
<p>Now, old Mr. Crow was so amused that
he glanced at Jolly Robin, to see if he was
watching. And in that instant when Mr.
Crow looked away, Uncle Sammy Coon
leaped at him. He caught Mr. Crow by
the tail, too.</p>
<p>The old gentleman set up a great din.
He squawked, “Help! help!” at the top
of his voice and flapped his broad wings.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_30' name='page_30'></a>30</span></p>
<p>The struggle was over in a moment. By
a great effort Mr. Crow broke away, leaving
one of his tail-feathers with Uncle
Sammy Coon, and flew into another tree
near-by.</p>
<p>Then Jolly Robin laughed as if he would
never stop. He thought that it must be
the proper time to laugh, because Mr.
Crow had said he was going to play a joke
on Uncle Sammy.</p>
<p>Mr. Crow, however, seemed to think differently
about the matter.</p>
<p>“Do keep quiet!” he cried. “There’s
nothing to laugh at, so far as I can see.”</p>
<p>“But you said you were going to play a
joke on Uncle Sammy Coon, didn’t you?”
Jolly inquired.</p>
<p>“Yes!” Mr. Crow replied. “But it’s
no joke to lose a tail-feather. And I
wouldn’t think of laughing at what just
happened.... Besides,” he continued,
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_31' name='page_31'></a>31</span>
“your laughter is altogether wrong.
What you must try to do is to laugh <i>very
sadly</i>. In fact,” he added, “I wouldn’t
mind if you shed a few tears, because I
feel quite upset over this unfortunate accident.”</p>
<p>Well, Jolly Robin saw at once that it
was impossible for him to please Mr.
Crow.</p>
<p>“My laughter,” he said, “is always
merry. I couldn’t laugh sadly, no matter
how hard I might try. And as for shedding
tears, I couldn’t weep for you even if
you lost all your tail-feathers, Mr. Crow.”</p>
<p>“Then you may leave at once!” Mr.
Crow cried, just as if Farmer Green’s pasture
belonged to him.</p>
<p>“Yes!” Jolly Robin answered. “I may—and
then again, I may not!”</p>
<p>And since he stayed right there and
laughed, old Mr. Crow himself flew away.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_32' name='page_32'></a>32</span>
It was a long while, too, before he could
bear to hear people laugh. For he thought
they must be laughing at him, because he
had lost a tail-feather.</p>
<p>And perhaps that was what amused
Jolly Robin, though I never thought of
that before.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_33' name='page_33'></a>33</span>
<a name='VII_A_NEW_WAY_TO_TRAVEL' id='VII_A_NEW_WAY_TO_TRAVEL'></a>
<h2>VII</h2>
<h3>A NEW WAY TO TRAVEL</h3>
</div>
<p>The time had come when Jolly Robin was
ready to begin his long journey to the
South, for it was growing quite cold. On
some days there was no sun at all. And
even when the weather was fair the sun
rose late and went to bed early. It was
exactly the sort of weather Jolly Robin
did not like.</p>
<p>“No doubt you’ll be leaving us soon,”
Jasper Jay remarked to Jolly one day,
when the two chanced to meet in Farmer
Green’s woods, where the beeches grew.</p>
<p>“I expect to start to-morrow,” Jolly
Robin answered with a short laugh. The
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_34' name='page_34'></a>34</span>
mere thought of his warm, light-flooded
winter home in the Southland made him
feel glad.</p>
<p>“Well, well!” Jasper Jay exclaimed.
“I’m glad I happened to see you, for I
know of a new way to travel.”</p>
<p>And Jolly Robin wanted to know all
about it.</p>
<p>“If it’s a better way than the old, I’ll
be pleased to try it,” he said.</p>
<p>“Oh! it’s much better,” Jasper told
him. “If I hadn’t made up my mind to
spend the winter in Pleasant Valley, I’d
go the new way myself. But the beechnut
crop is good this fall. So I shall stay
right here to enjoy it.”</p>
<p>“Tell me how we’re to go, if you
please!” Jolly Robin urged him.</p>
<p>“We?” said Jasper. “You don’t mean
to say you are going with a <i>crowd</i>, do
you?”
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_35' name='page_35'></a>35</span></p>
<p>“Why, yes!” Jolly Robin replied. “All
the Robins are leaving to-morrow. And I
had intended to go with them.”</p>
<p>Jasper Jay shook his head.</p>
<p>“Take my advice and don’t do any such
thing,” he said. “You’ll find it quieter
travelling alone. And though you may not
know it, it’s the fashionable thing to do.”</p>
<p>Jolly Robin laughed when Jasper said
that.</p>
<p>“But I’m not a fashionable person!” he
exclaimed.</p>
<p>“Then you should become one,” Jasper
told him. “Besides, the new way is
<i>easier</i>, as well as more stylish. But if
you’re <i>afraid</i> to try something new, of
course I wouldn’t think of urging you.”</p>
<p>“I’m not afraid!” Jolly Robin cried.
“And if you’ll only tell me what I’m to do,
I promise you I’ll do it!”</p>
<p>“Good!” said Jasper Jay. “Meet me
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_36' name='page_36'></a>36</span>
here day after to-morrow and I’ll start
you on your journey. I can’t explain anything
now, because I must hurry over to
the woods at once, where my cousin, Mr.
Crow, is waiting for me.” Then he flew
away, screaming a loud good-by as he
went.</p>
<p>So Jolly Robin hastened back to the orchard,
to find his wife and tell her what
he had decided to do.</p>
<p>He had no difficulty at all in finding
her. But he had no end of trouble trying
to persuade her to travel with him the
new way, instead of going along with the
crowd in the good, old-fashioned style. In
fact, she raised so many objections, saying
how lonely it would be and how dangerous
it was to travel in a small party and that
she didn’t want to be fashionable—she
raised so many objections that at last
Jolly Robin said very well! she might do
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_37' name='page_37'></a>37</span>
as she pleased. But as for him, <i>he</i> was
going to meet Jasper Jay just as he had
promised. And since the new way was
easier, he expected to reach their winter
home long before she arrived, even if he
did start a day later.</p>
<p>But he was disappointed, all the same.
And he kept up such a constant laughing
and joking all the rest of that day that his
wife knew he must be feeling quite out of
sorts.</p>
<p>For that was a way Jolly Robin had.
The worse he felt, the happier he always
acted. And it was not a bad way, either.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_38' name='page_38'></a>38</span>
<a name='VIII_JOLLY_IS_LEFT_BEHIND' id='VIII_JOLLY_IS_LEFT_BEHIND'></a>
<h2>VIII</h2>
<h3>JOLLY IS LEFT BEHIND</h3>
</div>
<p>All of Jolly Robin’s friends and relations
were greatly surprised when they saw him
bidding his wife and children good-by,
on the day the Robin family started from
Pleasant Valley for their winter home in
the South.</p>
<p>“What’s this?” they cried. “Aren’t
you coming with us?”</p>
<p>And Jolly Robin laughed and said to
them gaily:</p>
<p>“Not to-day! But you’ll find me waiting
for you when you reach your journey’s
end.”</p>
<p>His wife, however, shook her head.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_39' name='page_39'></a>39</span></p>
<p>“It’s one of his queer notions—his and
Jasper Jay’s,” she explained.</p>
<p>“Tut, tut!” her husband said. And he
chucked her under the chin—and winked
at his friends.</p>
<p>There was no time to say anything
more, for everyone was eager to start. So
the travellers called good-by to Jolly,
while he waved a farewell to them.</p>
<p>It was not many minutes before he was
the only member of the Robin family left
in Pleasant Valley. He felt very lonely,
all at once. And he wanted to hurry after
the others. But he knew what Jasper Jay
would say, if he did. Jasper would be sure
to tell people that Jolly Robin was <i>afraid</i>
to travel a new way.... Of course, Jolly
didn’t want that to be said about him. So
he looked as cheerful as he could; and he
whistled the merriest tune he knew. Nobody—except
his wife, maybe—would
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_40' name='page_40'></a>40</span>
have guessed that he wasn’t perfectly
happy.</p>
<p>Jolly spent a very lonely night. When
he went to the roost where the whole
Robin family had been sleeping for several
weeks, he found it distressingly silent,
after the gay chatter that he had
grown accustomed to hearing there. And
try as he would, he could not keep just a
hint of sadness out of his good-night song.</p>
<p>But in the morning he felt better. And
he welcomed the dawn with a carol that
was joyous enough for anybody. For this
was the day when Jasper Jay was going
to show him the new way to travel. Yes!
he, too, would soon be hurrying southwards,
where the sun was warm.</p>
<p>It was no wonder that he sang, “<i>Cheerily-cheerup,
cheerily-cheerup</i>,” right merrily.</p>
<p>As soon as he had eaten his breakfast,
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_41' name='page_41'></a>41</span>
Jolly went to the place where the beeches
grew, to find Jasper Jay. And Jasper
was there, just finishing his own breakfast.
But he was too busy, he said, to
bother with Jolly Robin just then.</p>
<p>“You meet me in the orchard this afternoon,”
he said, “when the sun’s over
the mountain, and I’ll start you on your
journey.”</p>
<p>So Jolly Robin had to wait all the long
day, while Jasper Jay did a hundred silly
things, such as mocking Farmer Green’s
cat, and teasing a sleepy young owl, and
making the woods echo with his hoarse
screams. Jasper was late, too, in keeping
his appointment in the orchard. Jolly
Robin waited for him until almost sunset
before Jasper Jay appeared. But Jolly
was so glad to see Jasper that he never
once thought of being angry with him.</p>
<p>“Come along!” said the blue-coated
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_42' name='page_42'></a>42</span>
rascal. “Follow me and you’ll soon learn the
new way to the South. And if it isn’t a
good one I hope I’ll never eat another
beechnut.”</p>
<p>Jolly Robin laughed. He was sure,
then, that he had nothing to worry about.
For everybody knew that Jasper Jay was
specially fond of beechnuts.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_43' name='page_43'></a>43</span>
<a name='IX_JOLLYS_MISTAKE' id='IX_JOLLYS_MISTAKE'></a>
<h2>IX</h2>
<h3>JOLLY’S MISTAKE</h3>
</div>
<p>With Jolly Robin following close behind
him, Jasper Jay flew directly to the crossroads,
almost half-way to the village.
Once there, he perched himself upon the
sign-post at the four corners. And Jolly
Robin seated himself upon one of the
boards that were nailed to the post.</p>
<p>“Here we are!” said Jasper Jay. “You
see how easy it is.”</p>
<p>“When will the post begin to move?”
Jolly Robin inquired, a bit anxiously. He
had waited a whole day to begin his long
journey to the South, so it was only natural
that he should want to start at once.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_44' name='page_44'></a>44</span></p>
<p>“What’s that you say?” asked Jasper
Jay. And when Jolly repeated his question,
Jasper began to scream with laughter.
“Well, that’s a good one!” he said at
last. “So you thought the post was going
to pull itself out of the ground and fly
away with you, did you?”</p>
<p>“Why, yes!” Jolly Robin replied.
“Aren’t these <i>wings</i>?” he asked, looking
down at the boards. “They’re already
spread,” he observed.</p>
<p>It was some minutes before Jasper Jay
could answer him, for he was laughing
again. But finally he managed to speak.</p>
<p>“Those aren’t wings!” he cried.
“They’re sign-boards, to tell you which
road to take. Of course, you can’t expect
to read a sign when you’re sitting on it.
Just go over to the fence across the road
and you can see the sign that you’re on
now.”
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_45' name='page_45'></a>45</span></p>
<p>So Jolly Robin fluttered over to the
fence. And from there he could see the
sign-board plainly. This is what it looked
like:</p>
<p style='margin-left:0.0em; margin-right:0.0em; text-align:center'>TO SKY POND, 15 MILES<br /></p>
<p>“There!” Jasper Jay cried, when Jolly
had read the sign aloud. “You see how
easy it is. All you need do is to follow this
road to which the hand points.”</p>
<p>“Then I shall have to fly, after all,”
Jolly Robin said. He had expected to
have a ride. And naturally he was disappointed.
Then he read the sign once more.
“Sky Pond!” he exclaimed. “I don’t
want to go to Sky Pond. I want to go to
the South!”</p>
<p>“Well, Sky Pond’s south of Pleasant
Valley,” Jasper Jay explained. “It’s
right on your way to your winter home.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_46' name='page_46'></a>46</span>
And all you have to do when you reach
Sky Pond will be to find another sign,
which ought to say something like this:
’To the South, one thousand miles.’ You
see how simple it is,” Jasper Jay remarked.
“With a sign-board to guide
you, you can’t go wrong.”</p>
<p>But it seemed to Jolly that the new way
of travelling was far more difficult than
the old. He said as much to Jasper Jay,
too. “I wish––” he added—“I wish I
had started yesterday, with the others.”</p>
<p>At that Jasper Jay said, “Nonsense!”
And he muttered something about dunces,
and mollycoddles, and—yes! <i>’fraid-cats!</i></p>
<p>Perhaps Jasper hadn’t intended that
Jolly Robin should hear those words—and
perhaps he had. Anyhow, he was sorry
afterward that he had spoken so loud. For
the first thing he knew, Jolly Robin flew
straight at him with shrill chirps of rage.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_47' name='page_47'></a>47</span>
And Jasper was so surprised—and frightened,
too—that he flew off as fast as he
could go, following the road that led to
Sky Pond, fifteen miles away, with Jolly
Robin after him.</p>
<p>Jolly chased him for a long time, until
at last Jasper Jay swerved to one side and
turned toward home.</p>
<p>But Jolly Robin followed him no longer.
He kept straight on, and on, and on. And
he flew so fast and so far before he
stopped that he overtook the party that
had started a whole day ahead of him.</p>
<p>So he travelled to his winter home in the
old-fashioned way, after all. And though
Jolly Robin laughed when he told his
friends about Jasper Jay’s new style of
travelling, there was one thing over which
he could not smile, even then.</p>
<p>You see, “’fraid-cat” was a name he
couldn’t abide.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_48' name='page_48'></a>48</span>
<a name='X_THE_WHITE_GIANT' id='X_THE_WHITE_GIANT'></a>
<h2>X</h2>
<h3>THE WHITE GIANT</h3>
</div>
<p>It was a raw March day when Jolly Robin
returned to Pleasant Valley one spring.
There had just been a heavy fall of snow—big,
wet flakes which Farmer Green
called “sugar-snow,” though it was no
sweeter than any other. Johnnie Green
liked that kind of snow because it made
the best snowballs. And he had had a fine
time playing in the orchard near the farmhouse,
not long before Jolly Robin appeared
there.</p>
<p>Now, the orchard was the place where
Jolly Robin and his wife had had their
nest the summer before. So it was natural
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_49' name='page_49'></a>49</span>
that he should want to go there at once
and look about a bit.</p>
<p>He perched himself on a bare limb,
where he sang “<i>Cheerily-cheerup</i>” a few
times, in spite of the snow and the cold,
whistling wind. He knew that the weather
would grow warmer soon; and he was
glad to be in Pleasant Valley once more,
though he had to confess to himself that
he liked the orchard better when the grass
was green and the trees were gay with
apple-blossoms.</p>
<p>“It’s really a beautiful place for a
home,” he told himself. “I don’t wonder
that Farmer Green likes to live near the
orchard. And now I’ll just go over to the
house and see if I can’t get a peep at him
and his wife and his boy, Johnnie—and
the hired-man, too.”</p>
<p>So Jolly Robin jumped off the bough
and started through the frosty air toward
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_50' name='page_50'></a>50</span>
the farmhouse. But all at once he saw a
sight that sent him darting into a tree.
He hid there for a while and something
made him shiver—something besides the
cold wind.</p>
<p>Yes! Jolly Robin was the least bit
frightened. For he had caught a glimpse
of a strange man. It was neither Farmer
Green nor his hired-man, for this was a
giant. He had big, black eyes and a great
lump of a nose, which stuck out queerly
from his pale moon-face. He was dressed
all in white, except for a battered, old,
black hat, which he wore tipped over one
eye. In one hand he held a stick. And it
seemed to Jolly Robin that the queer man
was just about to hurl it at something.</p>
<p>In spite of his uneasiness, Jolly peeped
around his tree and watched the stranger.
But he did not throw the stick. He stood
quite still and seemed to be waiting. And
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_51' name='page_51'></a>51</span>
Jolly Robin waited, too, and stared at
him.</p>
<p>“Maybe there’s a squirrel hiding behind
a tree,” he said to himself. “Perhaps this
man in white is going to throw the stick
as soon as the squirrel shows himself.”</p>
<p>But no squirrel appeared. And Jolly
Robin was just about to start for the
farmhouse again when he saw somebody
pop out of the woodshed door and come
running toward the orchard.</p>
<p>“Here’s Johnnie Green!” Jolly exclaimed.
He knew Johnnie at once, because
neither Farmer Green nor the hired-man
ever went hopping and skipping
about like that.</p>
<p>Pretty soon Jolly saw Johnnie Green
stop and make an armful of snowballs.
And then he went straight toward the
stranger in white. Though Johnnie began
to shout, the man in white did not
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_52' name='page_52'></a>52</span>
even turn his head. And then Johnnie
Green shied a snowball at him.</p>
<p>The snowball sailed through the air and
struck the stranger’s battered hat, knocking
it off into the snow. And, of course,
Jolly Robin couldn’t help laughing. He
was more surprised than ever, too, because
the moon-faced man did not move even
then. Anyone else would have wheeled
about and chased Johnnie Green. But this
odd gentleman didn’t seem to know that
his hat had been knocked off.</p>
<p>“That’s queer!” said Jolly Robin to
himself. “He must be asleep. But I
should think he would wake up.”</p>
<p>While Jolly was wondering, Johnnie
Green threw another snowball. And when
it struck the stranger a very peculiar
thing happened.</p>
<p>And Jolly Robin did not laugh. He was
too frightened to do anything but gasp.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_53' name='page_53'></a>53</span>
<a name='XI_WHAT_A_SNOWBALL_DID' id='XI_WHAT_A_SNOWBALL_DID'></a>
<h2>XI</h2>
<h3>WHAT A SNOWBALL DID</h3>
</div>
<p>Jolly Robin was too frightened to laugh
when he saw Johnnie Green’s second
snowball strike the moon-faced stranger
in the orchard. You see, the snowball hit
one of the stranger’s arms. And to Jolly’s
amazement, the arm at once dropped off
and dashed upon the ground, breaking
into a dozen pieces.</p>
<p>That alone was enough to startle Jolly
Robin. But the moon-faced man paid not
the slightest attention to the accident.
There was something ghostly in the way
he stood there, all in white, never moving,
never once saying a word.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_54' name='page_54'></a>54</span></p>
<p>But Johnnie Green did not seem frightened
at all. He set up a great shouting
and began to let fly his snowballs as fast
as he could throw them.</p>
<p>They did not all find the mark. But the
very last one struck the silent stranger
squarely upon his left ear. And to Jolly
Robin’s horror, his head toppled off and
fell horridly at his feet.</p>
<p>Jolly Robin fully expected the man in
white to turn and chase Johnnie Green
then—or at least to hurl his stick at Johnnie.
But nothing of the sort happened.
And Jolly did not wait for anything more.
He felt that he had seen quite enough. So
he flew away to the shelter of the woods,
to find somebody to whom he could talk
and tell of the strange thing that had happened
in the orchard.</p>
<p>Over in the woods Jolly was lucky
enough to meet Jimmy Rabbit, who was
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_55' name='page_55'></a>55</span>
always very friendly toward him. And as
soon as he had inquired about Jimmy Rabbit’s
health (they had not seen each other
since the previous fall, you know), Jolly
related how he had seen Johnnie Green
knock off the head of the man in the orchard.</p>
<p>“And the man never paid the slightest
heed to what happened,” said Jolly Robin.
“He had a stick in his hand; but he didn’t
throw it.”</p>
<p>“There’s nothing queer about that,”
Jimmy Rabbit remarked. “How could he
see where to throw his stick, when he had
no head?”</p>
<p>But Jolly Robin could not answer that
question. And he looked more puzzled
than ever.</p>
<p>“I don’t understand it,” he said with a
shake of his own head. “The whole affair
was very odd. I’m afraid I shall not
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_56' name='page_56'></a>56</span>
care to live in the orchard this summer,
especially if there’s a headless man there!
For how can he ever see to leave the orchard?”</p>
<p>It was Jimmy Rabbit’s turn to look puzzled,
for that was a question that he
couldn’t answer.</p>
<p>“Maybe there is something queer about
this case,” he said. “I’ll go over to the
orchard to-morrow and take a look at that
headless stranger and see what I think
about him. If you’ll meet me here we can
go together.”</p>
<p>Now, Jolly Robin had almost decided
that he would never go near the orchard
again. But he felt that if he went with
Jimmy Rabbit there ought not to be much
danger. So he agreed to Jimmy’s suggestion.</p>
<p>“I’ll be here before the morning’s
gone,” he promised.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_57' name='page_57'></a>57</span>
<a name='XII_JOLLY_FEELS_BETTER' id='XII_JOLLY_FEELS_BETTER'></a>
<h2>XII</h2>
<h3>JOLLY FEELS BETTER</h3>
</div>
<p>Jolly Robin awoke at dawn. And he
knew at once that the day was going to be
a fine one. Though the sun had not yet
peeped above the rim of the eastern hills,
Jolly Robin was sure that there would be
plenty of sunshine a little later. He had
many ways of his own for telling the
weather; and he never made a mistake
about it.</p>
<p>Now, it had grown quite warm by the
time Jolly Robin went to the woods late
in the morning to meet Jimmy Rabbit.
And the snow had melted away as if by
magic.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_58' name='page_58'></a>58</span></p>
<p>“Summer’s coming! Summer’s coming!”
Jolly called joyfully as soon as Jimmy
Rabbit came hopping into sight. “The
apple-blossoms will burst out before we
know it.”</p>
<p>“Yes—and the cabbages, too,” Jimmy
Rabbit replied. “I’m glad the white giant
in the orchard lost his head,” he added,
“because there’s no telling what he would
have done to the cabbages later, if he had
wandered into the garden. He might have
eaten every one of them. And I shouldn’t
have liked that very well.”</p>
<p>Then they started off together toward
the orchard to look at the headless
stranger who had given Jolly Robin such
a fright the day before. Jimmy Rabbit
went bounding along with great leaps,
while Jolly Robin flew above him and tried
not to go too fast for his long-eared friend.</p>
<p>Once in the orchard, Jolly led Jimmy to
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_59' name='page_59'></a>59</span>
the spot where he had seen Johnnie Green
knock off the giant’s head with the snowball.</p>
<p>“Here he is!” Jolly Robin whispered—for
he was still somewhat afraid of the
giant, in spite of his having lost his head.
“He doesn’t seem as big as he was yesterday.
And he has dropped the stick that he
carried.”</p>
<p>Jimmy Rabbit stopped short in his
tracks and stared at the still figure under
the apple tree. For a few moments he did
not speak.</p>
<p>“That looks to me like <i>snow</i>,” he said
at last. And he crept up to what was left
of the giant and sniffed at him. “It <i>is</i>
snow!” he declared.</p>
<p>When he heard that, Jolly Robin flew to
a low branch just above the giant.</p>
<p>“I don’t understand it,” he said.
“There’s his head on the ground, with the
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_60' name='page_60'></a>60</span>
big, black eyes. <i>They</i> certainly aren’t
made of snow.”</p>
<p>“No!” Jimmy Rabbit agreed, as he
sniffed at the terrible eyes. “They’re <i>butternuts</i>—that’s
what they are!”</p>
<p>Well, Jolly Robin was so surprised that
he all but tumbled off his perch.</p>
<p>“There’s his hat—” he continued, as
he clung to the limb—“that’s a real hat.
It’s not made of snow—or butternuts,
either.”</p>
<p>“Yes!” Jimmy Rabbit said. “It’s a
sure-enough hat. Farmer Green wore it
on Sundays for a good many years. I’ve
often seen him starting for the meeting-house
over the hill with this very hat on
his head.”</p>
<p>“Then the giant stole it from him!”
Jolly Robin cried in great excitement.</p>
<p>But Jimmy Rabbit thought differently.</p>
<p>“It’s my opinion—” he said—“it’s
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_61' name='page_61'></a>61</span>
my opinion that Johnnie Green took this
old hat and put it on the giant’s head, after
he had made him.”</p>
<p>“Made him!” Jolly Robin repeated.
“You don’t mean to say that Johnnie
Green could make a giant, do you?”</p>
<p>“Well, he knows how to make a snow-man—so
I’ve been told,” Jimmy Rabbit
replied. “And though I’ve never seen one
before, it’s plain that that’s what this creature
is.”</p>
<p>Jolly Robin had listened with growing
wonder. Spending his winters in the
South, as he did, he had never even heard
of a snow-man.</p>
<p>“Are they dangerous—these snow-men?”
he inquired anxiously.</p>
<p>“This one certainly isn’t,” Jimmy Rabbit
told him. “With his head off, he can’t
do any harm. And with the sun shining
so warm I should say that by to-morrow
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_62' name='page_62'></a>62</span>
he’ll be gone for good. It looks to me as
if he might be the last snow-man of the
winter, for I don’t believe there’ll be any
more snow until next fall.”</p>
<p>“Good!” Jolly Robin cried. “I shall
come back to the orchard to live, after all,
just as I had intended.” And he felt so
happy that he began to sing.</p>
<p>“I’m glad I brought you here to see the
snow giant,” he told Jimmy Rabbit, when
he had finished his song. “But when my
wife and I start to build our summer-house
a little later in the spring, I hope
you’ll say nothing to her about this affair.
It might upset her, you know, if she knew
that a giant lost his head in the orchard—even
if he was made of snow.”</p>
<p>“I understand!” said Jimmy Rabbit.
“And I won’t mention the matter to her.
You’re afraid she might lose <i>her</i> head, I
suppose, if she heard about it.”
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_63' name='page_63'></a>63</span></p>
<p>Having made a joke, Jimmy Rabbit
thought it was a good time for him to be
leaving. So he said good-by and hopped
briskly away.</p>
<p>And Jolly Robin’s wife never knew that
her husband and Jimmy Rabbit had a secret
that they did not tell her.</p>
<p>Of course, if they had told her it would
have been no secret at all.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_64' name='page_64'></a>64</span>
<a name='XIII_THE_HERMIT' id='XIII_THE_HERMIT'></a>
<h2>XIII</h2>
<h3>THE HERMIT</h3>
</div>
<p>Though Jolly Robin was quite bold for
his size, he had a cousin who was actually
shy. This timid relation of Jolly’s belonged
to the Hermit Thrush family; and
Jolly Robin always spoke of him as “The
Hermit,” which was a good name for him,
because he never strayed from the depths
of the swamp near Black Creek. At
least, he stayed there all summer long,
until the time came for him to go South.</p>
<p>If Jolly Robin wanted to see this shy
cousin, he had to go into the swamp. For
the Hermit never repaid any of Jolly’s
calls. He was afraid of Farmer Green
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_65' name='page_65'></a>65</span>
and the other people that lived in the
farmhouse. Apple orchards, and gardens
and open fields he considered good places
to avoid, because he thought them dangerous.</p>
<p>“There’s no place to live that’s quite as
safe and pleasant as a swamp,” he often
remarked. “I have one brother who prefers
an evergreen thicket, which doesn’t
make a bad home. And another brother
of mine lives in some bushes near a road.
But how he can like such a dwelling-place
as that is more than I can understand.”</p>
<p>Now, there were two things for which
this cousin of Jolly Robin’s was noted. He
was an exquisite singer; and he always
wore a fine, spotted waistcoat.</p>
<p>Jolly always admired the Hermit’s singing.
But he didn’t like his spotted waistcoat
at all.</p>
<p>“That cousin of mine is too much of a
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_66' name='page_66'></a>66</span>
dandy,” Jolly remarked to his wife one
day. “I’m going to pay him a visit this
afternoon. And I shall speak to him about
that waistcoat he’s so fond of wearing.
It’s well enough for city birds to dress in
such finery. But it’s a foppish thing for
anybody to wear way up here in the country.”</p>
<p>Jolly’s wife told him plainly that he had
better mind his own business.</p>
<p>“It’s no affair of yours,” she said.
“And you ought not to mention the matter
to your cousin.”</p>
<p>Jolly Robin did not answer her. He
thought there was no use arguing with his
wife. And since the Hermit was his own
cousin, he saw no reason why he shouldn’t
tell his relation exactly what he thought.</p>
<p>The Hermit appeared glad to see Jolly
Robin when he came to the swamp that
afternoon. At least, the Hermit said he
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_67' name='page_67'></a>67</span>
was much pleased. He had very polished
manners for a person that lived in a
swamp. Beside him, Jolly Robin seemed
somewhat awkward and clownish. But
then, Jolly always claimed that he was just
a plain, rough-and-ready countryman.</p>
<p>“I never put on any airs,” he often said.
“Farmer Green and I are a good deal
alike in that respect.”</p>
<p>After the Hermit had inquired about
Jolly’s health, and that of his wife as well,
he smoothed down his spotted vest, flicked
a bit of moss off his tail, and said that if
Jolly cared to hear him he would sing one
of his best songs.</p>
<p>“I’d like to hear you sing!” Jolly told
him.</p>
<p>So the Hermit sang a very sweet and
tender melody, which was quite different
from Jolly’s cheery carols.</p>
<p>It was a great pleasure to hear such a
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_68' name='page_68'></a>68</span>
beautiful song. And Jolly Robin was so
delighted that he began to laugh heartily
the moment his cousin had finished the
final note.</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t laugh, if I were you,” the
Hermit reproved him mildly. “That’s a
sad song.... If you care to weep, I’d be
more than gratified,” he said. And he
shuddered slightly, because Jolly’s boisterous
laughter grated upon his sensitive
nerves.</p>
<p>You can see, just from that, that the
Hermit was a very different person from
his merry cousin, Jolly Robin.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_69' name='page_69'></a>69</span>
<a name='XIV_ONE_OR_TWO_BLUNDERS' id='XIV_ONE_OR_TWO_BLUNDERS'></a>
<h2>XIV</h2>
<h3>ONE OR TWO BLUNDERS</h3>
</div>
<p>Jolly Robin’s cousin, the Hermit, seemed
much disappointed because Jolly did not
weep after hearing the beautiful, sad song.
But no matter how mournful a song might
be, Jolly Robin could no more have shed
tears over it than a fish could have. Naturally,
a fish never weeps, because it would
be a silly thing to do. Surrounded by
water as he is, a fish could never see his
own tears. And so all the weeping he
might do would be merely wasted.</p>
<p>Not wanting to hurt his cousin’s feelings,
Jolly Robin said that he would try
to weep after he went home. And that
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_70' name='page_70'></a>70</span>
made the Hermit feel happier once more.</p>
<p>“Perhaps you’d like to see our eggs?”
he suggested.</p>
<p>And since Jolly Robin said he would be
delighted to look at them, if the Hermit’s
wife had no objection, his cousin led him
further into the swamp. And there, in a
nest of moss and leaves, lined with pine
needles, the Hermit proudly pointed to
three greenish blue eggs, somewhat smaller
than those in Jolly’s own nest in Farmer
Green’s orchard.</p>
<p>Jolly Robin stared at the nest in amazement.
And pretty soon the Hermit grew
quite uncomfortable.</p>
<p>“What’s the matter?” he asked. “You
seem surprised.”</p>
<p>“I certainly am!” Jolly Robin cried.
“How do you dare do it?”</p>
<p>“Do what?” his cousin inquired uneasily.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_71' name='page_71'></a>71</span></p>
<p>“Why, you and your wife have built
your nest on the ground!”</p>
<p>“Well, why shouldn’t we?” the Hermit
asked. And he looked the least bit angry.</p>
<p>“But everybody knows that the best
place for a nest is in a tree,” Jolly Robin
told him.</p>
<p>His cousin shook his head at that.</p>
<p>“It’s a matter of taste,” he said. “Our
family have always preferred to build
their nests on the ground. And as for me,
I shall continue to follow their example....
It suits me very well,” he
added.</p>
<p>Jolly Robin couldn’t help laughing, the
sight struck him as being such an odd one.</p>
<p>“It’s a wonder—” he remarked—“it’s
a wonder your wife doesn’t bury her eggs
in the sand beside the creek, like old Mrs.
Turtle.”</p>
<p>“I’d thank you,” said the Hermit,
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_72' name='page_72'></a>72</span>
stiffly, “not to say such things about my
wife.” And though he spoke politely
enough, his manner was quite cold. It
was clear that he felt terribly insulted.</p>
<p>Jolly Robin saw that he had blundered.
And wishing to change the subject, he said
hastily:</p>
<p>“Won’t you sing another song?”</p>
<p>So the Hermit cleared his throat and
began to sing again.</p>
<p>Although this song was not so sad as the
first one, Jolly Robin did not like it half
so well. The chorus, especially, he considered
quite offensive. And it is not surprising,
perhaps, that it displeased him, for
this is the way it went:</p>
<table style='margin: auto' summary=''><tr><td>
<p style='margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;'>
“Any old vest<br />
May do for the rest;<br />
But <i>I</i> like a spotted one best!”<br />
</p>
</td></tr></table>
<p>If it hadn’t been for that song, Jolly
Robin would not have remembered that he
had intended to speak to his cousin about
his spotted waistcoat. Jolly had been so
interested in the nest on the ground that
the matter of the waistcoat had slipped out
of his mind. But now he suddenly recalled
the reason why he had come to see
the Hermit. And he disliked his cousin’s
spotted finery more than ever.</p>
<p>Thereupon, he resolved that he would
speak about it, too.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_73' name='page_73'></a>73</span>
<a name='XV_LOSTA_COUSIN' id='XV_LOSTA_COUSIN'></a>
<h2>XV</h2>
<h3>LOST—A COUSIN!</h3>
</div>
<p>When the Hermit Thrush had finished his
song about the spotted vest, he looked at
his cousin Jolly Robin out of the corner
of his eye.</p>
<p>“How do you like that one?” he inquired.
He noticed that Jolly was not
laughing.</p>
<p>“That seems to me to be a very silly
song,” Jolly Robin said. “But I’m glad
you sang it, because it has reminded me
that I was going to speak to you about that
spotted waistcoat you’re so fond of wearing.”</p>
<p>“What’s the matter with my
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_74' name='page_74'></a>74</span>
waistcoat?” the Hermit asked quickly. “I’m
sure it’s a very handsome one.”</p>
<p>“I don’t like it!” Jolly told him. “I
wouldn’t be caught with it on me for anything.
Everybody says that you’re a great
dandy because you wear it. And since
you’re my cousin, I think I ought to tell
you what people are saying about you.”</p>
<p>“I don’t care what people say!” the
Hermit exclaimed. “Those that don’t like
my beautiful waistcoat can look the other
way when I’m around. And if my style
of dress doesn’t please you, I’d suggest
that you keep out of this swamp.”</p>
<p>“Now, don’t get angry!” Jolly Robin
begged. He gave his cousin a smile, hoping
that it might make him feel pleasanter.
“I was only trying to help you. I
was only going to advise you to wear a red
waistcoat, like mine.”</p>
<p>Now, the mere thought of wearing a red
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_75' name='page_75'></a>75</span>
waistcoat made the Hermit feel faint.
Some people say that all great singers are
like that. If they don’t like a thing, they
can’t bear even to think about it. And it
was a fact that the words “red waistcoat”
had always made Jolly Robin’s cousin
shudder.</p>
<p>Maybe one reason why he never went to
visit Jolly was because he couldn’t endure
the sight of his bright red vest.</p>
<p>Of course, Jolly Robin knew nothing
about all this.</p>
<p>“Red would be very becoming to you,”
he continued. “And it’s certainly a cheerful
color, too. You need brightening up.
I don’t believe it’s good for you, living in
this damp swamp and singing sad songs.
What you ought to do is to get some clothes
like mine and bring your wife over to
Farmer Green’s orchard and build a nest
in an apple tree.... We could have some
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_76' name='page_76'></a>76</span>
gay times together,” he said smilingly.</p>
<p>Like many other people Jolly Robin
thought his own ways were the best. And
since the Hermit was just as sure that nobody
else knew how to dress, or how to
sing, or how to build a house as well as he
did, it is quite plain that the two cousins
never could agree.</p>
<p>“Just tell your wife about my plan when
she comes home,” said Jolly Robin. “And
I’ll fly over to-morrow and show you the
way to the orchard.”</p>
<p>“I’ll tell her,” his cousin promised.</p>
<p>“Good!” said Jolly Robin. And he
gave his delicate cousin a hearty slap
on the back, which made the poor fellow
wince—for it hurt him not a little.
“Good-by!” Jolly cried. And chirping
loudly, he flew back home.</p>
<p>Now, Jolly noticed, as he left, that his
cousin called “Farewell!” in a melancholy
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_77' name='page_77'></a>77</span>
tone. But he thought no more about it at
the time. He told his wife the good news
as soon as he reached the orchard; for
Jolly was sure that his cousin the Hermit
was going to follow his advice.</p>
<p>But the next day Jolly met with a great
surprise. When he went to the swamp
near Black Creek he couldn’t find his
cousin anywhere—nor his cousin’s wife,
either. Even their three eggs had disappeared
from the nest on the ground.</p>
<p>“I hope Fatty Coon hasn’t eaten the
eggs,” said Jolly Robin, as he gazed into
the empty nest. “But it’s no more than
anybody could expect who’s so foolish as to
build a nest on the ground.” He grew
quite uneasy. And he was puzzled, too.</p>
<p>Later, when Jolly Robin met old Mr.
Crow, he learned that his cousin, the Hermit
Thrush, and his wife had moved away
from the swamp the evening before.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_78' name='page_78'></a>78</span></p>
<p>“They’ve left for parts unknown,” old
Mr. Crow explained. “I saw them when
they started. And when I asked your
cousin where they were going, he said that
they didn’t know, but they were hoping to
find some peaceful neighborhood where
they had no relations.”</p>
<p>“That’s strange!” Jolly Robin exclaimed.
“We are very fond of each other—my
cousin and I. By the way,” he
added, “did you happen to notice what
sort of waistcoat he was wearing?”</p>
<p>Mr. Crow said he had noticed; and that
it was a light-colored one with dark spots.</p>
<p>“Dear me!” said Jolly Robin. “I was
hoping he had put on a red one. But since
he moved in such a hurry, perhaps he
hadn’t time to change.”</p>
<p>Whether that was the case, Jolly Robin
never learned. For he never saw his
cousin the Hermit again.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_79' name='page_79'></a>79</span>
<a name='XVI_JEALOUS_JASPER_JAY' id='XVI_JEALOUS_JASPER_JAY'></a>
<h2>XVI</h2>
<h3>JEALOUS JASPER JAY</h3>
</div>
<p>The feathered folk in Pleasant Valley
were all aflutter. They had heard a
strange tale—the oddest tale, almost, that
had ever been told in their neighborhood.</p>
<p>It was Jolly Robin who had started the
story. And since he was not in the habit
of playing jokes on people, everybody believed
what he said—at least, everybody
except Jasper Jay. He declared from the
first that Jolly Robin’s tale was a hoax.</p>
<p>“I claim that there’s not a word of truth
in it!” Jasper Jay said.</p>
<p>Now, there was a reason why Jasper
spoke in that disagreeable way. He didn’t
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_80' name='page_80'></a>80</span>
want the story to be true. And, somehow,
he felt that if he said it was a hoax, it
would really prove to be one.</p>
<p>“I know well enough,” said Jasper,
“that there’s no golden bird in Pleasant
Valley—and nowhere else, either!”</p>
<p>You see, Jolly Robin had hurried to the
woods one day and told everyone he met
that a wonderful golden bird had come to
Pleasant Valley.</p>
<p>“He’s not just yellow, like a goldfinch.
He’s solid gold all over, from the tip of
his bill to the tip of his tail. Even his feet
are golden. And he glistens in the sunshine
as if he were afire!” That was the
way Jolly Robin described the marvellous
newcomer. “He’s the handsomest bird
that ever was seen,” he added.</p>
<p>Perhaps Jasper Jay was jealous. You
know he was a great dandy, being very
proud of his blue suit, which was really
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_81' name='page_81'></a>81</span>
quite beautiful. Anyhow, Jasper Jay began
to sulk as soon as he heard the news.</p>
<p>“Where is this magnificent person?” he
asked Jolly Robin with a sneer. “Do let
me see him! And if he wants to fight, I’ll
soon spoil his finery for him. He won’t
look so elegant after I’ve pulled out his
tail-feathers.”</p>
<p>But Jolly Robin wouldn’t tell anybody
where he had seen the wonderful bird. He
said the golden bird was three times as big
as Jasper Jay. And he didn’t want Jasper
to get hurt, even if he was so disagreeable.</p>
<p>Anyone can see, just from that, that
Jolly Robin was very kind.</p>
<p>“You’d better be careful, or I’ll fight
you, too!” Jasper warned him.</p>
<p>But Jolly was not afraid. He knew that
Jasper was something of a braggart and
a bully. He had chased Jasper once. And
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_82' name='page_82'></a>82</span>
he thought he could do it again, if he had
to.</p>
<p>“My cousin will tell me where to find
this yellow fellow,” said Jasper Jay at
last. “There’s not much that happens in
Pleasant Valley that my cousin doesn’t
know about.” So he flew off to find old
Mr. Crow—for he was the cousin of whom
Jasper was speaking.</p>
<p>Jasper found Mr. Crow in his favorite
tree in the pine woods. And sure enough!
the old gentleman seemed to know all
about the golden bird. But like Jolly
Robin, he refused to say where he had seen
him. To tell the truth, Mr. Crow had
never set eyes on the strange bird. But he
did not like to admit it. “He’s a great
credit to the neighborhood,” said old Mr.
Crow. “And you’d better let him alone, if
you should happen to find him, because
he’s solid gold, you know. And if you flew
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_83' name='page_83'></a>83</span>
at him and tried to peck him, just as likely
as not you’d break your bill on him, he’s
so hard.”</p>
<p>Old Mr. Crow’s warning, however, had
no effect at all upon Jasper Jay.</p>
<p>“I’m going to search every corner in
the valley until I find this fop. And I’ll
teach him that he’d better get out of our
neighborhood with his fine airs.”</p>
<p>When he heard that, old Mr. Crow shook
his head.</p>
<p>“You’re going to have trouble!” he told
Jasper. And then he hurried away to tell
Jolly Robin that he ought to advise the
golden bird to leave Pleasant Valley.</p>
<p>But Jolly Robin said he had not spoken
with the stranger. And never having
talked with a golden bird, he felt a bit shy
about saying anything to him.</p>
<p>“Then there’ll be a terrible fight, I’m
afraid,” said Mr. Crow.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_84' name='page_84'></a>84</span></p>
<p>“I’m afraid so,” Jolly Robin agreed.
And strange as it may seem, they both said
that if there was going to be a fight they
didn’t want to miss seeing it.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_85' name='page_85'></a>85</span>
<a name='XVII_ONLY_A_ROOSTER' id='XVII_ONLY_A_ROOSTER'></a>
<h2>XVII</h2>
<h3>ONLY A ROOSTER</h3>
</div>
<p>Jasper Jay spent several days looking for
the great golden bird that Jolly Robin had
described. But Jasper couldn’t find the
wonderful creature anywhere. And he
was wondering if it wasn’t just a hoax
after all, as he had claimed. He had almost
decided to give up his search, when
he chanced to meet Bennie Barn-Swallow
one day. Jasper happened to mention
that he was on the lookout for Jolly Robin’s
strange bird; and Bennie Barn-Swallow
said quickly:</p>
<p>“Do you mean the bird of gold?”</p>
<p>“The bird of <i>brass</i>, I should say!”
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_86' name='page_86'></a>86</span>
Jasper replied, with his nose in the air. “You
haven’t seen him, have you?”</p>
<p>“Why, yes!” said Bennie. “He stays
right near my house.”</p>
<p>Of course, Jasper Jay knew that Bennie
lived in a mud house, under the eaves
of Farmer Green’s barn. So he cried at
once: “Then my search is ended! I’ll
come over to the barn this afternoon and
fight the upstart.”</p>
<p>The news spread quickly—the news of
the fight that was going to take place at
Farmer Green’s barn. And as soon as he
heard it, Jolly Robin went straight to the
barn and asked the golden bird if he
wouldn’t leave Pleasant Valley at once.</p>
<p>But the great, gorgeous creature paid
no attention to Jolly Robin’s request. Indeed,
he seemed not to hear his words at
all—though Jolly Robin thought the
stranger was just pretending.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_87' name='page_87'></a>87</span></p>
<p>Jolly had to sing a good many songs that
day to keep up his spirits. Somehow, he
felt that it was all his fault that there was
going to be a fight.</p>
<p>“I wish I hadn’t told anyone about the
golden bird,” he said. “Maybe he would
have flown away before Jasper Jay heard
of his being here.”</p>
<p>Well, Jasper invited everybody to come
to the barn late in the afternoon to see him
whip the golden bird and pull out his tail-feathers.</p>
<p>“There’s going to be some fun,” said
Jasper Jay. “Nobody ought to miss it.”</p>
<p>So, as the afternoon waned, the feathered
folk began to gather in the orchard.
Jolly Robin was there, and his wife, and
old Mr. Crow, Rusty Wren, Bobbie Bobolink,
Miss Kitty Catbird, and a good many
others as well. There was a good deal of
noise, for everyone was chattering. And
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_88' name='page_88'></a>88</span>
Jasper Jay made almost as great a din
as all his friends together. He boasted in
a loud voice that he was going to give the
golden bird a terrible beating. And he was
so pleased with himself that some of his
companions whispered to one another that
it might be a good thing if the golden bird
gave Jasper a sound whipping.</p>
<p>At last Jasper Jay called out that he
was ready. And then he started for
Farmer Green’s barn, while the eager
crew followed close behind him. They all
alighted on the ridge of the barn. And
like Jasper Jay, they sat there for a short
time and stared at the golden bird, who
shimmered like fire in the slanting rays of
the setting sun.</p>
<p>Jolly Robin and Bennie Barn-Swallow
had seen him before; so they weren’t surprised.
But all the others gazed at him
in amazement.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_89' name='page_89'></a>89</span></p>
<p>Now, to Jasper Jay the golden bird
looked enormous. He was perched high
up on a rod which rose above the roof.
And he seemed very proud and disdainful.
In fact, he paid no attention at all to the
curious flock that watched him.</p>
<p>For a little while nobody said a word.
And Jasper Jay was the first to speak.</p>
<p>“Fiddlesticks!” he cried. “This is
nothing but a barnyard fowl. He’s a
rooster—that’s what he is!”</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_90' name='page_90'></a>90</span>
<a name='XVIII_ON_TOP_OF_THE_BARN' id='XVIII_ON_TOP_OF_THE_BARN'></a>
<h2>XVIII</h2>
<h3>ON TOP OF THE BARN</h3>
</div>
<p>All the feathered folk on the roof of
Farmer Green’s barn saw at once that Jasper
Jay had told the truth. The golden
bird was a rooster, just as Jasper had said.
But it seemed strange to them that a rooster
should sit on so high a perch.</p>
<p>“It looks to me,” said old Mr. Crow,
“it looks to me as if he had flown up here
and lighted on that rod and then was
afraid to fly down again.”</p>
<p>“I’ll knock him off!” cried Jasper Jay.
And he made ready to swoop at the
stranger.</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t do that!” said Jolly Robin.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_91' name='page_91'></a>91</span></p>
<p>“No!” Jasper Jay replied. “I know
you wouldn’t. You’d be <i>afraid</i> to do such
a thing.”</p>
<p>“It’s not that,” Jolly Robin told him,
“though he <i>is</i> ten times my size. This is
what I mean: He’s a peaceable fellow.
And though I will admit that he seems a
little too proud, he hasn’t harmed anybody.
So why should anybody harm
him?”</p>
<p>“He’s a barnyard fowl and he belongs
on the ground,” Jasper Jay declared. “If
we let him stay up here in the air there’s
no knowing what Farmer Green’s fowls
will do. All his hens and roosters—and
he has a hundred of ’em—may take to flying
about where they don’t belong. This
golden gentleman is setting them a bad example.
And it is my duty to teach him a
lesson.”</p>
<p>Now, the real reason why Jasper wanted
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_92' name='page_92'></a>92</span>
to knock the golden rooster off his high
perch was because he was so handsome.
Jasper’s fine blue suit looked quite dull
beside the golden dress of the stranger.
And that was more than Jasper could
stand.</p>
<p>“Here I go!” Jasper cried. And he
left his friends and flew straight at the
golden fowl.</p>
<p>Jasper struck the rooster such a hard
blow that he spun around on his perch
twice. But he didn’t lose his balance. And
he never said a single word.</p>
<p>“I’ll pull out his tail-feathers this
time!” Jasper squawked, as he darted at
the stranger again. But Jasper had no
luck at all. Though he pecked viciously
at the tail of the golden rooster, he succeeded
only in hurting his own bill.</p>
<p>Several times Jasper tried. But not
one tail-feather came away. And some of
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_93' name='page_93'></a>93</span>
the onlookers began to smile. Old Mr.
Crow even guffawed aloud. But Jasper
Jay pretended not to hear him.</p>
<p>“Don’t you think we’d better go away?”
Jolly Robin asked Jasper at last.</p>
<p>“I think <i>you</i> had better leave,” Jasper
screamed. He was very angry, because he
knew that his friends were laughing at
him. And instead of flying at the golden
rooster again he made a swift attack on
Jolly Robin.</p>
<p>Being angry, Jasper had forgotten that
Jolly Robin’s wife was present. And to
the blue-coated rascal there seemed suddenly
to be as many as six Jolly Robins,
each one with a furious wife, too.</p>
<p>Jasper fought his hardest. But he was
no match for them. Very soon he made
for the woods; and as he flew away a blue
tail-feather with a white tip floated down
into the barnyard, where Johnnie Green
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_94' name='page_94'></a>94</span>
had stood for some minutes, watching the
strange sight on the roof of his father’s
barn.</p>
<p>Johnnie picked up the feather and stuck
it in his hat. And when he told his father,
later, how a big blue jay had tried to whip
the new weather-vane and a pair of robins
as well, Farmer Green threw back his head
and laughed loudly.</p>
<p>“Don’t you believe me?” Johnnie asked
him. “Here’s the blue jay’s tail-feather,
anyhow. And that ought to prove that I
am telling the truth.”</p>
<p>But Farmer Green only laughed all the
more. You see, he could hardly believe all
the strange things that happened in the
neighborhood.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_95' name='page_95'></a>95</span>
<a name='XIX_CURIOUS_MR_CROW' id='XIX_CURIOUS_MR_CROW'></a>
<h2>XIX</h2>
<h3>CURIOUS MR. CROW</h3>
</div>
<p>Living in the orchard as they did, near the
farmhouse, Jolly Robin and his wife knew
more about Farmer Green’s family than
any of the other birds in Pleasant Valley,
except maybe Rusty Wren. Being a house
wren, Rusty was naturally on the best of
terms with all the people in the farmhouse.</p>
<p>But all summer long Rusty Wren
never strayed far from home. So it was
Jolly Robin who told his friends in the
woods many strange stories about what
happened near the orchard. His account
of the golden bird was only one of many
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_96' name='page_96'></a>96</span>
curious tales that he related to the wondering
wood-creatures.</p>
<p>Being so cheerful and having so much
interesting news to tell, Jolly Robin was
welcome wherever he went. And when
his friends met him in the woods or the
fields they were sure to stop and ask him
if he hadn’t some new story to tell. One
day old Mr. Crow even took the trouble to
fly all the way across the cornfield to the
edge of the woods, where his sharp eyes
had seen Jolly Robin eating wild cherries.</p>
<p>“I say, what do you know that’s new?”
Mr. Crow asked him. The old gentleman
was a very curious person. Being a great
gossip, he was always on the lookout for
something to talk about.</p>
<p>“I don’t believe I’ve seen anything
lately that would interest you,” Jolly replied,
“unless it’s the four-armed man.”</p>
<p>Mr. Crow looked up quickly.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_97' name='page_97'></a>97</span></p>
<p>“What’s that you say?” he exclaimed.</p>
<p>“The four-armed man!” Jolly Robin
repeated.</p>
<p>“Is that a joke?” Mr. Crow asked. He
was inclined to be suspicious, because he
always disliked having tricks played upon
him. “I’ve heard of—and seen—a two-headed
calf,” he remarked. “But a four-armed
man is a little too much for me to
believe in, unless I behold him with my
own eyes.”</p>
<p>Jolly Robin laughed.</p>
<p>“It’s no joke at all!” he declared.</p>
<p>“Then what are you laughing at?” Mr.
Crow inquired severely.</p>
<p>“Nothing!” Jolly Robin answered.
“It’s just a habit of mine to laugh.”</p>
<p>“Very well!” said Mr. Crow. “I accept
your apology. But please don’t do it
again.... And now,” he added, “where,
pray, is this wonderful four-armed man?”
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_98' name='page_98'></a>98</span></p>
<p>“In the barnyard!” Jolly Robin informed
him. “I’ve often seen him lately,
walking between the house and the barn.
He looks a good deal like the hired-man.
But of course it can’t be he, for the hired-man—as
you yourself know—has but two
arms.”</p>
<p>“I must have a look at this monster,”
Mr. Crow remarked. “When would be
a good time for me to see him?”</p>
<p>“At milking-time,” Jolly Robin told
him. “If you’ll meet me on the bridge
down the road when you see Johnnie
Green and old dog Spot driving the cows
home from the pasture this afternoon, I’ll
be glad to show you the four-armed man.
And then you’ll admit that I’m not joking.”</p>
<p>“I’ll certainly be there—” Mr. Crow
promised—“but on one condition. You
must tell me now whether you have ever
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_99' name='page_99'></a>99</span>
known this queer being to fire a gun. If
a two-armed man can shoot one gun, I see
no reason why a four-armed man could not
fire at least two guns at the same time.
And if there’s any chance of such a thing
happening, I would not care to be present.”</p>
<p>Jolly Robin had hard work to keep from
laughing again. The very idea of the
four-armed man aiming two guns at old
Mr. Crow struck him as being very
funny. He couldn’t speak at all for a few
moments. But he shook his head violently.</p>
<p>“You think there’s no danger, then?”
said Mr. Crow, anxiously.</p>
<p>“None at all!” Jolly Robin answered
him. “He carries nothing more dangerous
than milk-pails.”</p>
<p>“Then I’ll meet you on the bridge,” Mr.
Crow promised.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_100' name='page_100'></a>100</span>
<a name='XX_THE_FOURARMED_MAN' id='XX_THE_FOURARMED_MAN'></a>
<h2>XX</h2>
<h3>THE FOUR-ARMED MAN</h3>
</div>
<p>Old dog Spot was driving the last cow
down the lane when Jolly Robin and Mr.
Crow met on the bridge near the farmhouse,
as they had agreed.</p>
<p>“Now, then—” said Mr. Crow, even
before his broad wings had settled smoothly
along his back—“now, then, where’s
the four-armed man?”</p>
<p>Jolly looked towards the barnyard.</p>
<p>“I don’t see him yet,” he said. “But
he ought to appear any moment now.
Let’s move over to the big oak, for we can
get a better view of the barnyard from the
top of it.”
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_101' name='page_101'></a>101</span></p>
<p>Mr. Crow was more than willing. So
they flew to the oak and waited for a time.
They saw the cows file into the barn, each
finding her own place in one of the two
long rows of stanchions that faced each
other across the wide aisle running the
length of the barn. It was through that
aisle that the men walked with great forkfuls
of hay in the winter time, which they
flung down before the cows, who munched
it contentedly.</p>
<p>But it was summer now. And the cows
found their own food in the pasture on the
hillside. They came to the barn only to
be milked.</p>
<p>“It’s milking-time right now,” Jolly
Robin remarked. “And pretty soon
you’ll see the four-armed man come out
of the barn with some pails full of milk.
He’ll carry them into the house, to set
them in the buttery. We’ll have a good
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_102' name='page_102'></a>102</span>
look at him without his knowing anything
about it.”</p>
<p>And that was exactly what happened.</p>
<p>“Here he comes!” Jolly Robin exclaimed,
as a figure stepped out of the
barn and began walking toward the house.
“Now, you’ll have to admit that I wasn’t
joking when I told you the news of this
strange being. You ought to be pretty
glad I let you know about the four-armed
man, Mr. Crow. I guess you never saw
anything quite so queer as he is, even if
you <i>have</i> seen a two-headed calf.” Jolly
Robin said a great deal more to Mr. Crow.
And he was so pleased that he started to
sing a song.</p>
<p>But Mr. Crow quickly silenced him.</p>
<p>“Do keep still!” he whispered. “Do
you want to get me into trouble? It’s bad
enough to have a trick like this played on
me, without your making such a noise.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_103' name='page_103'></a>103</span>
Farmer Green might shoot me if he saw
me so near his house. I thought—” Mr.
Crow added—“I thought you laughed a
little too much when you told me about
your four-armed man. It’s a hoax—a
joke—a trick—and a very poor one,
too.”</p>
<p>Jolly Robin was puzzled enough by Mr.
Crow’s disagreeable remarks.</p>
<p>“I don’t understand how you can say
those things,” he said.</p>
<p>Mr. Crow looked narrowly at his small
companion before answering. And then
he asked:</p>
<p>“Do you mean to say you never heard
of a neck-yoke?”</p>
<p>“Never!” cried Jolly Robin.</p>
<p>“Well, well!” said Mr. Crow. “The ignorance
of some people is more than I can
understand.... That was no four-armed
man. You said he looked like Farmer
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_104' name='page_104'></a>104</span>
Green’s hired-man; and it is not surprising
that he does, for he is the hired-man.
He has found an old neck-yoke somewhere.
It is just a piece of wood that fits about
his shoulders and around his neck and
sticks out on each side of him like an arm.
And he hooks a pail of milk to each end
of the yoke, carrying his load in that way.
I supposed,” said Mr. Crow, “that people
had stopped using neck-yokes fifty years
ago. It’s certainly that long since I’ve
seen one.”</p>
<p>“Then it’s no wonder that I made a mistake!”
Jolly Robin cried. “For I’m too
young ever to have heard of a neck-yoke,
even.” And he laughed and chuckled merrily.
“It’s a good joke on me!” he said.</p>
<p>But old Mr. Crow did not laugh.</p>
<p>“There you go, making a noise again!”
he said crossly. “A person’s not safe in
your company.” And he hurried off
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_105' name='page_105'></a>105</span>
across the meadow. Mr. Crow was always
very nervous when he was near the farmhouse.</p>
<p>But Jolly Robin stayed right there until
the hired-man walked back to the barn.
He saw then that what Mr. Crow had told
him was really so. And he never stopped
laughing until long after sunset.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_106' name='page_106'></a>106</span>
<a name='XXI_A_DOLEFUL_DITTY' id='XXI_A_DOLEFUL_DITTY'></a>
<h2>XXI</h2>
<h3>A DOLEFUL DITTY</h3>
</div>
<p>Jolly Robin often complained about the
wailing of Willie Whip-poor-will. Willie
lived in the woods, which were not far
from the orchard. And it was annoying
to Jolly to hear his call, “<i>Whip-poor-will,
whip-poor-will</i>,” repeated over and over
again for some two hours after Jolly’s
bed-time. Neither did Jolly Robin enjoy
being awakened by that same sound an
hour or two before he wanted to get up in
the morning. And what was still worse,
on moonlight nights Willie sometimes
sang his favorite song from sunset to sunrise.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_107' name='page_107'></a>107</span></p>
<p>“What a doleful ditty!” said Jolly
Robin. “I must see this fellow and tell
him that he ought to change his tune.”
But the trouble was that Jolly Robin did
not like to roam about at night. He was
always too sleepy to do that. And in the
daytime Willie Whip-poor-will was silent,
resting or sleeping upon the ground in the
woods.</p>
<p>But a day came at last when Jolly Robin
stumbled upon Willie Whip-poor-will,
sound asleep where he lived. And Jolly
lost no time in waking him up.</p>
<p>“I’ve been wanting to speak to you for
some time,” he told the drowsy fellow.</p>
<p>“What’s the matter?” Willie Whip-poor-will
asked, with a startled stare.
“Are the woods on fire?”</p>
<p>“No!” said Jolly Robin. “I want to
talk with you—that’s all.” And he was
as cheerful as anyone could have wished.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_108' name='page_108'></a>108</span></p>
<p>But Willie Whip-poor-will looked very
cross.</p>
<p>“This is a queer time to make a call!”
he grumbled. “I don’t like to be disturbed
in broad daylight. I supposed everybody
knew that midnight is the proper time for
a visit.”</p>
<p>“But I’m always asleep then,” Jolly
Robin objected, “unless it’s a moonlight
night and you happen to be singing on my
side of the woods.”</p>
<p>Willie Whip-poor-will looked almost
pleasant when Jolly said that.</p>
<p>“So you stay awake to hear me!” he exclaimed.
“I see you like my singing.”</p>
<p>Jolly Robin laughed, because Willie had
made such a funny mistake.</p>
<p>“You’re wrong!” he said. “In fact,
I’ve been wanting to talk with you about
that very thing. I want you to change
your song, which is a very annoying one.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_109' name='page_109'></a>109</span>
It’s altogether too disagreeable. I’ll teach
you my ‘<i>Cheerily-cheerup</i>’ song. You’ll
like it much better, I think. And I’m sure
all your neighbors will.... Why not
learn the new song right now?” Jolly
asked.</p>
<p>But Willie Whip-poor-will made no answer.
Looking at him more closely, Jolly
Robin was amazed to see that he was
sound asleep.</p>
<p>“Here, wake up!” Jolly cried, as he
nudged Willie under a wing.</p>
<p>Again Willie Whip-poor-will sprang up
with a bewildered expression.</p>
<p>“Hullo!” he said. “What’s the
trouble? Did a tree fall?”</p>
<p>“You went to sleep while I was talking
to you,” Jolly Robin explained.</p>
<p>“Oh!” said Willie Whip-poor-will.
“That doesn’t matter. You must be used
to that.” And the words were scarcely
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_110' name='page_110'></a>110</span>
out of his mouth before he had fallen
asleep again.</p>
<p>Jolly Robin looked at him in a puzzled
way. He didn’t see how he could teach
Willie his “<i>Cheerily-cheerup</i>” song unless
he could keep him awake. But he
thought he ought to try; so he gave Willie
a sharp tweak with his bill.</p>
<p>“Did you hear what I said about your
singing?” he shouted right in Willie’s
ear.</p>
<p>Willie Whip-poor-will only murmured
sleepily:</p>
<p>“It’s rheumatism. I just felt a twinge
of it.”</p>
<p>He had no idea what Jolly Robin was
talking about.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_111' name='page_111'></a>111</span>
<a name='XXII_SHOCKING_MANNERS' id='XXII_SHOCKING_MANNERS'></a>
<h2>XXII</h2>
<h3>SHOCKING MANNERS</h3>
</div>
<p>Jolly Robin tried his best to rouse Willie
Whip-poor-will out of his daytime nap.
But he had to admit to himself at last that
his efforts were in vain. It was plain that
Willie was too sleepy to understand what
was said to him. And as for his learning
a new song when he was in that condition,
that was entirely out of the question.</p>
<p>“I’ll have to wait till sunset,” Jolly
Robin sighed at last. “That’s the time
that Willie always wakes up and begins to
sing.... I’ll come back here late this afternoon.”</p>
<p>So he left the woods; and he was busy
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_112' name='page_112'></a>112</span>
every moment all the rest of the day.</p>
<p>Shortly before sunset Jolly Robin went
back to the place in the woods where he
had left Willie Whip-poor-will sleeping.
But Willie was no longer there. He had
left only a few minutes before Jolly’s arrival.
And as Jolly sat on a low branch of
a tree and looked all around, just as the
sun dropped behind the mountain, a voice
began singing from some point deeper in
the woods. “<i>Whip-poor-will! Whip-poor-will!</i>”
That was the way the song went.</p>
<p>“There’s Willie now!” Jolly Robin exclaimed.
And he flew off at once to find
his night-prowling friend. He knew that
Willie Whip-poor-will was some distance
away, because he couldn’t hear the low
“<i>chuck!</i>” with which Willie always began
his song, as a sort of warning that he was
going to sing, and that nobody could stop
him.
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_113' name='page_113'></a>113</span></p>
<p>Jolly had a good deal of trouble finding
the singer, because Willie Whip-poor-will
didn’t stay in one place. Between his
bursts of song he coursed about hunting
for insects, which he caught as he flew. So
it was not surprising that Jolly did not
come upon him until it had grown almost
dark in the woods.</p>
<p>“Hullo!” said Willie as soon as he saw
Jolly Robin. “I haven’t seen you for a
long time.”</p>
<p>Jolly Robin laughed merrily.</p>
<p>“Don’t you remember my calling on
you about noon to-day?” he asked.</p>
<p>“You must be mistaken,” Willie Whip-poor-will
replied. “I’ve been asleep since
sunrise—until a little while ago. And nobody
came to see me.”</p>
<p>“You’ve forgotten,” said Jolly. “But
it’s no matter. I can talk to you now just
as well. I want to speak to you about your
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_114' name='page_114'></a>114</span>
singing.” Jolly paused then; and he
yawned widely, for it was his bed-time
that very moment.</p>
<p>“Talk fast, please!” said Willie Whip-poor-will.
“I haven’t finished my breakfast
yet. And I’m pretty hungry.”</p>
<p>It seemed queer, to Jolly Robin, that
anyone should be eating his breakfast
right after sunset. And he was about to
say something about the matter. But just
as he opened his mouth to speak he yawned
again. And then, without realizing what
he was doing, he tucked his head under
his wing and fell asleep on the limb of the
cedar tree where he was sitting.</p>
<p>Willie Whip-poor-will looked at him in
astonishment.</p>
<p>“What shocking manners!” he exclaimed.
“He went to sleep while we were
talking. But I suppose he knows no better.”
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_115' name='page_115'></a>115</span></p>
<p>Willie would have liked to know what
Jolly Robin was going to say about his
singing. But he was so hungry that he
left Jolly asleep upon his perch and hurried
off to look for more insects.</p>
<p>Since it was a moonlight night, Willie
Whip-poor-will spent all the time until
sunrise in hunting for food. Now and
then he stopped to rest and sing his queer
song, which Jolly Robin did not like.</p>
<p>But Jolly Robin slept so soundly that
for once Willie’s singing never disturbed
him at all.</p>
<hr class='major' />
<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_116' name='page_116'></a>116</span>
<a name='XXIII_A_COLD_GREETING' id='XXIII_A_COLD_GREETING'></a>
<h2>XXIII</h2>
<h3>A COLD GREETING</h3>
</div>
<p>When Jolly Robin awoke a little before
dawn, after his night in the woods, he did
not know at first where he was.</p>
<p>Now, it happened that just as he was
awaking in the cedar tree, Willie Whip-poor-will
was going to sleep on the ground
right beneath him. So when Jolly at last
looked down and spied his friend, he remembered
what had happened.</p>
<p>“My goodness!” he said with a nervous
laugh. “I fell asleep here last night! And
I wonder what my wife will say when I
get home.” He would have liked to try
to rouse Willie Whip-poor-will and speak
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_117' name='page_117'></a>117</span>
to him about learning the new song. But
he was so uneasy on account of what his
wife might say about his having stayed
away from home all night that he flew
away as fast as he could go.</p>
<p>It was exactly as he had feared. When
he reached his house in the orchard his
wife greeted him quite coldly. In fact,
she hardly spoke to him at all. And when
Jolly told her, with a good many chuckles,
what a joke he had played on himself—falling
asleep as he had, while making a
call upon Willie Whip-poor-will—she did
not even smile.</p>
<p>“I should think you would be ashamed
of yourself,” she told him. “Willie
Whip-poor-will is a good-for-nothing rascal.
Everybody talks about the way he
prowls through the woods all night and
seldom goes to bed before morning. And
his wife is no better than he is. They’re
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_118' name='page_118'></a>118</span>
too shiftless even to build themselves a
nest. Mrs. Whip-poor-will leaves her eggs
on the ground. And that’s enough to know
about <i>her</i>.</p>
<p>“If you like to spend your time with
such trash you’d better go over to the
woods and live,” Mrs. Robin said. And
then she turned her back on her husband
and set to work to clean her nest.</p>
<p>Jolly and his wife happened to have five
small children at the time. They were so
young that they had never left home, not
having learned to fly. And they were all
clamoring for their breakfast.</p>
<p>Thinking to please his wife, Jolly Robin
went off and began gathering angleworms
for the youngsters. But when he brought
them home his wife told him that he had
better eat them himself.</p>
<p>“I am quite able to feed my own children
without any help from a person who
<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_119' name='page_119'></a>119</span>
doesn’t come home until after daybreak,”
she said.</p>
<p>And she acted like that for two whole
days. Naturally, Jolly Robin felt very
uncomfortable during that time. And
ever afterward he took good care to have
nothing to do with Willie Whip-poor-will.</p>
<p>He did wish, however, that Willie would
learn a new song. For Jolly disliked more
than ever to hear that “<i>Whip-poor-will!
Whip-poor-will!</i>” repeated over and over
again. It always reminded him of the time
he made his wife angry by spending the
night away from home.</p>
<p style='text-align:center;margin-top:1.5em;'>THE END</p>
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