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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..49c7951 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68198 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68198) diff --git a/old/68198-0.txt b/old/68198-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index adcfc6b..0000000 --- a/old/68198-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5120 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Forest Friends, by Royal Dixon - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Forest Friends - -Author: Royal Dixon - -Illustrator: Robert Shepard McCourt - -Release Date: May 29, 2022 [eBook #68198] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Charlene Taylor, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOREST FRIENDS *** - - - - - - FOREST FRIENDS - - BY ROYAL DIXON - - AUTHOR OF "THE HUMAN SIDE OF PLANTS" - - WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR BY - ROBERT SHEPARD McCOURT - - NEW YORK - FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY - PUBLISHERS - - _Copyright, 1916, by_ - FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY - - _All rights reserved_ - - - TO - ANNE RHODES - FAITHFUL FRIEND, GOOD FELLOW, AND RARE SOUL - - - _NOTE_ - - _The author is especially indebted to Mr. Read - Hersey for valuable suggestions and criticism in - the preparation of this book._ - - - - - CONTENTS - - - I MRS. ELEPHANT'S MOONLIGHT DANCE - - II OLD LADY WILDCAT'S FEAST - - III MRS. FROG CHANGES HER DRESS - - IV MR. MOCKING-BIRD AND HIS PRIZE SONG - - V MR. RACCOON'S OYSTER SUPPER - - VI MRS. GOOSE AND HER SWAMP COUSINS - - VII MRS. FOX STEALS ONE EGG TOO MANY - - VIII WHY MRS. FROG MUST LIVE IN THE SWAMPS - - IX THE SCARE-MAN TREE - - X MRS. FOX AND THE EIDER-DUCK EGGS - - XI SUNNY GOURD AND LADY TRUMPET-VINE - - XII THE END OF THE TIMBER WOLF - - XIII THE TRAVELS OF PRINCE FLAMINGO - - XIV PRINCE FLAMINGO'S TRIUMPHANT RETURN - - XV MOTHER FOX'S HOSPITAL - - XVI WHY MRS. CROW IS BLACK - - XVII MRS. MUSKRAT'S POOR RELATIONS - - XVIII MR. WILD GOOSE AND MRS. GREBE - - XIX BABY FOX AND MRS. BEAR - - XX CHRISTMAS EVE - - XXI MOTHER RABBIT'S ADVICE TO HER BABIES - - XXII THE MICE AND BABY STORK - - XXIII MRS. BOB-WHITE AND THE HUNTING DOG - - XXIV MRS. POLAR BEAR'S ADVENTURE - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS - - -"At her special request, Mr. Frog played for her, not too fast, on his -elegant flute" - -"'Listen, listen, listen,' said the mocking-bird" - -"While the gay old foxes were in the next room, Mrs. Rabbit slipped out" - -"Off through the big woods the little foxes trotted gaily behind their -mother" - -"His mother was in a great state of delight over him, of course, and -his stately father eyed him with approval" - -"The birds met in a great meeting. Something had to be done" - -"Fireflame gasped out his news in one breath" - -"They grabbed the baby stork and dragged him down to the edge of the -roof" - - - - - FOREST FRIENDS - - - - - I - - MRS. ELEPHANT'S MOONLIGHT DANCE - - -It was a beautiful evening in the forest, and under the moonlight -there was a great gathering of friends. Mr. and Mrs. Elephant, and -the Kangaroos, the Foxes, and the handsome Leopards, even sprightly -little Miss Lynx, and a number of the aristocratic jungle Deer were -seated, all in a great circle, around the pleasant pool which shone in -the moonlight, and displayed the loveliest of lilies afloat upon its -surface. - -"Then, it is decided," said the venerable Mr. Tapir. "We are, my -friends, going to contest for a dancing prize. It is felt that such an -entertainment will relieve the rather tedious monotony of our evenings -in this lovely spot. - -"One week from to-night there will be the finest party we have ever -given. No expense is to be spared. Music will be supplied by the -celebrated company of Baboons and Macaws; and the ladies will adjourn, -forthwith, as a committee on refreshments." - -Mr. Tapir went on at great length, for all the animals loved to hear -him talk, and he loved to hear himself. He had been to London. He knew -how things ought to be done. So he said it all over several times, but -he always ended with, "and the ladies will adjourn forthwith," which -beautiful words struck the animals as the finest they had ever heard. - -"What oratory! Such a flow of London speech!" they whispered. And -the lovely Miss Giraffe broke down and cried. Such is the power of -eloquence. - -Great jealousies ensued, however, for Mrs. Kangaroo let it be known -straightway that the prize was hers for sure. No one could dance as she -could. She had only to straighten her waist, lift her chin, and give a -leap. It was her specialty. - -"When it comes to grace and speed," Mrs. Leopard remarked, "there is -something in my motion which is utterly lacking to the rest of you." - -Now, Mrs. Elephant kept quiet. She knew what they thought of her. She -was always referred to as "that good, solid, easy-going person" unless -her friends were spiteful, when they did not hesitate to call her -"that ungainly old cow of an elephant." She knew their ways and spite. - -"But I shall get that prize," she grunted, as she trudged to her -handsome, roomy home under the chocolate trees. Nor did she feel less -determined in the cool bright morning, when, as a rule, the resolutions -of the night before grow pale. Immediately she put her housekeeping -into the hands of her sister-in-law, who was young and willing. - -"I have much to do," she said. - -Then she set out to find her friends, the bull-frogs. They would pipe -their tunes all day in the shade, and she would practise her steps. - -It was hard at first, but soon she devised a wonderful dance. Up and -down and around she went all day, and most all night. But she kept her -doings a secret; and it was well she did, for all the animals would -only have laughed at her had they seen her flopping around on the edge -of the bull-frogs' pond. - -The night of the dance came. The elegance of the costumes and the -abundance of the refreshments were a delight. - -It was a little game of sly Mrs. Fox's to urge everybody to eat as much -as possible, and this she would do with the sweetest smile. - -"Oh, do eat another bunch of bananas," she would say to Mrs. Elephant; -for she wanted everybody to overeat except herself. Then they could not -dance, she knew, and she would get the prize if she showed only her -wonderful walking steps. - -But the animals guessed her scheme. They only thanked her, and stroked -their dresses or went off into corners to try their steps. - -It was a brave show, and after a few had risen to the floor and danced -their steps, favor was plainly directed to the lithe and lovely Mrs. -Leopard. - -"Just wait for Mrs. Kangaroo," was whispered from one to another. -"She's wonderful, you know." - -Then Mrs. Kangaroo came forth. Yes, it was marvelous what she could -accomplish. First she strutted high and proud, then she bounded up -and down, and finally made a great leap; but it was a leap before -she looked, for what did she do but jump right into the lily pond, -_ker-splash_! - -Great embarrassment seized the company, and the less polite, such as -the monkeys, simply yelled in derision. - -"Mrs. Elephant! Mrs. Elephant!" was now the cry. - -"Yes, yes, Mrs. Elephant!" came from all sides; for the animals, -already amused by Mrs. Kangaroo's unfortunate conclusion, were ready to -be boisterous. They could roar at Mrs. Elephant if they wanted to; she -was so thick-skinned, as they thought, that you could never hurt her -feelings anyway. - -But Mrs. Elephant was very modest, and a trifle grand. Besides, she was -all polished and trimmed in a manner most affecting. All that afternoon -her sister-in-law had stood in the water with her, smoothing down her -dress and rubbing her head; and two simple palm leaves behind her ears, -with a little rope of moon-flowers garlanded over her placid forehead -gave her a regal aspect which the animals were surprised and delighted -to note. - -"How thin she's grown! How do you suppose she did it?" they gasped. - -Then Mrs. Elephant danced. - -At her special request, Mr. Frog played for her, not too fast, on his -elegant flute. But scarcely had she taken her first two steps when the -orchestra struck up that grand old march, _Tigers Bold and Monkeys -Gay_, which, as you know, would set anybody a-marching even if they had -nowhere to go. - -[Illustration: "AT HER SPECIAL REQUEST, MR. FROG PLAYED FOR HER, NOT -TOO FAST, ON HIS ELEGANT FLUTE"] - -Waving her splendid arms to the sky, and making the most wonderful -bows, flapping her ears and curling and pointing her trunk, all to the -tune of the music, she was, as the eloquent Mrs. Tapir was moved to -say, "as majestic as the night." - -At her signal, when she knew she had captivated the audience, the -music changed, and she came tripping toward them with open arms and -the pinkest, biggest smile the world has ever seen. She begged them -all to strike up the chorus; and suddenly, without knowing what they -were about (for such is the way with an audience, once the hard-worked -artist has enraptured his fellow-beings), they were all shouting the -stirring words: - - I'm the jungle dandy, O, - You're the zebra's daughter, - Come an' kiss me, handy, O, - Nuts and orange water. - -Of course she took the prize. And all she would say, or all, indeed, -that can be got out of her to this day, about it is: - -"Practise, my dears, practise. No, I have never done it since, nor -would I think of trying. I only wished to feel in my old age that I had -accomplished something. The race, as wise men have said, is not to the -swift. Determination and careful, unremitting practise: that's what is -wanted." - - - - - II - - OLD LADY WILDCAT'S FEAST - - -Sister Alligator and Miss Mud-Turtle had always been exceedingly good -friends, and always helped each other out of trouble. One day Miss -Mud-Turtle flopped over to Sister Alligator in great excitement. - -"Look here, my friend, I'm going to have a picnic over on the other -side of your big pond, and I want you to help me!" she said. - -"Well, I'm right here to do what I can for you. Just tell me of what -service I may be," replied Sister Alligator, as she lazily opened her -sleepy eyes. - -"You are a wonderfully good neighbor," declared Miss Mud-Turtle, "and -I was just wondering if you would mind carrying all my young friends, -the swamp turtles, across the pond on your big back? It would take you -only a minute to swim us across, and if we tried to go around the pond, -I am afraid Old Lady Wildcat might catch us on the way. You know she is -always trying to get the best of us mud-turtles." - -Sister Alligator's sleepy eyes opened wider. - -"I have the very idea!" she exclaimed. "Just send Old Lady Wildcat an -invitation to come to the picnic. Then I'll swim out into the pond and -dive under and drown her, for all of you mud-turtles can swim." - -Miss Mud-Turtle laughed so hard she had to wipe the tears from her eyes. - -"Sister Alligator, your sleepy old head is not on your body for -nothing! You surely have some brains! That is the very idea for -disposing of Old Lady Wildcat! I'll make a carpet out of her soft hide -for my young friends to play on before the sun goes down." - -So Miss Mud-Turtle sent an invitation to Old Lady Wildcat, all written -on a grape leaf in grand style. It told of the big dinner they were to -have, and where it was to be, and that Sister Alligator would carry -them all across the pond on her back. - -When Old Lady Wildcat got the invitation she mewed to Mr. 'Possum, who -had brought it, that she would be there all right, but that they must -be very careful when they carried her over the pond, as her rheumatism -was bad. - -Then, when Mr. 'Possum went to take her message to Miss Mud-Turtle, Old -Lady Wildcat laughed so loudly she had to hide her face with her paws -for fear Miss Mud-Turtle would hear her. She was just planning how to -get the best of Miss Mud-Turtle. - -"Whenever I dine with low-down mud-turtles and alligators it is time -for me to lose this fine coat of mine. I suppose they forget who I am! -Ha! What would all my grandchildren think of their grandmother dining -with mud-turtles!" - -Then she began laughing again, and her grandchildren, who were sleeping -away up in the branches of a big pine-tree, came down to see what had -tickled her so. - -Old Lady Wildcat was holding her sides and dancing about in glee. - -"Oh, children," she laughed, "we're going to have some fun! Old Miss -Mud-Turtle is trying to get your grandmother to dine with her across -the pond. Get yourselves ready for the big feast, and I'll start over -on Sister Alligator's back, while you all go on ahead and eat up the -dinner." - -"Hooray!" cried the young wildcats. "We'll slip along behind to see how -you get started, and then we'll run around the pond and get the dinner -before Miss Mud-Turtle and Sister Alligator can come." - -So Old Lady Wildcat loped down to the pond, and there were Miss -Mud-Turtle and Sister Alligator. All the little mud-turtles climbed on -the alligator raft. - -"Be very careful, Mrs. Wildcat," Sister Alligator cautioned, "not to -wet your feet. You might take cold." - -Old Lady Wildcat smiled pleasantly and jumped; and then away swam -Sister Alligator. - -It was fine riding till they got to about the middle of the pond. Then -Sister Alligator stopped. - -"I'm very sorry," she said politely, "but I have the cramps, _ooh! -ooh!_ I must drop to the bottom of the pond." - -And down she dived. - -But Old Lady Wildcat was too quick for her. She sprang up into the air -and caught a grapevine, climbed up on it, and finally got to land. Then -she ran through the woods to where her grandchildren were, and there -they had the greatest feast you ever saw. - -Finally, just as Sister Alligator and Miss Mud-Turtle with all the -children came in sight, Old Lady Wildcat climbed up into a tree and -laughed and mewed at them. - -And this is what she said: - -"Never try to fool folks, Sister Alligator and Miss Mud-Turtle, by -plotting against them, for you'll find that you are only fooling -yourselves!" - - - - - III - - MRS. FROG CHANGES HER DRESS - - -"Also, it is said that ages and ages ago Mrs. Frog and her family dwelt -at the bottom of the sea." - -"In the ocean?" queried surprised little Kingfisher, who was listening -to all that Professor Crane could tell him. - -"Yes, in the great salt water," replied Professor Crane, as he shifted -his position and stood on the other leg. "Far deeper it was, too, than -this pond." - -For the learned Crane and little Kingfisher were spending a quiet hour -under the shade of the wild orange trees, on the shores of a narrow -lagoon. It was a hot, still day, and they were each of them resting -after a morning's exertion. Professor Crane was always a talker after -dinner, for he knew much and was sociable. He could discourse by the -hour if any one would listen; and if nobody was disposed to heed -him, he would meditate by himself. But just now he had an alert and -inquisitive companion, for if Kingfisher loved two things in the -world, one was to hear all the scandal, and the other was to pick -feathers out of the back of a crow as he flew. - -But apparently Professor Crane had decided to tell no more, for he -rested his long bill on his breast, and let his eyes close to a narrow -slit. This made him look infinitely wiser than he really was; but like -a good many talkative persons he knew the value of waiting to be asked. - -Kingfisher eyed his friend earnestly and opened his mouth several times -to speak, but shut it again. Finally, however, thinking that Professor -Crane had forgotten what he was saying, he piped out: - -"How strange!" - -And that stirred the venerable scholar to resume his narrative. - -"Yes, strange indeed; yet nothing so wonderful after all. Nothing is -past belief if you have studied long enough, and I have had signal -advantages. It was, you may be pleased to know, a relative of mine, a -Doctor Stork, who had perched all his life on the chimney of a great -university in Belgium, who told me the truth about the frog. Of course, -that is nothing to you, as you are not versed in the universities. But -that's not your fault. At any rate, as I was saying, Mrs. Frog lived -in the sea and had a palace of coral and pearl. She was very much -larger than she is now, and was of a totally different color. She was -red as the reddest coral, and her legs were as yellow as gold. Very -striking, she was; and her voice was a deep contralto. But she was -never content with her home, and couldn't decide whether she wanted to -be in or out of the water. That's the way with all inferior characters. -Men, you observe, are given to such traits of indecision, never being -content where they are. - -"Mrs. Frog, for all the pleasures of her coral hall, found it pleasant -to sit on the rocks and stare at the land. And the more she stared, the -more she wished to go ashore. But she was built for swimming, you know, -and, for the life of her, she couldn't get over the sands." - -"How on earth did she learn?" put in Kingfisher. - -"Necessity and, as I might say, emergency," Professor Crane replied. -"One day she let the waves carry her high and dry on the beach, -trusting to another wave to take her back. But the other wave never -came. She had come on the very last roller of the high tide. By and -by she saw two eyes glaring at her from under the grass. It was -probably a snake that was after her. Then, because she had to, she got -back to the water. That's the way, you know. What folks have to do -they generally accomplish, but until they're frightened into it they -generally stand still." - -"True, true," Kingfisher agreed. "I was afraid to fly when I was a -baby. The last to leave the nest was myself, and finally my father -pushed me out. I flew, of course, and never knew how I learned." - -"Same with Mrs. Frog," added Professor Crane. "She got there. But the -knowledge that she could hop if she wanted to was her undoing. She was -never at home when she was wanted, and if Mr. Bullfrog had not watched -the eggs in her place, there would have been no more frogs to talk -about. At last he grew as neglectful as she was, however, and all the -frogs caught the madness. That's when they took to tying their eggs up -in packages and leaving them to care for themselves." - -"How careless!" Kingfisher thought, as he recalled the hours that his -wife spent sitting on hers, and what enemies would get them if he did -not perch on guard. - -"But the frogs got all the dry land they wanted. The sea turned itself -into one great wave and spilled all over the mountains, you know. Yes, -that was the time the moon changed from a golden dish to a silver -platter. Some say it was from a pumpkin to a green cheese. But the -weight of authority, the preponderance of learning is on the side of -the silver platter." - -"The preponderance of what?" interrupted Kingfisher. For although he -knew what Professor Crane meant, he felt it was a compliment to him to -ask for a repetition of these handsome words. - -But Professor Crane went right on, which is the proper thing to do. - -"And when the water went back where it belonged, it went farther than -ever before. Half of the earth was high and dry that formerly had been -under water. And Mrs. Frog was on that half." - -"How terrible!" his listener exclaimed. "And how uncomfortable she must -have been!" - -"I should say she was!" Professor Crane agreed. "It was hotter, too, -than fire. In fact she was destined to spend a long time regretting her -previous state, while she sweltered, high and dry. - -"The desert, you know, is the home of competition." - -Professor Crane waited for this observation to sink in, for he felt -that it was one of the best he had ever made. - -"I mean that it is the worst place to live because everybody else wants -you to die. That's what competition is, my friend Kingfisher. And on -the sandy desert it is that way. - -"There wasn't drinking water enough to go around, and the plants and -trees, because they could burrow down and find a few drops, had the -best of it. They stored it up, too, inside of themselves, and then, to -keep people from breaking in for a drink, they threw out every kind of -needle and thorn you can think of. - -"But they grew beautiful flowers, and Mrs. Frog said that these -reminded her of corals. The cactus flowers were indeed her only -consolation, and she would sit under them all day. She didn't dare to -hop out on the sands, for the birds were sure to see her and eat her, -and so she took to running her tongue out and catching what she could -in that way." - -"Very convenient, I'm sure," Kingfisher observed. "I wish I could do it -myself. It would save me much gadding about." - -"Yes, my young friend, it would; but you'd never be patient enough. -And Mrs. Frog is just so much patience on a lily pad. It's her whole -life. - -"She learned patience, you may be sure, on that desert, and her enemies -were so many that she feared for her life every time she ventured out -from under the cactus blossom. So she only went out at night and was, -even then, careful about getting into the moonshine. - -"Poor thing; she nearly starved to death, and grew thinner and thinner -until her beautiful figure was gone. Then her skin shriveled into -creases, and she finally got the leathery look that she has to-day." - -"And how did she change her color?" Kingfisher begged to know. - -"I don't think I care to tell you," said Professor Crane, with a sudden -change in his voice. - -This produced great surprise in little Mr. Kingfisher, for he never -knew the Professor to withhold anything. Usually he was only too -eager to load you with facts. So the small bird kept silence very -respectfully, not knowing just what to say. - -"You are yourself very saucy, and full of your foolishness," the wise -Crane finally observed, "and you are not likely to believe what I tell -you. But you can make what you choose of it, and it may do you good to -know." - -Professor Crane cleared his throat, and wagged his long bill up and -down several times, much as a truly bearded professor strokes his chin -in delivering the hardest part of his lecture. Then he coughed, for -that is effective, too, and changed from his left foot to his right. - -"Well," he resumed, "she prayed to the Man in the Moon, as that was the -only thing that she knew to do, and begged him to give her a bog. - -"'Just a bog, or a piece of a swamp, Mr. Moon,' she kept saying, 'even -a few inches of water will do,' and after she had done this to every -full moon for a year, and nothing had come of it, she changed her tune." - -Kingfisher looked startled. He had personally the greatest respect -for the Moon. He had heard much evil about it, however, and was not a -little cautious of expressing his views on the subject. - -"What did she beg of the Moon after that?" was all he could say. - -"She had concluded that the Man in the Moon was unable to give her a -bog, even if he wanted to, so she decided to start out and find one. -That was the beginning of the end of her troubles. She begged Mr. Moon -to show her how to get there, when she came to the point of starting, -and she only added, 'Give me a green dress, Mr. Moon, Mr. Moon!' And -that's exactly what the Man in the Moon did for her. The frogs made -their journey in a body, on the darkest night of the year. But there -was just one Moonbeam and it was on duty for this one thing, to show -the frogs how to go." - -"Wonderful!" exclaimed Kingfisher. "Wonderful! But which night of the -year was it?" Mr. Kingfisher thought of several things he might do, if -he knew which night was the blackest. - -"The darkest night of all, my dear friend, is the one when you change -the color of your life." - -This silenced Mr. Kingfisher; and Professor Crane, perceiving that the -words had taken effect, concluded his story. - -"That single Moonbeam Angel was very beautiful and powerful. For, -just as the frogs came at last to the valleys and found a deep swamp -where they could forever be happy, with water or land as they wanted, -Moonbeam touched them farewell, and their dresses turned to russet and -green." - -There were no remarks to be made, for Professor Crane clapped his bill -together exactly as though he brought the book of history together -with a bang; and he ruffled his wings as if he were about to fly off. - -So little Kingfisher, not knowing just how to thank the great bird, -said something about going home to supper. - -"Just so, just so," clacked Professor Crane. - -And the two birds flew up and away, Kingfisher to his nest in the -tree-top, and the learned Professor to his books and studies. - - - - - IV - - MR. MOCKING-BIRD AND HIS PRIZE SONG - - -A very little squirrel, who was but a month old, was looking out across -an orchard from the top of a high tree. It was early morning and the -sun had just risen, so that everything was sparkling with dew, and the -air was cool and sweet to breathe. - -He rubbed his fat cheeks with his paws and sat very straight on his -haunches, looking his best and trying to sing, for he wanted very much -to say something by way of letting the world know what he thought of -it. Feeling as he did, so exceedingly happy, he wished to join the -lovely sounds around him, for birds were singing everywhere, and even -the river at the foot of the orchard had a song. - -So the little squirrel made all the noise he could, which is just what -the children do when they have all day to play and the sky is blue and -clear above the fields. - -But just as he paused for breath he heard his words repeated from -another tree. Somebody was mocking him, word for word, and making a -very ridiculous thing of his happy little song. His tail bristled -with anger, and he ran higher in the tree to get a better view of -his neighbor. He would teach another squirrel to mock him! No living -creature could he see, but he heard a bluebird call, and then, as if to -insult him, came again his own exultant _chirp, chirp-chee, chee, chee, -chee_, and after it a perfect flood of laughter, just like the silly -notes of the little owl who sits up all night to laugh at the moon. - -Indeed, the squirrel was more puzzled than angry now, and he rushed -home to his mother in the highest branches of the walnut-tree, and as -fast as he could chatter he told her all about it. She was a very busy -woman, Mrs. Squirrel, and she was too much engaged in her sweeping and -making of beds to stop and talk with her little son. Moreover, she did -not know exactly what to say; so she told him to find the wise old -woodchuck under the hill, who was lazy and good-natured and fond of -company, and to inquire of him just why the mocking-bird should repeat -everything that was said or sung. - -So off to the foot of the orchard and the old rail-fence the little -squirrel scampered, and, as he expected, the good old woodchuck was -lounging by his door-step, blinking at the sunlight and munching clover. - -"There's nothing here for you," the woodchuck muttered with his mouth -full. "You've come to the wrong house for breakfast." - -"No, no," the squirrel hastened to say. "You do not know my errand. -I've come to ask you why the mocking-bird is so fond of mocking. Has he -no song of his own? And why should he laugh at me?" - -Poor little squirrel was so full of anger, as he spoke his mind, that -he puffed and bristled mightily, and the fat woodchuck burst out -laughing. - -"So he jeered at you, did he? Why, that's his business; but you -mustn't mind the things he says. He's really a very fine fellow, Mr. -Mocking-bird, and everybody loves him." - -Then the woodchuck brushed the clover aside and came out a little -farther into the sun to warm his back, for he was very wise, and he -knew that the sun on the back was good for the shoulder-blades. - -"Mr. Mocking-bird," he began, "is a great artist. That's why he can say -what he thinks and do what he wants to do. And once, in the long ago, -he taught all the songs in the world to the birds. You see it was this -way: - -"The thrush and the robin and the catbird fell to disputing about their -songs. And all the noisy blackbirds and the little wrens, even the -crows with their ugly notes, entered the discussion, with results which -I can't describe. Oh, it lasted years and years, and every bird thought -he was the best singer in the world and tried to sing everything -he ever heard, whether it was his own song or not; and at last the -confusion was so terrible that if the robin flew North, everybody -thought he was a finch, and when he came back, he made a noise like a -wild goose." - -"Impossible!" exclaimed the squirrel. - -"Not at all. That's the way with singers the world over, until they are -sharply taught where they belong. Few people are content with their -own talents. My own family is the only modest and unassuming one that -I know of. We are content to dig and eat and sit in the sun. We have -never trained our voices or gone in for dancing. Very different from -your family, young Mr. Squirrel, which is frivolous and noisy. But you -must pardon that--it was a mere observation. As I was saying, the only -way to decide the business and restore order was to hold a meeting of -all the birds, with a few good judges of music on hand to decide the -question once for all. - -"The adder, being deaf, was the chairman. Deafness, they say, is the -prime requirement in a critic, for it allows him time to think. And the -buzzard, also, was there to award the prizes. A peculiar choice, you -might say, but he has a horrid way of putting things and he wears a -cut-away coat. - -"So the day came. The woods and the orchards were full of birds, -singing and calling and screaming and whistling. Everybody was too much -excited to think of eating, and every bush held a crowd of contestants. -It was orderly enough, however, when the contest began. - -"The wood dove began the concert. Very soft and sweet. It always makes -me think of my giddy youth and my first wife to hear the wood dove. -She's really a little bit too sad. - -"Then they came on, each one in turn. It was a fine cherry-tree where -they sang, and it was so full of blossoms that you could hardly see -the performers. Poor little Miss Wren was scared to death. She tried -to sing, but all she could say was, _Tie me up, tie me up_, and she -fell off the branch with fright. One redbird, and the tanager, and that -whole gay family of buntings--what a brilliant, showy lot! But they -were very clear and high and full of little scraps of tune in their -singing. More suited to the hedgerow, however, than the concert room. - -"The best, to my thinking, was the thrush. You can hear him any evening -down there in the alder bushes. He's very retiring and elegant. They -say he sings of India and the lotus flowers. It's something sad and far -away that he just remembers. I'm not much of a hand at poetry myself, -and I personally have a great fondness for the crows. Good, sharp, -business men, the crows, and although they are not strictly musical, -they appeal to me. You see, we have a great deal in common, the crows -and myself, by way of looking after the young corn. We meet, as you -might say, in a business way. - -"Well, the contest was long and lively. The bluebird and rice-birds, -and even the orioles performed in wonderful fashion; and at last, -when it was all over, the prize was never given at all. For right out -of the clear sky came the mocking-bird, who had kept himself out of -the contest until the end, and after he lighted on a branch of that -cherry-tree and began his song, there was simply nothing to be said. It -dawned on the whole lot of them that they had sung their notes wrong! -Yes, young Mr. Squirrel, fine and noisy as it all had been, not one of -these birds had sung the tune his father had taught him! Just by trying -to outsing each other all those years, their own sweet notes were -injured. And only the mocking-bird could remember every lovely song -as it should be done. Even the thrush had to admit as much. The adder -crawled off in disgust, and the buzzard grew positively insulting in -his remarks. He said he had been detained for nothing. - -"'Listen, listen, listen,' said the mocking-bird, and straightway -he sang like the nonpareil, and then you would have thought him the -oriole. It was enough to break your heart, for it was just the lovely -old songs that the birds used to sing. - -[Illustration: "'LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN,' SAID THE -MOCKING-BIRD"] - -"And what do you suppose came of it all?" added the worthy woodchuck -after he had wiped a tear from his eyes, for thoughts of the old days -made him sad. - -"What do you suppose the other birds agreed upon? They decided never -to raise the burning question again, and they begged the mocking-bird -to teach them their songs once more. That's why the robins fly South -in the fall of the year, along with the other songsters. They want -their children to hear the mocking-bird. Yes, Mr. Squirrel, I have that -on authority. There's nothing so fine for the singer as a good start -and a good teacher. And even the robin, who is full of conceit, has -admitted to me that he feels at times the need of a little correction. -He hates to go North without a few lessons from that wonderful teacher, -the mocking-bird." - -With all this, little Mr. Squirrel was greatly entertained and was at -a loss how to thank Mr. Woodchuck; but he was spared the necessity of -it, for the good warm sun and the sound of his own voice had induced -Mr. Woodchuck into a pleasant sleep, and he was already snoring on his -door-step. Little Squirrel tiptoed away and ran home in glee. He felt -that he had learned all that there was to learn in the wide world. - -Anyway, he had learned what he wanted to know, and that is the best of -learning. - - - - - V - - MR. RACCOON'S OYSTER SUPPER - - -It was the loveliest of moonlight nights in the early autumn when word -was carried from house to house that Mrs. Raccoon would give an oyster -supper. - -There was Mrs. Coon herself, the present Mr. Coon, and four little -Coons. At the upper farm lived several branches of the family--uncles -and aunts and their respective children. For the Coons, as a lot, -lived mainly on the farmsteads, or near to them; for, as Mrs. Ringtail -Coon, the oldest of them, always declared: "It is altogether wiser to -keep in touch with civilization." By which she meant it was wise to -live as near as possible to the orchards and the corn-fields, and the -good things which farmers keep planting every year, apparently for the -especial benefit of just such persons as Mr. Coon and Mr. Crow. - -"And it is wonderful what a variety of good things you can find to -eat if you can run and climb trees and dig in the ground," Mr. Coon -would add, "especially if you live where they are very generous in the -gathering, and you can have the best of apples and pears and the sweet -corn to add to your table." - -So it was altogether best to stick as close to the haunts of mankind -as possible, if you could do so without foregoing the pleasures of the -river and the woodland. - -The great river, be it said, which was sluggish and muddy, contained -a thousand things which the Coons declared in rather snobbish fashion -were not to their taste. They wouldn't go fishing if they could. But -the fat mussels which lived in the mud-banks were exactly to Mr. and -Mrs. Coon's liking. And to open them is not difficult for a Coon who -has once learned the trick. - -"That's what your wonderful, black fingernails are for," Mr. Coon -always told the children when he taught them to open oysters. "You need -only give the joint of the thing a sharp bite, and pull out that tough -bit of meat at the end, and then with your nails you can pry the shell -right open." - -The ability to do this was a matter of pride to the Coons, for they -knew of no one else who could open oysters. Like many people who may -excel in a particular art, they fancied that they were the only adepts -in the world. - -"But there's where they are mistaken," Mr. Fox would laugh, whenever he -heard of the Coons and their oyster suppers. For he knew of some one -else who could get the juicy meat out of those shells, although it was -not himself. - -"I really pity their ignorance," he would say. "If they ever went -abroad in the daytime they'd see a thing or two, and maybe they'd learn -that there are wiser folks in the world than themselves." - -This was an unfair thrust at the Coons, for their habit of sleeping -most of the day should not be laid against them. The world is wisely -divided into day workers and night workers anyway, and Mr. Coon, for -his part, always put down such criticism by asking what on earth would -happen if everybody rushed to his meals at the same identical moment. - -And in this Mr. Coon revealed the gentility of his nature, for he was a -person of manners, and believed not only in a six o'clock dinner, but -kept his clothes in the neatest fashion and was constantly washing his -face between his two fore legs, brushing his hair and attending to his -ears after the accepted fashion of the cat. And the cat, as all the -world knows, is the cleanest of beasts. - -"Your Fox is a shaggy creature," he would say. "Almost as unkempt as -the farm Dog, whom I despise." - -So it is not to be wondered that Mrs. Coon, if she were going to have -an oyster supper, would have an elegant one. - -Elegance in the matter of suppers is simply a question of due -preparation, and of this Mrs. Coon was thoroughly aware. Nothing would -please her husband more, she knew, than to have the party go off -without a hitch. - -"We'll spend to-night getting ready," she planned. "I can't bear to see -people digging in the mud and eating at the same time. It is not nice. -Perhaps it is well enough on a merely family picnic to let everybody -shift for himself, and I know the children rather enjoy getting dirty. -I did when I was a little girl. But my ideal of the thing, done as it -should be, is to have a great lot of oysters already dug, and arranged -in an appetizing pile. It saves time, too, and makes the guests feel -better. I never liked these parties where you go digging for your own -victuals." - -How could an elegant gentleman have a wife more in accord with his -desires than that? Immediately Mr. Coon embraced Mrs. Coon in a loving -clasp, for he felt that she was responding to his best and most refined -impulses. - -For two nights, then, while the October moon rode serenely overhead, -Ringtail Coon and Mother Coon, with little Grayfur and Brownie, and -the two boys, Broadhead and Fuzzy Muzzle, went from their home in the -sweet-gum tree, through the wood to the farm road, under the fence to -the orchard, back of the orchard to the corn-field, and then downhill -to the steep clay banks of the river. At that point they let themselves -tumble over the edge, for there were only bushes to fall into, and Mr. -Coon did not approve of sliding down mud-banks. - -"It's hard on the seat of your trousers," he said; "and Mother has all -the washing she can do." - -And then they lost no time digging, but scampered here and there, -nosing out the great black shells, which they scratched and worried -out of the wet soil, sometimes venturing into the water to get a -particularly fat and enticing one. - -"We'll store them here in a hole under this cornel bush," Ringtail -decided; "and if we cover them well, putting back all this driftwood -and rubbish on top, no one will guess what's been done." - -And no one, indeed, but sly old Mr. Fox would ever have known what -had happened. The tempting collection of oysters, pecks of them, was -not, however, to remain unmolested. But as the Coons increased their -provisions, and worked mightily until the moon went down, they foresaw -no accident, and only entertained themselves with happy visions of the -remarks and exclamations which their cousins would be sure to make when -they beheld such stunning abundance. - -"Dear me, Ringtail, there's only one thing that troubles me. I feel -that we ought to invite the 'Possums. You know how generous they were -in that matter of the persimmons. No one would ever have guessed that -there was such a tree in the whole State; and it was, after all, an -invitation that they gave us, even if you did threaten Mr. 'Possum in a -business way." - -"I guess I did," laughed Ringtail as he put another handful of oysters -into the hole and stamped them down; "I told Wooly 'Possum not to be -hiding his assets that way or I'd bite his tail off. But go ahead and -invite them, if you want to. It'll show that we're not snobbish anyway. -And the 'Possums are as likely to appreciate all this as anybody. -You'll have to open their oysters for them, you know." - -"Surely, my dear. I will do so gladly. A hostess never gets any of her -own party anyway. I don't expect to do anything but watch other people -eat. That's the way of receptions and such." - -For Mrs. Coon had arrived at that stage of excitement in which a -hostess feels herself elevated and ennobled above humanity in general -by virtue of the toiling she has gone through in order to make the rest -of the world happy. - -By this time they had to stop and take a bite themselves, for day was -beginning to break, and the children, at least, must have something -to eat. Then, having arranged the top of their secret store with the -greatest care, and very loath to leave it, they scrambled up the bank -and set out for home. Tired they were and a little cross, so that the -youngsters quarreled a good deal, and Mr. Coon, slightly worried, was -not so pleasant as when he set out. - -"Oh, nothing," he replied to his wife's inquiry as to why he was so -glum. "Only I'm a bit anxious about those oysters. It's just possible -that somebody may find them." - -"Oh, pshaw!" was all she would say. "Nobody's going near that spot. And -if anybody did and went and sat right down on top of them, he'd never -guess what was under all those sticks." - -But somebody did exactly this. For the Coons were all fast asleep in -the sweet-gum tree, not even dreaming of their party, when Mr. Fox -edged along the river shore, greatly elated at discovering so many -little foot-prints in the mud. It was plain who had been there. And as -the dainty tracks centered under the cornel bush, it took no wits at -all, and only a little brisk pawing, to discover the secret. - -Mr. Fox laughed as though he would give up. For that is a trait of -all foxy natures to go into fits of laughter when the possibility of -turning a mean trick presents itself. - -"Well, of all things!" he finally gasped, as he held his sides. "How -mighty kind of them!" Then, licking his chops, and fairly choking with -humor, he set off just as fast as he could go. Up the shore and through -the woods he ran; and at a certain tree where a great sentinel crow sat -eying the farmers in a distant field, he barked out one short, sharp -message. - -He had to say nothing more. Before he could get back to the spot where -the delicious supper was stored, the crows were coming, one and two at -a time, then three and four, and finally a small flock of them. - -Mr. Fox got very little for his pains, for the crows were as quick as -lightning in their motions. Up in the air they flew with an oyster in -their beaks, and over the rocks and bowlders which jutted from the -shore they would pause but a second to drop their burden. Down it would -come, breaking to pieces as it fell on the rock, and then the crow -would come down almost as fast as the oyster, to tear out the meat and -swallow it. Mr. Fox played around the edges, as it were; for too many -crows had come, and they fought him off when he tried to snap up his -share. - -"Oh, well, I don't care much for oysters anyway," he muttered, trying -to console himself. But he was in reality bitterly tantalized, and -he was truly in tears of disgust when the great black crowd of noisy -birds flew at him in a body and drove him off. They benefited by -his confidence, but they were utterly selfish, and he suddenly felt -wickedly put upon. - -What he had done to the Coons never occurred to him. - -Mr. Coon never recovered from the mortification of that evening. -The guests had assembled in a body; all of his brother's family and -their dependents, and the little 'Possums, who were so set up at the -invitation that they fairly beamed. Such toilets had been performed and -such preparation of pleasant remarks had gone on, that everybody was in -the finest of party feeling. - -The walk through the corn-field, the ease and happy expectancy! Getting -down the mud-bank was not altogether a formal ceremony, for some slid, -and some just plunged headlong; but at the bottom everybody brushed his -clothes, and the little Coons and the little 'Possums danced in glee. - -Then, lo and behold, there was no supper at all! The work that the -crows had done was apparent enough. But how they ever knew where to -find the banquet was an unsolved mystery to Mr. Coon. - -Never again did Ringtail or his wife try to be fashionable. "Dig and -swallow," became the rule at all the oyster suppers; and even at this -one, after the disaster had bestowed its first stunning blow, the -guests and the company as a whole fell to digging as hard as they -could, and ate with might and main. - -Mrs. Coon, having urged the 'Possums to come, had to open oysters -until her thumbs were sore; but she did it with a good grace, and after -everybody got to going, there was all the laughter and happiness the -heart could wish. - -"Yes, it was a merry party, after all," Mr. Coon admitted several hours -later. He was curling up in his sweet-gum tree bedroom, ready for -another day's sleep. "But it was a free for all, a regular guzzling. -What's the use of trying to be nice when all the world's made up of -crows?" - -But in this query, Mr. Ringtail Coon was only a bit petulant. The best -of it is that he does not know the ignorance of the world. For scarcely -anybody appreciates or even guesses the true elegance and the dainty -ways of Mr. and Mrs. Raccoon. - - - - - VI - - MRS. GOOSE AND HER SWAMP COUSINS - - -It was a beautiful morning, very early, with the dew on the grass and -the mists lifting from the sea, when Mrs. Goose with her seven little -goslings walked through the farm gate, down the path to the road, and -then waddled under the fence into the pasture. - -"You are well along now, my children," she was saying, "and your -travels should begin." - -"And what are our travels?" the little geese piped as they stepped -along beside their stately parent. - -"Your travels, my dears, are those excursions away from the cramping -and monotonous surroundings of the farmyard. That's what your travels -are. None of your family are given to staying always and forever at -home." - -"Oh, no," the goslings all quacked in chorus. "We don't want to stay -around that farmyard all our days. That's what the chickens do, and -the guinea-hens. But where are we going now, Mother?" - -For the beautiful Mrs. Goose was heading straight for the swamp at the -foot of the great pasture, and already she was taking them through the -tufted grass and the low bushes, through which they could not easily -descry her stately form. They were quite out of breath, and bore along -behind her, being very careful to keep exactly in her foot-prints. - -"We are going to the great salt river, and the marshes," she called -back to them. "That is where your cousins live and we shall spend a -lovely day with them. But we must hurry through these bushes. I never -feel safe until I am well out of them." - -She explained no more than this, for she was a bird well versed in the -bringing up of children, and she did not wish to frighten them. But, -truth to tell, this bushy part of the path to her favorite haunts was -always full of its terrors for her. - -"It looks so very much like the spot where my first husband was -attacked by a fox," she confided to one of her friends. "He was never -seen again, of course, and although I was not long a widow, still I -have never been consoled for his taking off." - -Naturally, then, she had for the rest of her days a distrust of bushy -paths, and it was with a great quack of relief that she emerged with -all her little ones on the banks of the deep, narrow stream which was a -part of the great marsh. - -Off she swam on the water, paddling with a majestic ease, and down they -hopped and splashed and paddled beside her, the seven of them, highly -excited over the prospect of a day's adventure. - -The stream was narrow and deep, much unlike the shallow duck-pond in -the farmyard, and it gave the goslings an exhilarating sensation to be -thus abroad on a real stream. - -"How good it is," Mrs. Goose quacked, "to feel the clear, cool water, -and to know that you are not paddling across a mere mud-puddle! - -"And there are no tin cans and other rubbish here," she went on. -"Very different, all this, from the rather common surroundings of the -duck-pond. You must realize that your family is a superior one, and -that while the ducks on the farm do very well for neighbors, they are -not the aristocrats that we are. And I am taking you purposely, my -children, to visit my most exclusive friends." - -The old goose was indeed a haughty personage, as any one could tell by -the way she held her head. For she swam as a soldier marches, with -eyes to the front and a splendid air. - -Soon they came to where the narrow inlet of the marsh widened into a -broad expanse of water banked by low, wide areas of reeds and rushes. -Many channels and enticing little bays made off into the depths of -shady and inviting spots where there were cedars and alders and dense, -tangled vines. There were delicious odors in the air, and this made the -goslings suddenly very hungry. They begged their mother to let them -run through the grasses to pluck the tender and inviting things which -their eyes caught sight of. But she shook her downy head and kept them -paddling along beside her, cautioning them very wisely: - -"Never go browsing by yourself until you know the ways of the country. -Where there are others feeding it is safe for goslings. But to go into -those tall grasses, tempting as they are, is to walk right into danger. -You have never met Mr. Blacksnake, and I hope you never will until you -are too big to tempt him!" - -Immediately, of course, they clamored for the details about this -dreadful creature, but their mother spared them any unhappy visions of -the sort. - -"You must not dwell on such uncomfortable things," she would say. "All -you need think of when you are out with me are the bright sky and the -good green world. But here we are, almost at Mrs. Bittern's gate. And -there is Grandpa Bittern waiting for us at the door." - -As she spoke, the goslings all craned their necks; but they were not -big enough to see over the top of things as their mother could, and -they were totally in doubt as to who the Bitterns were, or where they -lived. - -Suddenly there was a great quacking and flapping of wings on the -part of their mother, and they found themselves touching bottom in a -beautiful shallow where the black earth and the mosses grew over the -very water. Here all was shaded and hidden by the overhanging bushes, -and great tree-trunks rose close at hand, with clinging vines and -innumerable strands of leaf and tendril swaying in the clear air. - -Never had they dreamed of such a beautiful spot. But they were not to -realize how lovely it was all at once, for they were to get acquainted -with it only after the greetings of the visit were over. - -Their cousin, Mrs. Bittern, who was so slim and brown, with black -trimmings to her wings, and a bit of gray lace at her bosom, and the -stately gentleman who stood guard by her nest, were quite enough to -overpower the little goslings. They couldn't remember their own names -and they stammered with embarrassment; and in the nest was a solitary -youngster, with a very long bill, and big, frightened eyes, whom they -were cautious in approaching. His only greeting was a vicious poking at -them with his little head, and they noted that his neck was very strong. - -"Billy isn't used to children yet," Mrs. Bittern hastened to apologize. -"But he'll soon get used to them. Just hand him a bit of fish, Father, -and a few of those small crabs. Oh, a very small one, Father. You -nearly choked him to death with that big one you gave him at breakfast." - -True enough, little Billy Bittern was in a better humor when something -more had gone down his throat; and while the two mothers fell into an -immediate discussion of the stupidity of fathers and uncles, the baby -Bittern and the little goslings were quacking and playing around the -nest in the noisiest fashion. - -"So this, my dears, is a true country home," their mother said as she -turned to them. "This is the kind of thing that your father and I have -always wanted; a little place of our own in the swamp!" - -"Oh, Mother dear, wouldn't it be lovely!" they all burst out, really -transported with joy at the thought of living forever where it was all -like this, so free and open and sweet. - -"Ha! ha!" laughed the tall owner of the charming retreat. "That is -what you farm people always say when you get here. But you know very -well you'll be glad to get back to what you call the conveniences and -elegance of life." - -By this he meant the cracked corn, and the snug quarters, and the rest -of the good things in the farmer's yard. - -But Mrs. Goose pretended not to understand him at all, and was helping -Mrs. Bittern to put the nest to rights as they all prepared to go out -for a walk. For that is always the first thing to do when you visit -your country cousins. - -Such precautions as the Bitterns took when they left the house! It was -cover the nest here and put a stick there, and finally, to effect a -complete disguise, they raked a lot of straw over the top. Why, you -never would have guessed it was a house at all! - -Then through the grasses and the deep, black mud, and over innumerable -tufts of green, where there were great wild cabbages and tempting -bunches of mallow and flag, they went in happy procession. The goslings -nibbled and tasted and feasted, wherever their mother was sure it was -wise, and little Billy with his sharp beak poked incessantly in the mud -for the things he liked best in the way of tadpoles and beetles. - -Almost all day they picnicked in this delightful place, and only -stopped in their leisurely stroll when they came to a grassy knoll -where the mother birds thought it well to let the children rest. - -All the gossip of the year was gone over by their elders. Mrs. Bittern -told of her winter sojourn far to the South. - -"We stayed much of the time with the Herons and the Spoonbills. Theirs -is such an attractive rookery, you know, and I delight in Southern -society. We came North with your first cousin, Mrs. Hudson Goose. A -noble family, your great Northern relatives, my dear Fluffy. But they -fly a little too fast for us Bitterns. We parted after a few days. -Longbill, you know, likes to take it easy when he travels." - -But the children observed that Mrs. Bittern was moved to tears when -their mother alluded to her late half-brother and another relative, -uniting these names with a reference to Christmas dinner. But they did -not understand the connection, and it puzzled them when Cousin Bittern -answered: - -"Never mind, dear Fluffy Goose, there's little danger for you. You know -you're getting tough. Let's see, you're twenty now, are you not?" - -And they were still more surprised when their mother bridled at this -and said that surely Mrs. Bittern was mistaken. No, she was only -eighteen, and if her neck was spared it was not at all because she was -tough. It was because she possessed the ability to lay the most and -largest eggs, and to rear the finest families. - -Mrs. Bittern was only too eager to agree with her companion. Not for -the world would she have her words taken amiss; so the little family -quarrel was passed over, and Mr. Bittern merely observed that the -ladies were getting a little tired, and he thought that they had all -better go home. - -But if he had been very quiet, this dignified Mr. Bittern, he was, like -a good many modest people, none the less able to distinguish himself, -for after they reached the welcome door-yard, and Mrs. Goose and her -family were about to depart for home, he supplied the treat of the -whole day. - -"Surely, Cousin Longbill," Mrs. Goose had remarked, "you are going -to boom for us before we go. I wouldn't have the babies miss it for -anything." - -Whereat, to their dismay, Mr. Bittern began making the most frightful -sound they had ever heard. It was his great feat, that for which his -family was renowned, and it was not like anything ever known on sea or -land. To do it he filled himself so full of air that he was like to -burst. And he was very red in the face when he got through, like a good -many famous singers. - -"Isn't it wonderful!" said his wife. "I never knew one to sing the -national anthem better." - -For, to her simple soul, her husband's song was of course the one and -only song. It must consequently be very important. - -Scarcely could Mrs. Goose praise her cousin enough, and the goslings -all begged him to do it again. But once was enough, he reminded them, -and they discreetly forbore from disagreeing with him. - -By this time they must hurry to get home, and their farewells were -hasty. Like many return journeys, the way back was the shortest; and -before they knew it, the goslings were trailing through the bushes at -the foot of their own pasture. And somehow the little hill and the pair -of bars and the bit of road, even the farmyard strewn with straw and -pleasingly disordered, suddenly looked better to them than the lonely -home of the Bitterns far out in the great swamp. - -"Ah, my dears," their mother said, as they waddled up to their home -under the burdocks and the currant bushes, "that's what a day away from -home does for you. It makes you glad for what you have." - -And indeed they were happy to nestle under her ample wings, as the -stars came out and the house dog bayed at the moon. And they were very -happy to have heard their Cousin Bittern do his booming, and hoped, as -many people hope after a great performance, that they would never have -to hear it again! - - - - - VII - - MRS. FOX STEALS ONE EGG TOO MANY - - -Once upon a time, long, long ago, Mrs. Rabbit lived down by the sea on -a great sand-hill. She was a very kind neighbor and disturbed no one. -She was poor, but she owned a great gray goose who laid wonderful big -eggs. - -The goose had come to her in the strangest way, years and years ago. -For it happened one day that just as Mrs. Rabbit was locking up her -house to go and visit her cousins, she heard a sad voice in the bushes -cry, "Oh, Mrs. Rabbit, Mrs. Rabbit, please do help me in. I have broken -my wing and fallen here, and all the other geese that were flying with -me are gone. They left me where I fell." - -At that Mrs. Rabbit gave up her intended visit, and took poor Downy -Goose into the house, sent for Dr. 'Possum, and did her best to comfort -her. - -When Dr. 'Possum came, he took one look at the afflicted goose, shook -his head, and declared he could do nothing for her. Mrs. Rabbit -thereupon told the unfortunate wayfarer that she must live there -always. - -"You must make your home with me," she said, "and we will make the best -of things. Even with your poor broken wing you can manage to get along, -for there is a fine swamp below the ridge of this hill and near it is -the best of green grass and shady bushes." - -Poor Downy Goose was overcome with happiness. She could only dry her -streaming eyes with a plantain leaf, while she kept saying: - -"You are so kind, so very kind, dear Mrs. Rabbit! I shall do my best -to lay an egg every day for you--omitting Sundays, of course, and the -Fourth of July." - -At this Mrs. Rabbit threw her arms around poor Downy's neck and they -wept with joy. And from that day to this they have been the closest -friends. - -Nor did the good gray goose fail in her promise. Indeed, she did her -best; and always by noon, while Mrs. Rabbit would be dusting and -sweeping, or getting the boiled grass ready for dinner, the lady goose -would sit in the door-yard mending socks or reading poetry, when -suddenly she would lay an egg, and then, calling to her dear friend to -bring the basket, they would put the egg away on the pantry shelf. -Then they would betake themselves for the rest of the day to the field -and the edge of the swamp where Mrs. Rabbit would nibble the tender -grass, and Downy Goose would wade in the soft, cool mud. - -Now, it was soon known among all the neighbors that Mrs. Rabbit and -the strange goose were living together. Also it was soon told abroad -that the goose was paying her board in eggs--big eggs--that she paid -it every day, and that Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit were faring on the finest -food. They had scrambled eggs, and omelettes and pound cake at every -meal--and all this for merely taking in the poor, afflicted goose! - -You would think that all who heard it would have been glad to know -how happy the rabbits were, and they ought to have pitied the poor -goose who could never fly again; but that is not the way of the world. -Instead of saying nice things, they said ugly ones, and behind Mrs. -Rabbit's back, the neighbors, Mrs. Fox in particular, expressed the -bitterest jealousy. - -Mrs. Fox, indeed, grew so envious of these big goose eggs that at last -she could stand it no longer, and resolved upon a plan for stealing -them. She put all her wits to work, for, to get such big eggs and -carry them without breaking them open was a thing which only the -cleverest thief in the world could do. Nevertheless, every day for five -days, an egg disappeared from Mrs. Rabbit's pantry. - -Mrs. Rabbit was greatly disturbed, but she never dreamed who was -stealing the eggs. Finally she decided to watch the nest all the time; -and to her surprise found that the thieves were her neighbors--Mr. and -Mrs. Fox. - -How cleverly they managed! Mr. Fox lay on his back and held the big egg -while Mrs. Fox pulled him over the hill by means of a rope tied to his -tail. In this way they got the egg home. - -But Mrs. Rabbit laughed as she thought of how poor Mr. Fox's back would -be skinned, and how she would get revenge. - -Nor was it long before a way was opened for her to recover the lost -eggs, and to put Mrs. Fox to confusion. For who should come walking -in one morning but Mr. Bear, to say that invitations were out for a -wonderful feast of goose eggs at Mrs. Fox's home on the following -Saturday night. And he asked Mrs. Rabbit if she were going. - -That was enough! Mrs. Rabbit determined to get back the eggs. But she -would have to be very clever to fool Mrs. Fox. - -Mrs. Rabbit knew that Mrs. Fox would come for the last goose egg soon. -So she bored a hole in this egg at each end, and blew in at one end -till the contents all flew out at the other and the shell was empty. -Then she slipped inside, and Mr. Rabbit pasted small pieces of white -paper over the openings. - -And here Mrs. Rabbit waited for the thieves to come, while Mr. Rabbit -hid behind a tree near by. - -Soon they came, and after much effort the big egg was carried into Mrs. -Fox's home. Mrs. Rabbit chuckled to herself as she saw the other five -big eggs through a tiny peephole in the paper. - -While the gay old foxes were in the next room, entertaining their -guests, Mrs. Rabbit broke the paper at one end and slipped out. Then -she called softly to her husband to bring the wheel-barrow; and they -piled in all the eggs and carried them away. - -[Illustration: "WHILE THE GAY OLD FOXES WERE IN THE NEXT ROOM, MRS. -RABBIT SLIPPED OUT"] - -Nor were they more pleased to recover their lost property than was the -obliging goose when she learned of all that had been going on. - -"To think," she exclaimed, "that I have been laying eggs for those -dreadful foxes!" - -And Mr. and Mrs. Fox wonder to this day who stole the goose eggs. - - - - - VIII - - WHY MRS. FROG MUST LIVE IN THE SWAMPS - - -Long, long ago Mrs. Frog lived on the hillsides. She was a goddess -worshiped by all the fairies because she ruled the sunshine and the -rain, and she was a friend to them all, being generous and dutiful. - -With her seventy daughters, she spent the days in spinning the most -beautiful cloth of gold for the fairies to wear, and the flax which she -spun was as yellow as the biggest and ripest pumpkin you ever saw. - -All the years that she served the fairies by her industry, and was -dutiful in calling down the rains to refresh the earth, she was in -great favor with the world, and no one was so much beloved by all the -animals as Mrs. Frog. - -But the seventy daughters who were so handsome, and who spun such miles -of yellow thread, grew restless, and kept begging their mother for a -holiday. She, too, owned to being a little weary, and would often -remark with a yawn that it wasn't the spinning, nor yet the weaving, -which tired her, but the lack of diversion. - -"And think, dear Mother," they would say, "think of our lazy brothers, -who do nothing but admire their shapely legs all day, and spend the -whole night dancing and singing and eating suppers. It isn't fair!" - -On speaking thus the daughters were very artful. For if there was one -thing which angered Mrs. Frog, it was the laziness of her sons. Years -and years ago she had given up trying to get them to do a single useful -thing. And it was no consolation to observe that they got along in the -world somehow, whether they did anything or not. - -"Look at their awful stomachs," she would exclaim. "The lazy creatures, -always eating and singing. What a life!" - -It was thus that the seventy daughters played upon her feelings of -disgust, urging her to adopt a change and give up spinning. Each one -spoke to her alone, seven times a week, when she would reply: - -"Yes, my daughter, I am listening, and I don't know but what you are -quite right." - -And then, when all the whole seventy spoke together, as they made a -point of doing when they knew she was tired out and had the headache, -she could only clasp her hands to her ears and flee to her bedroom. - -At last the daughters won and Mrs. Frog began her holiday. She meant -to take but a single evening and a day, hoping to get back to work -there-after, rested and refreshed. But alas! once she began her career -of dancing, and feasting, and staying up till morning to sing and laugh -and watch the sun come up, the day never came that she was willing to -spin the yellow flax. - -Forty of the lovely daughters danced themselves to death within a week, -but Mrs. Frog was so busy waltzing and marching and singing that in -each instance, as the sad news came to her that another daughter was -dead, she was too gay to care or even to ask, "Which one?" - -Terrible disaster began to come upon the land. All the birds and plants -were dying for water. Clouds passed by, but Mrs. Frog was too lazy to -make the rain fall. If she wasn't dancing, she was sleeping, and so no -time remained for her duties. - -One day the animals from the forest came to call on Mrs. Frog, to plead -for rain. The mother rabbits came from long distances to tell Mrs. -Frog how their babies were perishing for water and for tender bits of -green grass. - -But Mrs. Frog had become hardened and told them to leave her alone. - -"Please give us rain! Please give us rain!" the birds all pleaded; but -Mrs. Frog only frowned at having been awakened. - -Then came all the bees and the butterflies from the hillsides, tired, -hot, and dusty. - -"We are your neighbors and friends," they cried. "Do give us rain! The -flowers are all dead and we have no honey to eat!" - -"Go away!" croaked Mrs. Frog. "I must sleep during the day, and I have -no time to worry with you! If you don't like the way I manage this -hillside, go to the swamp lands!" - -Next came the fairies for their yellow dresses, which Mrs. Frog was to -have spun from the yellow flax. Mrs. Frog was fast asleep, but when -they called and called her she awoke. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and -awakened all the family to help her spin the flax; but the sun shone -down on the hot, dry earth so burningly that all her spinning-wheels -caught on fire and everything in her house was burned up. - -"Oh, for a drop of water!" the birds and the animals were calling. -"Help us, Mrs. Frog! Do help us!" - -But it was too late. Even Mrs. Frog's wand, with which she called forth -the rain from the clouds, was burned up. And Mrs. Frog was so terribly -hot and thirsty that she didn't know what to do. - -As a last resort she started for the swamp lands, thirty of her -exhausted daughters trailing after her. They were all so tired they -could no longer walk, and finally, being faint and bent over to the -ground, they took to hopping. - -Down, down, down, through the hills they hopped until at last they -reached the dark, damp swamp. The daughters had become as lazy as the -sons; and Mrs. Frog herself desired nothing in the world but a cool, -muddy bed at night, and a good log or a lily pad to sit on throughout -the livelong day. - -But in her muddy bed she doesn't sleep; for all night long one may hear -her calling: "More rain! More rain! More rain!" - -While Mr. Frog croaks: "Knee deep! Knee deep! Knee deep!" - -And all the little frogs: "Wade in! Wade in! Wade in!" - - - - - IX - - THE SCARE-MAN TREE - - -There was a time when the world was mostly forest. There were plains, -to be sure, and rich valleys, but the trees were everywhere, so that -even the towns and farms were hidden by them; and there were no great -cities at all. - -It was then that the animals lived in peace, and they were not driven -to hide themselves, nor to be always moving farther and farther away to -find new shelters. - -But the days came when the forests were cut away. A little at a time, -and always along the edges of the woods, men began to hack and to chop -and to saw, until one by one the great trees came down. With them as -they crashed to the earth came the birds' nests; and where the trees -had stood, the mosses and the grass dried up and died, for the hot sun -poured in where once it had been shady and cool. - -In the days when this began it distressed the animals; so that the poor -creatures at last resorted to a wonderful plan. To them the woods were -very dear, and never were they frightened at what they saw or heard; -although the depths of the forest were so full of terrors to foolish -men. - -News was spread through the glens and across the mountains that -something was going to be done to save the woods. The birds and the -swift, scampering little weasels, and the soft-footed wildcat, who can -cover many miles and never be seen or heard, took the messages far -and away. Time was allowed; for the beaver and the mud-turtle were -necessary to the plan, and even at her best Mrs. Beaver is slow in her -motions. It was none other than crafty old Major Wolf who had conceived -the plan by which they would teach the wood-cutters a lesson. - -"Such simple and foolish creatures they are!" he remarked. "We've only -to frighten them out of their wits, by some device or other, and if we -scare them enough they'll keep away from these woods forever!" - -With that he snapped his terrible jaws and turned his great yellow eyes -on the company. Before him and around him were all the animals of the -forest. The deer, who could think of nothing to do but to run, the fox, -who knew every possible way of deceiving his enemies, the bear and the -panther and many of the small creatures, down to the sleek little mole, -were all talking at once. - -The bear and the wildcat were very impatient. They were all for -fighting outright. - -"You hug and I'll scratch," said the lynx to the bear. - -"We can do up an army of choppers if we get the chance," added the -panther; but he was lost in the debate, for the wisest of all, the -great gray wolf, reminded them that if the men with their axes so much -as caught sight of the animals, they would go away only to come back -with their guns and to fill the forest with every conceivable trap. - -Then he pointed to a great, dead tree which stood alone and on the brow -of the hill. The animals looked and tried to get his meaning. Some of -them yawned, such as the hedgehog, whose wits are slow; but the quick -Mrs. Fox jumped and cried, "That's it, that's it! We'll make that tree -into a giant to guard the path to our woods." - -Then Major Wolf exclaimed that the sagacious fox had guessed his plan. - -The wind and the frost had bent and broken the tree until it was like -nothing in the world so much as a giant. Its arms were there and its -shoulders; and its terrible body, as high as the church steeple, was -bent forward as if to fall on any one so rash as to come near it. But -it needed a great deal of what the heron called "touching up"; for -the heron is an artist, and goes every year, they say, to study the -sculptures of Egypt. - -"It needs a mouth and two eyes, as any one can see for himself," the -lynx remarked; and the mole and the hedgehog suggested that the feet -might be improved. Here was the task for the beavers; for carving and -cabinet work is their specialty. And to chisel great holes for the eyes -and the mouth was exactly what the woodpeckers and the squirrels could -do. - -The work was so briskly done, that it was indeed completed before the -admiring circle could gasp out its astonishment. While the chips and -the saw-dust were flying, Major Wolf was moved to observe in the most -pious tones: - -"How marvelous that these poor little cousins of ours, these smaller, -gnawing creatures (if I may call them such without hurting their -feelings) should alone be able to serve the purposes of us more noble -beasts." - -And he waved his paw to include the bear and the panther in the -nobility. - -But the gentle Mrs. Deer knew what a terrible hypocrite Major Wolf -was. And she moved with her children to the other side of the meeting; -for she had watched his mouth water even as he spoke such wonderful -sentiments. - -The squirrel was boring away at the great giant's limbs, carving and -cutting; and even the slow old turtle, with his powerful nippers, was -pruning the tangle of vines from the feet. - -But the morning was close at hand. The wood creatures had barely enough -time to complete their work and scamper off. They crouched in the -bushes to await the effect of their scheme. And even though they knew -the giant was no giant at all, but just a great, dead tree, they were -awestruck at the result of their work. - -As if to add to the strength of their purpose, the sun was rising in a -terrible glory of red, with the blackest of clouds all round. - -It was terrible. The red light of the morning, through the gaping mouth -and awful eyes, the waving arms and the immensity of the giant were -frightful. - -The wood-cutters came. But only one of them got as far as the tree. -With a howl of fear, he turned and fled, dropping his ax as he ran. He -told of the awful giant with eyes and mouth of fire, and the others -refused to come near. - -The animals were greatly elated; but the wisest of them knew that some -day the foolish wood-cutters would find out the truth. And such was the -case; although it was a long, long time, and the great giant which the -animals made warded off their enemies for many a year. - - - - - X - - MRS. FOX AND THE EIDER-DUCK EGGS - - -Once upon a time the animals who live away up North, in the cold Arctic -regions, came together for a feast in celebration of their blessings. -The bears, the wolves, the minks, the sables, even the big, spluttery -seals that swim in the icy water, were all on hand to make a great -noise, singing and shouting and devouring the things that they all -loved to eat. - -All were there except Mrs. Fox, and why she was not invited no one -knew. Maybe Mr. Penguin, who wrote the invitations, was responsible for -the omission, but at any rate it is a fact that the fox family was left -out in the cold. - -Of course, Mrs. Fox felt herself sorely slighted. She and her six -children came near enough, however, to learn that after the celebration -and the dance, which was to be held on the ice floor of the Bear -palace, there was to be a great supper in Mrs. Bear's kitchen. It was -to be a feast of the eggs of the eider-duck. A supper, needless to say, -that any bear or fox would travel night and day to enjoy. - -On the night of the feast Mrs. Fox crept quietly up to the bears' house. - -Mrs. Bear and all the ladies were in the bedroom, brushing down their -rich winter suits, and prinking away to look their best before going -down to meet the other guests. And, of all things, they were gossiping -about Mrs. Fox! Just because she wasn't there (as they thought), they -were speaking of her in the most slighting terms. It seemed as if they -were all talking at once; but Mrs. Fox, whose ear was close to the -chimney, could hear Mrs. Wolf's deep voice distinctly. - -"That old coat of Mrs. Fox's is the shabbiest I have ever seen," she -was saying in her severest tone. "One would think that a woman of her -build, slinky and queer as it is, would put on white every winter. I -would wear white myself if I didn't think this handsome gray of mine an -elegant thing the year round." - -They all agreed that Mrs. Wolf was indeed very elegant, and that Mrs. -Fox was very shabby. Little Miss Ermine, who, as all the world knows, -has the finest white coat in the world, piped up shrill and cross: - -"Right you are, Mrs. Wolf. White's the thing in winter, but only for -those adapted to it. It scarcely becomes every one." - -At this she made a great showing of her own dainty figure, cutting -several merry dance figures before the mirror. - -Mrs. Fox had heard enough. She waited for the ladies to go downstairs -to the great room where all the gentlemen sat about. She knew what they -would do. There would be wonderful speeches by the biggest and oldest -bears, about the midnight sun and other blessings; the walrus would -make a long speech, too, mostly about seaweed and fish; and then, after -a dance or two, they would all come trooping out to the kitchen. Old -Uncle Penguin would make a very long prayer, and everybody would eat -until he could eat no more. - -Mrs. Fox was very angry. She resolved that there should be no supper -for her mean, back-biting friends. - -Cautiously she felt her way down the sides of the cliff which was the -outside of Mrs. Bear's great house. As she expected, the eider-duck -eggs were in a basket suspended from the pantry window. Quick as a -flash she ran back for her children, and in another minute they were -all beside her on the roof of Mrs. Bear's kitchen. - -"Old Mrs. Sloth, who cooks for Mrs. Bear, is sound asleep by the fire. -Don't wake her up. And do just what I tell you to," whispered Mother -Fox. - -The little foxes held their breath. - -"Stand in a line! Now each one of you take hold of the next one's tail. -Each of you except little Fuzzypaw. He's the quickest and the lightest -and he is going to run up and down the ladder which the rest of you -will make, and bring me those eggs, one by one. Just grip each other's -tails as tight as you can, and don't make a sound!" - -It was no sooner said than done. One after another the eggs were -brought up to the edge of the roof by the little fox, who ran up and -down the ladder as nimbly as a weasel. Mrs. Fox stowed the eggs away -carefully in a brand-new basket she had brought with her, and in a few -minutes the basket by Mrs. Bear's pantry window was quite empty. - -Then off through the big woods the little foxes trotted gaily behind -their mother. - -[Illustration: "OFF THROUGH THE BIG WOODS THE LITTLE FOXES TROTTED -GAILY BEHIND THEIR MOTHER"] - -What happened when the supper party found that it had no supper, Mrs. -Fox never knew. For while Mrs. Bear and her guests were reduced to -confusion and disappointment, the foxes were at home roasting eggs by -the fire, and sitting up to all hours in the jolliest fashion. - -The next year Mrs. Fox was invited. Old Mr. Wolf, who knew a thing or -two, thought it would be the wisest thing to ask her. So all the other -animals agreed; and Mrs. Fox never found society in the Arctic Circle -more cordial than after the season it ignored her and she stole the -eggs of the eider-duck from Mrs. Bear. - - - - - XI - - SUNNY GOURD AND LADY TRUMPET-VINE - - -Very much out of the beaten track--in fact, only to be approached by an -old road that had long fallen into disuse--stood a neglected cabin, a -poor weather-beaten thing with sunken roof and decaying timbers. - -Its door-yard had already begun to grow the young pine trees which come -up in great plumes of long, green needles; and the little garden plot, -which used to boast its vegetables, had become a mass of brambles and -nettles. - -"How sad this all is," the poor little cabin used to sigh. "Although I -suppose it is better to be harboring rabbits and squirrels, and to have -my beams plastered up with nests, than to have no living thing enjoy -my shelter. Still, I wish spring when it comes would bring people to -unlock my door and children to fill these poor little rooms with their -laughter." - -For the cabin could remember many children that had lived there, and -sometimes it seemed to him that he heard them again, playing in the -nearby woods, or running and calling down the road. - -Sometimes he did hear such voices, for people often passed the cabin -on the way to a distant plantation, and children were as likely to be -among them as not. - -But the squirrels and the rabbits had it pretty much their own way -with the deserted cabin, running in and out beneath the underpinning; -and the only noise around the place was that of Mrs. Yellowhammer when -she came pounding at the roof for what the decayed old shingles might -conceal. - -"I declare, you poor old house!" the energetic bird would say. "It's -terrible how the worms are eating at your timbers and shingles." -Whereat she would fall to and nearly pound the life out of the poor old -cabin, in her determination to get all there was. - -But Mrs. Yellowhammer and the rabbits that danced in the moonlight -were not the only visitors, for often in the summer time came the -humming-birds to visit the trumpet-vine which covered nearly all of one -end of the structure. - -"I am the saving grace, the chief beauty of this establishment," the -Lady Trumpet would say. "And I know it." - -"Of course you are," Mrs. Yellowhammer would reply. "And it was a great -mistake that you were ever planted here. A lady of your elegance, among -such weeds and common things, and at the very edge of nowhere!" - -"Oh, I don't mind it much, although we have little company now. But -who's this coming this very minute?" - -Sure enough, a man was passing. And he came through the old door-yard -straight up to the cabin steps and stood there a minute, and then was -gone. But not before he had thrown something over his shoulder which -lighted with a dry rattle, like that of corn, in at the base of the old -chimney. - -"What a queer thing to do!" thought Lady Trumpet-Vine, thereby speaking -her own mind and that of the cabin as well. - -"Not at all," suddenly spoke up Mr. Rabbit. "That man is throwing seed -over his left shoulder for his luck. I've seen it done before. And I'm -glad he doesn't want my left hind foot, or whatever it is that such -people like to carry in their pockets for good luck." - -Immediately Mrs. Yellowhammer, who had been screaming to her friend, -Red-necked Woodpecker, to come and enjoy this mystery, flew down to -inspect the seeds which lay on the soil at the foot of the chimney. And -Mr. Rabbit scampered to get to the spot also. - -They looked long and hard at the little brown things; then Mr. Rabbit -tried biting one of them. - -"Ugh!" he exclaimed. "Bitter as poison!" - -"I never taste things I am in doubt about," Mrs. Yellowhammer declared; -"but I'm not a seed-eater anyway. What does Mr. Bob-White think they -are?" - -For a dapper little partridge was on the scene now, turning his head -this way and that as he squinted at the mysterious seeds. - -"Gourds!" he finally pronounced them. "Gourd seed. No good for eating. -Even a sparrow wouldn't touch them." - -Then the birds flew off and Mr. Rabbit skipped rope with himself all -around the yard, for he wanted to restore his spirits; this curious -incident having for a second clouded his buoyant nature. - -This happened in the very early spring, before even a leaf was showing -on Lady Trumpet-Vine, and before even a purple wood violet had shown -herself in the borders of the deserted garden. Rains came; long ones -that drenched the earth and gullied the roads. The eaves of the cabin -dripped and dripped night and day, and it was not long before great -puddles lay by the sunken door-step, and were soaking down into the -roots of everything. - -"What a pity there's nothing but weeds and those low-down gourd seeds -to be benefited by all this!" sighed the Lady Trumpet. "I shall -probably flower generously this year. But what's the use?" - -Then she would grow very sad as the rain increased and out of the dark -skies came the heavy south winds. - -But when the sky cleared, the gourd seeds had sunk out of sight. That -was good luck for them. Deeper down they went and at last their first -little roots were feeling the rich soil that no plant had enjoyed in -many a year. Then two bright green leaves, laden with halves of the old -seed coverings, came up. - -The glistening earth was trying to dry itself in the sunshine, and the -jolly Woodpecker was looking out of his window in the trunk of the old -cherry-tree. - -"Well, I'm a crow!" he exclaimed, "or there are those gourd seeds up -and out of bed so soon!" - -He was so delighted with this that he told his wife; and soon all the -other people around the poor neglected place were flying and running to -take a look. - -The little fellows, very sturdy and determined, were holding their -leaves out exactly as if they were spreading their palms upward to -catch the sunlight in their hands. - -Time went on and the seeds became vines. The old chimney, built of -sticks and mud, and very unsightly, was revived to new feelings. - -"Not since my supper fires went out have I felt so much alive," it -moaned as though it would like to be really pleased. - -"If only I could smoke again, I should feel completely contented." - -Soon the chimney and the eaves were green with gourd vine. Summer was -underway, with its long hot mornings and its wonderful nights. Lady -Trumpet-Vine was covered with buds, and she was already telling of how -she would be visited by all the most beautiful creatures in the world. - -"But nobody'll visit your flowers," she said to the gourd vine. "Nobody -wants to. You're a bitter, ugly, common vine. That's what you are." - -"I have some very respectable relatives, just the same," sang out -Sunny Gourd, determined not to be utterly demeaned. "There's Mr. -Watermelon and Mr. Cucumber. They are very well esteemed, you know. I -think they are appreciated perhaps almost as much as you are." - -"But not for their beauty, my dear," was the retort. "I am loved by all -the world for my magnificence. Birds and men know beauty when they see -it. Trust me in that." - -Then, almost in anger, such was her queenly pride, Lady Trumpet burst -a few of her buds. The full open flowers were wonderful, and a perfume -exhaled from them which made her neighbor dizzy. - -"It's no use," Sunny Gourd sighed. "I can't do that. My flowers are -merely little no-account white things. No perfume to speak of. But I -don't care, I've reached the roof anyway, and I can look up at the sky -and watch the birds in these trees, and have a good time to myself. And -I can look at you, too, Mrs. Trumpet." - -The stately vine waved her tendrils and fanned herself gently. She -couldn't help seeing that this gourd person was at least polite. - -But the hardest thing in the world to bear is the idea that you are of -no use to anybody. And it was this which hurt the robust gourd vine. -Not a bird came for honey, and yet they hovered in ecstasy over Lady -Trumpet. Humming-birds, as brilliant as flashing gems, came whirring -like rays from a diamond shot from the sky. They would plunge their -long beaks deep into the flowers to get the nectar, and then dart away, -only to return again for more. Other beautiful creatures came to the -deserted garden and sang madly with delight, simply trying to make -their melody as intoxicating as Lady Trumpet's perfume. - -But they studiously avoided Sunny Gourd. His leaves, big and green and -very rough, and his sinewy stems, his modest flowers and the bitter -juice of them, were odious to everybody. Yet he was green as emerald, -and he had made a picture of his end of the cabin. - -"But the birds, how I love them!" he kept saying to himself. "And they -will have none of me!" - -At last, however, to his great consolation, there came a little green -bee to visit him. - -"Well, well!" it buzzed. "Here you are! Just what I want!" - -And the little visitor tried to hang in every flower. His visits lasted -all day. - -"Yes, I'm only a low ground bee," he remarked, after Sunny Gourd had -confided in him. "Those aristocratic honey-bees don't recognize me at -all. But I don't care. And you mustn't care. The birds will be mightily -obliged to you yet." - -And without a word more, he was off. Nor would this handsome little -fellow ever explain what he meant. He would only say: "You just wait!" - -Nor were there many weeks of waiting. For the autumn came, and the -pinch of cold nights with it. Things began to shrivel, but the -wonderful fruit of the gourd vine turned from green to yellow; lovely -as gold. Sunny Gourd had produced a hundred dippers: some with handles -curled and long, some straight as rulers, and some that were short and -thick. They hung in yellow companies from the eaves trough, or they -clustered over the roof. The best of them grew against the chimney, -and yet all were as gourds should be, stout of shell and beautifully -rounded. - -"Very strange!" Lady Trumpet remarked. "Almost impressive. But I'm glad -I don't have to do it. My seed pods are elegance itself, and yet they -do not obtrude themselves that way. I call it vulgar." - -But others thought differently. People began to go that way just to -see the house that was covered with gourds, and in the last days, -as the sap was drying in the vines, Sunny Gourd found that he was -attracting much attention. - -Yet he was not to guess just the thing that was to happen. - -One day the man who had thrown the seeds for luck, returned. And he -took but one delighted look. - -Soon there was much going on and the old cabin came back to life -again. And, just as the chimney hoped, it was smoking once more. -There were children running around the weedy garden, and voices and -laughter brought back the happiness so long gone. The blue-jays and -the yellowhammers greeted the newcomers with delight, and Lady Trumpet -could only wish that they had seen her in her July glory. But to Sunny -Gourd happened the best of it all; for the man cut many of the gourds -into bird houses and hung them to a pole which he planted by the door. - -Then came the martins to build, losing no time at all. The beautiful -yellow gourds hung high and happy, their hollow shells sheltering a -dozen beautiful birds. And the best of the gourds, the one with the -longest handle, which had swung clear of the door lintel all summer -long, and had ripened to a magnificent color, was hung by the well. It -made a dipper fit for a king; that is, if the king were a very good man. - -Sunny Gourd knew no words for his happiness. And it was joy, not the -cold of the winter nights, to which he at last succumbed. - -"That's the way with this wonderful world," said Mr. Mocking-bird. "And -I thought he was beautiful all along." - -"And think what he did for me," the cabin kept saying. - -So that even the proud Lady Trumpet knew her place at last, and she -honestly hoped the dear Sunny Gourd would come back in the spring. - - - - - XII - - THE END OF THE TIMBER WOLF - - -Far away to the North, where the great rocky capes point out through -the sea toward the land where it is always snow and ice, there lived -two shepherds whose little huts were almost the only habitations in -many and many a mile of trackless forest. To be sure, they were within -traveling distance of a market town. For had there been no place for -trading the wonderful white wool which they sheared every spring from -their sheep, there would have been no object in their living in a place -so uncouth where year in and year out there were only the grandeurs of -earth and sky and the thunderous roar of the seas to keep them company. - -But the shepherds and their families were not unhappy, and the chances -are that if you took them southward over sea and land to the great -cities they would only have longed to go back to their own cloudy -skies, to their wind-swept pastures, and the steep cliffs where the -sea-gulls nest. And it is certainly true that their little boys and -girls would never have been content to have stayed away very long from -the faithful dogs, who are the most important members in a shepherd -home. And it is of these dogs and what they did to the last of the -wolves that the shepherds were always telling. For the memory of a -brave act is slow to die; and when you add sagacity to bravery, putting -wits with strength, you have something which men love to relate. - -One of the dogs was Dan, and that was a suitable name, for he was what -his master called "long-headed." The other was Denmark, for he was so -great and powerful and possessed of so wonderful a voice and appetite, -that both by power and dignity he resembled his people, the noble -Danes, and no name in the world could fit him better than that of his -native land. - -Denmark had come to this far-away settlement when a ship from the -Danish ports had gone to pieces in a storm below the cliffs. And the -shepherds had taken him home. A dog that could swim ashore in such a -storm as that had been, when the waves turned to ice as they dashed -against the rocks, was a dog worth keeping. - -But Denmark was not a shepherd dog. His shiny coat of black, his heavy -build, with a neck as powerful as a young bull's, and his great square -jaws made him at first sight a dog to be feared. But he was gentle and -wanted to play and sport like any puppy, as soon as he had recovered -from the shock of shipwreck and his icy hour in the water. But there -was no one to play with in the family of the fisherman who had first -rescued him from the water. And that worthy man, who was a brave and -silent sort, was gone from home so long at a time that he was not sorry -when the great Dane betook himself to another home. - -Some children were passing the fisherman's hut one morning in early -spring, on their way to gather wild flowers which grew in the crevices -and little sheltered nooks of the headlands. They were laughing and -chasing one another and singing. That was all the great dog wanted to -hear, for he had lived a solemn and uneventful life during these weeks -that he had lain around the fisherman's place. And the fisherman had -not dreamed of entertaining his guest. He had not played tag in sixty -years and you may be sure he was not going to begin again for the sake -of a great overgrown dog. - -Denmark introduced himself to the children in what he thought was -a playful way; but his voice was so terrible that the children were -at first terror-stricken. They had never seen any dogs except the -beautiful Scottish kind which the shepherds keep. They screamed and -ran in fear, taking up stones as if to throw them. But Denmark was not -discouraged. At first he kept his distance, but he followed; and, once -they were out on the green pastures that sloped and curved down to the -steep shore, he began his most enticing efforts to please. - -The children forgot all about their wild flowers then, and they romped -and played for hours with the dog. Of course they took him home. - -In this new home Denmark was a neighbor of Dan, the wise shepherd dog, -who came to be his lifelong friend; for the shepherds did not live very -far apart, and it was easy for the dogs to get together, as they always -did at odd times of night and very early in the morning, when they -would go far afield in a mad chase for rabbits or on the trail of a fox. - -Every one had thought the two would fight when they met, but the -shepherd dog only stood off on his dignity a few seconds, and then he -spoke to the great Dane in the most courteous tones, which the Scotch -can always employ to such effect. He well knew that he was no match -for the gigantic stranger and he saw no necessity for making a fool of -himself; besides he really was more than glad to find such a companion. - -The comradeship of these two lasted long and only came near to its -end when they cornered the great timber wolf in the sheep pen. This -was Dan's crowning achievement, and no one was more proud of him than -was the brave and courteous Denmark, who always gave to the shepherd -dog the full credit of having planned the whole thing. To rid the -countryside of this last wolf had been Dan's great desire. No one -but he was really sure of the wolf's existence. The time had passed -when the terrible packs of wolves descended on the sheep, and when -the belated traveler over the snowy roads was in peril of his life -from these stalking, famished enemies. But the shepherds were by no -means sure that the wolves were entirely gone, and when they sat by -the fireside telling stories of the dangers and hardships of the old -days, they would always end by admitting that not yet were the terrible -marauders hunted down. - -Dan's back would bristle as he lay by the fire, and he would pound his -tail up and down on the hearth as if he entirely agreed. Could he have -spoken, he would have told them that often he had smelt the track of -something that was not a bear nor a fox. Then his blood would freeze in -his veins when the shepherds, talking in their slow way between sips -of ale, told how powerful and ferocious the wolf can be. They knew of -wolves that had snapped a dog's head nearly clean off the body with -just one flash of their terrible jaws. And they agreed that a wolf -could not be overpowered by any dog alone. - -Dan always came to one conclusion in these recitals. If ever he could -find the wolf, and could employ his friend Denmark to help him, they -would show their masters that two dogs, at any rate, could get the best -of the timber wolf. - -It came about at last that a long, heavy winter drove the wolf to -bolder and more risky operations among the sheepfolds. He ventured from -the dark, forest lairs closer and closer to the sheep pens and the -shepherd huts. The dogs knew this. But in the daytime the wolf was gone -far beyond the barriers of the steep cliffs of the mountains. And at -night the dogs could never venture far afield, for it was their duty to -stay close by the barns and the pens where the sheep were sheltered. - -With the coming of spring, Dan's master had to spend many a night at -a pen some distance from the home. Down close to the shore he kept -another flock and in it were many little lambs that were sick. For in -the spring it is a common thing for the lambs that are winter-born to -be stricken with a sickness which only the best shepherds can cure. -Dan's master was up and about at all hours of the night, and poor Dan -was greatly concerned in his efforts to keep guard over two folds. But -if his dear master would take no sleep, Dan would take none. He was as -wakeful and anxious as though he owned the sick lambs himself. - -It was well past midnight and the air was full of the wet odors which -denote the melting snows and the first coming of spring. As Dan was -trotting up the path from the lower fold, a whiff of that strange and -terrible odor which he knew to be the scent of the wolf, came to his -sensitive nostrils. He stood still. He snuffed the ground around him, -but he found no track. The wolf was near, but where? - -Then a thought came to him. First, he must get Denmark. It would take -him but a few moments to run across to the neighboring farm, and now -was the time to put his plan into execution. He was much disturbed in -his mind, however, for he had never before left his master at night. -But the necessity was a pressing one. - -Down the path and across the fields he ran, and came to Denmark's -home. The great dog was lying by the barn door, under a little shelter -which formed a kennel. He was wide awake and felt very much alert. He -confessed to Dan that he felt particularly nervous about something. -Yes, he was sure he could scent the wolf on the stagnant, heavy air. - -Back they ran, their tails lowered, and their noses to the ground, for -this was no hour to play. Once they were in sight of the hut where the -shepherd and the little lambs were housed, Dan explained his plan. - -"My master will presently go into that tiny room just beyond the pen -where the ewes and the sick lambs are. He will lie down, and unless -the lambs bleat again before morning, he will not wake up, for he is -dead tired. He knows that I am close and on guard, and so he does not -trouble himself about that shaky old door to the fold. The wolf could -nose it open and not half try. But the wolf won't come here unless he -thinks I am watching up at the big pen. So I shall go up there. You -climb the steep steps that lead to the loft over the straw beds where -the sick lambs are. Go softly, and wait. I will follow the wolf down -here if he comes. And if he gets inside the pen, you spring down on him -from the loft." - -All this the canny shepherd dog had schemed and perfected as he was -running after his friend. It was too good to be true, he felt, that -here at last was the chance he had hoped for. And if he had ever -feared the wolf, he did not fear him now, but was only afraid that the -terrible creature would not appear. - -Dan hid beneath his master's barn. From a corner in the heavy stone -underpinning he could look down the yard to the lower pen. Nothing -could approach that point without his seeing it, unless it came from -the rocky shore. He waited long and the silence was unbroken save for -the dripping of the water where the snow was melting on the barn roof -and little rills of it spattered from the eaves. - -Suddenly, so suddenly that his heart stood still, he saw two great -yellow eyes staring out of the darkness. The wolf was in the yard and -not ten feet from where Dan lay! Then the gleaming eyes turned and a -great shadowy form hulked past. It was so huge that Dan trembled. It -made no noise and moved slowly and with great caution. - -Dan straightened himself out, full length, and crawled low in the mud, -picking his foothold in such a way as to let no twig or pebble move -under his weight. Any smallest noise would be fatal. His heart beat so -fast that he could not breathe, but he stalked the terrible shadow step -by step. - -Suddenly he realized that if the wolf should turn, there would be no -chance to escape. Perhaps the great jaws would kill him before he could -even cry out, and Denmark would never know about it until too late. - -The wolf's half-defined form suddenly vanished. He had made a great, -silent spring into the center of the sheep pen. For such was the -surpassing cunning of the wolf that he was into the pen and had seized -one of the lambs all in a single leap. - -There was a roar such as Dan had never heard. For Denmark had never -spoken in such voice before. Then came sounds that woke up every one on -the two farms and brought everybody running to the scene with lanterns -and guns. - -Denmark had come down on the wolf's back, and had gripped his throat. -Dan rushed in and helped in pulling him down. But the damage to the -dogs was frightful, for the terrible fangs of the wolf, hampered as the -creature was, had ripped and torn his opponents. The three desperate -animals rolled and tossed and flung themselves in such a frantic battle -that the shepherd was many times thrown down in his attempts to get -near them. He was afraid that he would stab the dogs instead of the -wolf. But when the lights came, and the guns were pointed, there was no -need of either knives or shot. The two dogs lay bleeding on the floor -of the hut and the great timber wolf was twitching in death. - -It was the greatest thing that the shepherds had ever heard of in their -lives. They told of it for years, and Dan and Denmark became known for -miles and were justly happy in their fame. - - - - - XIII - - THE TRAVELS OF PRINCE FLAMINGO - - -The wonderful adventures and the long, beneficent reign of Prince -Flamingo are matters which would be lost to the world were it not for -the venerable Mrs. Leatherback. - -For Mrs. Leatherback is not only the oldest and the largest of the -great turtles, but she is by all odds the most distinguished, and is -gifted with the most accurate power of memory. And her adventures -in the five hundred years of her life have been many. She swims the -great Gulf from coast to coast, she knows the islands--every one of -them--she has been far up the rivers which pour their floods into the -tropic seas, and every bay and lagoon knows her presence. And there is -no one whose arrival is more eagerly welcomed by the little people of -the lagoons and the coral coves than she. For with her vast knowledge -goes a power of recital which charms her auditors; and if she chances -to spend a moonlight evening by some quiet swamp, or beneath a pleasant -sand dune where the breeze is good and the outlook charming, you may -be sure that the intelligent and conservative members of society, such -as the Cranes, the Terrapins, the Black Swans, and perhaps one of the -wise Foxes, will be gathered around the distinguished visitor. - -And her stories, notably that of Prince Flamingo, have gone far inland, -even to the remote North; for the Heron is himself a great traveler, -and it is, indeed, as he has presented the story, rather than in the -words of Mrs. Leatherback, that it is generally related. Perhaps it has -gained something in its travels, for time and distance lend a charm, -and the coral islands are beautiful in perspective. To put it simply, -you remember what the wise old Mr. Rat said as he nibbled the Dutch -cheese: "The best things come from a long way off." - -So it is from a remote past, and from the most lonely and most -beautiful of the tropic islands that the romance of the beautiful white -flamingo has traveled down to us. - -There is a great lagoon or inlet of the sea which widens itself into -a vast marsh on the southernmost extremity of an island. Ships could -never enter its shallow waters, and it is protected on the land side -by miles of dense reeds and water growth. No place in the world could -be safer for the city of the flamingoes. And of all birds, the great, -pink flamingoes need a secret place to build their nests and rear their -young. - -Their wonderful city was populous with thousands of their kind on the -beautiful morning when this particular little flamingo was born. For -never had a hunter penetrated to their home, and their natural enemies -were few. - -Great flocks of flamingoes were wheeling in long, curving lines -overhead. And they were so pink against the early morning sky that you -would have thought them the reflection of the rosy dawn itself. And -almost as far across the lagoon as one could see, they were standing -by their nests feeding their babies, or preparing for flight to the -distant feeding grounds. You could see nothing but their tall, red -forms, thousands of curving necks, and wide, beautiful wings. - -Everybody was talking, and the confusion would have been terrible -except for the fact that no one seemed to pay any attention to anybody -else, and each beautiful flamingo seemed to know exactly what he was -about. Hundreds of other babies were being hatched that morning, and -so little White Wing (as they called him at first) attracted no -attention. His mother was in a great state of delight over him, of -course, and his stately father eyed him with approval. But hundreds -of other parents were in the same state of mind over their young, and -congratulations had long gone out of fashion. - -[Illustration: "HIS MOTHER WAS IN A GREAT STATE OF DELIGHT OVER -HIM, OF COURSE, AND HIS STATELY FATHER EYED HIM WITH APPROVAL"] - -The beautiful young father had just arrived from the distant shore and -was the first to feed the pretty youngster. He curved his graceful neck -downward and when he kissed the baby, as you might say, it was to put -into his tiny mouth the wonderful juice of the shell fish which the -great bird had been eating. While he did this the mother preened her -feathers, and took a few stately steps to stretch her legs, for she had -been all night on the nest, and then she wheeled in a wonderful circle -over the lagoon, mounting higher and higher until at last she was in -line with many flamingoes who were heading with tilted wings against -the wind, on their way to the beaches and sand-bars. - -The sun grew very hot and the wind died away. The waters of the lagoon -flashed in the burning light, and the heat was terrible. But over the -nests where the babies lay the tall birds threw their shadows, and -again and again little White Wing was turned over in his bed, and he -was given innumerable feedings. So at last, when the sun went down -and the air grew cool, he was surprisingly different from what he had -been in the morning. He was already larger, and his wings and his feet -were getting strength enough so that he could move, and he had found a -little voice of his own. - -With successive days he grew apace, and at last he tumbled himself out -of the nest and began to walk. The nest was a mound of mud and sand, -for all the world like a basket of sticks and moss reposing on an -inverted flower-pot, and not so high but what White Wing could struggle -back into it when the heat of the day came and his watchful father took -his post by the side of the little home to throw the shadow of his -stately figure over it. - -At first White Wing was just like the other little flamingoes, and with -them he began to play on the sandy floor of the flamingo city, and with -them he very soon learned to take short flights as his wings developed. -But just as a hundred or so of cousins began to shed their white down -and to grow very brown and fuzzy, he began to get whiter and whiter. In -a few weeks they were beginning to shed their brown clothes for the -beautiful pink feathers which are the proper thing for the flamingo. - -Little White Wing was somewhat distressed when his playmates began to -jeer at him, and it was perplexing to note a lack of affection on the -part of his beautiful father and mother. For his elders were greatly -embarrassed. Nothing like this had ever happened in their family. And, -so far as the handsome father could learn by inquiry among the oldest -birds of Flamingotown, no one had ever heard of a white flamingo. But -when the neighbors cast aspersions, and hinted that there must be some -common blood in that family, then the father grew angry and the gentle -mother had all she could do to keep him from killing little White Wing. - -Every night the little fellow would bury his head close to his -beautiful mother's ear, and say: - -"Don't you think, perhaps, dear mother, that I'll be pink in the -morning?" - -And she would tell him to hush and be quiet and go to sleep. - -But when morning came he would be as white as ever, and his long sad -day would begin. No one would play with him and he was soon shifting -for himself. Somehow he picked up a living of tiny fish in the long -pools of tide-water that the waves left in the soggy lagoon, and when -all his playmates had gone to bed and it was safe to come among them, -he would step home, picking his way between the nests, and trying to -reach his own without calling attention to himself. - -All this was hard, but it speedily grew worse. The King of the -flamingoes said that the white offspring must die. - -"Begone, my child, begone!" the mother whispered to him, for she had -heard that little White Wing was to die. "Go away, as far as you can. -Sometime it will be all right. Remember that your mother loves you." - -So that ended White Wing's childhood. Even before the first streak of -dawn, the beautiful young bird flew out and away. Across the lagoon, -miles and miles to the westward, over a wide stretch of sea he flew -until his wings could hardly bear him up. Then he sighted land, and he -strained every nerve to reach it. When at last he wheeled down to the -sands in the shade of a great mangrove tree, his first day's flight was -finished and he was a lonely, famished bird on a strange shore. - -But a deep, sweet voice suddenly came to him. At first he could not -place it. Then he saw to his astonishment a huge turtle only a few -yards below him on the beach. - -"Ah, ha!" she was saying in her most affectionate way. "So there you -are! I've heard of you. They drove you out, did they? Didn't want any -variety in the family. Well, well, Sonny, cheer up." - -Then this large and hearty creature pawed her way heavily up the sands, -and continued her remarks: - -"Funny creatures, you birds. Now look at me and consider the -difference. I don't care a clam what my children look like. I'm on my -way up to that sand dune this very blessed minute to lay about nine -pecks of eggs. And I hope they hatch and the young ones won't get eaten -up. But they can come out of that shell any color they please, for all -I care. We turtles don't worry. We just float along easy. That's the -way to live." - -Then she gave a hearty laugh and settled down to digging a pit in the -white sands. - -"S'pose you run along, Sonny, and pick up your supper. I rather like my -own company when I'm laying eggs. But just come back a little later and -I'll tell your fortune." - -No one had ever called him Sonny before, and never had he dreamed that -such high good humor existed anywhere. The good old turtle and her -cheerful ways had suddenly made life worth living. And poor White Wing, -on coming to himself, realized that he was very hungry. He feasted, -indeed, ravenously on fiddler crabs, which he otherwise would have -despised, and the moon was high and he was heavy with sleep when Mrs. -Turtle, after hours of scratching and pawing, had patiently buried her -eggs, and was ready to talk. What she had to say was brief, but it cast -the life of White Wing in strange places, and it was on her words that -he made his great journey. - -"You're bound to be somebody," she began. "Probably a king. But this -is no place for you around here. You must go where you are wanted. And -that is a long ways from this quiet spot. There's a great Emperor who -has a palace by the smoking mountains. He's been wishing for a white -flamingo all his life. If you can get there, why, your fortune is made. -If you fly with your feet to the sunrise until you come to the great -river mouth, and if you follow that river long enough, you'll see the -mountains with the fiery tops. That's the place. And you want to walk -right in as though you owned the kingdom. Don't be scared when you get -there. Just forget about those saucy cousins of yours back home and be -as grand as you know how." - -Poor White Wing was almost dizzy at this unexpected vision of good -things. He did not reckon on what the journey meant. But the motherly -old turtle was particular to tell him of the many islands he must pass, -and the dangers that he would encounter. Then she bade him God-speed, -and began her toilsome way down the sands, for she was intent upon -reaching deep water again. - -"I have a long way to go," she said; and added that sometime they would -be sure to meet again. - -The second morning found White Wing far out at sea once more, straining -his eyes for the island where he was to get food and water, and -cherishing to himself but one idea--to reach the great Emperor who -wanted a white flamingo. - -After many days and nights of lonely travel, he came to a mountain -solid green and black, with palms and forest trees; where there were no -white shores, but a heavy marshy line of wonderful vegetation. And from -the height at which he flew he could discern the muddy strip of river -water which stained the blue sapphire of the ocean. This, then, was the -river, and far up its course must be the mountains and the city of the -great Emperor. - -He was right in his conjectures. For a black bird, with a yellow bill -as big as a cleaver, greeted him with familiar and jovial laughter, and -told him that he was indeed on the right path. This bird was a toucan -and he told many things of his family to White Wing, adding much good -advice. He was distressed that the beautiful stranger would not eat -bananas, and explained that he owed his good health to an exclusive -fruit diet. - -"But then," he admitted with a noisy laugh, "somebody must eat the -fish, I'm sure. And I'm glad if you like them." - -Also this happy-go-lucky toucan volunteered to guide White Wing on his -flight up the valley. But, like so many guides, he fell out before -he accomplished all that he had promised. For scarcely had the two -traveled a day's journey when they came upon a prodigious growth of -wild figs, and the greedy toucan would go no farther. - -Those were hard hours for poor White Wing. The river valley was dark -and hot, and in the night he was perpetually wakened by the startling -sounds around him. Such noisy parrots he had never dreamed of, nor such -millions of burning insects that flashed and flashed their lanterns -till the heavy vines and palm leaves seemed afire with them. And the -screams of terror that rose from the dark depths of the forest when the -great cats or the powerful snakes seized their prey, chilled his blood. - -But the days brought him at last to higher ground, and finally to a -wonderful plain where it all seemed but so many miles of lawn and clear -smooth waters. He took heart. Suddenly the mountains came in sight. -Yes, and one of them was sending out a thin stream of smoke into the -cloudless sky. Another day, possibly that very night, he would reach -the city of the Emperor. - -Very wisely he waited for the dawn. He had seen the high walls, and the -housetops, and the glittering armaments of the palace as they glowed in -the sunset, and he had heard strange music, a sweet confusion of lovely -sounds. But from the cliffs above the river he watched and waited and -preened his beautiful white suit. - -When morning came, just as the mountains were pink and the city was -cool and gray, a grand procession mounted a great rock above the -Emperor's palace. Trains of slaves and priests there were, the sounds -of drums, and a heavy, solemn chanting. The Emperor was to greet the -sun and they were all to worship the great light, for it was their -deity. - -Then White Wing soared high above them all. His great white form was -suddenly thrown against the rising sun, and it was beautiful beyond -comparison. No living bird had ever seemed so lovely. He could see the -crowds of men and women and the ranks of priests start back in one -motion of surprise. Then he floated down, slowly and with great calm, -alighting on the stone altar where the Emperor was staring upward in -amaze. - -From that hour, after the court had recovered from its surprise, White -Wing was almost an emperor himself. A park was made for him and slaves -were in attendance. The tenderest of tiny fish and juicy snails were -given him to eat, and he was a familiar of that barbaric household -whose slightest inclination was taken to be law, and whose smallest -preferences were translated into royal commands. He was ceremoniously -tethered with a golden chain and a clasp of blue jewels to his thin -leg, but even such a regal restraint was abandoned and the jewels and -the beaten gold and the turquoise were made into a neck chain which he -wore with great dignity. - -Never could the Emperor enter into his councils and audiences without -the Prince of the Dawn, as he was called; and White Wing was a sage and -judicial counselor. He would stand for hours on one leg, his jewels -flashing upon his breast, his head turned at a knowing angle, as if in -the profoundest thought, a very embodiment of wisdom beside the throne. -In reality he was sound asleep, a condition wherein he set an immortal -example for ministers of state. - -For years he dwelt in splendor and acquired great wisdom. And for the -little princes and princesses, who were many and lovely, he had great -affection. - -But of his love for one princess in particular and of the jealousies -which grew up so that his life was plotted against and he was at -last to be undone, there is another story which the wonderful Mrs. -Leatherback is always slow to relate. - -She has been known to depart and pursue her business in foreign lands, -returning at her leisure, before she will be induced to relate the rest -of the story of Prince Flamingo. - - - - - XIV - - PRINCE FLAMINGO'S TRIUMPHANT RETURN - - -In the gorgeous court of the Emperor, where White Wing had come into -such great good fortune, the one person whom everybody feared was -the splendid ruler himself. For rulers have been notable in history -for their fickle ways and shifting affections, and this emperor was -no exception to the rule. First it was one favorite who fell into -disfavor, and then another, and even the priests and the councilors, -who were the closest to him, were as unsafe as the meanest slave. For -while an underling could be made away with quickly and at a word, the -Emperor was no less willing to let his anger smolder through a long -and carefully plotted revenge in the case of some person who might be -next to him in rank. So there were mysterious things happening in the -great stone palace, and White Wing observed soon after he came there -that nobody seemed really to enjoy the wonderful splendors of the court -itself but, on the contrary, they seemed always anxious to be in the -parks or the city, or even out on the lonely plains around it, rather -than in the vast rooms of stone and silver. - -Nevertheless, White Wing had nothing to fear from the stalwart and -imperious ruler, for the bird was truly his most treasured possession; -and if he were in an evil mood, the Emperor would often betake himself -to White Wing's splendid garden, and there he would toy with the -bird, asking him many questions, and seeming always content to find -his answer in the flamingo's sagacious looks, or a chance nod of the -creature's head. - -There were the troops of lovely children, too, whose quarters were a -whole part of the palace itself, and these were a delight to White -Wing, for they were gentle with him and fed him all sorts of dainties -from their little brown hands. - -Among these was a lovely little girl who grew to be a favorite of the -Emperor's and was deeply attached to White Wing. - -One day, to the latter's great distress, he saw traces of tears on the -child's face as she came hurrying across the enclosed garden to the -sunken pool where White Wing was looking down into the water at the -gold fish. There happened to be no one in the great courtyard at that -moment but the child and the stately bird. She looked around first, to -be sure that what she was about to say would not be overheard. - -"Oh, Prince of the Dawn, dear Prince," she began, "do you know what has -happened? I have run away from the others just to tell you. It's the -saddest thing in the world. The Emperor is sending all the children -away to the farthermost corner of the land to keep them in hiding. And -only the soldiers and the priests are to live here now. There is only -one hour left, for down below the great walls there are thousands of -bearers and mules laden with everything, and a whole army of escorts. -Maybe we shall never come back." - -Then she threw herself at White Wing's feet and clutched the flowers on -the border of the fountain as she cried. - -But this was only the beginning of the troubles in that great palace. -What the princess had told White Wing explained much that he had -observed, but what the child did not know, and what the Emperor feared -the most, was the plotting that went on against his own life and the -rivalries among his generals. The kingdom was being attacked to the -eastward. Up that same valley that White Wing had followed in his -flight, a terrible army was marching against the capital of this -realm. It was an army of men from the other side of the world. Such -conquerors they were as even the Emperor himself had never dreamed of. - -But now excited slaves came rushing in and bore the child off. She had -scarcely time to say farewell, and poor White Wing heard her sobs as -they died away through the courtyards and arched corridors. Yes, his -palace was being deserted, and he could walk through empty rooms and -suddenly stilled hallways without meeting a soul. Everybody was in the -lower courtyard watching the departure of the household. - -But just as White Wing, much depressed and filled with wonder, came to -a little doorway in a corner of the great upper hall, he heard voices. -They were the Emperor's councilors, he knew, but why they should be -there now when everybody was so busy elsewhere, he wondered. They were -not talking as usual, but whispering, and a great curtain had been -drawn across the doorway. - -White Wing knew that the chamber was lighted by a window that opened -to a tiny courtyard of its own. To reach this court without passing -through the room was impossible to any one but such as White Wing. He -could mount the walls by a short flight from the garden, and descend -within the secret yard. - -This he did, for he was bound to learn what the priests and councilors -were up to. The Emperor was not with them, and he felt sure that it was -something treacherous that they were doing. - -He was just in time as he settled down on the stone copings outside -the great window. First he looked to make sure that his shadow was not -visible across the pavement. He was assured of his safety, and knew -that his arrival there had not been betrayed by so much as a ruffle of -his beautiful wings. - -The voices were deciding the fate of the Emperor and of White Wing too. -The priests were to tell the Emperor that he must sacrifice the thing -that he loved the most and that he must do it with his own hand. And it -was to be arranged that as he knelt at the great altar of black stone -to kill the bird, an arrow should be sent from a secret place on the -walls, so that the Emperor with his back turned to the court should -perish then and there. - -White Wing's blood ran cold. This, then, was why his great master had -always been fearful and morose, and often cruel. His own house was full -of men that hated him and were yet his own brothers. They were ready -now, just as the kingdom was rallying to save itself, to seize it all -into their own hands. They would be rid of him, and his mysterious bird -too, for they feared in a childish way that White Wing had been sent to -the Emperor by some divine agent, and they hated the innocent creature -because they were both fearful and jealous of him. - -They were now deciding which one of them should let fly the arrow -which should kill the Emperor. White Wing could hear them rattling -the jeweled discs or dice with which he had often seen them playing. -Evidently the process of making the decision was a complicated one, -for he heard the little carved discs rattling in their box a number of -times. Then there was silence and a voice which he knew was that of the -Emperor's half-brother spoke in clear tones: - -"I am glad that it has fallen on me!" - -Suddenly the sound of drums and horns and a great deal of shouting -broke the silence. The Emperor had said farewell to his household, -and in great clamor the slaves and the favorites and the troops of -beautiful children were departing from the city. The Emperor's heralds -were calling his councilors to the great audience chamber. White Wing -heard the treacherous creatures scuttle from the little room in haste, -and he heard the dice which they had been using rattle to the floor as -they upset a table in their hurry to get out. Slowly and cautiously, -he looked into the room. It was deserted. Then he went in and looked -around him and picked up one of the little dice. It was a small, black -jewel, curiously engraven. He tucked it under his wing and stalked -quietly through the curtained doorway, and down the long corridor -with its shadowy arches until it brought him to the sunny courts that -bounded his own walled garden. - -What he achieved by this simple act of sagacity is quickly told. -The Emperor, who had known nothing of the secret council, guessed -immediately that it had taken place when White Wing dropped the black -counter at his feet. They were alone in the garden, and it was late -in the evening. The bird little knew that this was not one of the -gaming dice at all, but the sacred dice used to settle life and death -decisions in the Emperor's secret debates with his court. - -Puzzled as the Emperor was at first, he was not long in establishing -his conclusions. He had just been told by the priests that he must -sacrifice the white flamingo, and his half-brother had been alarmingly -affectionate, having even caressed his shoulder as he thanked the great -ruler for having placed him at the head of certain troops which were of -the greatest importance in the forthcoming battles. - -Then the Emperor knew what to do. He said nothing but was exceedingly -watchful. Coming early in the morning to White Wing he bade the great -bird good-by. - -"You must fly over to your own people, dear bird," he said. "My enemies -will eventually kill you if you do not go. And perhaps, when these -great invaders have taken my city, I shall be reduced to slavery. You -have been my greatest pleasure, and you have served here all that -you were intended to. You have saved my life, for the scheme to kill -me while I was to be offering you in sacrifice has all come out. I -drew confession from certain of the councilors when I had them in the -dungeons but an hour ago. Never would I have suspected them but for -your wonderful means of warning me." - -Then, in the earliest dawn, before the blazing sun had blanched the -palace walls, White Wing soared slowly into the air, leaving the great -Emperor standing alone by the deserted altar. There were no cheering -crowds as there had been when he came to that terrible city, and in -their stead were camps and tents and all the sights of preparing war -upon the plains. But the Emperor's hands were upraised and his face was -very splendid as he gazed off into the heavens whither his wonderful -white flamingo was disappearing. - -All that consoled the bird in the sorrow of leaving his master was the -thought of having saved the great man's life. But for that, he would -have died from misery, believing that he should have stayed there until -his own life was taken. He little knew that thousands of his own kind -were waiting for him. But such was the case, and he soon learned as -he flew toward the setting sun, retracing his journey, that he was -already the prince of birds. Whole flocks of beautiful parrots, and -great orioles, and tropic thrushes would greet him and fly in hosts -ahead of him. From the great city down through the wide valley and the -dark forests to the coast, he traveled with couriers to tell all the -birds of his coming. And as he passed, at last, out over the ocean to -find the island whence he had come, there were flocks and flocks of -flamingoes overtaking and surrounding him. - -One strange thing he saw, and that was a fleet of ships with sails -greater than ever he had dreamed of. These were galleons of the -conquerors, come to destroy the city of barbaric splendors where White -Wing had been a courtier. But he did not know this, and only marveled -at the sight. - -At last, when his escort had grown to such numbers that, flying as they -did in single file, the line of birds seemed to arch the sky from east -to west, he came to the coast which he knew to be his own. Then to the -selfsame stretch of coral beach, where the palms were leaning over the -dunes exactly as he had left them. With slackened speed and flying -lower and lower until he caught the scent of the old familiar earth, -he skimmed above the lagoon and was suddenly over his home! White Wing -flew straight to his mother. - -The thousand relatives and as many new ones were there too, and with -the arrival of White Wing's friends, who had glided in, one after -another, the confusion of greetings in Flamingotown was deafening. - -From then until his death, which was not to be for many, many years, -White Wing, whose adventures had become known until they were -household words, was the ruler of all flamingoes everywhere. - -That he was beneficent, you may be sure. And for one thing, quite the -greatest thing in his life, he instituted a change in family life by -decreeing that all the gentlemen should take their turn in helping -the lady birds to hatch their eggs. It is from his reign that this -admirable custom dates, as Mrs. Leatherback will assure you. - -As for that generous lady, she came to have her part in the history of -the times. For the great explorers who came to ravish the kingdom where -White Wing received such honors, happened to take Mrs. Leatherback -captive on one of the islands. They took her aboard ship and were all -for taking her back with them to the great court of Spain. But even -after they had branded her with the arms of the court of Castile and -Aragon, and had secured her to the deck of the galleon, she eluded -them and fell into the sea. Consequently she has lived these hundreds -of years a member, as she is pleased to think, of the greatest court -in Europe. She soon came in the round of her journeys to White Wing's -island and there she visited him a long time. So they could recount -their adventures; and he has never ceased to love her for the cheer -she gave him that first night of his lonely journey. For her part, she -is only too proud of her Prince Flamingo, as she calls him, thereby -disputing honors with the gentle mother bird, who has always been too -happy to talk much about her little White Wing. - -So all the above is just as the Heron tells it. And he is the one -who knows Mrs. Leatherback the best, and he has had it from her many -times. Moreover, he always ends with the wish that in some way that old -turtle could have the last desire of her life fulfilled. Strange as it -may seem, she has never seen the wonderful device of the Spanish Arms -which was branded and carved upon her back. It gives her a wry neck to -attempt it and she has given up trying. So she always lives in hope of -finding a looking-glass some day at the bottom of the sea. - -But meanwhile she contents herself with getting her friends to tell -her how it looks, and it is because the Heron is very particular to do -this, and do it well, thereby making the old lady feel comfortable, -that he can always get her to relate the story of Prince Flamingo. - - - - - XV - - MOTHER FOX'S HOSPITAL - - -Virginia was a very little girl when she visited the home of the -animals under the garnet hill. She was the only person who had ever -been there, as the good Mrs. Fox assured her, and the only way, indeed, -that she can prove that she had actually been there at all is to ask -her pet cat, who accompanied her, whether it is all true or not. Always -the cat blinks his eyes with the most knowing air, and nods his head. -So that is proof enough. - -Virginia was gathering blueberries and she had strayed farther and -farther away from the farm house until she suddenly found that she -could no longer see the top of the red chimney, nor the peak of the -barn. Never had her little feet carried her so far into the pastures as -this. To make it worse, she could not seem to find her way back. The -low birch trees and the sweet fern seemed taller, and the light beneath -them was not so warm and bright. - -Virginia started to run, but she had taken only a few steps when she -tripped and fell. It almost seemed that the briary vine in the grass -had reached out and entangled her. But she was a brave little girl and -would sooner do anything than cry out. It was discouraging to have all -the berries in her pail spilled over the ground, but she set to work -picking them out of the moss and leaves, while she kept wishing that -somebody would come to help her. - -Then she pricked her finger on a thorn. It was then, she knows, that -she began to hear lovely voices; for no sooner had she felt the sharp -scratch than she heard a sweet sighing song all around her. - -Of all the wishes in her life the greatest was to know what the trees -and the birds were saying. Now she knew. - -For on all sides the voices were as sweet as music. "What pretty blue -eyes she has!" and "How lovely her cheeks are!" and "Just see her -golden hair!" were remarks she caught between the sounds of silvery -laughter. - -She jumped up, leaving her berries on the ground, and started again to -run. For she was suddenly afraid of these voices, even though they were -so sweet. - -A familiar _Me-ew_ greeted her. It was her pet cat, Tiger, who then -began talking to her as plainly as though he had been to school and -could read and write. - -"How fine this is!" he exclaimed. "To think you can hear at last!" -and he went on explaining that no one had ever understood what he was -saying before. - -"How often," he purred, "have I followed you into the pasture, hoping -that you would prick your finger on the right sort of thorn, so that -at last we could talk things over! My, but won't all the world be glad -to know of this!" he added. "Why, it doesn't happen once in a thousand -years!" - -With that the beautiful gray cat ran off into the woods, only to -return accompanied by troops and troops of beautiful little creatures: -the field mice, who didn't seem to object to the cat at all, and the -squirrels, even the shiny moles, and some very excited birds, who flew -round and round the little girl, calling her name, and telling her how -they loved her. - -Why she should have followed the cat into the woods, Virginia did not -know, but he ran ahead and bade her follow, and she seemed only too -willing to do so. The trees spoke so pleasantly as she passed them that -it was impossible not to go on. - -"How she does resemble her great-grandmother!" said one of the trees. -It was an aged oak who had known Virginia's family ever since it had -settled in those parts. She felt that she must stop and return the -greetings, for she was always carefully polite to old people. - -"Why, it was my little brother," the tree continued, "who was ordained -to the ministry in your grandfather's church. Your grandfather did the -preaching, and my brother held the floor up. He also was cut by the -builders to carry the major load of the roof. You see I have known your -family a long while. I am the oldest white oak in this woodland." - -But before he could say another word, a beautiful red fox jumped out of -the bushes and told the tree to stop talking. - -"Don't weary that little girl with all your memories," Red Fox said. -"If you get started, you'll never stop. And she has an invitation to -Mother Fox's Hospital. She must come immediately." - -All this was very strange. Virginia wished to talk to the good old oak -some more, but Red Fox gave her a knowing look and held out his hand -in such a cordial way, and so urgently, that she bade the venerable -tree good-afternoon and ran to catch up with her new friend, who was -already beckoning to her from some distance ahead. Bounding along the -path beside her came Tiger Kitty, whom Virginia was indeed glad to have -with her. - -She was no longer on familiar ground. The woods were dense, and she -felt that she was running a long way from home. - -But suddenly Red Fox stopped. They had come to what appeared a jagged -and moss-grown rock. It was the side of an old pit that had been dug -into the shoulder of the hill, and at any other time Virginia would -have remembered it as the old quarry where once she had been taken by -her brothers and sisters on a picnic. But now she saw that it concealed -in reality a doorway. Moss-grown and dark, the door was hardly -discoverable, but it opened easily enough when Red Fox applied his key. -And standing there to greet Virginia and Tiger Kitty was a wonderful -old fox, with spectacles and a frilled bonnet and the kindliest face in -the world. - -"This is my mother," said Red Fox; "she's the matron." - -"Yes," the good old soul admitted, "I am Mother Fox, and this -charitable home for the destitute of the field and forest is named -after me." - -Virginia was embarrassed, but only for a minute, for sweet old Mother -Fox invited her into the parlor and then, after she had been offered -the most delicious of cakes, and the creamiest of milk, and had eaten a -refreshing supper, she was shown through the home. - -Living there was every poor animal that Virginia had ever known. And -they were all in such supreme comfort and having such a good time that -she was sure she had never seen so many people so happy all at once, -never in her whole life. - -"Our only discontented inmate is Mr. Wolf," said the matronly Mrs. Fox. -"Would you like to see him?" - -She led the way down a long hall to where Mr. Wolf was seated in a -little room of his own, gnawing and snapping at his nurses, who were -none other than the hedgehog and the big snapping turtle. - -"Two rather sharp people for nurses," Red Fox remarked, almost in -apology; "but you see it takes some one with a good deal of character -to handle him." - -In a great room which was a dining-hall, with high tables for the big -animals, and low ones for the little folk, she saw the animals that -were privileged to be there eating the most tempting dishes. There was -lettuce salad for the rabbits, and corn-bread for the field mice, and -blackberry pudding for the whole partridge family, and persimmon jam -for the 'possums, and even lily roots creamed and on toast for the poor -old muskrats. - -"All charity," said Red Fox. "All charity! Out in the world every one -of these poor animals was cruelly hurt, or starved. Of course, we're -hunted and stoned, and chased, and shot at. That's all men want--a -chance to kill us. Here's where we take care of our cripples and -paupers." - -Virginia was wonderstruck and was about to ask a question, when a -lame but beautiful lady tapped Mother Fox's shoulder and asked her to -introduce the visitor. - -"Oh, surely! Pardon me, Lady Orchid." - -Lady Orchid put the sweetest, tenderest hand into Virginia's, and the -little girl looked into the loveliest flower face in the world. - -"I'm Lady Arethusa," the wonderful creature breathed, as she curtsied -very low to the little girl. "You see I'm crippled. I was pulled up by -the roots in such a careless way. You did it yourself, if you remember, -only the other day." - -The little girl wanted to cry, but the lovely orchid repented having -come too close to the truth, and quickly added: - -"No; it was your brother, possibly. At any rate, I beg you never to -pull any of us out in that violent way again. I am sure we all love you -too much. We Arethusas have lived on your place a great many years. The -small white violets, by the way, that live by the door-step at your -home, tell me that they can't get close enough to you and your sweet -mother, they love you so. And there is a lovely begonia living here -whom your mother lost, despite her care. Some one neglected it, and it -died of thirst. Your mother was visiting at the time, I believe." - -"Yes," said Mother Fox; "that is so often the case. Fathers and -brothers are very careless in such matters. They are not so tender as a -rule with their plant cousins under their roof." - -Then, as they left the dining-room, where the animals were just -reaching the dessert, who should come flying up to Virginia but a -beautiful oriole. He too, it seems, knew the little girl. - -"Yes, indeed, dear child," he sang out to her; "I have known you a long -time. I live in the elm-tree. And I want to thank you for those lovely -threads that you put out on the lawn for me when I was refurnishing my -house. I am here to call on some relatives, but I will sing to you by -your window in the morning." - -Then Virginia remembered that a ball of beautiful worsted had been -missing from her mother's work-basket after it had been left on the -porch. This explained it all. She was astonished, but the gray cat -laughed out merrily: - -"Yes, he stole it; but the dear bird thinks you left it there for him. -If you look out of the attic window when we get home you can see his -nest in the elm. It's mostly blue worsted." - -"Why didn't you tell me before, if you knew it?" Virginia asked, really -grieved at Tiger Kitty's lack of confidence. - -"Why," repeated the cat, and then he only smiled very broadly, "because -you were always deaf, my dear." - -Presently, while they were walking down the corridor, the merriest -music burst on Virginia's ear. In a room all to themselves, the rabbits -were rehearsing for a minstrel show. They were dancing in the most -giddy fashion, and she could not help laughing aloud as she watched -them. - -But as she laughed, something happened, and the cat, who had just -opened his mouth to say something, closed it with a sudden look of -disappointment. - -"You see, she spilled the berries, and fell asleep while trying to pick -them up." - -It was a familiar voice. Virginia turned around. Her mother and big -brother and little sister were kneeling beside her in the ferns. It was -evening and she could hear the cows calling to be let through the farm -gate. - -"And I never said good-by to Mr. Red Fox!" she exclaimed. Then she -rubbed her eyes and smiled, for they were all kissing her, and big -brother was putting her on his shoulder. - -Her strange experience she kept to herself for a long time. But she -talked it all over with Tiger Kitty, and he seemed to understand it, -every word. Most of all when she climbed the attic stairs and looked at -the bird's nest, it was of blue worsted, as plain as plain could be. - -And she was sure then and for the rest of her life that the birds and -the flowers loved the old home with its trees and its gardens as much -as she did. - -And she always thought of sweet Lady Orchid when she gathered wild -flowers. - - - - - XVI - - WHY MRS. CROW IS BLACK - - -It was the dead of night. Old Mr. Fox left his cozy den and went to -call on his friend, the wise old Mrs. Owl. For many years it had been -his custom to do this, for he found her the most engaging company. Her -home was in a hollow tree and she was always obliging enough to put her -head out the window and inquire who was there, if any of her friends -knocked hard and long at the basement door. It was useless to call in -the daytime: she was always asleep while the sun shone, and in the -early evening she would be abroad hunting her supper. But after the -cocks crew at midnight, and people in their beds were turning over to -get their best sleep, Mrs. Owl would come flying through the woods and -across the river, and up the hill to her own great tree, having eaten -heartily of whatever she may have found. Then she was ready to sit on -her window ledge for a visit with her friends. - -So it was very late, and the woods was still as death, when _patter, -patter_, through the underbrush came Mr. Fox to call on Mrs. Owl. -Arriving at the bridge across the river, he jumped nimbly to the -hand-rail and trotted on that narrow board as easily as a cat walks -over the fence. For he was sure some dog would pass that way, come -morning, but no dog would ever scent the wise fox who walks the rail. - -"Always sniffing at the ground, these foolish dogs," thought Mr. Fox; -and he laughed to himself as he jumped down into the bushes and ran on -to the hill and the great cottonwood tree, whither Mrs. Owl herself had -just returned. - -With a big stick he hit the tree a hard blow. Then he barked politely -and sat down to wait. - -Way up in the top of the dead tree the window was open. Two great eyes -looked out. - -"Who's there? Who's there?" came in the most dreadful tones. - -"Only your friend, a brother thief," laughed Mr. Fox; for in the -company of Mrs. Owl he could afford this slanderous admission. - -"Ha, ha!" screamed Mrs. Owl, who didn't mind being called a thief at -all. In fact, she laughed so hard and long that every living being -asleep in those woods awoke and shivered with a sudden terror. For -it was the laughter of Mrs. Owl, you know, that made the blacksnake's -blood run cold, and never has he been able to warm it up again, even by -lying all day in the sun. - -She scratched her ear and leaned a little farther out. After -controlling her mirth, she grew very solemn and whispered down to Mr. -Fox that she had discovered but an hour ago a certain roost with the -most enticing hole in the roof. - -"Easy and safe, you know," she giggled. "Two broilers and a fowl I've -had this very night." Then she laughed again, "Ha, ha! Hoo, hoo!" - -But Mr. Fox knew she was lying. She was only trying to get him into -trouble. - -"Thanks for the hint," he barked; "but it is easier to get in by the -roof than out by the roof, you know, unless one is gifted as you are -with wings, Mrs. Owl." - -"True, true," she said, in her wisest tones. - -"And I really came, dear Mrs. Owl, to ask a question of you. Can you -tell me why the crows are black?" - -There was a long silence, for Mrs. Owl must have time to think. All -things were known to her, but she revealed her knowledge only with the -greatest deliberation. - -First she looked all around, then she laughed again, this time so loud -and long that Mr. Fox thought she never would have done, and at last -she exclaimed: - -"Why, Mr. Fox, the crows are black for just the same reason that you -ought to be black and I ought to be black too." - -At this Mr. Fox was puzzled, but as Mrs. Owl seemed to think it such -a joke he joined in her laughter, and between them they made the most -distressing noise. - -"You see," she said at last, while she held her sides and caught her -breath. "You see, the whole miserable lot of them, the crows, used to -be as bright and giddy as overgrown humming-birds. Red, white, and -blue, they were. They would have been the national bird, I'm told, -but the eagle always takes that honor by his overbearing ways. For my -part, such honors are doubtful. I'd rather stand for wisdom than for -politics. But, be that as it may, the crows were once the gayest of the -birds. It was their mad career of theft and murder which brought the -change." - -At this they both screamed with laughter again, and it was a long time -before Mrs. Owl could resume her story. - -"Complaints against the crows came from everywhere. The robins--bless -their souls--the larks, the pigeons, and every family you ever heard -of, were determined to do something to the crows for snatching their -young ones and stealing their eggs. - -"Of course, you know, similar complaints have been lodged against me," -she added; "but the point is, my family was never caught. Besides, the -crows get corn and such to eat, and the whole world felt that the crow -was stepping out of his class, you know, when he took to eating birds -and eggs and frogs. It was the greediness of an upstart family. That's -what it was." - -The very thought of this aspect of the case made Mrs. Owl so indignant -that she screamed and hooted loud and long. - -"It was all long, long ago," she said. "The birds met in a great -meeting. Something had to be done, and it was thought that war would -be declared and the crows would all be killed or driven to live on a -lonely island. But somebody, Mrs. Yellowhammer, I think it was, put -in a word in their favor. She was a tender-hearted fool and recalled -something decent the crows had done. She said that they had left her a -lot of acorns one cold winter, and she felt so much obliged to them. -The crows would have been done to death except for what she said. There -were two doves on the jury, too; and they're a weak and sentimental -lot, you know. At any rate, the sentence which the judge, a wonderful -old owl, pronounced, was to the effect that the crows must forever go -in black. They had to fly all the way to Egypt, where the little people -live, to get their clothes changed. - -[Illustration: "THE BIRDS MET IN A GREAT MEETING. SOMETHING HAD TO -BE DONE"] - -"Oh, it was hard for them. Poor Mrs. Crow could think of nothing to -say but _Caught! Caught! Caught!_ and that grew to be _Caw! Caw! Caw!_ -after a while. Sometimes I feel a little sorry for her and her family; -but, as you know, they are very much down on me. I can't imagine why." - -She winked a long green wink at Mr. Fox. For she knew, and he knew, -that Mrs. Owl had that very night eaten all the little crows she could -steal from their nests. And he knew that Mrs. Owl would never dare to -fly abroad in daylight for the crows. Then both of them made the woods -fairly shiver with their laughter. - -But it was growing light, and Mrs. Owl and Mr. Fox both felt that a -night well spent deserved a long day of sleep, so they parted and Mr. -Fox went to his home, greatly pleased to know why the crows are -black, and why they must forever say, "Caught! Caught! Caught!" - - - - - XVII - - MRS. MUSKRAT'S POOR RELATIONS - - -Mrs. Muskrat owned a beautiful home of her own on the edge of the -mill-pond. She had built the house years ago, and had kept it in the -best of repair. It was cleverly concealed at a point where tufts of -grass and overhanging bushes afforded protection, and at the same time -it was well out in the pond, quite inaccessible to Mrs. Muskrat's -enemies. - -The roof rose like an inverted bowl over a circular wall of mud and -sticks; and so neatly were the straws and sticks matted over the top -that the house seemed at first glance to be but an accidental confusion -of dried leaves and old branches. This was as it should be, for Mrs. -Muskrat, like many persons of good taste, preferred to have a home of -interior elegance and ease to one with merely a showy exterior. - -It was autumn and Mrs. Muskrat was congratulating herself upon her well -filled larder and the prospects of a comfortable winter. - -"I am always glad," she would say to the neighbor that happened in, -"I am always glad that I moved down here from that upper pond when I -did. It was a poor place to live and one was in constant danger of -the water's being drawn off. Those farmers are so inconsiderate you -can never tell when they will take it into their heads to drain the -meadows, and then it is all up with us poor creatures." - -She would then continue her narrative, after the manner of many people -who take interest in no affairs but their own, and would probably -burden her caller with the full account of how she had prevailed upon -her husband, the young Dr. Muskrat, to leave the shallows of the upper -home and set up for himself on the edges of the deep and permanent -mill-pond. - -"And," she would always conclude, "a mill-pond is so very much more -aristocratic--not to mention a much better growth of provisions. -Personally, I love deep water, and the sound of the mill-wheel is dear -to my heart. No; I shall never go back to the upper pond." - -Always the neighbors knew that Mrs. Muskrat, in alluding to the -elegance of the mill-pond society, was, in point of fact, repudiating -her poor relations, who had gone on living in the distant meadows. -For, like many people who move to the town and prosper, waxing fat and -successful, she was given to a feeling of pity that sounded a good deal -like contempt for the poor relatives back in the country. - -Little did she realize what the winter was to bring forth as she swam -in and out of her front door, crossing to the opposite shores and back, -always bringing the tenderest roots and lily stalks for her winter -provisions. She was very content with the world, although she regretted -the departure of her best friend, Mrs. Thrush, whose nest was in the -alders almost over her very head, and she was sorry that the turtles -had found it necessary to retire into the deep mud for their winter's -sleep. - -The sun was bright, however, and cheerful sounds came from the fields -where men were loading pumpkins into the farm wagon, and from the -orchards came the laughter of merry boys gathering apples. This drew -her attention to the old, neglected tree which grew on the bank of the -pond. Its fruit was bright, and there was much of it, but it hung high. - -"If only there comes a good brisk wind to-night," she thought, "those -apples will blow to the ground; and I can think of nothing more to my -taste than a bit of fresh fruit." - -Hardly had she indulged these pleasant thoughts of good eating, when -she was surprised to see a visitor approaching her house. It was none -other than the leanest and poorest of her cousins from the upper pond. -Something in his presence told her of trouble to come. And her first -question was not at all too polite. - -"Why, what on earth are you down here for?" exclaimed Mrs. Muskrat. -"Haven't you anything to do at home? I should think you would be busy -putting in your own winter stores." - -Before she could get any further, her lanky cousin interrupted her. - -"Yes, yes; you would naturally think, Cousin Flattail, that we would -be as busy as you are. But we have no longer any home to store things -in, and we are at the edge of winter with starvation ahead of us. -Farmer Jones drew the pond off yesterday. Already the shores of our -poor meadow are drained of every drop. Our house is high and dry and we -shall freeze to death if we stay in it." - -With that they both looked up, for in the quiet society of the -mill-pond a great confusion reigned. - -All the poor relations were coming down from the upper -meadows! Cousins, uncles, aunts, and brothers-in-law. It was an -invasion--muskrats big and muskrats little. - -Mrs. Muskrat gave one look and then bobbed down into the water and -rushed through her house to lock the back door, scuttling again to the -front to secure her main entrance by seating herself directly across it. - -"There now!" she chattered angrily. "I'll watch any of you get into -this house!" - -For in the confusion of things people are often more distracted than -need be, and Mrs. Muskrat was behaving very ugly and selfish because -she hadn't taken time to think. All her neighbors behaved in much the -same way at first; but when they saw the poor little baby cousins -and reflected upon what this misfortune meant to the children, their -hearts softened, and one by one the doors were opened, and the families -invited in different ways to make the best of it. They must all live -through the winter somehow. - -But what they thought was going to be the season of the greatest -hardship turned out to be the most brilliant winter that the muskrats -had ever known, and the cousins all concluded that they never before -had really appreciated one another. - -Most exceptional, indeed, was Mrs. Flattail Muskrat's good luck, for -she chose to live with her the cleverest of her nephews, the lively -little Skinny Muskrat, who proved to be a wonderful musician. Every -evening of the long winter they had delightful parties and dances in -the snug quarters of their homes. All about them would be solid ice, -and overhead, around the roofs, the driven, packed snow; but within, -where all was warm and snug, there was the greatest merriment. - -Little Skinny Muskrat was in great demand. His aunt always went with -him out to supper or to spend the evening. And it was surprising how -much more she got out of her neighbors than ever she had enjoyed at -their tables before the adoption of this charming nephew. - -It was the usual thing to say after supper: "And now won't Skinny give -us some music? He plays so beautifully on his toe-nails!" - -So the obliging Skinny would blow through his nails and produce the -scratchiest and most exciting dance tunes in the world. - -So eagerly was his society sought, that Mrs. Muskrat at last hit upon -the idea of inviting her neighbors in, but with the hint that they -bring their suppers with them. This was the crowning achievement of -her thrift, and she never ceased to congratulate herself upon having -thought of it. For her house was full of food from top to bottom, -and she became the most popular person in the happy group of Muskrat -society. - -But winter melted very slowly into spring. And the provisions for -everybody were growing low. Day after day Muskratdom peeped out into -the cold world that was still black and gray. Not a sign of anything -green; not even a bluebird in the orchards. Little by little the -muskrats grew thinner and it was harder to be gay. At last, just as -they were wondering why they had ever eaten so merrily, and ever been -so prodigal with what they had, and several of the muskrat elders were -up-braiding them roundly in an effort to put the blame on some one, -what should they hear but a robin! And in a few days the cowslips began -to show the green tips of their leaves. Then at last the grass on the -edge of the pond showed sweet and green where it had lived all winter -under the heavy snows. - -Their hard times were over! And in all the general rejoicing, nothing -gave them greater happiness than to think they had all weathered it -together. - -Nor was Mrs. Muskrat sorry to hear of the immediate marriage of her -nephew Skinny with one of the prettiest little lady muskrats in the -mill-pond. She was thereby able to congratulate herself again. This -time as a matchmaker. And so long as Mrs. Muskrat could be thinking of -how clever, or how thrifty, she was, her happiness was complete. - -But you may judge of her neighbors' surprise when she left her snug -house in the mill-pond and went back with Skinny and his wife, and many -of the relatives who moved to the meadows. Something told her that -the roots and the grasses and the tender bulbs would be engagingly -delicious when the waters came back on the meadows; and she was a wise -old muskrat, for those who went back lived a long summer on the fat -of the land. Here again she felt the wisdom of her course, and she -ventured to be truly hospitable by urging her adopted relatives to -return with her, upon the approach of winter, to the deep, warm pond. - -That is why there is both a winter and a summer residence in the -highest society the world over. It is a sad lot for the muskrats who -have not both a pond and an upper meadow to enjoy suitably and in -season, as the good earth intends it to be enjoyed. But this last -remark is a bit of wisdom from the mouth of Mr. Owl, and we must credit -him with it. - - - - - XVIII - - MR. WILD GOOSE AND MRS. GREBE - - -Far, far out on a great prairie there is a wide river which flows -lazily between its banks, apparently going nowhere at all, but in -reality bearing steadily toward the rising sun and the deep valley -where another river rolls mightily to the southward and the ocean. -The prairie is not level like a floor, but rises and falls in ridges -that are sometimes miles apart, and between these rolling heights of -the grassy land are unnumbered little lakes: bodies of sparkling water -hidden in the folds of the land. - -It was over this vast stretch of plains that the great birds of the -Arctic were winging their way one early morning in the late summer, for -they had started to their winter quarters in good season. - -"_Honk, honk!_" the leader of the birds kept calling; and as he -trumpeted, those in the rear would answer him, for even as they flew -they had much to talk of, and just now the whole flock of them were -discussing the subject of breakfast. - -For they had been flying ever since the peep of dawn, and had come -through mists and the cold upper air, covering a hundred miles of their -journey before the sun really bathed the plains in light, and they -were looking for the spot which was familiar to them as a good one for -breakfast. - -Lower and lower they flew as the leader kept signaling to them, until -at last the wedge-shaped formation in which they traveled came like a -pointed kite in long, sliding descents to within a few hundred feet of -the earth. - -They could see, of course, all the lay of the land for many miles -around; but they were particular geese, a trifle fussy as you might -say, and by no means would any one of the many little lakes suit their -fancy. They were flying toward one spot out of all others which could -afford just what they wanted for a meal. - -At last they apparently settled down to a definite direction for they -ceased to describe the slanting circles, and in one long slide through -the air, their wings stretched perfectly motionless, they coasted to -the ground. - -The deep grasses almost hid them from view, but the little people who -lived there saw them, and it was with great surprise that their friends -turned from their feeding and pluming and bathing to exclaim over this -sudden arrival. - -There were Mr. and Mrs. Wild Duck, and their beautiful brood of little -ones, and there were many of Mrs. Prairie Chicken's family, as well -as crowds and crowds of little Redbirds and many of the handsome -Kingfishers, all chattering at once over an ample breakfast table. For -there was a solid growth of wild celery around this lake, a bed of -plants so dense that it was for all the world like the heaviest moss. -And of all things beloved by the wild fowl, this juicy and spicy celery -is the favorite. - -The leader of the newcomers looked about him. That was the first thing -for him to do, under all circumstances; for he was the oldest and the -wisest of the flock and as a watchman he was sagacious beyond all -others in his family. While his mate and all the others fell to tearing -at the tender shoots of celery, scarcely paying attention to anything -but their voracious appetites, he was standing with head erect and eyes -turning in all directions to be sure of no untoward sign. He could see -and even scent danger a long way off. - -Apparently he was satisfied for the moment, for he fell to and nibbled -as the rest were doing, with his head almost buried in the rich tangle -of celery. And as he progressed in his feasting, he came closer and -closer to the edge of the lake, until suddenly he was just above a nest -that lay almost entirely hidden from view. - -It was the home of little Mrs. Grebe, the very handsomest and the -shyest of the people dwelling here. She was right there by her nest -of sticks, which literally floated on the water, and her shining neck -of velvety feathers and her brown and silvery body were strikingly -beautiful in contrast to the deep green of the rushes and reeds. - -"Why, my dear friend!" the noble Wild Goose exclaimed. "How you -surprised me! Though of course I knew you lived here. This is not the -first year we have visited this place, by any means, and yet, when we -flew North last spring and stopped here I do not remember seeing you." - -"Oh, Mr. Goose," came in quick reply, "you can't imagine the -misfortunes that have overtaken me; and it was on their account that I -was not here in the early summer when you passed over." - -With that Mrs. Grebe hung her dainty head, which was beautifully tufted -about the ears, giving her the look of wearing a jaunty cap. - -"I am the Widow Grebe," was all she could say. - -Mr. Goose dried his eyes by rubbing them on his snowy breast. For, -although he was a stern old gander, he had the most melting heart for -the sad plight of widows and orphans. - -And the fatherless ones were immediately discovered to view, for Mrs. -Grebe moved ever so slightly and six tiny little Grebes twittered and -chirped at her feet. - -The sight was very moving, and the doughty old warrior commanded -himself sufficiently to ask the particulars. - -"Yes," the dainty little lady Grebe said. "We were a devoted pair, my -husband and I. You know the Grebes, how they are like to die of broken -heart if one or the other is killed. They're like the cooing dove, you -know, very devoted. But my dear, beautiful mate was shot before my -very eyes. Yes, the bullet was meant for me, because it is the mother -Grebe's beautiful breast feathers that they are after. But it was he -who was killed. We both dived, but when I came up from under the water -after going as far as I could, I looked in vain for him. Men in a -boat were reaching out for something, and it was my own mate they were -lifting up from the water. When they saw it was not the mother bird, -they threw his body back into the lake. After a while it sank and I -knew that it was all hopeless." - -Mr. Goose knew not what to say. But before he could even begin to -express his feelings, the gentle Grebe added to her account of woes the -fact that her first brood of the season had all perished, too. - -"These little fellows are but just hatched," she went on. "They will -never know their dear father; but what happened to the first brood -of the season is the worst. We were, as you know, far south of here. -Another lake where we go for the winter. No one knew that in that lake -dwelt the worst of snapping turtles. But such was the fact. In one -month our brood of dear little chicks was, every one of them, seized -while swimming and dragged under by the great turtles!" - -Then, like so many people who have suffered as much, Mrs. Grebe began -to apologize for telling her woes. - -"It is only because you are so very traveled and wise, Mr. Goose, that -I tell you all my afflictions. Nothing, of course, can amend the -loss of my dear mate. But how I am to protect my children from all my -enemies I cannot say. I am sorely troubled." - -Mr. Goose all this time had only pretended to eat, for he was too much -interested and too deeply concerned to do aught but attend to Mrs. -Grebe's sad plight. - -He thought for a long moment, and then said that he would give her two -pieces of advice, but that she must wait a few moments until he had -thought over his many observations and experiences. - -"True," he said, "I have seen many ways of caring for children. And you -are without assistance. Now my nest is built in almost inaccessible -places, and Mrs. Goose has few enemies in the water to fear. Our chicks -are too large to be pulled under the water by turtles, and our nest is -too well defended by the sentry goose for us to fear the fox or the -wolf. But you, poor Mrs. Grebe, you are indeed sorely put to it. You -must do two things. First, I am sure, you must build farther out from -the shore; and, second, you must take your children with you on your -back when they first venture over the pond. - -"And," he added slyly enough, "don't grieve too long. Perhaps you will -fall in love again." - -Just then, however, he seemed to be suddenly mindful of his own family. -For a distant shot was heard in the air. Everybody stopped eating, and -listened, but nothing more was to be heard. The hunters were far off, -although their presence anywhere within hearing was full of alarm. - -"Remember what I say," the splendid traveler called back, for he was -marshaling his flock. - -Mrs. Grebe could scarcely comprehend what was going on, for it seemed -but a second before all the beautiful geese were in the air again, -flying low over the plain. They would elude the hunters. That she knew. -But she wished the wise captain of them all could have stayed just a -little longer to explain what he meant. How could she carry her young -ones with her? And how build on the water? - -But it is long practise that works out in perfection; and Mrs. Grebe -was soon able to teach her babies to climb on her back and to perch -there with their beaks buried in her soft feathers, and their little -toes digging ahold of her. And she began pushing her nest farther -and farther out into the water until it seemed scarcely to have any -connection with the land at all. Alone, and fearing to leave her nest -unguarded, to this day she covers it with sticks and straw, and when -she turns the eggs over that she is hatching, she smears them with mud -until they are very hard indeed to find. For she is the most suspicious -of birds. - -But if she was indebted to Mr. Wild Goose for his advice, he, on his -part, felt that he had only drawn on his learning as a great traveler. -Had he not seen the tropic swans with their young riding upon their -shoulders? And he knew what it was for. So he was only a generous and -observant bird when he made the suggestion. - -Later that season, however, when a great prairie fire swept the region -and burned everything to the very edges of the lakes, Mrs. Grebe was -thankful indeed that she could carry her babies with her to the center -of the lake, and there ride in safety with them while the reeds and the -grasses blazed on the margin. - -And of this she told Mr. Goose the year after, when he came back. He -had helped better than he knew. But of her second marriage she said -very little, and he did not embarrass her with questions. - -Oh, yes, there is much that the great Wild Goose knows and he is not -too proud to draw upon his wisdom when it is a matter of helping even -such little stay-at-home people as Mrs. Grebe. - - - - - XIX - - BABY FOX AND MRS. BEAR - - -There is a great river which comes rushing through the mountains, where -the cliffs are dark with trees, and the heavy snows are slow to melt, -even when spring has made the valleys green and warm. Here, on a cliff, -snug and warm beneath the roots of a great tree, lived Mrs. Bear and -her family of cubs. Three baby bears there were; and in their fine -black coats with dark brown edges they were very handsome. - -For their playmate, however, there was a little stranger. Just a funny -little fox, whose fur was the color of a flame of fire. He was a rare -little fox, being of such a lovely color. Had the hunters in the valley -dreamed that he was living on the mountain above their very farms, they -would never have rested until they got him, for his skin would bring a -fortune in the world of men and money. - -But of this the little fox knew nothing, for ever since the day that -good Mrs. Bear had found him, lost and weak and hungry, where he had -fallen down to sleep in the snow, he had led the happiest of lives -with the little baby bears. They could not run as fast as he could, -nor could they bark as prettily, but they were wonderful at turning -somersaults, and at playing leap-frog, and they were more than generous -to him. They gave him the best place at dinner, and when they all went -to sleep, they cuddled him up between them, while the big Mrs. Bear -slept with her nose to the door. Blow the wind as it might, they were -all as warm as toast. - -But one fine day in early summer Mrs. Bear broke the news to her family -that the foxes, one and all, were looking for their child. One way or -another, the news had gone down from the mountain to the high pastures -and fields at the edge of the farms, and it was joy to the heart of the -fox mother, to learn that her beautiful Fireflame was alive. - -Of course he must go back. And by an arrangement most agreeable to Mrs. -Bear, she was to venture with her adopted baby as far as the blackberry -patches and the great maple groves at the foot of the mountain. The -foxes would meet her, and with sweet little Fireflame safe in the bosom -of his family, all would be well. - -Just as it was planned, the excursion was made; but all the way down -the mountain Mrs. Bear kept finding more and more berries to eat. - -"Here I must stop on my way back," she would say. - -"And here is another wonderful patch! Such blueberries I have never -seen in my whole life." - -So it was late when at last she came to the clearing, and Fireflame -kissed the motherly Mrs. Bear good-by. And it was night before that -good lady could tear herself from the berry patches and trundle herself -home to her family. - -Alas! She had lingered too long. Stray dogs from the farms had scented -her presence; and although she had followed a brook until she was well -on her way to the cliff, and her footsteps were hard to follow, they -had soon learned her whereabouts. Back to their masters they had gone, -and it was scarcely morning when the hunters set out. The dogs were -barking and their great tongues were lolling from their mouths. And the -men with their rifles, and the knives for skinning the bear when they -got her, were striding up the mountain, laughing and shouting as they -went. No sooner were they near the woods, however, than their laughter -ceased and the hounds grew deathly quiet; for that is the way of the -hunter. He must be quiet and quick, for he is the companion of death, -and that terrible creature walks abroad only with cruel men who have -learned his craft. - -The foxes took in the situation at once. But none of them dared to -stir. To cross the path of those hunters was a terrible risk. They -shivered and shook in their deep burrows to hear the hounds. - -"It's lucky for us that the wind blows up the mountain," was all they -could say. - -"And what are they after?" cried poor little Fireflame. "Whom are they -hunting?" - -But then the truth dawned on him. Old Grandpa Fox and good Mother Fox -were quiet, for they did not dare to tell Fireflame that it was dear -Mrs. Bear who was being trailed. Besides, they were ashamed; for it was -plain that something must be done, yet no one dared to move. - -"She ought to have crossed and recrossed the river," said Grandpa Fox. -"That's the way to do it. But I mistrust she was engaged too long with -those tempting berries. She was not discreet." - -"They'll get her and her young ones too!" wailed Mrs. Fox, who was -nearly beside herself. For it is a terrible thing to know what you -ought to do, but to be lacking in the courage to do it. - -Little Fireflame could stand it no longer. In a bound he was out of -the burrow. The whole Fox family screamed after him to come back; but -he paid no heed. He was well up the pasture, and far into the woods -before their voices ceased to ring in his ears. - -It was a test of his wits, and he was very young. No dog could overtake -him if he ran, and he had the start; but to catch up to the hunters and -pass them, and so reach Mrs. Bear in time, was a task that would try -the wits of the wisest fox. - -Now a beautiful bird flew past, and although he never knew why he did -it, the brave little Fireflame followed that bird. Over the brook and -back again he went, always bearing upward to the crest of the mountain. -It was not the path by which he had come the day before, but higher he -went and higher, with the far, snowy peak in front of him. - -The bird would vanish, but after Fireflame had gone as fast as his -beautiful legs would carry him and when he was so tired that he could -not see for the mist in his eyes, the silent wings would be beside him, -then in front; and Fireflame would bend to his race as though it were -just begun. - -Soon he was on the narrow edge of the cliff. The sun lay full and -bright upon the foaming river far below, and Fireflame recognized the -spot. By a path that no one knew, he had come to the home of Mrs. Bear. -There she was, the three little bears with her, playing under the fir -tree. - -He bounded in upon them, but not before the bird had brushed his cheek -with its wings and then flown away, straight as an arrow, into the sun. - -Fireflame gasped out his news in one breath. - -[Illustration: "FIREFLAME GASPED OUT HIS NEWS IN ONE BREATH"] - -It was quick work that brought the Bear family to the edge of the -river. There Mrs. Bear and her cubs began their journey to the fields -of snow, and the caves that were safely beyond the reach of the -hunters. She could not thank Fireflame at all. She could only look at -him with tears of gratitude; while the three little bears, greatly -confused, were as solemn as though they had never played tag in their -lives. - -"But you will visit us some day," the biggest baby bear said, clinging -to Fireflame's paw, "and we will all play together again." - -The hunters climbed up to the deserted cliff; but they never caught the -trail of Mrs. Bear again. For the good river and the soft snows are -friendly to the hunted people, and whatever they know they take with -them to the great ocean, where it is of no use to any one. - -Fireflame went home. He knew that he was safe, so he took his time. - -But to the end of his days, he never knew what bird it was that showed -him the way in the dark and unfamiliar woods. - - - - - XX - - CHRISTMAS EVE - - -Tabby Green was alone in the snowy street. The wind which blew with -gusts of the finest snow had nearly taken Tabby off her feet as she -crept around the corner, and she was so cold and tired that she could -hardly take another step. Just as she was preparing to make a final -jump for the shelter of a flight of steps, a great white dog came -trotting through the snow and, to her great alarm, they ran into each -other. - -"I beg your pardon," said the dog, in the politest way. - -"My fault, I'm sure," said Tabby Green, for she was such a well-bred -kitty that no dog, even if he had the finest manners in the world, -could be more courteous than she. - -Then, "Why, bless me!" she exclaimed. "Can it be you, dear Bobby -Gordon? How glad I am to see you once again!" - -And to show how pleased she was, poor Tabby rubbed her thin sides -against the good dog's legs. - -Together they crouched under the arch of the high stone steps, where, -from a grating in the sidewalk, came a breath of good warm air. It -was close to somebody's furnace room, and only such poor wandering -creatures as the hungry cat and the dog who had known better days can -appreciate the air from a warm cellar. - -They sat close together and Tabby tried to purr, but she was nearly -dead and purr she could not. - -"There, there!" soothed Bobby Gordon, as he licked the snow from poor -kitty's back in the gentlest way. "I wouldn't purr. It's very kind of -you to try, but it's a bad thing to do in the open air. They say it -hurts the voice." - -"And I have no voice left these days," admitted Tabby sadly. "Really, -if it were not for these warm cellar-ways and the few stray scraps of -food that one finds in such shocking places, I wouldn't be alive." - -"But," said Bob, "you're just a poor tramp cat, and no one's bound to -kill you. I'm a dog without a collar, all alone and afraid to be seen. -I can't let any one come near for fear they'll tell the officers about -me. Once I had a collar--such a beauty, too! But it came off within a -week of my great misfortune. You know my master went away, and the -wicked people in the house were going to get rid of me. I knew it. I -wasn't wanted any more. I had to go." - -Great tears stood in Bobby Gordon's eyes but he brushed them away with -his paw. - -Tabby was overcome. In all her wanderings she had never met a case so -sad. - -"Poor Mr. Gordon!" was all she could say. "My poor, hunted friend!" - -Then she thought of her own fireside, the cozy home that she had known. -And simply to think of the saucers of cream, and the plates of dainty -pieces from her mistress' table, made Tabby Green's poor mouth water. - -"Ah, me!" she sighed, and was pretty near to crying when a thought -flashed to her mind. "There's one more chance!" she suddenly exclaimed. -"You have a fine strong voice, and you can make folks hear. Now just -below this house, where that shoemaker's sign hangs out, is a little -girl, and a boy whom I know to be her brother. They stopped and spoke -to me but this very day. I felt that they were kind and understood my -case. But, although I followed to their door, they didn't see me. And, -call out as loudly as I could, my poor voice has grown so weak I know -they didn't hear me." - -"It's little use," was all the weary dog could say. "I've barked at a -hundred doors." - -Kitty waited and yielded to his discouragement. Of course it was no -use, she thought. They must simply wait and wait until the cold and -hunger did its work. - -The wind howled, and the snow, which was piling higher and higher on -the steps, was drifting around them. - -"We Scotchmen die hard," said Bob at last. "The Gordons are a brave -lot. I have to remember that." - -"My mother purred away her life in song," cried Tabby Green. "She -was mindful of her kittens to the last. She said almost in her dying -breath: 'Remember, children! Never scratch, and always dry your tails -when you come in out of the rain.'" - -Suddenly a voice came through the cold night air. It was a child's -voice, as sweet and clear as a bell. - -"Kitty! Kitty! Come, Kitty, come!" - -In an instant the poor, starved cat and the lame, hungry dog looked -out and leaped into the drifting snow. - -A shaft of lamp-light lay wide across the street. The door at the -shoemaker's house was open. There stood a woman, and, with her, two -little children, all wrapped in shawls and blankets. Their little feet -were tucked in bed slippers and their eager faces peered into the night. - -"It's no use, your calling," said the woman. "You were only dreaming. -Any cat out in this storm is a dead cat now." - -"Oh, but I know I heard a kitty." - -"And I heard it, too," cried the little boy. - -"Yes, and you made me get you out of bed to stand here and catch your -death o' cold. I hope you are satisfied." - -Scarcely had she spoken, and just as she was about to close the door, -Bobby Gordon and Tabby Green came bounding past her feet into the hall. - -"'Twas naught but the Christmas angels brought them here!" the woman -said, when they had all seated themselves in the little parlor, which -was the poor shoemaker's shop and kitchen too. - -The Christmas night was turning into morning. Tabby and Bobby Gordon -were sleeping by the stove, and in the bedroom, tucked deep and -warm under their blankets, were the two children who had called the -wanderers in. - -Santa Claus was near, and thousands of lovely angels, drifting like -the snowflakes, whispered to him and beckoned as they flew over the -housetops. - -"This way, this way," they kept singing. And Santa Claus came to the -shoemaker's chimney with such a pack of toys as he takes only to the -sweetest, kindest children in the world. For Santa Claus and all the -good, sweet spirits know the children who love to keep the kitty warm -and happy, and who would never let the poor, deserted dog go friendless. - -"And tell me," whispered Santa Claus to Tabby Green, "tell me every -child that so much as said, 'Poor Kitty!' to you in your wanderings. I -shall take them what they want the most for Christmas." - -So Tabby Green, as fast as she could think, and the dog with the fine -manners told all they knew of the children. And when they had finished, -Santa told them that before another year was out they must have news of -other good children, like the shoemaker's little boy and girl. - -So there are many Tabby Greens and Bobby Gordons, forsaken and driven -and chased by the cruel people of the world. But sometimes a little -girl or boy stops to pet the straying animal, or even calls it home. -And you may be very sure that Santa Claus hears of it. - - - - - XXI - - MOTHER RABBIT'S ADVICE TO HER BABIES - - -Mother Rabbit and her five babies lived among the sand-hills down by -the sea. Their cozy home was a small cave in the side of the hill, -and it had two separate entrances, one at each end. These assured her -escape in case a dog or a weasel should enter her home. - -One evening, just as the moon was showing itself, big and round and -yellow, over the tops of the pine trees, Mother Rabbit led her children -out of their cozy home to the big out-of-doors, which they had only -begun to know. Their education must begin, she felt, for they were -nearly one month old and already able to jump and skip around as nimbly -as Mrs. Fox's young sons. She feared that, if left in ignorance longer, -they were likely to become overbold. - -"It is, first of all, my dears, necessary to be cautious in life," -she said. "You must follow me now very quietly to the edge of the -wheat-field, where we will sit down to talk. There are things you must -know." - -So they bounded along behind their mother, so lightly that they made -not a sound on the driest leaves of the woodland, and when they came to -the edge of the field they took the first high jump of their lives, for -the mother selected a place between the bars of the fence and leaped -through it swift and clean. - -"Do it that way," she said. "You must never run under anything in the -dark if you can jump over it." - -Once within the pleasant field, where there was so much green wheat -that the little rabbits wondered how in the world all of it ever could -be eaten, Mrs. Rabbit seated her family around her and began by telling -the babies all about their noble father. - -"Ah, my dears, your father was such a rabbit as one seldom sees. Such -stout legs, and short, too, just as they ought to be! Such a long, -graceful body--and what magnificent ears! They were like flowers, and -stood up in such a taking fashion! Could you but see him, dancing in -the moonlight, hitting his heels together in the air, and wagging -those wonderful ears at the stars, his tail as white and fluffy as a -full-blown rose, why, my children, you would burst with pride. I shall -never see his like again." - -"But where is Daddy Rabbit now?" the babies cried in one voice, fearing -that their mother spoke with sadness. "He isn't dead, is he?" - -"Dead? No, no, my dears," she replied. "He's traveling; you'll see him -yet, I'm sure. He has a way of coming back. - -"But in case he doesn't return, you must know how brave he is, and what -he can do. For you must grow up to be as like him as you can. - -"Any of the neighbors can tell you of his clever ways, and his bravery. -He rid this field of a dreadful dog, once, and the history of these -parts will always relate that exploit. It made him famous." - -At this the little rabbits cocked their ears in wonder. - -"You see," Mother Rabbit went on, "it was this way: Once he returned -to his burrow below the hill over there and discovered, by means of -his keen sense of smell, that a terrier dog was in the burrow. He -immediately called for a friend, and together they closed up the -entrance to the burrow and smothered the dog to death. That's what _I_ -call bravery. And that's the kind of father you had. The world will -expect much of children of your parentage. - -"Your father and I first met on the hillside one evening, and we liked -each other at once. Every evening after, we would meet out there to -play hide-and-seek in the grass and sand. Perhaps he will come to see -you some day, and I want you to be smart and handsome, so that he will -be proud of you. - -"But I have said enough, dear Jacks, and now I must teach you some of -the wise things he knew. He learned at an early age that each rabbit -must procure his own food, and has many foes to shun. To do these -things one must have a sharp wit. - -"Always sleep during the day while other animals are prowling about, -and come out only evenings when it is cool, to seek your food. Young -wheat, fresh onions, lettuce and cabbages make splendid food for -rabbits. Of course, it is rather dangerous to cultivate such expensive -tastes, for lettuce and onions usually grow only in gardens and people -are apt to set traps to catch you. So be careful never to go near a -trap, or bite at anything that looks as though man had placed it there -for you. It is said that your father prided himself on destroying -traps. - -"Our family is blessed by being both watchful and swift. Just watch me -how I can run." - -Mother Rabbit sprang to her feet, and over the field she sped like -lightning. The children stared in wonderment, and then shouted for glee -at their mother's rapidity. Finally Mrs. Rabbit returned as quickly as -she had departed. - -"Now, that is the way you must learn to run. And the next most -necessary thing for you to acquire is the ability to stand on your hind -legs like this." - -To their amusement, Mother Rabbit stood up like a walking dog or a bear. - -"An enemy can be seen at a long distance from such a position," she -explained; "and it is well never to run until you have taken in the -situation. Many rabbits have lost their lives by failing to observe -that simple precaution. Once your Uncle Cotton heard a dog coming, and -turned to run in the opposite direction without having stood up to -survey the land. As a result, we found only his bones on the hillside -the next day. It is supposed that he ran right into the jaws of another -dog. Dogs are clever and often hunt together. - -"But that's enough for the first lesson," she concluded. "Some evening -we'll come again and I'll teach you to dance, and we'll play till the -moon goes down in the West." - -They jumped up, skimmed through the fence, and ran after their mother, -who had them home and tucked them in bed almost before they knew it. - - - - - XXII - - THE MICE AND BABY STORK - - -"I find it very hard," said the learned watchdog, "to speak well of the -rats and the mice." - -He was talking with his visitor, Professor Screech Owl, who perched on -the peak of the kitchen roof and was engaged with him in a pleasant -exchange of views and ideas. The moon was clear and everything was very -still. All the world seemed asleep but the owl and the dog, and they -were talking of many matters. For Professor Screech Owl was a knowing -bird and he had, moreover, the most learned relatives. - -"Of course, you know more than I do," Collie Dog hastened to add. - -Professor Screech Owl nodded. - -"And you may have heard in your travels of something which credits the -mice with being other than thieves and rogues. But for my part, I am -skeptical of all the good I hear of them." - -"There are mice, and there are mice," said the Professor. For this -is one of the best ways to open a subject and draw a distinction. "I -have rarely inquired into their morals, preferring to take them as I -find them. In the matter of one's living one must not be too squeamish. -Probably I have eaten moral mice and immoral mice, with indifference. -But I have heard that the mice in Belgium are the gentlest and sweetest -of creatures. Have you heard of the Belgium mice, Mr. Dog?" - -This was the point to which Collie Dog had drawn his visitor with -intent. For no matter what subject you brought up, if you passed it -over to Professor Screech Owl and showed him the respect and patience -which is due to scholarly persons, he would refresh your mind with -wonderful facts and you would be vastly improved and informed when he -finished. So Collie Dog admitted that he was no book dog, and knew -precious little about anything. This was not so, for he knew a great -deal about sheep, the pasturing of cows, and the time for getting the -mail, and he knew that the buggy meant business, and the surrey meant -church, and he knew where his mistress kept the chocolate creams. Also -he knew why the cook left, but he never told. But he pretended that -blankness of mind which is a humility pleasing to superior students. - -Screech Owl stared at the moon as though to recall what he could from -his vast store of learning. - -"The dates have escaped me," he began, "but it is the nature of the -event, not the time which is important. - -"Once long ago, as I was told by the great Arctic Owl, who is a sort of -cousin of mine, the mice in the city of Ghent entered into a sort of -league with the storks. Ghent, as you know, is in Belgium." - -This was news to Collie Dog, but he wagged his tail as if to approve. -He was glad to know that Ghent was in Belgium, and he wished to seem -pleased. - -"Don't wag your tail!" Screech Owl spat out at him. "I'm telling you -history; I'm not asking you to have a bone. That's no way to act when -I'm lecturing!" - -Poor Collie Dog wished to laugh, but he only sat still and looked -humbly at the conceited little owl on the peak of the barn. - -Professor Screech Owl suddenly grew quite himself again, apologized for -his agitation, and resumed: - -"The storks are a noble lot, and have been renowned in Egypt and on -the Continent. They dwell on the chimney-pots, I'm told, or build on -the edges of steeples and such. Very proud they are, and given to the -practise of medicine. The cranes in the country make great pretense of -being cousins of the stork. But we all know the difference,--we who -have traveled. Ha! Ha!" - -Screech Owl screamed a terrible laugh. Collie Dog, to be polite, joined -in; but he stopped short when Screech Owl's feathers began to ruffle up. - -"In Ghent, long ago," the Professor went on, "the mice that lived in -the barn of the mayor's place were many. They overran it and lived -under the very eaves as well as in the cellars. And those nearest the -roof became great friends of the storks who dwelt on the gables and -chimneys. - -"Now, so the story runs, the mayor's barn caught fire. The good lady -stork had but just left her nest. The storks, you know, go far out into -the country to get their food. I think it very foolish of them to live -in the cities. But Mrs. Stork took her chances, as all mothers do when -they leave their young ones for any length of time. - -"Dr. Stork, the father of this particular family, was away on medical -matters, and so the baby was alone. You can imagine what Mrs. Stork -felt when she came flying toward the city and saw smoke pouring from -the roof of the mayor's barn." - -Collie Dog scented the drift of the story, and grew suddenly impatient -for the slow Professor to reach the point. - -"And was the baby stork burned to death?" he interrupted. - -Professor Screech Owl only looked down and cleared his throat. - -"The mice," he said, "are credited with singular humanity. They -scrambled all around and in and out of the nest, and at last they -grabbed the baby stork and dragged him down to the edge of the roof." - -[Illustration: "THEY GRABBED THE BABY STORK AND DRAGGED HIM DOWN TO -THE EDGE OF THE ROOF"] - -"And then?" exclaimed Collie Dog, now really excited. "What then? Did -he fall off and get killed after all?" - -"The roofs of the houses in Ghent are not very high," came from -Professor Screech Owl, in the deepest of tones, "but they are very -steep. A plank was leaning against the wall and they slid him down on -that, so that he reached the ground in safety. - -"Since then the storks give all the feathers they can spare to the -mice; and now these frisky creatures sleep on down. That is, the mice -in Belgium do." - -Professor Screech Owl came to a sudden stop and watched Collie Dog. -Seeing his audience was profoundly impressed, he then went on: - -"Those who were witnesses to this rescue say that Mrs. Stork's -excitement was terrible. She went to Egypt for a year to recover her -nerves--" - -An unearthly screech pierced the night. The Professor and Collie Dog -jumped in surprise. Old Tom Cat, who had listened to all this as he sat -on the door-step in the dark, was trying to laugh. He was also making -remarks about owls and mice in general. But just then the master of the -house threw open the window and expressed _his_ views. - -Collie Dog retired quickly to his kennel to think over this wonderful -chapter of history; and wise Professor Screech Owl flew silently from -the peak of the barn to his nest in the hickory woods. - - - - - XXIII - - MRS. BOB-WHITE AND THE HUNTING DOG - - -At the very peep of day Collie Dog and Setter Pup started out on a -hunting trip of their own. Collie Dog called the place "my farm" and -he had told his friend of all the wonderful sights there were to be -seen on the place by a dog who could travel alone and do as he wanted. -It was his habit, he said, to be abroad very early; sometimes, indeed, -he would run over the fields and along the shore, or back into the -woodland, for miles and miles before breakfast. - -"And what do you do that for?" Setter Pup asked. For this youngster -was just from the city, and he was not used to these country ways. "We -never get up until long after the man with the milk cans has gone by -the door, and the postman has come and gone," he yawned. "That's the -proper thing in town." - -Collie Dog laughed in a courteous way. - -"And we get up before the milk cans start for town," he said. "That -is, some of us do. But they'll take you out early enough when the -hunting begins. And you'll be pointing birds all day in the fields and -the swamps." - -Setter Pup waved his tail proudly, for he meant to be a great hunter. -That was why they had him in the country now--to teach him all sorts of -things about guns and what to do when he smelt a covey of birds. - -But Collie Dog was no hunter, being more of a scholar and a poet. His -master, at any rate, had read him a great deal of poetry. And much of -the poetry had been of a nature to discourage hunting; which was just -what the doggie's master liked to do. He was thoroughly in sympathy -with his pet, who couldn't endure a gun, either the sight or the sound -of it. But, much as the gentleman knew about the fields and the woods, -he would have known more could he have understood what Collie Dog -would have loved to tell him. For that gentle dog was on the best of -terms with every living creature for miles around. His early morning -expeditions were always but so many rounds of visits. - -Consequently, the newcomer, this eager and noisy young setter, was to -make many new acquaintances on this daybreak excursion with Collie Dog. - -Down the lane from the barn to the pasture they romped, the dew -drenching their flanks as they brushed the tall weeds and bushes. -Setter Pup, with his ears flapping in excitement, was plunging -heedlessly ahead when Collie Dog called him back. - -"Go easy here! We are sure to hear something," Collie Dog whispered. - -And suddenly, while they walked almost on tip-toe, there came from the -very edge of the field, a clear, ringing call: - -"_Bob! Bob! Bob!_" - -"Why, who can be down here in the hayfield at this time of the -morning?" Setter Pup asked in surprise. - -"Just wait!" laughed Collie Dog, delighted. - -"_Bob, Bob, Bob-White!_" - -The voice was as clear as a boy's. - -"That's my best friend out here," Collie Dog explained. "It's little -Mr. Partridge." - -Then very quickly the beautiful, trim little Mr. Partridge hopped clear -of the tangled grass and stood gaily on the fence-rail. He was speckled -and shapely and his eyes were full of wonderful humor. But he caught -sight of the strange dog, and was gone in a second. Then, to Setter -Pup's great astonishment, there were many little voices, and wild -scuttlings in the very path ahead of him. And two beautiful partridges, -their wings apparently broken, were hobbling along almost before his -very nose. They were dying, as it seemed. - -Setter Pup was all for seizing them. Two such crippled creatures were -easy prey. But his instincts were, after all, of another sort; for, -although he had never done it before, he stood stock still and pointed -his nose straight at the birds, his tail stretched out like a long -plume behind him. - -Collie Dog shook with laughter. - -"Well, that gun shooting master of yours would be proud of you if he -could see you now," he said. "You're pointing straight as a weather -vane. But we're not out hunting birds this morning. Come here, and I'll -show you something." - -Setter Pup dropped his tail and stepped back. Then Collie Dog came -softly up to the little birds that were cowering in the path. They knew -him well enough. Even if he was a dog, he was a friend; and if there is -a creature who knows a friend and would be on terms of friendship with -the whole world it is Mr. Bob-White. - -They were even pleased to meet young Setter Pup, when they found -out that he was staying at the farm. They could not believe that a -personal friend of their wonderful Collie Dog could be ill-disposed to -such as the partridge family. - -And Mr. Bob-White talked about "our farm" exactly as though it were his -own. He said that he and his family could surely keep down the potato -bugs that year; and that if it could only be known what his intentions -were in this matter of eating up the pests that canker and destroy, he -was sure no one would want to kill him. - -"You always say that, poor Mr. Bob-White, and how I pity you," the -gentle Collie Dog replied. For he was as quick to weep as to laugh, -being so refined a dog. "And it's a shame. My master reads to me all -about you. And we get very indignant when we think of how you are the -one thing that these farmers can depend upon to eat up more bugs than -anybody else could ever devour. You're so much better than poison and -all the rest of the truck they sprinkle around." - -"Yes; the poison just washes off in the rain. My family, if only we -could be let alone, would do it all. Didn't you tell me that my cousin -down in Texas ate up all the boll weevils in a county full of cotton?" - -"That's the truth," answered Collie Dog. "Master read it to me. But -you're safe enough on this farm anyway. You know that. My friend -Setter Pup is not going to hunt here at all." - -"And I shall never hunt partridges--never!" declared Setter Pup, who -was sadly distressed. "I wish I had never been born"--he was crying -now--"if I have to hunt down such folks as Mr. Partridge." For poor -Setter Pup had found that he possessed a heart; and that discovery is -the most distressing one in the world. - -"Oh, you'll get over that," Collie Dog comforted him. "You'll have to. -Your master will attend to you. But I'm sorry for you. And just look at -these baby partridges." - -One by one, as Mrs. Partridge had clucked to them, in a little voice -like the ticking of a tiny clock, they had crept up to her. Ten little -chicks there were, of a light brown, and nothing but fluffy down and -beady eyes. One of them hopped right out from in front of Setter Pup, -where it had hidden under a leaf. - -"Good gracious!" he exclaimed. "There was that chicken, and I never saw -it at all!" - -"No," Collie Dog replied; "you would never guess where they go to when -their mother gives the alarm. And then she runs off and tempts you to -kill her. She hobbles and cries and lies down to die right at your -feet. My own mother, who was a Scottish noblewoman, being an Argyle, -used to say that she never saw such a wonderfully devoted mother as -Mrs. Bob-White." - -With a gay farewell to Mr. Partridge, the sprightly dog was off. And -Setter Pup went racing after him. For there was much to see, and the -sun was already clear and golden. The grass shone in waves of green, -and as the dew dried there came the loveliest odors of wild honeysuckle -and clover. It was a time to be gay, and Collie Dog did not want to -have his young friend depressed. There were some wonderful mud-holes to -visit, where they could get just as cool and as dirty as they pleased. - -"And when the mud dries off," Collie Dog explained, as they plunged -through the bushes, "your coat will shine as though it had been -brushed." - -It was a wonderful romp that they had in the mud-hole, deep in the -swampy meadow, under the blackberry vines. And when they came out, -disgracefully dirty, to dry themselves under a China-berry tree, they -were rolling over and over on the grass, when a funny little voice -called out from the branches overhead: - -"Hello, Mr. Dog!" - -Setter Pup jumped to his feet; but Collie Dog only looked up into the -tree. - -"'Morning, friend 'Possum; and how's your family to-day?" - -"Oh, they're doing fine. Twelve of them and all getting plump. We like -your turnip patch very much." - -Then he laughed; a squeaky little laugh it was; and Collie Dog seemed -to enjoy the joke too, for he sat up with a smile. - -"Come on down and let's see you die," he requested. "My friend has -never seen a 'possum play dead." - -"No, indeed, Mr. Collie. I don't know your friend--and I don't think I -care to. He's a hunting dog. But I'll die right here on this branch, if -that will amuse you." - -So Mr. 'Possum threw himself into a wonderful attitude and looked as -dead as dead could be. His head hung over the branch and his mouth -lolled open, and his little paws were all curled up. - -"How queer!" Setter Pup exclaimed. "I suppose he's satisfied that -nobody but a buzzard would touch him now. What a dandy trick!" - -"It fools 'em, all right," said Collie Dog, who always delighted in -this performance. - -Then Mr. 'Possum winked a sly wink and slid like a big rat along the -branch to a hollow place in the tree. - -"He's gone in. Probably his wife wanted him." - -And then Collie Dog was off again, bounding and racing across the -field, with Setter Pup keeping beside him. - -Miles they went, through the country. Young Setter Pup saw more than -he ever had guessed could be seen. There was Mr. Blacksnake, who raced -like mad over the leaves, making an astonishing noise. He carried his -head very high and went such a zigzag course that the dogs lost sight -of him. - -"He's an ugly fellow, too, but he can't hurt you. He makes a funny -noise with his tail, rattling it on the leaves if you corner him. He -wants you to think he's a rattlesnake. But it's only a clever trick," -said Collie Dog. "Sometimes on that sandy piece of road we've just -passed, we'll come across Mr. Hognose. He's a queer little snake. He -can scare you terribly by puffing and blowing, so that you would think -he was very dangerous. But he can't bite at all, nor hurt you as much -as a cat. He plays off at being dead too, just like Mr. 'Possum. But he -never crawls out till the sun is high. He likes the heat. I've met him -a great many times, but always when it was hot." - -By this time it was a glorious morning, and as the two dogs trotted -down the wood road and along the river bank, the birds were calling -from every side. - -"I like to come this way," Collie Dog went on. "There's a redbird, a -very aristocratic cardinal, who flies ahead of me every time. He's had -a whole story written about himself. Master's read it aloud to me. Does -your master read aloud to you?" - -Setter Pup was somewhat embarrassed. - -"We read about guns and cartridges and Canadian guides, and fishing -tackle," he admitted. - -"H'm!" mused his companion. "Destructive, of course. Right in your -line. But not my style. We prefer the other kind, my master and I. But -not everybody can be a poet, of course." - -Just then the cardinal-bird darted out of the honeysuckle and flew -ahead of them, and in an instant a brilliant bluebird followed him. - -"They fly together just that way. Master says they must like each -other's color. Aren't they beautiful?" - -And then, before they knew it, the birds were gone; and Setter Pup was -surprised to see that this river path had been the way home, for they -were almost at the farm door. - -"If I could only go hunting with you instead of with those guides and -guns," Setter Pup began; for evidently there was something on his mind -and he wanted to talk. - -But Collie Dog just wagged his tail. He understood. There was nothing -to be said, for a dog owes everything to his master, and there are many -kinds of masters. Besides, the door was open and there were voices -upstairs. Setter Pup's owner was calling across the hall to his host. - -"He ought to make a fine pointer. His mother was a prize bird dog, you -know." - -Poor Setter Pup looked wistfully at Collie Dog as they flopped down on -the floor. - -And Collie was truly distressed. But, then, as he often asked himself: - -"What could a poor dog do?" - - - - - XXIV - - MRS. POLAR BEAR'S ADVENTURE - - -The long, dark winter was on the wane. Months of cold starlight and -terrific winds, with numberless storms of heavy snow, had gone by. -Little by little the streak of light on the horizon, the thin shadows -which it cast over the snowfields, and the gentler quality of the -air increased; so that every one who lived in this far Arctic region -stirred in his winter sleep and there was preparation for a short and -very busy summer. - -Some of the animals had been abroad, indeed, throughout the whole dark -night of the polar winter; such of them for instance as the lovely -white fox and the great polar bear. For it was not their custom to -crawl away, as many did, into the deep snow-banks, there to sleep it -out; for they knew that even this season of blackness and appalling -cold had plenty of food for them, and they were always insatiably -hungry. - -But Mr. Bear's wife was of a different turn of mind, and although she -knew that her husband would not provide for her quite as she would -like to be fed, she was willing to go deep into the snow and dig out -for herself a warm bed away beneath the surface. There she had stayed, -never so much as venturing to the opening after the real night had set -in. - -And there her cubs were born. Two of them there were. The good Mrs. -Bear was so delighted with their beauty that she was impatient for the -warm days to come when she could take them out and show them to her -relatives and friends. - -"Perhaps, too, their father will be back by the time summer comes," she -thought. - -And then she was suddenly glad that he was not around just now; for -he was very quick-tempered, and if the babies annoyed him at all, he -would be pretty sure to cuff them. And one blow of Mr. Bear's paw would -finish the career of any baby bear in the world. - -So the two little creatures, clad in the whitest of fur from head to -foot, their claws as black as ebony, and their wide eyes as yellow as -amber, lay snuggled against the great warm body of their mother for all -the weeks of the departing winter. - -Suddenly, as they rolled over and looked upward through the snow -cavern, they saw for the first time what seemed to them a great big eye -staring down at them. - -"That's only the hole in the roof," Mrs. Bear explained. "And pretty -soon you will see that it is all blue and beautiful above that -window--and then we will go out and away." - -What that meant they did not know; for life so far as they had known it -consisted of meals and sleep and endless playtime on the icy floor of -their cavern. But they were to know more about it very soon. A white -wing flashed by one morning, and a land voice called down the depths of -their cave. - -It was Mr. Burgomaster, the good-natured gull. He had come purposely -to call on Mrs. Bear, for he had two stirring pieces of information to -give her. - -He perched by the edge of her skylight, and wasted no words in relating -the news. - -"There's a whale being driven ashore; and the mists have hidden the -birds." - -He was gone before Mrs. Bear could so much as thank him for coming; and -she was, indeed, deeply obliged. No one but good Mr. Burgomaster would -ever have taken such pains. - -What he said sounded strange enough, but it meant everything to Mrs. -Bear. When a whale was disabled in the far depths of the sea, or had -been caught in the currents and gales in such a way that he must surely -drift to shore, he was as good as dead and devoured. For in shallow -water he would be helpless and once his enormous bulk was stranded on -the rocks or the jagged capes of ice he could only give himself up to -his enemies. - -Mrs. Bear, however, would have been very cautious about venturing to -the scene of the banquet, if the great flocks of birds, which were sure -to be on hand, were not hidden from view as they hovered above it. -Clouds of excited gulls that came nearer and nearer to the shore were a -signal of what was about to happen. And the bears, the foxes, and the -wolves were not the only ones who knew it. Men, with their ferocious -packs of dogs, their long lassos of walrus hide, and their terrible -spears, knew well enough what the noisy birds were announcing. - -But all would be well if the fogs hung low, and the gathering flocks of -sea-birds were thereby hidden. - -Mrs. Bear explained the situation to her cubs. - -"Of course, your mother would not have built her nursery here," she -ended, "if she thought those terrible creatures with the wolfish -dogs and the ropes were within miles and miles of the spot. But you -can never tell when they may turn up. They come with their dogs over -endless tracks of snow and ice to find us, and they travel fast. You -must lie as quietly as you can while I am gone. Amuse yourselves in -only the quietest way. Don't call out at all; and go to sleep again, -like good children." - -With that Mrs. Bear rose to her hind feet and reached upward along the -snow walls of her house. Then, balancing herself on a ridge of the ice -which was for all the world like a side shelf, she made a ponderous -leap through the opening into broad daylight. For at last it was the -real day, and a glorious glimmer of sunlight behind the fogs showed -that summer was coming. - -It was good to breathe the free air, and Mrs. Bear shook herself -violently to straighten out the creases of her heavy coat. She would -have liked to roar, loud and long, but she was trained by experience -never to speak in a fog. - -"You can't tell who's hearing you," her own mother used to say. - -So she only trundled her mighty bulk downward across the ice and -snow, to its very edge, where it suddenly broke off and formed an -embankment. Below this there was a narrow beach, or what appeared to -be one--a strip of confused and tumbled blocks of ice and jagged rocks. - -There was a sudden whizzing of wings above her head, and the wailing -cries of a hundred little gulls and the many crowds of birds that were -hurrying to eat of whale fat. Mrs. Bear broke off in their direction; -and soon the sound of snarling voices, the yelps of the quarrelsome -foxes, and the vicious bark of the wolves met her ears. Yes, she -was none too early, for evidently the assemblage of animals, all as -famished as herself, were fighting over the repast. - -They were not so polite to Mrs. Bear as they might have been, for -they begrudged her any share of the whale's body. But she paid little -attention to any one, and went to work lustily on her first meal of the -season. - -After the first mouthfuls, however, she felt wonderfully good-humored; -for such is the effect of a meal, and it is pleasant to stop and talk a -bit when you know there is more to follow. - -"I must thank you, Mr. Burgomaster," was her first remark. "You were -kind to call me in time. This is a good beginning to the summer." - -The white-winged gull, largest of all the birds that were present, and -by far the best mannered, only begged Mrs. Bear to remember that they -had been friends for many years. - -"And I propose to name my children," Mrs. Bear announced, as this -delicious dinner began to increase her fine spirits, "I propose to name -the babies after you and your wife: _Odin_ and _Olga_. That's what they -shall be." - -Mr. Burgomaster was at a loss how to express his gratitude for this -compliment. But he needed to say little, for such a generous tribute is -not repaid in words. - -Something he said later on, however, in which he quoted Dr. Penguin, -brought forth her assent on the subject of eating too much, for she -added, "True, true, it is not wise to overeat at your first meal of the -year. A relative of mine did that once, and was unable to climb over -the path to his door." - -So, taking as goodly an amount of provender with her as she could -carry away, Mrs. Bear went home to feed her babies. They were far more -interested in this new and appetizing breakfast than in the names which -she gave them, you may be sure; and from then until the whale was used -up and only his bones were left to dry in the winds, Mrs. Bear was -continually carrying meals to her cave. - -By this time the winter was gone, and the roof of the snowhouse fell -in. The melting drifts drenched every ledge and cranny of their home, -and it was time to be wandering. - -"You must do exactly as I tell you," Mrs. Bear kept saying, "and you -must never stray from me a minute. For we are going to start on our -journey, and there will be a great many dangers to guard against." - -When little Odin and Olga trotted along beside their mother, with the -whole world before them, and a keen appetite with them, they were as -alert and excited as any two bears in the world could be. - -The great rolling, blue water, the ice that floated on its surface -and shone like white ivory in the sun, the patches of green grass on -the sides of the hills, and the rocks black with snow water, made a -dazzling scene. - -Their long day began with a wonderful feat on the part of Mother Bear. -After they had swum to a low, wide ice floe, which was a little way -from shore, and Odin and Olga were just learning to use the hairy pads -of their feet in climbing the sides of the small iceberg, Mrs. Bear -gave a sudden plunge into the water, and disappeared from view. She -swam far out, her nose barely coming to the surface, and the rest of -her body entirely concealed. Then, rising to the surface, she brought -back with her a huge fish which she had stunned with a blow of her -mighty paw. - -"It's all in the way you slide into the water," she said; and then, as -they ate greedily of this morsel, she told them of diving for sea-lions -and of capturing them by coming up from under the prey. - -"You will swim under water great distances, as soon as you learn to -hunt," she said, "and you will learn to make no noise about it." - -This was the truth, as not only the seals and the sea-lions, but plenty -of the great fish, could bear witness. - -But, as events of the day were to turn, little Odin and Olga were near -to never growing up at all; for the very danger which their mother most -dreaded was speedily approaching. While they were playing first on the -ice cakes and then on the shore, and Mrs. Bear had about made up her -mind that they would stay that night at a point not far distant, where -she saw many sea-birds fluttering, and where, she reasoned, the fishing -and seal hunting might be good, the hunters with their trained dogs -were fast approaching the very spot. - -For your Eskimos have their own way of reading the signs; and as many -birds had been flocking in this direction, the men had steadily pursued -the trail. Day after day they had traveled, and they felt sure that -they were coming upon at least a herd of seals or of walruses. And they -hoped, of course, to bag a great white bear. - -But Odin's mother had assured herself that there was no danger, or it -would have been revealed during the time that the whale had attracted -such crowds of her brother animals. She did not perceive that her -enemies knew exactly how prone the well-fed bear is to linger near the -spot of her recent feedings. - -"That is just the place to spend the night, out there," she said; "for -on those points that reach out into the sea, you can escape by land or -by water, as you have to. Remember that, too, children." - -Little Olga stopped to rub her head at this. She was trying to remember -so many things! Mrs. Bear told her it was nothing, and that learning -things was the whole of life anyway. - -When Mrs. Bear and her twins reached the icy point, there were the -friendly Penguins to meet them and to exclaim over the children. They -were having a fine visit when suddenly a dull roar far below them on -the shore made every one sit up and listen. - -It came again and lasted longer. It was a new sound to the children, -but Mrs. Bear recognized it. - -"That's an iceberg breaking up," she said at last. "Not a pleasing -sound, but one you'll soon get used to." - -Night came and they curled up, all three, in a snug corner under the -ice shelves of the point. The wind was high and the sea was noisy, but -they were too well tucked away to care. - -And they little dreamed of what was going on around them. - -For scarcely had the sun gone down, when the Eskimos with their teams -of wolfish dogs were on the spot. Little by little they had crept to -the end of the point, and one by one they stationed themselves at -intervals to wait, like so many sentinels, for the morning. - -Mrs. Bear would never reach the water alive; and escape back to the -mainland was impossible. There were enough dogs and men on hand to -cover the avenues of escape. - -Before little Odin and Olga were awake sufficiently to see anything at -all, Mrs. Bear had faced her first ambushed enemies. From where the -cubs cowered in their corner, they saw their mother rear on her hind -legs and then drop with a terrible force, hitting the dogs right and -left as she landed among them. There were thunderous noises, and her -own mighty roars were almost drowned by the snarling of the dogs and -the shouting of the men, who were fast closing in. She was bleeding -already and several of the dogs were lying dead around her. - -Mrs. Bear stood truly at bay. One man, more courageous than the rest, -came running up with his pointed spear, ready to take aim. A terrific -noise arrested him--a noise in which all else was nothing. The land -seemed to reel and topple; the great ice shelves came crashing down. - -Men and dogs ran for their lives; and to save themselves they plunged -bodily into the sea. For the whole point of ice had broken from the -mainland and, like a ship that is rocking and righting itself, it was -sending up mighty waves and eddies on every side. - -The motions were less gigantic after a while, and the new iceberg had -found itself. Already it was moving forward, and the wind was driving -it foot by foot into the outgoing tide. - -Mrs. Bear knew precisely what to do. Twice in her life she had traveled -on ice floes, though never on so large a one as this. - -"Here we are, and here we stay," she said. "By and by we'll come to -islands, or so close to shore that we can swim back to land. It will be -a long time before we are carried out beyond this gulf, and we're sure -to escape before then." - -She was a little too cheerful, perhaps, for some of her own kin had -gone that way so far into the great southerly current that they were -never seen again. But Mrs. Bear was one of those happy beings who -always look for the best, not the worst; and she was too joyous over -this sudden deliverance to heed any new perplexity. - -Long weeks afterward, when Mother Bear's wounds were healed, and -Odin and Olga had indeed learned how to live by diving and hunting -under water, they came to a narrow bay where the land was green on -both sides. The distance from their iceberg was but little; and they -plunged in, while Mr. Burgomaster circled over them excitedly. He was a -wonderful mariner, Mr. Burgomaster, and, being such a good friend, he -had flown back and forth over land and sea, following them on their -icy ship. - -"You'll know where you are, Mrs. Bear, when this fog lifts," he said. -"You will find that you have come to a beautiful shore where there are -berries and all kinds of refreshing things that bears like. It was a -good day that the iceberg started you on your trip." - -"All things, Mr. Burgomaster," said wonderful Mother Bear, as she -crawled out of the water and shook her shaggy fur, "all things happen -for the best!" - - - THE END - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOREST FRIENDS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Forest Friends</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Royal Dixon</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: Robert Shepard McCourt</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: May 29, 2022 [eBook #68198]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Charlene Taylor, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOREST FRIENDS ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter x-ebookmaker-drop"> - <img src="images/illusc.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>FOREST FRIENDS</h1> - -<h2>BY ROYAL DIXON</h2> - -<p>AUTHOR OF "THE HUMAN SIDE OF PLANTS"</p> - -<p>WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR BY<br /> -ROBERT SHEPARD McCOURT</p> - -<p>NEW YORK<br /> -FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY<br /> -PUBLISHERS</p> - -<p><i>Copyright, 1916, by</i><br /> -<span class="smcap">Frederick A. Stokes Company</span></p> - -<p><i>All rights reserved</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>TO<br /> -ANNE RHODES<br /> -FAITHFUL FRIEND, GOOD FELLOW, AND RARE SOUL</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><i>NOTE</i></p> - -<p><i>The author is especially indebted to Mr. Read<br /> -Hersey for valuable suggestions and criticism in<br /> -the preparation of this book.</i></p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table summary="Contents"> - -<tr><td align="right">I</td><td align="left"><a href="#I"><span class="smcap">Mrs. Elephant's Moonlight Dance</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">II</td><td align="left"><a href="#II"> <span class="smcap">Old Lady Wildcat's Feast</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">III</td><td align="left"><a href="#III"> <span class="smcap">Mrs. Frog Changes Her Dress</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">IV</td><td align="left"><a href="#IV"> <span class="smcap">Mr. Mocking-Bird and His Prize Song</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">V</td><td align="left"><a href="#V"> <span class="smcap">Mr. Raccoon's Oyster Supper</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">VI</td><td align="left"><a href="#VI"> <span class="smcap">Mrs. Goose and Her Swamp Cousins</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">VII</td><td align="left"><a href="#VII"> <span class="smcap">Mrs. Fox Steals One Egg Too Many</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">VIII</td><td align="left"><a href="#VIII"> <span class="smcap">Why Mrs. Frog Must Live in the Swamps</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">IX</td><td align="left"><a href="#IX"> <span class="smcap">The Scare-Man Tree</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">X</td><td align="left"><a href="#X"> <span class="smcap">Mrs. Fox and the Eider-Duck Eggs</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XI</td><td align="left"><a href="#XI"> <span class="smcap">Sunny Gourd and Lady Trumpet-Vine</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XII</td><td align="left"><a href="#XII"> <span class="smcap">The End of the Timber Wolf</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XIII</td><td align="left"><a href="#XIII"> <span class="smcap">The Travels of Prince Flamingo</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XIV</td><td align="left"><a href="#XIV"> <span class="smcap">Prince Flamingo's Triumphant Return</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XV</td><td align="left"><a href="#XV"> <span class="smcap">Mother Fox's Hospital</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XVI</td><td align="left"><a href="#XVI"> <span class="smcap">Why Mrs. Crow Is Black</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XVII</td><td align="left"><a href="#XVII"> <span class="smcap">Mrs. Muskrat's Poor Relations</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XVIII</td><td align="left"><a href="#XVIII"> <span class="smcap">Mr. Wild Goose and Mrs. Grebe</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XIX</td><td align="left"><a href="#XIX"> <span class="smcap">Baby Fox and Mrs. Bear</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XX</td><td align="left"><a href="#XX"> <span class="smcap">Christmas Eve</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XXI</td><td align="left"><a href="#XXI"> <span class="smcap">Mother Rabbit's Advice to Her Babies</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XXII</td><td align="left"><a href="#XXII"> <span class="smcap">The Mice and Baby Stork</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XXIII</td><td align="left"><a href="#XXIII"> <span class="smcap">Mrs. Bob-White and the Hunting Dog</span></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">XXIV</td><td align="left"><a href="#XXIV"> <span class="smcap">Mrs. Polar Bear's Adventure</span></a></td></tr> - -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - -<table summary="Illustrations"> - -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#illus1">"At her special request, Mr. Frog played for her, not too fast, on his elegant flute"</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#illus2">"'Listen, listen, listen,' said the mocking-bird"</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#illus3">"While the gay old foxes were in the next room, Mrs. Rabbit slipped out"</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#illus4">"Off through the big woods the little foxes trotted gaily behind their mother"</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#illus5">"His mother was in a great state of delight over him, of course, and his stately father eyed him with approval"</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#illus6">"The birds met in a great meeting. Something had to be done"</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#illus7">"Fireflame gasped out his news in one breath"</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#illus8">"They grabbed the baby stork and dragged him down to the edge of the roof"</a></td></tr> -</table> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>FOREST FRIENDS</h2> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="I" id="I">I</a></h2> - -<h3>MRS. ELEPHANT'S MOONLIGHT DANCE</h3> - - -<p>It was a beautiful evening in the forest, and under the moonlight -there was a great gathering of friends. Mr. and Mrs. Elephant, and -the Kangaroos, the Foxes, and the handsome Leopards, even sprightly -little Miss Lynx, and a number of the aristocratic jungle Deer were -seated, all in a great circle, around the pleasant pool which shone in -the moonlight, and displayed the loveliest of lilies afloat upon its -surface.</p> - -<p>"Then, it is decided," said the venerable Mr. Tapir. "We are, my -friends, going to contest for a dancing prize. It is felt that such an -entertainment will relieve the rather tedious monotony of our evenings -in this lovely spot.</p> - -<p>"One week from to-night there will be the finest party we have ever -given. No expense is to be spared. Music will be supplied by the -celebrated company of Baboons and Macaws; and the ladies will adjourn, -forthwith, as a committee on refreshments."</p> - -<p>Mr. Tapir went on at great length, for all the animals loved to hear -him talk, and he loved to hear himself. He had been to London. He knew -how things ought to be done. So he said it all over several times, but -he always ended with, "and the ladies will adjourn forthwith," which -beautiful words struck the animals as the finest they had ever heard.</p> - -<p>"What oratory! Such a flow of London speech!" they whispered. And -the lovely Miss Giraffe broke down and cried. Such is the power of -eloquence.</p> - -<p>Great jealousies ensued, however, for Mrs. Kangaroo let it be known -straightway that the prize was hers for sure. No one could dance as she -could. She had only to straighten her waist, lift her chin, and give a -leap. It was her specialty.</p> - -<p>"When it comes to grace and speed," Mrs. Leopard remarked, "there is -something in my motion which is utterly lacking to the rest of you."</p> - -<p>Now, Mrs. Elephant kept quiet. She knew what they thought of her. She -was always referred to as "that good, solid, easy-going person" unless -her friends were spiteful, when they did not hesitate to call her -"that ungainly old cow of an elephant." She knew their ways and spite.</p> - -<p>"But I shall get that prize," she grunted, as she trudged to her -handsome, roomy home under the chocolate trees. Nor did she feel less -determined in the cool bright morning, when, as a rule, the resolutions -of the night before grow pale. Immediately she put her housekeeping -into the hands of her sister-in-law, who was young and willing.</p> - -<p>"I have much to do," she said.</p> - -<p>Then she set out to find her friends, the bull-frogs. They would pipe -their tunes all day in the shade, and she would practise her steps.</p> - -<p>It was hard at first, but soon she devised a wonderful dance. Up and -down and around she went all day, and most all night. But she kept her -doings a secret; and it was well she did, for all the animals would -only have laughed at her had they seen her flopping around on the edge -of the bull-frogs' pond.</p> - -<p>The night of the dance came. The elegance of the costumes and the -abundance of the refreshments were a delight.</p> - -<p>It was a little game of sly Mrs. Fox's to urge everybody to eat as much -as possible, and this she would do with the sweetest smile.</p> - -<p>"Oh, do eat another bunch of bananas," she would say to Mrs. Elephant; -for she wanted everybody to overeat except herself. Then they could not -dance, she knew, and she would get the prize if she showed only her -wonderful walking steps.</p> - -<p>But the animals guessed her scheme. They only thanked her, and stroked -their dresses or went off into corners to try their steps.</p> - -<p>It was a brave show, and after a few had risen to the floor and danced -their steps, favor was plainly directed to the lithe and lovely Mrs. -Leopard.</p> - -<p>"Just wait for Mrs. Kangaroo," was whispered from one to another. -"She's wonderful, you know."</p> - -<p>Then Mrs. Kangaroo came forth. Yes, it was marvelous what she could -accomplish. First she strutted high and proud, then she bounded up -and down, and finally made a great leap; but it was a leap before -she looked, for what did she do but jump right into the lily pond, -<i>ker-splash</i>!</p> - -<p>Great embarrassment seized the company, and the less polite, such as -the monkeys, simply yelled in derision.</p> - -<p>"Mrs. Elephant! Mrs. Elephant!" was now the cry.</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes, Mrs. Elephant!" came from all sides; for the animals, -already amused by Mrs. Kangaroo's unfortunate conclusion, were ready to -be boisterous. They could roar at Mrs. Elephant if they wanted to; she -was so thick-skinned, as they thought, that you could never hurt her -feelings anyway.</p> - -<p>But Mrs. Elephant was very modest, and a trifle grand. Besides, she was -all polished and trimmed in a manner most affecting. All that afternoon -her sister-in-law had stood in the water with her, smoothing down her -dress and rubbing her head; and two simple palm leaves behind her ears, -with a little rope of moon-flowers garlanded over her placid forehead -gave her a regal aspect which the animals were surprised and delighted -to note.</p> - -<p>"How thin she's grown! How do you suppose she did it?" they gasped.</p> - -<p>Then Mrs. Elephant danced.</p> - -<p>At her special request, Mr. Frog played for her, not too fast, on his -elegant flute. But scarcely had she taken her first two steps when the -orchestra struck up that grand old march, <i>Tigers Bold and Monkeys -Gay</i>, which, as you know, would set anybody a-marching even if they had -nowhere to go.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a name="illus1" id="illus1"></a> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>"<span class="smcap">At her special request, Mr. Frog played for her, not too fast, on his -elegant flute</span>"</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Waving her splendid arms to the sky, and making the most wonderful -bows, flapping her ears and curling and pointing her trunk, all to the -tune of the music, she was, as the eloquent Mrs. Tapir was moved to -say, "as majestic as the night."</p> - -<p>At her signal, when she knew she had captivated the audience, the -music changed, and she came tripping toward them with open arms and -the pinkest, biggest smile the world has ever seen. She begged them -all to strike up the chorus; and suddenly, without knowing what they -were about (for such is the way with an audience, once the hard-worked -artist has enraptured his fellow-beings), they were all shouting the -stirring words:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">I'm the jungle dandy, O,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">You're the zebra's daughter,</div> - <div class="verse">Come an' kiss me, handy, O,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Nuts and orange water.</div> -</div></div> - -<p>Of course she took the prize. And all she would say, or all, indeed, -that can be got out of her to this day, about it is:</p> - -<p>"Practise, my dears, practise. No, I have never done it since, nor -would I think of trying. I only wished to feel in my old age that I had -accomplished something. The race, as wise men have said, is not to the -swift. Determination and careful, unremitting practise: that's what is -wanted."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="II" id="II">II</a></h2> - -<h3>OLD LADY WILDCAT'S FEAST</h3> - - -<p>Sister Alligator and Miss Mud-Turtle had always been exceedingly good -friends, and always helped each other out of trouble. One day Miss -Mud-Turtle flopped over to Sister Alligator in great excitement.</p> - -<p>"Look here, my friend, I'm going to have a picnic over on the other -side of your big pond, and I want you to help me!" she said.</p> - -<p>"Well, I'm right here to do what I can for you. Just tell me of what -service I may be," replied Sister Alligator, as she lazily opened her -sleepy eyes.</p> - -<p>"You are a wonderfully good neighbor," declared Miss Mud-Turtle, "and -I was just wondering if you would mind carrying all my young friends, -the swamp turtles, across the pond on your big back? It would take you -only a minute to swim us across, and if we tried to go around the pond, -I am afraid Old Lady Wildcat might catch us on the way. You know she is -always trying to get the best of us mud-turtles."</p> - -<p>Sister Alligator's sleepy eyes opened wider.</p> - -<p>"I have the very idea!" she exclaimed. "Just send Old Lady Wildcat an -invitation to come to the picnic. Then I'll swim out into the pond and -dive under and drown her, for all of you mud-turtles can swim."</p> - -<p>Miss Mud-Turtle laughed so hard she had to wipe the tears from her eyes.</p> - -<p>"Sister Alligator, your sleepy old head is not on your body for -nothing! You surely have some brains! That is the very idea for -disposing of Old Lady Wildcat! I'll make a carpet out of her soft hide -for my young friends to play on before the sun goes down."</p> - -<p>So Miss Mud-Turtle sent an invitation to Old Lady Wildcat, all written -on a grape leaf in grand style. It told of the big dinner they were to -have, and where it was to be, and that Sister Alligator would carry -them all across the pond on her back.</p> - -<p>When Old Lady Wildcat got the invitation she mewed to Mr. 'Possum, who -had brought it, that she would be there all right, but that they must -be very careful when they carried her over the pond, as her rheumatism -was bad.</p> - -<p>Then, when Mr. 'Possum went to take her message to Miss Mud-Turtle, Old -Lady Wildcat laughed so loudly she had to hide her face with her paws -for fear Miss Mud-Turtle would hear her. She was just planning how to -get the best of Miss Mud-Turtle.</p> - -<p>"Whenever I dine with low-down mud-turtles and alligators it is time -for me to lose this fine coat of mine. I suppose they forget who I am! -Ha! What would all my grandchildren think of their grandmother dining -with mud-turtles!"</p> - -<p>Then she began laughing again, and her grandchildren, who were sleeping -away up in the branches of a big pine-tree, came down to see what had -tickled her so.</p> - -<p>Old Lady Wildcat was holding her sides and dancing about in glee.</p> - -<p>"Oh, children," she laughed, "we're going to have some fun! Old Miss -Mud-Turtle is trying to get your grandmother to dine with her across -the pond. Get yourselves ready for the big feast, and I'll start over -on Sister Alligator's back, while you all go on ahead and eat up the -dinner."</p> - -<p>"Hooray!" cried the young wildcats. "We'll slip along behind to see how -you get started, and then we'll run around the pond and get the dinner -before Miss Mud-Turtle and Sister Alligator can come."</p> - -<p>So Old Lady Wildcat loped down to the pond, and there were Miss -Mud-Turtle and Sister Alligator. All the little mud-turtles climbed on -the alligator raft.</p> - -<p>"Be very careful, Mrs. Wildcat," Sister Alligator cautioned, "not to -wet your feet. You might take cold."</p> - -<p>Old Lady Wildcat smiled pleasantly and jumped; and then away swam -Sister Alligator.</p> - -<p>It was fine riding till they got to about the middle of the pond. Then -Sister Alligator stopped.</p> - -<p>"I'm very sorry," she said politely, "but I have the cramps, <i>ooh! -ooh!</i> I must drop to the bottom of the pond."</p> - -<p>And down she dived.</p> - -<p>But Old Lady Wildcat was too quick for her. She sprang up into the air -and caught a grapevine, climbed up on it, and finally got to land. Then -she ran through the woods to where her grandchildren were, and there -they had the greatest feast you ever saw.</p> - -<p>Finally, just as Sister Alligator and Miss Mud-Turtle with all the -children came in sight, Old Lady Wildcat climbed up into a tree and -laughed and mewed at them.</p> - -<p>And this is what she said:</p> - -<p>"Never try to fool folks, Sister Alligator and Miss Mud-Turtle, by -plotting against them, for you'll find that you are only fooling -yourselves!"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="III" id="III">III</a></h2> - -<h3>MRS. FROG CHANGES HER DRESS</h3> - - -<p>"Also, it is said that ages and ages ago Mrs. Frog and her family dwelt -at the bottom of the sea."</p> - -<p>"In the ocean?" queried surprised little Kingfisher, who was listening -to all that Professor Crane could tell him.</p> - -<p>"Yes, in the great salt water," replied Professor Crane, as he shifted -his position and stood on the other leg. "Far deeper it was, too, than -this pond."</p> - -<p>For the learned Crane and little Kingfisher were spending a quiet hour -under the shade of the wild orange trees, on the shores of a narrow -lagoon. It was a hot, still day, and they were each of them resting -after a morning's exertion. Professor Crane was always a talker after -dinner, for he knew much and was sociable. He could discourse by the -hour if any one would listen; and if nobody was disposed to heed -him, he would meditate by himself. But just now he had an alert and -inquisitive companion, for if Kingfisher loved two things in the -world, one was to hear all the scandal, and the other was to pick -feathers out of the back of a crow as he flew.</p> - -<p>But apparently Professor Crane had decided to tell no more, for he -rested his long bill on his breast, and let his eyes close to a narrow -slit. This made him look infinitely wiser than he really was; but like -a good many talkative persons he knew the value of waiting to be asked.</p> - -<p>Kingfisher eyed his friend earnestly and opened his mouth several times -to speak, but shut it again. Finally, however, thinking that Professor -Crane had forgotten what he was saying, he piped out:</p> - -<p>"How strange!"</p> - -<p>And that stirred the venerable scholar to resume his narrative.</p> - -<p>"Yes, strange indeed; yet nothing so wonderful after all. Nothing is -past belief if you have studied long enough, and I have had signal -advantages. It was, you may be pleased to know, a relative of mine, a -Doctor Stork, who had perched all his life on the chimney of a great -university in Belgium, who told me the truth about the frog. Of course, -that is nothing to you, as you are not versed in the universities. But -that's not your fault. At any rate, as I was saying, Mrs. Frog lived -in the sea and had a palace of coral and pearl. She was very much -larger than she is now, and was of a totally different color. She was -red as the reddest coral, and her legs were as yellow as gold. Very -striking, she was; and her voice was a deep contralto. But she was -never content with her home, and couldn't decide whether she wanted to -be in or out of the water. That's the way with all inferior characters. -Men, you observe, are given to such traits of indecision, never being -content where they are.</p> - -<p>"Mrs. Frog, for all the pleasures of her coral hall, found it pleasant -to sit on the rocks and stare at the land. And the more she stared, the -more she wished to go ashore. But she was built for swimming, you know, -and, for the life of her, she couldn't get over the sands."</p> - -<p>"How on earth did she learn?" put in Kingfisher.</p> - -<p>"Necessity and, as I might say, emergency," Professor Crane replied. -"One day she let the waves carry her high and dry on the beach, -trusting to another wave to take her back. But the other wave never -came. She had come on the very last roller of the high tide. By and -by she saw two eyes glaring at her from under the grass. It was -probably a snake that was after her. Then, because she had to, she got -back to the water. That's the way, you know. What folks have to do -they generally accomplish, but until they're frightened into it they -generally stand still."</p> - -<p>"True, true," Kingfisher agreed. "I was afraid to fly when I was a -baby. The last to leave the nest was myself, and finally my father -pushed me out. I flew, of course, and never knew how I learned."</p> - -<p>"Same with Mrs. Frog," added Professor Crane. "She got there. But the -knowledge that she could hop if she wanted to was her undoing. She was -never at home when she was wanted, and if Mr. Bullfrog had not watched -the eggs in her place, there would have been no more frogs to talk -about. At last he grew as neglectful as she was, however, and all the -frogs caught the madness. That's when they took to tying their eggs up -in packages and leaving them to care for themselves."</p> - -<p>"How careless!" Kingfisher thought, as he recalled the hours that his -wife spent sitting on hers, and what enemies would get them if he did -not perch on guard.</p> - -<p>"But the frogs got all the dry land they wanted. The sea turned itself -into one great wave and spilled all over the mountains, you know. Yes, -that was the time the moon changed from a golden dish to a silver -platter. Some say it was from a pumpkin to a green cheese. But the -weight of authority, the preponderance of learning is on the side of -the silver platter."</p> - -<p>"The preponderance of what?" interrupted Kingfisher. For although he -knew what Professor Crane meant, he felt it was a compliment to him to -ask for a repetition of these handsome words.</p> - -<p>But Professor Crane went right on, which is the proper thing to do.</p> - -<p>"And when the water went back where it belonged, it went farther than -ever before. Half of the earth was high and dry that formerly had been -under water. And Mrs. Frog was on that half."</p> - -<p>"How terrible!" his listener exclaimed. "And how uncomfortable she must -have been!"</p> - -<p>"I should say she was!" Professor Crane agreed. "It was hotter, too, -than fire. In fact she was destined to spend a long time regretting her -previous state, while she sweltered, high and dry.</p> - -<p>"The desert, you know, is the home of competition."</p> - -<p>Professor Crane waited for this observation to sink in, for he felt -that it was one of the best he had ever made.</p> - -<p>"I mean that it is the worst place to live because everybody else wants -you to die. That's what competition is, my friend Kingfisher. And on -the sandy desert it is that way.</p> - -<p>"There wasn't drinking water enough to go around, and the plants and -trees, because they could burrow down and find a few drops, had the -best of it. They stored it up, too, inside of themselves, and then, to -keep people from breaking in for a drink, they threw out every kind of -needle and thorn you can think of.</p> - -<p>"But they grew beautiful flowers, and Mrs. Frog said that these -reminded her of corals. The cactus flowers were indeed her only -consolation, and she would sit under them all day. She didn't dare to -hop out on the sands, for the birds were sure to see her and eat her, -and so she took to running her tongue out and catching what she could -in that way."</p> - -<p>"Very convenient, I'm sure," Kingfisher observed. "I wish I could do it -myself. It would save me much gadding about."</p> - -<p>"Yes, my young friend, it would; but you'd never be patient enough. -And Mrs. Frog is just so much patience on a lily pad. It's her whole -life.</p> - -<p>"She learned patience, you may be sure, on that desert, and her enemies -were so many that she feared for her life every time she ventured out -from under the cactus blossom. So she only went out at night and was, -even then, careful about getting into the moonshine.</p> - -<p>"Poor thing; she nearly starved to death, and grew thinner and thinner -until her beautiful figure was gone. Then her skin shriveled into -creases, and she finally got the leathery look that she has to-day."</p> - -<p>"And how did she change her color?" Kingfisher begged to know.</p> - -<p>"I don't think I care to tell you," said Professor Crane, with a sudden -change in his voice.</p> - -<p>This produced great surprise in little Mr. Kingfisher, for he never -knew the Professor to withhold anything. Usually he was only too -eager to load you with facts. So the small bird kept silence very -respectfully, not knowing just what to say.</p> - -<p>"You are yourself very saucy, and full of your foolishness," the wise -Crane finally observed, "and you are not likely to believe what I tell -you. But you can make what you choose of it, and it may do you good to -know."</p> - -<p>Professor Crane cleared his throat, and wagged his long bill up and -down several times, much as a truly bearded professor strokes his chin -in delivering the hardest part of his lecture. Then he coughed, for -that is effective, too, and changed from his left foot to his right.</p> - -<p>"Well," he resumed, "she prayed to the Man in the Moon, as that was the -only thing that she knew to do, and begged him to give her a bog.</p> - -<p>"'Just a bog, or a piece of a swamp, Mr. Moon,' she kept saying, 'even -a few inches of water will do,' and after she had done this to every -full moon for a year, and nothing had come of it, she changed her tune."</p> - -<p>Kingfisher looked startled. He had personally the greatest respect -for the Moon. He had heard much evil about it, however, and was not a -little cautious of expressing his views on the subject.</p> - -<p>"What did she beg of the Moon after that?" was all he could say.</p> - -<p>"She had concluded that the Man in the Moon was unable to give her a -bog, even if he wanted to, so she decided to start out and find one. -That was the beginning of the end of her troubles. She begged Mr. Moon -to show her how to get there, when she came to the point of starting, -and she only added, 'Give me a green dress, Mr. Moon, Mr. Moon!' And -that's exactly what the Man in the Moon did for her. The frogs made -their journey in a body, on the darkest night of the year. But there -was just one Moonbeam and it was on duty for this one thing, to show -the frogs how to go."</p> - -<p>"Wonderful!" exclaimed Kingfisher. "Wonderful! But which night of the -year was it?" Mr. Kingfisher thought of several things he might do, if -he knew which night was the blackest.</p> - -<p>"The darkest night of all, my dear friend, is the one when you change -the color of your life."</p> - -<p>This silenced Mr. Kingfisher; and Professor Crane, perceiving that the -words had taken effect, concluded his story.</p> - -<p>"That single Moonbeam Angel was very beautiful and powerful. For, -just as the frogs came at last to the valleys and found a deep swamp -where they could forever be happy, with water or land as they wanted, -Moonbeam touched them farewell, and their dresses turned to russet and -green."</p> - -<p>There were no remarks to be made, for Professor Crane clapped his bill -together exactly as though he brought the book of history together -with a bang; and he ruffled his wings as if he were about to fly off.</p> - -<p>So little Kingfisher, not knowing just how to thank the great bird, -said something about going home to supper.</p> - -<p>"Just so, just so," clacked Professor Crane.</p> - -<p>And the two birds flew up and away, Kingfisher to his nest in the -tree-top, and the learned Professor to his books and studies.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="IV" id="IV">IV</a></h2> - -<h3>MR. MOCKING-BIRD AND HIS PRIZE SONG</h3> - - -<p>A very little squirrel, who was but a month old, was looking out across -an orchard from the top of a high tree. It was early morning and the -sun had just risen, so that everything was sparkling with dew, and the -air was cool and sweet to breathe.</p> - -<p>He rubbed his fat cheeks with his paws and sat very straight on his -haunches, looking his best and trying to sing, for he wanted very much -to say something by way of letting the world know what he thought of -it. Feeling as he did, so exceedingly happy, he wished to join the -lovely sounds around him, for birds were singing everywhere, and even -the river at the foot of the orchard had a song.</p> - -<p>So the little squirrel made all the noise he could, which is just what -the children do when they have all day to play and the sky is blue and -clear above the fields.</p> - -<p>But just as he paused for breath he heard his words repeated from -another tree. Somebody was mocking him, word for word, and making a -very ridiculous thing of his happy little song. His tail bristled -with anger, and he ran higher in the tree to get a better view of -his neighbor. He would teach another squirrel to mock him! No living -creature could he see, but he heard a bluebird call, and then, as if to -insult him, came again his own exultant <i>chirp, chirp-chee, chee, chee, -chee</i>, and after it a perfect flood of laughter, just like the silly -notes of the little owl who sits up all night to laugh at the moon.</p> - -<p>Indeed, the squirrel was more puzzled than angry now, and he rushed -home to his mother in the highest branches of the walnut-tree, and as -fast as he could chatter he told her all about it. She was a very busy -woman, Mrs. Squirrel, and she was too much engaged in her sweeping and -making of beds to stop and talk with her little son. Moreover, she did -not know exactly what to say; so she told him to find the wise old -woodchuck under the hill, who was lazy and good-natured and fond of -company, and to inquire of him just why the mocking-bird should repeat -everything that was said or sung.</p> - -<p>So off to the foot of the orchard and the old rail-fence the little -squirrel scampered, and, as he expected, the good old woodchuck was -lounging by his door-step, blinking at the sunlight and munching clover.</p> - -<p>"There's nothing here for you," the woodchuck muttered with his mouth -full. "You've come to the wrong house for breakfast."</p> - -<p>"No, no," the squirrel hastened to say. "You do not know my errand. -I've come to ask you why the mocking-bird is so fond of mocking. Has he -no song of his own? And why should he laugh at me?"</p> - -<p>Poor little squirrel was so full of anger, as he spoke his mind, that -he puffed and bristled mightily, and the fat woodchuck burst out -laughing.</p> - -<p>"So he jeered at you, did he? Why, that's his business; but you -mustn't mind the things he says. He's really a very fine fellow, Mr. -Mocking-bird, and everybody loves him."</p> - -<p>Then the woodchuck brushed the clover aside and came out a little -farther into the sun to warm his back, for he was very wise, and he -knew that the sun on the back was good for the shoulder-blades.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Mocking-bird," he began, "is a great artist. That's why he can say -what he thinks and do what he wants to do. And once, in the long ago, -he taught all the songs in the world to the birds. You see it was this -way:</p> - -<p>"The thrush and the robin and the catbird fell to disputing about their -songs. And all the noisy blackbirds and the little wrens, even the -crows with their ugly notes, entered the discussion, with results which -I can't describe. Oh, it lasted years and years, and every bird thought -he was the best singer in the world and tried to sing everything -he ever heard, whether it was his own song or not; and at last the -confusion was so terrible that if the robin flew North, everybody -thought he was a finch, and when he came back, he made a noise like a -wild goose."</p> - -<p>"Impossible!" exclaimed the squirrel.</p> - -<p>"Not at all. That's the way with singers the world over, until they are -sharply taught where they belong. Few people are content with their -own talents. My own family is the only modest and unassuming one that -I know of. We are content to dig and eat and sit in the sun. We have -never trained our voices or gone in for dancing. Very different from -your family, young Mr. Squirrel, which is frivolous and noisy. But you -must pardon that—it was a mere observation. As I was saying, the only -way to decide the business and restore order was to hold a meeting of -all the birds, with a few good judges of music on hand to decide the -question once for all.</p> - -<p>"The adder, being deaf, was the chairman. Deafness, they say, is the -prime requirement in a critic, for it allows him time to think. And the -buzzard, also, was there to award the prizes. A peculiar choice, you -might say, but he has a horrid way of putting things and he wears a -cut-away coat.</p> - -<p>"So the day came. The woods and the orchards were full of birds, -singing and calling and screaming and whistling. Everybody was too much -excited to think of eating, and every bush held a crowd of contestants. -It was orderly enough, however, when the contest began.</p> - -<p>"The wood dove began the concert. Very soft and sweet. It always makes -me think of my giddy youth and my first wife to hear the wood dove. -She's really a little bit too sad.</p> - -<p>"Then they came on, each one in turn. It was a fine cherry-tree where -they sang, and it was so full of blossoms that you could hardly see -the performers. Poor little Miss Wren was scared to death. She tried -to sing, but all she could say was, <i>Tie me up, tie me up</i>, and she -fell off the branch with fright. One redbird, and the tanager, and that -whole gay family of buntings—what a brilliant, showy lot! But they -were very clear and high and full of little scraps of tune in their -singing. More suited to the hedgerow, however, than the concert room.</p> - -<p>"The best, to my thinking, was the thrush. You can hear him any evening -down there in the alder bushes. He's very retiring and elegant. They -say he sings of India and the lotus flowers. It's something sad and far -away that he just remembers. I'm not much of a hand at poetry myself, -and I personally have a great fondness for the crows. Good, sharp, -business men, the crows, and although they are not strictly musical, -they appeal to me. You see, we have a great deal in common, the crows -and myself, by way of looking after the young corn. We meet, as you -might say, in a business way.</p> - -<p>"Well, the contest was long and lively. The bluebird and rice-birds, -and even the orioles performed in wonderful fashion; and at last, -when it was all over, the prize was never given at all. For right out -of the clear sky came the mocking-bird, who had kept himself out of -the contest until the end, and after he lighted on a branch of that -cherry-tree and began his song, there was simply nothing to be said. It -dawned on the whole lot of them that they had sung their notes wrong! -Yes, young Mr. Squirrel, fine and noisy as it all had been, not one of -these birds had sung the tune his father had taught him! Just by trying -to outsing each other all those years, their own sweet notes were -injured. And only the mocking-bird could remember every lovely song -as it should be done. Even the thrush had to admit as much. The adder -crawled off in disgust, and the buzzard grew positively insulting in -his remarks. He said he had been detained for nothing.</p> - -<p>"'Listen, listen, listen,' said the mocking-bird, and straightway -he sang like the nonpareil, and then you would have thought him the -oriole. It was enough to break your heart, for it was just the lovely -old songs that the birds used to sing.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a name="illus2" id="illus2"></a> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>"<span class="smcap">'Listen, Listen, Listen,' Said the -Mocking-bird</span>"</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"And what do you suppose came of it all?" added the worthy woodchuck -after he had wiped a tear from his eyes, for thoughts of the old days -made him sad.</p> - -<p>"What do you suppose the other birds agreed upon? They decided never -to raise the burning question again, and they begged the mocking-bird -to teach them their songs once more. That's why the robins fly South -in the fall of the year, along with the other songsters. They want -their children to hear the mocking-bird. Yes, Mr. Squirrel, I have that -on authority. There's nothing so fine for the singer as a good start -and a good teacher. And even the robin, who is full of conceit, has -admitted to me that he feels at times the need of a little correction. -He hates to go North without a few lessons from that wonderful teacher, -the mocking-bird."</p> - -<p>With all this, little Mr. Squirrel was greatly entertained and was at -a loss how to thank Mr. Woodchuck; but he was spared the necessity of -it, for the good warm sun and the sound of his own voice had induced -Mr. Woodchuck into a pleasant sleep, and he was already snoring on his -door-step. Little Squirrel tiptoed away and ran home in glee. He felt -that he had learned all that there was to learn in the wide world.</p> - -<p>Anyway, he had learned what he wanted to know, and that is the best of -learning.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="V" id="V">V</a></h2> - -<h3>MR. RACCOON'S OYSTER SUPPER</h3> - - -<p>It was the loveliest of moonlight nights in the early autumn when word -was carried from house to house that Mrs. Raccoon would give an oyster -supper.</p> - -<p>There was Mrs. Coon herself, the present Mr. Coon, and four little -Coons. At the upper farm lived several branches of the family—uncles -and aunts and their respective children. For the Coons, as a lot, -lived mainly on the farmsteads, or near to them; for, as Mrs. Ringtail -Coon, the oldest of them, always declared: "It is altogether wiser to -keep in touch with civilization." By which she meant it was wise to -live as near as possible to the orchards and the corn-fields, and the -good things which farmers keep planting every year, apparently for the -especial benefit of just such persons as Mr. Coon and Mr. Crow.</p> - -<p>"And it is wonderful what a variety of good things you can find to -eat if you can run and climb trees and dig in the ground," Mr. Coon -would add, "especially if you live where they are very generous in the -gathering, and you can have the best of apples and pears and the sweet -corn to add to your table."</p> - -<p>So it was altogether best to stick as close to the haunts of mankind -as possible, if you could do so without foregoing the pleasures of the -river and the woodland.</p> - -<p>The great river, be it said, which was sluggish and muddy, contained -a thousand things which the Coons declared in rather snobbish fashion -were not to their taste. They wouldn't go fishing if they could. But -the fat mussels which lived in the mud-banks were exactly to Mr. and -Mrs. Coon's liking. And to open them is not difficult for a Coon who -has once learned the trick.</p> - -<p>"That's what your wonderful, black fingernails are for," Mr. Coon -always told the children when he taught them to open oysters. "You need -only give the joint of the thing a sharp bite, and pull out that tough -bit of meat at the end, and then with your nails you can pry the shell -right open."</p> - -<p>The ability to do this was a matter of pride to the Coons, for they -knew of no one else who could open oysters. Like many people who may -excel in a particular art, they fancied that they were the only adepts -in the world.</p> - -<p>"But there's where they are mistaken," Mr. Fox would laugh, whenever he -heard of the Coons and their oyster suppers. For he knew of some one -else who could get the juicy meat out of those shells, although it was -not himself.</p> - -<p>"I really pity their ignorance," he would say. "If they ever went -abroad in the daytime they'd see a thing or two, and maybe they'd learn -that there are wiser folks in the world than themselves."</p> - -<p>This was an unfair thrust at the Coons, for their habit of sleeping -most of the day should not be laid against them. The world is wisely -divided into day workers and night workers anyway, and Mr. Coon, for -his part, always put down such criticism by asking what on earth would -happen if everybody rushed to his meals at the same identical moment.</p> - -<p>And in this Mr. Coon revealed the gentility of his nature, for he was a -person of manners, and believed not only in a six o'clock dinner, but -kept his clothes in the neatest fashion and was constantly washing his -face between his two fore legs, brushing his hair and attending to his -ears after the accepted fashion of the cat. And the cat, as all the -world knows, is the cleanest of beasts.</p> - -<p>"Your Fox is a shaggy creature," he would say. "Almost as unkempt as -the farm Dog, whom I despise."</p> - -<p>So it is not to be wondered that Mrs. Coon, if she were going to have -an oyster supper, would have an elegant one.</p> - -<p>Elegance in the matter of suppers is simply a question of due -preparation, and of this Mrs. Coon was thoroughly aware. Nothing would -please her husband more, she knew, than to have the party go off -without a hitch.</p> - -<p>"We'll spend to-night getting ready," she planned. "I can't bear to see -people digging in the mud and eating at the same time. It is not nice. -Perhaps it is well enough on a merely family picnic to let everybody -shift for himself, and I know the children rather enjoy getting dirty. -I did when I was a little girl. But my ideal of the thing, done as it -should be, is to have a great lot of oysters already dug, and arranged -in an appetizing pile. It saves time, too, and makes the guests feel -better. I never liked these parties where you go digging for your own -victuals."</p> - -<p>How could an elegant gentleman have a wife more in accord with his -desires than that? Immediately Mr. Coon embraced Mrs. Coon in a loving -clasp, for he felt that she was responding to his best and most refined -impulses.</p> - -<p>For two nights, then, while the October moon rode serenely overhead, -Ringtail Coon and Mother Coon, with little Grayfur and Brownie, and -the two boys, Broadhead and Fuzzy Muzzle, went from their home in the -sweet-gum tree, through the wood to the farm road, under the fence to -the orchard, back of the orchard to the corn-field, and then downhill -to the steep clay banks of the river. At that point they let themselves -tumble over the edge, for there were only bushes to fall into, and Mr. -Coon did not approve of sliding down mud-banks.</p> - -<p>"It's hard on the seat of your trousers," he said; "and Mother has all -the washing she can do."</p> - -<p>And then they lost no time digging, but scampered here and there, -nosing out the great black shells, which they scratched and worried -out of the wet soil, sometimes venturing into the water to get a -particularly fat and enticing one.</p> - -<p>"We'll store them here in a hole under this cornel bush," Ringtail -decided; "and if we cover them well, putting back all this driftwood -and rubbish on top, no one will guess what's been done."</p> - -<p>And no one, indeed, but sly old Mr. Fox would ever have known what -had happened. The tempting collection of oysters, pecks of them, was -not, however, to remain unmolested. But as the Coons increased their -provisions, and worked mightily until the moon went down, they foresaw -no accident, and only entertained themselves with happy visions of the -remarks and exclamations which their cousins would be sure to make when -they beheld such stunning abundance.</p> - -<p>"Dear me, Ringtail, there's only one thing that troubles me. I feel -that we ought to invite the 'Possums. You know how generous they were -in that matter of the persimmons. No one would ever have guessed that -there was such a tree in the whole State; and it was, after all, an -invitation that they gave us, even if you did threaten Mr. 'Possum in a -business way."</p> - -<p>"I guess I did," laughed Ringtail as he put another handful of oysters -into the hole and stamped them down; "I told Wooly 'Possum not to be -hiding his assets that way or I'd bite his tail off. But go ahead and -invite them, if you want to. It'll show that we're not snobbish anyway. -And the 'Possums are as likely to appreciate all this as anybody. -You'll have to open their oysters for them, you know."</p> - -<p>"Surely, my dear. I will do so gladly. A hostess never gets any of her -own party anyway. I don't expect to do anything but watch other people -eat. That's the way of receptions and such."</p> - -<p>For Mrs. Coon had arrived at that stage of excitement in which a -hostess feels herself elevated and ennobled above humanity in general -by virtue of the toiling she has gone through in order to make the rest -of the world happy.</p> - -<p>By this time they had to stop and take a bite themselves, for day was -beginning to break, and the children, at least, must have something -to eat. Then, having arranged the top of their secret store with the -greatest care, and very loath to leave it, they scrambled up the bank -and set out for home. Tired they were and a little cross, so that the -youngsters quarreled a good deal, and Mr. Coon, slightly worried, was -not so pleasant as when he set out.</p> - -<p>"Oh, nothing," he replied to his wife's inquiry as to why he was so -glum. "Only I'm a bit anxious about those oysters. It's just possible -that somebody may find them."</p> - -<p>"Oh, pshaw!" was all she would say. "Nobody's going near that spot. And -if anybody did and went and sat right down on top of them, he'd never -guess what was under all those sticks."</p> - -<p>But somebody did exactly this. For the Coons were all fast asleep in -the sweet-gum tree, not even dreaming of their party, when Mr. Fox -edged along the river shore, greatly elated at discovering so many -little foot-prints in the mud. It was plain who had been there. And as -the dainty tracks centered under the cornel bush, it took no wits at -all, and only a little brisk pawing, to discover the secret.</p> - -<p>Mr. Fox laughed as though he would give up. For that is a trait of -all foxy natures to go into fits of laughter when the possibility of -turning a mean trick presents itself.</p> - -<p>"Well, of all things!" he finally gasped, as he held his sides. "How -mighty kind of them!" Then, licking his chops, and fairly choking with -humor, he set off just as fast as he could go. Up the shore and through -the woods he ran; and at a certain tree where a great sentinel crow sat -eying the farmers in a distant field, he barked out one short, sharp -message.</p> - -<p>He had to say nothing more. Before he could get back to the spot where -the delicious supper was stored, the crows were coming, one and two at -a time, then three and four, and finally a small flock of them.</p> - -<p>Mr. Fox got very little for his pains, for the crows were as quick as -lightning in their motions. Up in the air they flew with an oyster in -their beaks, and over the rocks and bowlders which jutted from the -shore they would pause but a second to drop their burden. Down it would -come, breaking to pieces as it fell on the rock, and then the crow -would come down almost as fast as the oyster, to tear out the meat and -swallow it. Mr. Fox played around the edges, as it were; for too many -crows had come, and they fought him off when he tried to snap up his -share.</p> - -<p>"Oh, well, I don't care much for oysters anyway," he muttered, trying -to console himself. But he was in reality bitterly tantalized, and -he was truly in tears of disgust when the great black crowd of noisy -birds flew at him in a body and drove him off. They benefited by -his confidence, but they were utterly selfish, and he suddenly felt -wickedly put upon.</p> - -<p>What he had done to the Coons never occurred to him.</p> - -<p>Mr. Coon never recovered from the mortification of that evening. -The guests had assembled in a body; all of his brother's family and -their dependents, and the little 'Possums, who were so set up at the -invitation that they fairly beamed. Such toilets had been performed and -such preparation of pleasant remarks had gone on, that everybody was in -the finest of party feeling.</p> - -<p>The walk through the corn-field, the ease and happy expectancy! Getting -down the mud-bank was not altogether a formal ceremony, for some slid, -and some just plunged headlong; but at the bottom everybody brushed his -clothes, and the little Coons and the little 'Possums danced in glee.</p> - -<p>Then, lo and behold, there was no supper at all! The work that the -crows had done was apparent enough. But how they ever knew where to -find the banquet was an unsolved mystery to Mr. Coon.</p> - -<p>Never again did Ringtail or his wife try to be fashionable. "Dig and -swallow," became the rule at all the oyster suppers; and even at this -one, after the disaster had bestowed its first stunning blow, the -guests and the company as a whole fell to digging as hard as they -could, and ate with might and main.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Coon, having urged the 'Possums to come, had to open oysters -until her thumbs were sore; but she did it with a good grace, and after -everybody got to going, there was all the laughter and happiness the -heart could wish.</p> - -<p>"Yes, it was a merry party, after all," Mr. Coon admitted several hours -later. He was curling up in his sweet-gum tree bedroom, ready for -another day's sleep. "But it was a free for all, a regular guzzling. -What's the use of trying to be nice when all the world's made up of -crows?"</p> - -<p>But in this query, Mr. Ringtail Coon was only a bit petulant. The best -of it is that he does not know the ignorance of the world. For scarcely -anybody appreciates or even guesses the true elegance and the dainty -ways of Mr. and Mrs. Raccoon.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="VI" id="VI">VI</a></h2> - -<h3>MRS. GOOSE AND HER SWAMP COUSINS</h3> - - -<p>It was a beautiful morning, very early, with the dew on the grass and -the mists lifting from the sea, when Mrs. Goose with her seven little -goslings walked through the farm gate, down the path to the road, and -then waddled under the fence into the pasture.</p> - -<p>"You are well along now, my children," she was saying, "and your -travels should begin."</p> - -<p>"And what are our travels?" the little geese piped as they stepped -along beside their stately parent.</p> - -<p>"Your travels, my dears, are those excursions away from the cramping -and monotonous surroundings of the farmyard. That's what your travels -are. None of your family are given to staying always and forever at -home."</p> - -<p>"Oh, no," the goslings all quacked in chorus. "We don't want to stay -around that farmyard all our days. That's what the chickens do, and -the guinea-hens. But where are we going now, Mother?"</p> - -<p>For the beautiful Mrs. Goose was heading straight for the swamp at the -foot of the great pasture, and already she was taking them through the -tufted grass and the low bushes, through which they could not easily -descry her stately form. They were quite out of breath, and bore along -behind her, being very careful to keep exactly in her foot-prints.</p> - -<p>"We are going to the great salt river, and the marshes," she called -back to them. "That is where your cousins live and we shall spend a -lovely day with them. But we must hurry through these bushes. I never -feel safe until I am well out of them."</p> - -<p>She explained no more than this, for she was a bird well versed in the -bringing up of children, and she did not wish to frighten them. But, -truth to tell, this bushy part of the path to her favorite haunts was -always full of its terrors for her.</p> - -<p>"It looks so very much like the spot where my first husband was -attacked by a fox," she confided to one of her friends. "He was never -seen again, of course, and although I was not long a widow, still I -have never been consoled for his taking off."</p> - -<p>Naturally, then, she had for the rest of her days a distrust of bushy -paths, and it was with a great quack of relief that she emerged with -all her little ones on the banks of the deep, narrow stream which was a -part of the great marsh.</p> - -<p>Off she swam on the water, paddling with a majestic ease, and down they -hopped and splashed and paddled beside her, the seven of them, highly -excited over the prospect of a day's adventure.</p> - -<p>The stream was narrow and deep, much unlike the shallow duck-pond in -the farmyard, and it gave the goslings an exhilarating sensation to be -thus abroad on a real stream.</p> - -<p>"How good it is," Mrs. Goose quacked, "to feel the clear, cool water, -and to know that you are not paddling across a mere mud-puddle!</p> - -<p>"And there are no tin cans and other rubbish here," she went on. -"Very different, all this, from the rather common surroundings of the -duck-pond. You must realize that your family is a superior one, and -that while the ducks on the farm do very well for neighbors, they are -not the aristocrats that we are. And I am taking you purposely, my -children, to visit my most exclusive friends."</p> - -<p>The old goose was indeed a haughty personage, as any one could tell by -the way she held her head. For she swam as a soldier marches, with -eyes to the front and a splendid air.</p> - -<p>Soon they came to where the narrow inlet of the marsh widened into a -broad expanse of water banked by low, wide areas of reeds and rushes. -Many channels and enticing little bays made off into the depths of -shady and inviting spots where there were cedars and alders and dense, -tangled vines. There were delicious odors in the air, and this made the -goslings suddenly very hungry. They begged their mother to let them -run through the grasses to pluck the tender and inviting things which -their eyes caught sight of. But she shook her downy head and kept them -paddling along beside her, cautioning them very wisely:</p> - -<p>"Never go browsing by yourself until you know the ways of the country. -Where there are others feeding it is safe for goslings. But to go into -those tall grasses, tempting as they are, is to walk right into danger. -You have never met Mr. Blacksnake, and I hope you never will until you -are too big to tempt him!"</p> - -<p>Immediately, of course, they clamored for the details about this -dreadful creature, but their mother spared them any unhappy visions of -the sort.</p> - -<p>"You must not dwell on such uncomfortable things," she would say. "All -you need think of when you are out with me are the bright sky and the -good green world. But here we are, almost at Mrs. Bittern's gate. And -there is Grandpa Bittern waiting for us at the door."</p> - -<p>As she spoke, the goslings all craned their necks; but they were not -big enough to see over the top of things as their mother could, and -they were totally in doubt as to who the Bitterns were, or where they -lived.</p> - -<p>Suddenly there was a great quacking and flapping of wings on the -part of their mother, and they found themselves touching bottom in a -beautiful shallow where the black earth and the mosses grew over the -very water. Here all was shaded and hidden by the overhanging bushes, -and great tree-trunks rose close at hand, with clinging vines and -innumerable strands of leaf and tendril swaying in the clear air.</p> - -<p>Never had they dreamed of such a beautiful spot. But they were not to -realize how lovely it was all at once, for they were to get acquainted -with it only after the greetings of the visit were over.</p> - -<p>Their cousin, Mrs. Bittern, who was so slim and brown, with black -trimmings to her wings, and a bit of gray lace at her bosom, and the -stately gentleman who stood guard by her nest, were quite enough to -overpower the little goslings. They couldn't remember their own names -and they stammered with embarrassment; and in the nest was a solitary -youngster, with a very long bill, and big, frightened eyes, whom they -were cautious in approaching. His only greeting was a vicious poking at -them with his little head, and they noted that his neck was very strong.</p> - -<p>"Billy isn't used to children yet," Mrs. Bittern hastened to apologize. -"But he'll soon get used to them. Just hand him a bit of fish, Father, -and a few of those small crabs. Oh, a very small one, Father. You -nearly choked him to death with that big one you gave him at breakfast."</p> - -<p>True enough, little Billy Bittern was in a better humor when something -more had gone down his throat; and while the two mothers fell into an -immediate discussion of the stupidity of fathers and uncles, the baby -Bittern and the little goslings were quacking and playing around the -nest in the noisiest fashion.</p> - -<p>"So this, my dears, is a true country home," their mother said as she -turned to them. "This is the kind of thing that your father and I have -always wanted; a little place of our own in the swamp!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, Mother dear, wouldn't it be lovely!" they all burst out, really -transported with joy at the thought of living forever where it was all -like this, so free and open and sweet.</p> - -<p>"Ha! ha!" laughed the tall owner of the charming retreat. "That is -what you farm people always say when you get here. But you know very -well you'll be glad to get back to what you call the conveniences and -elegance of life."</p> - -<p>By this he meant the cracked corn, and the snug quarters, and the rest -of the good things in the farmer's yard.</p> - -<p>But Mrs. Goose pretended not to understand him at all, and was helping -Mrs. Bittern to put the nest to rights as they all prepared to go out -for a walk. For that is always the first thing to do when you visit -your country cousins.</p> - -<p>Such precautions as the Bitterns took when they left the house! It was -cover the nest here and put a stick there, and finally, to effect a -complete disguise, they raked a lot of straw over the top. Why, you -never would have guessed it was a house at all!</p> - -<p>Then through the grasses and the deep, black mud, and over innumerable -tufts of green, where there were great wild cabbages and tempting -bunches of mallow and flag, they went in happy procession. The goslings -nibbled and tasted and feasted, wherever their mother was sure it was -wise, and little Billy with his sharp beak poked incessantly in the mud -for the things he liked best in the way of tadpoles and beetles.</p> - -<p>Almost all day they picnicked in this delightful place, and only -stopped in their leisurely stroll when they came to a grassy knoll -where the mother birds thought it well to let the children rest.</p> - -<p>All the gossip of the year was gone over by their elders. Mrs. Bittern -told of her winter sojourn far to the South.</p> - -<p>"We stayed much of the time with the Herons and the Spoonbills. Theirs -is such an attractive rookery, you know, and I delight in Southern -society. We came North with your first cousin, Mrs. Hudson Goose. A -noble family, your great Northern relatives, my dear Fluffy. But they -fly a little too fast for us Bitterns. We parted after a few days. -Longbill, you know, likes to take it easy when he travels."</p> - -<p>But the children observed that Mrs. Bittern was moved to tears when -their mother alluded to her late half-brother and another relative, -uniting these names with a reference to Christmas dinner. But they did -not understand the connection, and it puzzled them when Cousin Bittern -answered:</p> - -<p>"Never mind, dear Fluffy Goose, there's little danger for you. You know -you're getting tough. Let's see, you're twenty now, are you not?"</p> - -<p>And they were still more surprised when their mother bridled at this -and said that surely Mrs. Bittern was mistaken. No, she was only -eighteen, and if her neck was spared it was not at all because she was -tough. It was because she possessed the ability to lay the most and -largest eggs, and to rear the finest families.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bittern was only too eager to agree with her companion. Not for -the world would she have her words taken amiss; so the little family -quarrel was passed over, and Mr. Bittern merely observed that the -ladies were getting a little tired, and he thought that they had all -better go home.</p> - -<p>But if he had been very quiet, this dignified Mr. Bittern, he was, like -a good many modest people, none the less able to distinguish himself, -for after they reached the welcome door-yard, and Mrs. Goose and her -family were about to depart for home, he supplied the treat of the -whole day.</p> - -<p>"Surely, Cousin Longbill," Mrs. Goose had remarked, "you are going -to boom for us before we go. I wouldn't have the babies miss it for -anything."</p> - -<p>Whereat, to their dismay, Mr. Bittern began making the most frightful -sound they had ever heard. It was his great feat, that for which his -family was renowned, and it was not like anything ever known on sea or -land. To do it he filled himself so full of air that he was like to -burst. And he was very red in the face when he got through, like a good -many famous singers.</p> - -<p>"Isn't it wonderful!" said his wife. "I never knew one to sing the -national anthem better."</p> - -<p>For, to her simple soul, her husband's song was of course the one and -only song. It must consequently be very important.</p> - -<p>Scarcely could Mrs. Goose praise her cousin enough, and the goslings -all begged him to do it again. But once was enough, he reminded them, -and they discreetly forbore from disagreeing with him.</p> - -<p>By this time they must hurry to get home, and their farewells were -hasty. Like many return journeys, the way back was the shortest; and -before they knew it, the goslings were trailing through the bushes at -the foot of their own pasture. And somehow the little hill and the pair -of bars and the bit of road, even the farmyard strewn with straw and -pleasingly disordered, suddenly looked better to them than the lonely -home of the Bitterns far out in the great swamp.</p> - -<p>"Ah, my dears," their mother said, as they waddled up to their home -under the burdocks and the currant bushes, "that's what a day away from -home does for you. It makes you glad for what you have."</p> - -<p>And indeed they were happy to nestle under her ample wings, as the -stars came out and the house dog bayed at the moon. And they were very -happy to have heard their Cousin Bittern do his booming, and hoped, as -many people hope after a great performance, that they would never have -to hear it again!</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="VII" id="VII">VII</a></h2> - -<h3>MRS. FOX STEALS ONE EGG TOO MANY</h3> - - -<p>Once upon a time, long, long ago, Mrs. Rabbit lived down by the sea on -a great sand-hill. She was a very kind neighbor and disturbed no one. -She was poor, but she owned a great gray goose who laid wonderful big -eggs.</p> - -<p>The goose had come to her in the strangest way, years and years ago. -For it happened one day that just as Mrs. Rabbit was locking up her -house to go and visit her cousins, she heard a sad voice in the bushes -cry, "Oh, Mrs. Rabbit, Mrs. Rabbit, please do help me in. I have broken -my wing and fallen here, and all the other geese that were flying with -me are gone. They left me where I fell."</p> - -<p>At that Mrs. Rabbit gave up her intended visit, and took poor Downy -Goose into the house, sent for Dr. 'Possum, and did her best to comfort -her.</p> - -<p>When Dr. 'Possum came, he took one look at the afflicted goose, shook -his head, and declared he could do nothing for her. Mrs. Rabbit -thereupon told the unfortunate wayfarer that she must live there -always.</p> - -<p>"You must make your home with me," she said, "and we will make the best -of things. Even with your poor broken wing you can manage to get along, -for there is a fine swamp below the ridge of this hill and near it is -the best of green grass and shady bushes."</p> - -<p>Poor Downy Goose was overcome with happiness. She could only dry her -streaming eyes with a plantain leaf, while she kept saying:</p> - -<p>"You are so kind, so very kind, dear Mrs. Rabbit! I shall do my best -to lay an egg every day for you—omitting Sundays, of course, and the -Fourth of July."</p> - -<p>At this Mrs. Rabbit threw her arms around poor Downy's neck and they -wept with joy. And from that day to this they have been the closest -friends.</p> - -<p>Nor did the good gray goose fail in her promise. Indeed, she did her -best; and always by noon, while Mrs. Rabbit would be dusting and -sweeping, or getting the boiled grass ready for dinner, the lady goose -would sit in the door-yard mending socks or reading poetry, when -suddenly she would lay an egg, and then, calling to her dear friend to -bring the basket, they would put the egg away on the pantry shelf. -Then they would betake themselves for the rest of the day to the field -and the edge of the swamp where Mrs. Rabbit would nibble the tender -grass, and Downy Goose would wade in the soft, cool mud.</p> - -<p>Now, it was soon known among all the neighbors that Mrs. Rabbit and -the strange goose were living together. Also it was soon told abroad -that the goose was paying her board in eggs—big eggs—that she paid -it every day, and that Mr. and Mrs. Rabbit were faring on the finest -food. They had scrambled eggs, and omelettes and pound cake at every -meal—and all this for merely taking in the poor, afflicted goose!</p> - -<p>You would think that all who heard it would have been glad to know -how happy the rabbits were, and they ought to have pitied the poor -goose who could never fly again; but that is not the way of the world. -Instead of saying nice things, they said ugly ones, and behind Mrs. -Rabbit's back, the neighbors, Mrs. Fox in particular, expressed the -bitterest jealousy.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Fox, indeed, grew so envious of these big goose eggs that at last -she could stand it no longer, and resolved upon a plan for stealing -them. She put all her wits to work, for, to get such big eggs and -carry them without breaking them open was a thing which only the -cleverest thief in the world could do. Nevertheless, every day for five -days, an egg disappeared from Mrs. Rabbit's pantry.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rabbit was greatly disturbed, but she never dreamed who was -stealing the eggs. Finally she decided to watch the nest all the time; -and to her surprise found that the thieves were her neighbors—Mr. and -Mrs. Fox.</p> - -<p>How cleverly they managed! Mr. Fox lay on his back and held the big egg -while Mrs. Fox pulled him over the hill by means of a rope tied to his -tail. In this way they got the egg home.</p> - -<p>But Mrs. Rabbit laughed as she thought of how poor Mr. Fox's back would -be skinned, and how she would get revenge.</p> - -<p>Nor was it long before a way was opened for her to recover the lost -eggs, and to put Mrs. Fox to confusion. For who should come walking -in one morning but Mr. Bear, to say that invitations were out for a -wonderful feast of goose eggs at Mrs. Fox's home on the following -Saturday night. And he asked Mrs. Rabbit if she were going.</p> - -<p>That was enough! Mrs. Rabbit determined to get back the eggs. But she -would have to be very clever to fool Mrs. Fox.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Rabbit knew that Mrs. Fox would come for the last goose egg soon. -So she bored a hole in this egg at each end, and blew in at one end -till the contents all flew out at the other and the shell was empty. -Then she slipped inside, and Mr. Rabbit pasted small pieces of white -paper over the openings.</p> - -<p>And here Mrs. Rabbit waited for the thieves to come, while Mr. Rabbit -hid behind a tree near by.</p> - -<p>Soon they came, and after much effort the big egg was carried into Mrs. -Fox's home. Mrs. Rabbit chuckled to herself as she saw the other five -big eggs through a tiny peephole in the paper.</p> - -<p>While the gay old foxes were in the next room, entertaining their -guests, Mrs. Rabbit broke the paper at one end and slipped out. Then -she called softly to her husband to bring the wheel-barrow; and they -piled in all the eggs and carried them away.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a name="illus3" id="illus3"></a> - <img src="images/illus3.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>"<span class="smcap">While the Gay Old Foxes Were in the Next Room, Mrs. -Rabbit Slipped Out</span>"</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Nor were they more pleased to recover their lost property than was the -obliging goose when she learned of all that had been going on.</p> - -<p>"To think," she exclaimed, "that I have been laying eggs for those -dreadful foxes!"</p> - -<p>And Mr. and Mrs. Fox wonder to this day who stole the goose eggs.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="VIII" id="VIII">VIII</a></h2> - -<h3>WHY MRS. FROG MUST LIVE IN THE SWAMPS</h3> - - -<p>Long, long ago Mrs. Frog lived on the hillsides. She was a goddess -worshiped by all the fairies because she ruled the sunshine and the -rain, and she was a friend to them all, being generous and dutiful.</p> - -<p>With her seventy daughters, she spent the days in spinning the most -beautiful cloth of gold for the fairies to wear, and the flax which she -spun was as yellow as the biggest and ripest pumpkin you ever saw.</p> - -<p>All the years that she served the fairies by her industry, and was -dutiful in calling down the rains to refresh the earth, she was in -great favor with the world, and no one was so much beloved by all the -animals as Mrs. Frog.</p> - -<p>But the seventy daughters who were so handsome, and who spun such miles -of yellow thread, grew restless, and kept begging their mother for a -holiday. She, too, owned to being a little weary, and would often -remark with a yawn that it wasn't the spinning, nor yet the weaving, -which tired her, but the lack of diversion.</p> - -<p>"And think, dear Mother," they would say, "think of our lazy brothers, -who do nothing but admire their shapely legs all day, and spend the -whole night dancing and singing and eating suppers. It isn't fair!"</p> - -<p>On speaking thus the daughters were very artful. For if there was one -thing which angered Mrs. Frog, it was the laziness of her sons. Years -and years ago she had given up trying to get them to do a single useful -thing. And it was no consolation to observe that they got along in the -world somehow, whether they did anything or not.</p> - -<p>"Look at their awful stomachs," she would exclaim. "The lazy creatures, -always eating and singing. What a life!"</p> - -<p>It was thus that the seventy daughters played upon her feelings of -disgust, urging her to adopt a change and give up spinning. Each one -spoke to her alone, seven times a week, when she would reply:</p> - -<p>"Yes, my daughter, I am listening, and I don't know but what you are -quite right."</p> - -<p>And then, when all the whole seventy spoke together, as they made a -point of doing when they knew she was tired out and had the headache, -she could only clasp her hands to her ears and flee to her bedroom.</p> - -<p>At last the daughters won and Mrs. Frog began her holiday. She meant -to take but a single evening and a day, hoping to get back to work -there-after, rested and refreshed. But alas! once she began her career -of dancing, and feasting, and staying up till morning to sing and laugh -and watch the sun come up, the day never came that she was willing to -spin the yellow flax.</p> - -<p>Forty of the lovely daughters danced themselves to death within a week, -but Mrs. Frog was so busy waltzing and marching and singing that in -each instance, as the sad news came to her that another daughter was -dead, she was too gay to care or even to ask, "Which one?"</p> - -<p>Terrible disaster began to come upon the land. All the birds and plants -were dying for water. Clouds passed by, but Mrs. Frog was too lazy to -make the rain fall. If she wasn't dancing, she was sleeping, and so no -time remained for her duties.</p> - -<p>One day the animals from the forest came to call on Mrs. Frog, to plead -for rain. The mother rabbits came from long distances to tell Mrs. -Frog how their babies were perishing for water and for tender bits of -green grass.</p> - -<p>But Mrs. Frog had become hardened and told them to leave her alone.</p> - -<p>"Please give us rain! Please give us rain!" the birds all pleaded; but -Mrs. Frog only frowned at having been awakened.</p> - -<p>Then came all the bees and the butterflies from the hillsides, tired, -hot, and dusty.</p> - -<p>"We are your neighbors and friends," they cried. "Do give us rain! The -flowers are all dead and we have no honey to eat!"</p> - -<p>"Go away!" croaked Mrs. Frog. "I must sleep during the day, and I have -no time to worry with you! If you don't like the way I manage this -hillside, go to the swamp lands!"</p> - -<p>Next came the fairies for their yellow dresses, which Mrs. Frog was to -have spun from the yellow flax. Mrs. Frog was fast asleep, but when -they called and called her she awoke. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and -awakened all the family to help her spin the flax; but the sun shone -down on the hot, dry earth so burningly that all her spinning-wheels -caught on fire and everything in her house was burned up.</p> - -<p>"Oh, for a drop of water!" the birds and the animals were calling. -"Help us, Mrs. Frog! Do help us!"</p> - -<p>But it was too late. Even Mrs. Frog's wand, with which she called forth -the rain from the clouds, was burned up. And Mrs. Frog was so terribly -hot and thirsty that she didn't know what to do.</p> - -<p>As a last resort she started for the swamp lands, thirty of her -exhausted daughters trailing after her. They were all so tired they -could no longer walk, and finally, being faint and bent over to the -ground, they took to hopping.</p> - -<p>Down, down, down, through the hills they hopped until at last they -reached the dark, damp swamp. The daughters had become as lazy as the -sons; and Mrs. Frog herself desired nothing in the world but a cool, -muddy bed at night, and a good log or a lily pad to sit on throughout -the livelong day.</p> - -<p>But in her muddy bed she doesn't sleep; for all night long one may hear -her calling: "More rain! More rain! More rain!"</p> - -<p>While Mr. Frog croaks: "Knee deep! Knee deep! Knee deep!"</p> - -<p>And all the little frogs: "Wade in! Wade in! Wade in!"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="IX" id="IX">IX</a></h2> - -<h3>THE SCARE-MAN TREE</h3> - - -<p>There was a time when the world was mostly forest. There were plains, -to be sure, and rich valleys, but the trees were everywhere, so that -even the towns and farms were hidden by them; and there were no great -cities at all.</p> - -<p>It was then that the animals lived in peace, and they were not driven -to hide themselves, nor to be always moving farther and farther away to -find new shelters.</p> - -<p>But the days came when the forests were cut away. A little at a time, -and always along the edges of the woods, men began to hack and to chop -and to saw, until one by one the great trees came down. With them as -they crashed to the earth came the birds' nests; and where the trees -had stood, the mosses and the grass dried up and died, for the hot sun -poured in where once it had been shady and cool.</p> - -<p>In the days when this began it distressed the animals; so that the poor -creatures at last resorted to a wonderful plan. To them the woods were -very dear, and never were they frightened at what they saw or heard; -although the depths of the forest were so full of terrors to foolish -men.</p> - -<p>News was spread through the glens and across the mountains that -something was going to be done to save the woods. The birds and the -swift, scampering little weasels, and the soft-footed wildcat, who can -cover many miles and never be seen or heard, took the messages far -and away. Time was allowed; for the beaver and the mud-turtle were -necessary to the plan, and even at her best Mrs. Beaver is slow in her -motions. It was none other than crafty old Major Wolf who had conceived -the plan by which they would teach the wood-cutters a lesson.</p> - -<p>"Such simple and foolish creatures they are!" he remarked. "We've only -to frighten them out of their wits, by some device or other, and if we -scare them enough they'll keep away from these woods forever!"</p> - -<p>With that he snapped his terrible jaws and turned his great yellow eyes -on the company. Before him and around him were all the animals of the -forest. The deer, who could think of nothing to do but to run, the fox, -who knew every possible way of deceiving his enemies, the bear and the -panther and many of the small creatures, down to the sleek little mole, -were all talking at once.</p> - -<p>The bear and the wildcat were very impatient. They were all for -fighting outright.</p> - -<p>"You hug and I'll scratch," said the lynx to the bear.</p> - -<p>"We can do up an army of choppers if we get the chance," added the -panther; but he was lost in the debate, for the wisest of all, the -great gray wolf, reminded them that if the men with their axes so much -as caught sight of the animals, they would go away only to come back -with their guns and to fill the forest with every conceivable trap.</p> - -<p>Then he pointed to a great, dead tree which stood alone and on the brow -of the hill. The animals looked and tried to get his meaning. Some of -them yawned, such as the hedgehog, whose wits are slow; but the quick -Mrs. Fox jumped and cried, "That's it, that's it! We'll make that tree -into a giant to guard the path to our woods."</p> - -<p>Then Major Wolf exclaimed that the sagacious fox had guessed his plan.</p> - -<p>The wind and the frost had bent and broken the tree until it was like -nothing in the world so much as a giant. Its arms were there and its -shoulders; and its terrible body, as high as the church steeple, was -bent forward as if to fall on any one so rash as to come near it. But -it needed a great deal of what the heron called "touching up"; for -the heron is an artist, and goes every year, they say, to study the -sculptures of Egypt.</p> - -<p>"It needs a mouth and two eyes, as any one can see for himself," the -lynx remarked; and the mole and the hedgehog suggested that the feet -might be improved. Here was the task for the beavers; for carving and -cabinet work is their specialty. And to chisel great holes for the eyes -and the mouth was exactly what the woodpeckers and the squirrels could -do.</p> - -<p>The work was so briskly done, that it was indeed completed before the -admiring circle could gasp out its astonishment. While the chips and -the saw-dust were flying, Major Wolf was moved to observe in the most -pious tones:</p> - -<p>"How marvelous that these poor little cousins of ours, these smaller, -gnawing creatures (if I may call them such without hurting their -feelings) should alone be able to serve the purposes of us more noble -beasts."</p> - -<p>And he waved his paw to include the bear and the panther in the -nobility.</p> - -<p>But the gentle Mrs. Deer knew what a terrible hypocrite Major Wolf -was. And she moved with her children to the other side of the meeting; -for she had watched his mouth water even as he spoke such wonderful -sentiments.</p> - -<p>The squirrel was boring away at the great giant's limbs, carving and -cutting; and even the slow old turtle, with his powerful nippers, was -pruning the tangle of vines from the feet.</p> - -<p>But the morning was close at hand. The wood creatures had barely enough -time to complete their work and scamper off. They crouched in the -bushes to await the effect of their scheme. And even though they knew -the giant was no giant at all, but just a great, dead tree, they were -awestruck at the result of their work.</p> - -<p>As if to add to the strength of their purpose, the sun was rising in a -terrible glory of red, with the blackest of clouds all round.</p> - -<p>It was terrible. The red light of the morning, through the gaping mouth -and awful eyes, the waving arms and the immensity of the giant were -frightful.</p> - -<p>The wood-cutters came. But only one of them got as far as the tree. -With a howl of fear, he turned and fled, dropping his ax as he ran. He -told of the awful giant with eyes and mouth of fire, and the others -refused to come near.</p> - -<p>The animals were greatly elated; but the wisest of them knew that some -day the foolish wood-cutters would find out the truth. And such was the -case; although it was a long, long time, and the great giant which the -animals made warded off their enemies for many a year.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="X" id="X">X</a></h2> - -<h3>MRS. FOX AND THE EIDER-DUCK EGGS</h3> - - -<p>Once upon a time the animals who live away up North, in the cold Arctic -regions, came together for a feast in celebration of their blessings. -The bears, the wolves, the minks, the sables, even the big, spluttery -seals that swim in the icy water, were all on hand to make a great -noise, singing and shouting and devouring the things that they all -loved to eat.</p> - -<p>All were there except Mrs. Fox, and why she was not invited no one -knew. Maybe Mr. Penguin, who wrote the invitations, was responsible for -the omission, but at any rate it is a fact that the fox family was left -out in the cold.</p> - -<p>Of course, Mrs. Fox felt herself sorely slighted. She and her six -children came near enough, however, to learn that after the celebration -and the dance, which was to be held on the ice floor of the Bear -palace, there was to be a great supper in Mrs. Bear's kitchen. It was -to be a feast of the eggs of the eider-duck. A supper, needless to say, -that any bear or fox would travel night and day to enjoy.</p> - -<p>On the night of the feast Mrs. Fox crept quietly up to the bears' house.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bear and all the ladies were in the bedroom, brushing down their -rich winter suits, and prinking away to look their best before going -down to meet the other guests. And, of all things, they were gossiping -about Mrs. Fox! Just because she wasn't there (as they thought), they -were speaking of her in the most slighting terms. It seemed as if they -were all talking at once; but Mrs. Fox, whose ear was close to the -chimney, could hear Mrs. Wolf's deep voice distinctly.</p> - -<p>"That old coat of Mrs. Fox's is the shabbiest I have ever seen," she -was saying in her severest tone. "One would think that a woman of her -build, slinky and queer as it is, would put on white every winter. I -would wear white myself if I didn't think this handsome gray of mine an -elegant thing the year round."</p> - -<p>They all agreed that Mrs. Wolf was indeed very elegant, and that Mrs. -Fox was very shabby. Little Miss Ermine, who, as all the world knows, -has the finest white coat in the world, piped up shrill and cross:</p> - -<p>"Right you are, Mrs. Wolf. White's the thing in winter, but only for -those adapted to it. It scarcely becomes every one."</p> - -<p>At this she made a great showing of her own dainty figure, cutting -several merry dance figures before the mirror.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Fox had heard enough. She waited for the ladies to go downstairs -to the great room where all the gentlemen sat about. She knew what they -would do. There would be wonderful speeches by the biggest and oldest -bears, about the midnight sun and other blessings; the walrus would -make a long speech, too, mostly about seaweed and fish; and then, after -a dance or two, they would all come trooping out to the kitchen. Old -Uncle Penguin would make a very long prayer, and everybody would eat -until he could eat no more.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Fox was very angry. She resolved that there should be no supper -for her mean, back-biting friends.</p> - -<p>Cautiously she felt her way down the sides of the cliff which was the -outside of Mrs. Bear's great house. As she expected, the eider-duck -eggs were in a basket suspended from the pantry window. Quick as a -flash she ran back for her children, and in another minute they were -all beside her on the roof of Mrs. Bear's kitchen.</p> - -<p>"Old Mrs. Sloth, who cooks for Mrs. Bear, is sound asleep by the fire. -Don't wake her up. And do just what I tell you to," whispered Mother -Fox.</p> - -<p>The little foxes held their breath.</p> - -<p>"Stand in a line! Now each one of you take hold of the next one's tail. -Each of you except little Fuzzypaw. He's the quickest and the lightest -and he is going to run up and down the ladder which the rest of you -will make, and bring me those eggs, one by one. Just grip each other's -tails as tight as you can, and don't make a sound!"</p> - -<p>It was no sooner said than done. One after another the eggs were -brought up to the edge of the roof by the little fox, who ran up and -down the ladder as nimbly as a weasel. Mrs. Fox stowed the eggs away -carefully in a brand-new basket she had brought with her, and in a few -minutes the basket by Mrs. Bear's pantry window was quite empty.</p> - -<p>Then off through the big woods the little foxes trotted gaily behind -their mother.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a name="illus4" id="illus4"></a> - <img src="images/illus4.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>"<span class="smcap">Off Through the Big Woods the Little Foxes Trotted -Gaily Behind Their Mother</span>"</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>What happened when the supper party found that it had no supper, Mrs. -Fox never knew. For while Mrs. Bear and her guests were reduced to -confusion and disappointment, the foxes were at home roasting eggs by -the fire, and sitting up to all hours in the jolliest fashion.</p> - -<p>The next year Mrs. Fox was invited. Old Mr. Wolf, who knew a thing or -two, thought it would be the wisest thing to ask her. So all the other -animals agreed; and Mrs. Fox never found society in the Arctic Circle -more cordial than after the season it ignored her and she stole the -eggs of the eider-duck from Mrs. Bear.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XI" id="XI">XI</a></h2> - -<h3>SUNNY GOURD AND LADY TRUMPET-VINE</h3> - - -<p>Very much out of the beaten track—in fact, only to be approached by an -old road that had long fallen into disuse—stood a neglected cabin, a -poor weather-beaten thing with sunken roof and decaying timbers.</p> - -<p>Its door-yard had already begun to grow the young pine trees which come -up in great plumes of long, green needles; and the little garden plot, -which used to boast its vegetables, had become a mass of brambles and -nettles.</p> - -<p>"How sad this all is," the poor little cabin used to sigh. "Although I -suppose it is better to be harboring rabbits and squirrels, and to have -my beams plastered up with nests, than to have no living thing enjoy -my shelter. Still, I wish spring when it comes would bring people to -unlock my door and children to fill these poor little rooms with their -laughter."</p> - -<p>For the cabin could remember many children that had lived there, and -sometimes it seemed to him that he heard them again, playing in the -nearby woods, or running and calling down the road.</p> - -<p>Sometimes he did hear such voices, for people often passed the cabin -on the way to a distant plantation, and children were as likely to be -among them as not.</p> - -<p>But the squirrels and the rabbits had it pretty much their own way -with the deserted cabin, running in and out beneath the underpinning; -and the only noise around the place was that of Mrs. Yellowhammer when -she came pounding at the roof for what the decayed old shingles might -conceal.</p> - -<p>"I declare, you poor old house!" the energetic bird would say. "It's -terrible how the worms are eating at your timbers and shingles." -Whereat she would fall to and nearly pound the life out of the poor old -cabin, in her determination to get all there was.</p> - -<p>But Mrs. Yellowhammer and the rabbits that danced in the moonlight -were not the only visitors, for often in the summer time came the -humming-birds to visit the trumpet-vine which covered nearly all of one -end of the structure.</p> - -<p>"I am the saving grace, the chief beauty of this establishment," the -Lady Trumpet would say. "And I know it."</p> - -<p>"Of course you are," Mrs. Yellowhammer would reply. "And it was a great -mistake that you were ever planted here. A lady of your elegance, among -such weeds and common things, and at the very edge of nowhere!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, I don't mind it much, although we have little company now. But -who's this coming this very minute?"</p> - -<p>Sure enough, a man was passing. And he came through the old door-yard -straight up to the cabin steps and stood there a minute, and then was -gone. But not before he had thrown something over his shoulder which -lighted with a dry rattle, like that of corn, in at the base of the old -chimney.</p> - -<p>"What a queer thing to do!" thought Lady Trumpet-Vine, thereby speaking -her own mind and that of the cabin as well.</p> - -<p>"Not at all," suddenly spoke up Mr. Rabbit. "That man is throwing seed -over his left shoulder for his luck. I've seen it done before. And I'm -glad he doesn't want my left hind foot, or whatever it is that such -people like to carry in their pockets for good luck."</p> - -<p>Immediately Mrs. Yellowhammer, who had been screaming to her friend, -Red-necked Woodpecker, to come and enjoy this mystery, flew down to -inspect the seeds which lay on the soil at the foot of the chimney. And -Mr. Rabbit scampered to get to the spot also.</p> - -<p>They looked long and hard at the little brown things; then Mr. Rabbit -tried biting one of them.</p> - -<p>"Ugh!" he exclaimed. "Bitter as poison!"</p> - -<p>"I never taste things I am in doubt about," Mrs. Yellowhammer declared; -"but I'm not a seed-eater anyway. What does Mr. Bob-White think they -are?"</p> - -<p>For a dapper little partridge was on the scene now, turning his head -this way and that as he squinted at the mysterious seeds.</p> - -<p>"Gourds!" he finally pronounced them. "Gourd seed. No good for eating. -Even a sparrow wouldn't touch them."</p> - -<p>Then the birds flew off and Mr. Rabbit skipped rope with himself all -around the yard, for he wanted to restore his spirits; this curious -incident having for a second clouded his buoyant nature.</p> - -<p>This happened in the very early spring, before even a leaf was showing -on Lady Trumpet-Vine, and before even a purple wood violet had shown -herself in the borders of the deserted garden. Rains came; long ones -that drenched the earth and gullied the roads. The eaves of the cabin -dripped and dripped night and day, and it was not long before great -puddles lay by the sunken door-step, and were soaking down into the -roots of everything.</p> - -<p>"What a pity there's nothing but weeds and those low-down gourd seeds -to be benefited by all this!" sighed the Lady Trumpet. "I shall -probably flower generously this year. But what's the use?"</p> - -<p>Then she would grow very sad as the rain increased and out of the dark -skies came the heavy south winds.</p> - -<p>But when the sky cleared, the gourd seeds had sunk out of sight. That -was good luck for them. Deeper down they went and at last their first -little roots were feeling the rich soil that no plant had enjoyed in -many a year. Then two bright green leaves, laden with halves of the old -seed coverings, came up.</p> - -<p>The glistening earth was trying to dry itself in the sunshine, and the -jolly Woodpecker was looking out of his window in the trunk of the old -cherry-tree.</p> - -<p>"Well, I'm a crow!" he exclaimed, "or there are those gourd seeds up -and out of bed so soon!"</p> - -<p>He was so delighted with this that he told his wife; and soon all the -other people around the poor neglected place were flying and running to -take a look.</p> - -<p>The little fellows, very sturdy and determined, were holding their -leaves out exactly as if they were spreading their palms upward to -catch the sunlight in their hands.</p> - -<p>Time went on and the seeds became vines. The old chimney, built of -sticks and mud, and very unsightly, was revived to new feelings.</p> - -<p>"Not since my supper fires went out have I felt so much alive," it -moaned as though it would like to be really pleased.</p> - -<p>"If only I could smoke again, I should feel completely contented."</p> - -<p>Soon the chimney and the eaves were green with gourd vine. Summer was -underway, with its long hot mornings and its wonderful nights. Lady -Trumpet-Vine was covered with buds, and she was already telling of how -she would be visited by all the most beautiful creatures in the world.</p> - -<p>"But nobody'll visit your flowers," she said to the gourd vine. "Nobody -wants to. You're a bitter, ugly, common vine. That's what you are."</p> - -<p>"I have some very respectable relatives, just the same," sang out -Sunny Gourd, determined not to be utterly demeaned. "There's Mr. -Watermelon and Mr. Cucumber. They are very well esteemed, you know. I -think they are appreciated perhaps almost as much as you are."</p> - -<p>"But not for their beauty, my dear," was the retort. "I am loved by all -the world for my magnificence. Birds and men know beauty when they see -it. Trust me in that."</p> - -<p>Then, almost in anger, such was her queenly pride, Lady Trumpet burst -a few of her buds. The full open flowers were wonderful, and a perfume -exhaled from them which made her neighbor dizzy.</p> - -<p>"It's no use," Sunny Gourd sighed. "I can't do that. My flowers are -merely little no-account white things. No perfume to speak of. But I -don't care, I've reached the roof anyway, and I can look up at the sky -and watch the birds in these trees, and have a good time to myself. And -I can look at you, too, Mrs. Trumpet."</p> - -<p>The stately vine waved her tendrils and fanned herself gently. She -couldn't help seeing that this gourd person was at least polite.</p> - -<p>But the hardest thing in the world to bear is the idea that you are of -no use to anybody. And it was this which hurt the robust gourd vine. -Not a bird came for honey, and yet they hovered in ecstasy over Lady -Trumpet. Humming-birds, as brilliant as flashing gems, came whirring -like rays from a diamond shot from the sky. They would plunge their -long beaks deep into the flowers to get the nectar, and then dart away, -only to return again for more. Other beautiful creatures came to the -deserted garden and sang madly with delight, simply trying to make -their melody as intoxicating as Lady Trumpet's perfume.</p> - -<p>But they studiously avoided Sunny Gourd. His leaves, big and green and -very rough, and his sinewy stems, his modest flowers and the bitter -juice of them, were odious to everybody. Yet he was green as emerald, -and he had made a picture of his end of the cabin.</p> - -<p>"But the birds, how I love them!" he kept saying to himself. "And they -will have none of me!"</p> - -<p>At last, however, to his great consolation, there came a little green -bee to visit him.</p> - -<p>"Well, well!" it buzzed. "Here you are! Just what I want!"</p> - -<p>And the little visitor tried to hang in every flower. His visits lasted -all day.</p> - -<p>"Yes, I'm only a low ground bee," he remarked, after Sunny Gourd had -confided in him. "Those aristocratic honey-bees don't recognize me at -all. But I don't care. And you mustn't care. The birds will be mightily -obliged to you yet."</p> - -<p>And without a word more, he was off. Nor would this handsome little -fellow ever explain what he meant. He would only say: "You just wait!"</p> - -<p>Nor were there many weeks of waiting. For the autumn came, and the -pinch of cold nights with it. Things began to shrivel, but the -wonderful fruit of the gourd vine turned from green to yellow; lovely -as gold. Sunny Gourd had produced a hundred dippers: some with handles -curled and long, some straight as rulers, and some that were short and -thick. They hung in yellow companies from the eaves trough, or they -clustered over the roof. The best of them grew against the chimney, -and yet all were as gourds should be, stout of shell and beautifully -rounded.</p> - -<p>"Very strange!" Lady Trumpet remarked. "Almost impressive. But I'm glad -I don't have to do it. My seed pods are elegance itself, and yet they -do not obtrude themselves that way. I call it vulgar."</p> - -<p>But others thought differently. People began to go that way just to -see the house that was covered with gourds, and in the last days, -as the sap was drying in the vines, Sunny Gourd found that he was -attracting much attention.</p> - -<p>Yet he was not to guess just the thing that was to happen.</p> - -<p>One day the man who had thrown the seeds for luck, returned. And he -took but one delighted look.</p> - -<p>Soon there was much going on and the old cabin came back to life -again. And, just as the chimney hoped, it was smoking once more. -There were children running around the weedy garden, and voices and -laughter brought back the happiness so long gone. The blue-jays and -the yellowhammers greeted the newcomers with delight, and Lady Trumpet -could only wish that they had seen her in her July glory. But to Sunny -Gourd happened the best of it all; for the man cut many of the gourds -into bird houses and hung them to a pole which he planted by the door.</p> - -<p>Then came the martins to build, losing no time at all. The beautiful -yellow gourds hung high and happy, their hollow shells sheltering a -dozen beautiful birds. And the best of the gourds, the one with the -longest handle, which had swung clear of the door lintel all summer -long, and had ripened to a magnificent color, was hung by the well. It -made a dipper fit for a king; that is, if the king were a very good man.</p> - -<p>Sunny Gourd knew no words for his happiness. And it was joy, not the -cold of the winter nights, to which he at last succumbed.</p> - -<p>"That's the way with this wonderful world," said Mr. Mocking-bird. "And -I thought he was beautiful all along."</p> - -<p>"And think what he did for me," the cabin kept saying.</p> - -<p>So that even the proud Lady Trumpet knew her place at last, and she -honestly hoped the dear Sunny Gourd would come back in the spring.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XII" id="XII">XII</a></h2> - -<h3>THE END OF THE TIMBER WOLF</h3> - - -<p>Far away to the North, where the great rocky capes point out through -the sea toward the land where it is always snow and ice, there lived -two shepherds whose little huts were almost the only habitations in -many and many a mile of trackless forest. To be sure, they were within -traveling distance of a market town. For had there been no place for -trading the wonderful white wool which they sheared every spring from -their sheep, there would have been no object in their living in a place -so uncouth where year in and year out there were only the grandeurs of -earth and sky and the thunderous roar of the seas to keep them company.</p> - -<p>But the shepherds and their families were not unhappy, and the chances -are that if you took them southward over sea and land to the great -cities they would only have longed to go back to their own cloudy -skies, to their wind-swept pastures, and the steep cliffs where the -sea-gulls nest. And it is certainly true that their little boys and -girls would never have been content to have stayed away very long from -the faithful dogs, who are the most important members in a shepherd -home. And it is of these dogs and what they did to the last of the -wolves that the shepherds were always telling. For the memory of a -brave act is slow to die; and when you add sagacity to bravery, putting -wits with strength, you have something which men love to relate.</p> - -<p>One of the dogs was Dan, and that was a suitable name, for he was what -his master called "long-headed." The other was Denmark, for he was so -great and powerful and possessed of so wonderful a voice and appetite, -that both by power and dignity he resembled his people, the noble -Danes, and no name in the world could fit him better than that of his -native land.</p> - -<p>Denmark had come to this far-away settlement when a ship from the -Danish ports had gone to pieces in a storm below the cliffs. And the -shepherds had taken him home. A dog that could swim ashore in such a -storm as that had been, when the waves turned to ice as they dashed -against the rocks, was a dog worth keeping.</p> - -<p>But Denmark was not a shepherd dog. His shiny coat of black, his heavy -build, with a neck as powerful as a young bull's, and his great square -jaws made him at first sight a dog to be feared. But he was gentle and -wanted to play and sport like any puppy, as soon as he had recovered -from the shock of shipwreck and his icy hour in the water. But there -was no one to play with in the family of the fisherman who had first -rescued him from the water. And that worthy man, who was a brave and -silent sort, was gone from home so long at a time that he was not sorry -when the great Dane betook himself to another home.</p> - -<p>Some children were passing the fisherman's hut one morning in early -spring, on their way to gather wild flowers which grew in the crevices -and little sheltered nooks of the headlands. They were laughing and -chasing one another and singing. That was all the great dog wanted to -hear, for he had lived a solemn and uneventful life during these weeks -that he had lain around the fisherman's place. And the fisherman had -not dreamed of entertaining his guest. He had not played tag in sixty -years and you may be sure he was not going to begin again for the sake -of a great overgrown dog.</p> - -<p>Denmark introduced himself to the children in what he thought was -a playful way; but his voice was so terrible that the children were -at first terror-stricken. They had never seen any dogs except the -beautiful Scottish kind which the shepherds keep. They screamed and -ran in fear, taking up stones as if to throw them. But Denmark was not -discouraged. At first he kept his distance, but he followed; and, once -they were out on the green pastures that sloped and curved down to the -steep shore, he began his most enticing efforts to please.</p> - -<p>The children forgot all about their wild flowers then, and they romped -and played for hours with the dog. Of course they took him home.</p> - -<p>In this new home Denmark was a neighbor of Dan, the wise shepherd dog, -who came to be his lifelong friend; for the shepherds did not live very -far apart, and it was easy for the dogs to get together, as they always -did at odd times of night and very early in the morning, when they -would go far afield in a mad chase for rabbits or on the trail of a fox.</p> - -<p>Every one had thought the two would fight when they met, but the -shepherd dog only stood off on his dignity a few seconds, and then he -spoke to the great Dane in the most courteous tones, which the Scotch -can always employ to such effect. He well knew that he was no match -for the gigantic stranger and he saw no necessity for making a fool of -himself; besides he really was more than glad to find such a companion.</p> - -<p>The comradeship of these two lasted long and only came near to its -end when they cornered the great timber wolf in the sheep pen. This -was Dan's crowning achievement, and no one was more proud of him than -was the brave and courteous Denmark, who always gave to the shepherd -dog the full credit of having planned the whole thing. To rid the -countryside of this last wolf had been Dan's great desire. No one -but he was really sure of the wolf's existence. The time had passed -when the terrible packs of wolves descended on the sheep, and when -the belated traveler over the snowy roads was in peril of his life -from these stalking, famished enemies. But the shepherds were by no -means sure that the wolves were entirely gone, and when they sat by -the fireside telling stories of the dangers and hardships of the old -days, they would always end by admitting that not yet were the terrible -marauders hunted down.</p> - -<p>Dan's back would bristle as he lay by the fire, and he would pound his -tail up and down on the hearth as if he entirely agreed. Could he have -spoken, he would have told them that often he had smelt the track of -something that was not a bear nor a fox. Then his blood would freeze in -his veins when the shepherds, talking in their slow way between sips -of ale, told how powerful and ferocious the wolf can be. They knew of -wolves that had snapped a dog's head nearly clean off the body with -just one flash of their terrible jaws. And they agreed that a wolf -could not be overpowered by any dog alone.</p> - -<p>Dan always came to one conclusion in these recitals. If ever he could -find the wolf, and could employ his friend Denmark to help him, they -would show their masters that two dogs, at any rate, could get the best -of the timber wolf.</p> - -<p>It came about at last that a long, heavy winter drove the wolf to -bolder and more risky operations among the sheepfolds. He ventured from -the dark, forest lairs closer and closer to the sheep pens and the -shepherd huts. The dogs knew this. But in the daytime the wolf was gone -far beyond the barriers of the steep cliffs of the mountains. And at -night the dogs could never venture far afield, for it was their duty to -stay close by the barns and the pens where the sheep were sheltered.</p> - -<p>With the coming of spring, Dan's master had to spend many a night at -a pen some distance from the home. Down close to the shore he kept -another flock and in it were many little lambs that were sick. For in -the spring it is a common thing for the lambs that are winter-born to -be stricken with a sickness which only the best shepherds can cure. -Dan's master was up and about at all hours of the night, and poor Dan -was greatly concerned in his efforts to keep guard over two folds. But -if his dear master would take no sleep, Dan would take none. He was as -wakeful and anxious as though he owned the sick lambs himself.</p> - -<p>It was well past midnight and the air was full of the wet odors which -denote the melting snows and the first coming of spring. As Dan was -trotting up the path from the lower fold, a whiff of that strange and -terrible odor which he knew to be the scent of the wolf, came to his -sensitive nostrils. He stood still. He snuffed the ground around him, -but he found no track. The wolf was near, but where?</p> - -<p>Then a thought came to him. First, he must get Denmark. It would take -him but a few moments to run across to the neighboring farm, and now -was the time to put his plan into execution. He was much disturbed in -his mind, however, for he had never before left his master at night. -But the necessity was a pressing one.</p> - -<p>Down the path and across the fields he ran, and came to Denmark's -home. The great dog was lying by the barn door, under a little shelter -which formed a kennel. He was wide awake and felt very much alert. He -confessed to Dan that he felt particularly nervous about something. -Yes, he was sure he could scent the wolf on the stagnant, heavy air.</p> - -<p>Back they ran, their tails lowered, and their noses to the ground, for -this was no hour to play. Once they were in sight of the hut where the -shepherd and the little lambs were housed, Dan explained his plan.</p> - -<p>"My master will presently go into that tiny room just beyond the pen -where the ewes and the sick lambs are. He will lie down, and unless -the lambs bleat again before morning, he will not wake up, for he is -dead tired. He knows that I am close and on guard, and so he does not -trouble himself about that shaky old door to the fold. The wolf could -nose it open and not half try. But the wolf won't come here unless he -thinks I am watching up at the big pen. So I shall go up there. You -climb the steep steps that lead to the loft over the straw beds where -the sick lambs are. Go softly, and wait. I will follow the wolf down -here if he comes. And if he gets inside the pen, you spring down on him -from the loft."</p> - -<p>All this the canny shepherd dog had schemed and perfected as he was -running after his friend. It was too good to be true, he felt, that -here at last was the chance he had hoped for. And if he had ever -feared the wolf, he did not fear him now, but was only afraid that the -terrible creature would not appear.</p> - -<p>Dan hid beneath his master's barn. From a corner in the heavy stone -underpinning he could look down the yard to the lower pen. Nothing -could approach that point without his seeing it, unless it came from -the rocky shore. He waited long and the silence was unbroken save for -the dripping of the water where the snow was melting on the barn roof -and little rills of it spattered from the eaves.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, so suddenly that his heart stood still, he saw two great -yellow eyes staring out of the darkness. The wolf was in the yard and -not ten feet from where Dan lay! Then the gleaming eyes turned and a -great shadowy form hulked past. It was so huge that Dan trembled. It -made no noise and moved slowly and with great caution.</p> - -<p>Dan straightened himself out, full length, and crawled low in the mud, -picking his foothold in such a way as to let no twig or pebble move -under his weight. Any smallest noise would be fatal. His heart beat so -fast that he could not breathe, but he stalked the terrible shadow step -by step.</p> - -<p>Suddenly he realized that if the wolf should turn, there would be no -chance to escape. Perhaps the great jaws would kill him before he could -even cry out, and Denmark would never know about it until too late.</p> - -<p>The wolf's half-defined form suddenly vanished. He had made a great, -silent spring into the center of the sheep pen. For such was the -surpassing cunning of the wolf that he was into the pen and had seized -one of the lambs all in a single leap.</p> - -<p>There was a roar such as Dan had never heard. For Denmark had never -spoken in such voice before. Then came sounds that woke up every one on -the two farms and brought everybody running to the scene with lanterns -and guns.</p> - -<p>Denmark had come down on the wolf's back, and had gripped his throat. -Dan rushed in and helped in pulling him down. But the damage to the -dogs was frightful, for the terrible fangs of the wolf, hampered as the -creature was, had ripped and torn his opponents. The three desperate -animals rolled and tossed and flung themselves in such a frantic battle -that the shepherd was many times thrown down in his attempts to get -near them. He was afraid that he would stab the dogs instead of the -wolf. But when the lights came, and the guns were pointed, there was no -need of either knives or shot. The two dogs lay bleeding on the floor -of the hut and the great timber wolf was twitching in death.</p> - -<p>It was the greatest thing that the shepherds had ever heard of in their -lives. They told of it for years, and Dan and Denmark became known for -miles and were justly happy in their fame.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XIII" id="XIII">XIII</a></h2> - -<h3>THE TRAVELS OF PRINCE FLAMINGO</h3> - - -<p>The wonderful adventures and the long, beneficent reign of Prince -Flamingo are matters which would be lost to the world were it not for -the venerable Mrs. Leatherback.</p> - -<p>For Mrs. Leatherback is not only the oldest and the largest of the -great turtles, but she is by all odds the most distinguished, and is -gifted with the most accurate power of memory. And her adventures -in the five hundred years of her life have been many. She swims the -great Gulf from coast to coast, she knows the islands—every one of -them—she has been far up the rivers which pour their floods into the -tropic seas, and every bay and lagoon knows her presence. And there is -no one whose arrival is more eagerly welcomed by the little people of -the lagoons and the coral coves than she. For with her vast knowledge -goes a power of recital which charms her auditors; and if she chances -to spend a moonlight evening by some quiet swamp, or beneath a pleasant -sand dune where the breeze is good and the outlook charming, you may -be sure that the intelligent and conservative members of society, such -as the Cranes, the Terrapins, the Black Swans, and perhaps one of the -wise Foxes, will be gathered around the distinguished visitor.</p> - -<p>And her stories, notably that of Prince Flamingo, have gone far inland, -even to the remote North; for the Heron is himself a great traveler, -and it is, indeed, as he has presented the story, rather than in the -words of Mrs. Leatherback, that it is generally related. Perhaps it has -gained something in its travels, for time and distance lend a charm, -and the coral islands are beautiful in perspective. To put it simply, -you remember what the wise old Mr. Rat said as he nibbled the Dutch -cheese: "The best things come from a long way off."</p> - -<p>So it is from a remote past, and from the most lonely and most -beautiful of the tropic islands that the romance of the beautiful white -flamingo has traveled down to us.</p> - -<p>There is a great lagoon or inlet of the sea which widens itself into -a vast marsh on the southernmost extremity of an island. Ships could -never enter its shallow waters, and it is protected on the land side -by miles of dense reeds and water growth. No place in the world could -be safer for the city of the flamingoes. And of all birds, the great, -pink flamingoes need a secret place to build their nests and rear their -young.</p> - -<p>Their wonderful city was populous with thousands of their kind on the -beautiful morning when this particular little flamingo was born. For -never had a hunter penetrated to their home, and their natural enemies -were few.</p> - -<p>Great flocks of flamingoes were wheeling in long, curving lines -overhead. And they were so pink against the early morning sky that you -would have thought them the reflection of the rosy dawn itself. And -almost as far across the lagoon as one could see, they were standing -by their nests feeding their babies, or preparing for flight to the -distant feeding grounds. You could see nothing but their tall, red -forms, thousands of curving necks, and wide, beautiful wings.</p> - -<p>Everybody was talking, and the confusion would have been terrible -except for the fact that no one seemed to pay any attention to anybody -else, and each beautiful flamingo seemed to know exactly what he was -about. Hundreds of other babies were being hatched that morning, and -so little White Wing (as they called him at first) attracted no -attention. His mother was in a great state of delight over him, of -course, and his stately father eyed him with approval. But hundreds -of other parents were in the same state of mind over their young, and -congratulations had long gone out of fashion.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a name="illus5" id="illus5"></a> - <img src="images/illus5.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p><span class="smcap">"His Mother Was in a Great State of Delight over -Him, of Course, and His Stately Father Eyed Him with Approval</span>"</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>The beautiful young father had just arrived from the distant shore and -was the first to feed the pretty youngster. He curved his graceful neck -downward and when he kissed the baby, as you might say, it was to put -into his tiny mouth the wonderful juice of the shell fish which the -great bird had been eating. While he did this the mother preened her -feathers, and took a few stately steps to stretch her legs, for she had -been all night on the nest, and then she wheeled in a wonderful circle -over the lagoon, mounting higher and higher until at last she was in -line with many flamingoes who were heading with tilted wings against -the wind, on their way to the beaches and sand-bars.</p> - -<p>The sun grew very hot and the wind died away. The waters of the lagoon -flashed in the burning light, and the heat was terrible. But over the -nests where the babies lay the tall birds threw their shadows, and -again and again little White Wing was turned over in his bed, and he -was given innumerable feedings. So at last, when the sun went down -and the air grew cool, he was surprisingly different from what he had -been in the morning. He was already larger, and his wings and his feet -were getting strength enough so that he could move, and he had found a -little voice of his own.</p> - -<p>With successive days he grew apace, and at last he tumbled himself out -of the nest and began to walk. The nest was a mound of mud and sand, -for all the world like a basket of sticks and moss reposing on an -inverted flower-pot, and not so high but what White Wing could struggle -back into it when the heat of the day came and his watchful father took -his post by the side of the little home to throw the shadow of his -stately figure over it.</p> - -<p>At first White Wing was just like the other little flamingoes, and with -them he began to play on the sandy floor of the flamingo city, and with -them he very soon learned to take short flights as his wings developed. -But just as a hundred or so of cousins began to shed their white down -and to grow very brown and fuzzy, he began to get whiter and whiter. In -a few weeks they were beginning to shed their brown clothes for the -beautiful pink feathers which are the proper thing for the flamingo.</p> - -<p>Little White Wing was somewhat distressed when his playmates began to -jeer at him, and it was perplexing to note a lack of affection on the -part of his beautiful father and mother. For his elders were greatly -embarrassed. Nothing like this had ever happened in their family. And, -so far as the handsome father could learn by inquiry among the oldest -birds of Flamingotown, no one had ever heard of a white flamingo. But -when the neighbors cast aspersions, and hinted that there must be some -common blood in that family, then the father grew angry and the gentle -mother had all she could do to keep him from killing little White Wing.</p> - -<p>Every night the little fellow would bury his head close to his -beautiful mother's ear, and say:</p> - -<p>"Don't you think, perhaps, dear mother, that I'll be pink in the -morning?"</p> - -<p>And she would tell him to hush and be quiet and go to sleep.</p> - -<p>But when morning came he would be as white as ever, and his long sad -day would begin. No one would play with him and he was soon shifting -for himself. Somehow he picked up a living of tiny fish in the long -pools of tide-water that the waves left in the soggy lagoon, and when -all his playmates had gone to bed and it was safe to come among them, -he would step home, picking his way between the nests, and trying to -reach his own without calling attention to himself.</p> - -<p>All this was hard, but it speedily grew worse. The King of the -flamingoes said that the white offspring must die.</p> - -<p>"Begone, my child, begone!" the mother whispered to him, for she had -heard that little White Wing was to die. "Go away, as far as you can. -Sometime it will be all right. Remember that your mother loves you."</p> - -<p>So that ended White Wing's childhood. Even before the first streak of -dawn, the beautiful young bird flew out and away. Across the lagoon, -miles and miles to the westward, over a wide stretch of sea he flew -until his wings could hardly bear him up. Then he sighted land, and he -strained every nerve to reach it. When at last he wheeled down to the -sands in the shade of a great mangrove tree, his first day's flight was -finished and he was a lonely, famished bird on a strange shore.</p> - -<p>But a deep, sweet voice suddenly came to him. At first he could not -place it. Then he saw to his astonishment a huge turtle only a few -yards below him on the beach.</p> - -<p>"Ah, ha!" she was saying in her most affectionate way. "So there you -are! I've heard of you. They drove you out, did they? Didn't want any -variety in the family. Well, well, Sonny, cheer up."</p> - -<p>Then this large and hearty creature pawed her way heavily up the sands, -and continued her remarks:</p> - -<p>"Funny creatures, you birds. Now look at me and consider the -difference. I don't care a clam what my children look like. I'm on my -way up to that sand dune this very blessed minute to lay about nine -pecks of eggs. And I hope they hatch and the young ones won't get eaten -up. But they can come out of that shell any color they please, for all -I care. We turtles don't worry. We just float along easy. That's the -way to live."</p> - -<p>Then she gave a hearty laugh and settled down to digging a pit in the -white sands.</p> - -<p>"S'pose you run along, Sonny, and pick up your supper. I rather like my -own company when I'm laying eggs. But just come back a little later and -I'll tell your fortune."</p> - -<p>No one had ever called him Sonny before, and never had he dreamed that -such high good humor existed anywhere. The good old turtle and her -cheerful ways had suddenly made life worth living. And poor White Wing, -on coming to himself, realized that he was very hungry. He feasted, -indeed, ravenously on fiddler crabs, which he otherwise would have -despised, and the moon was high and he was heavy with sleep when Mrs. -Turtle, after hours of scratching and pawing, had patiently buried her -eggs, and was ready to talk. What she had to say was brief, but it cast -the life of White Wing in strange places, and it was on her words that -he made his great journey.</p> - -<p>"You're bound to be somebody," she began. "Probably a king. But this -is no place for you around here. You must go where you are wanted. And -that is a long ways from this quiet spot. There's a great Emperor who -has a palace by the smoking mountains. He's been wishing for a white -flamingo all his life. If you can get there, why, your fortune is made. -If you fly with your feet to the sunrise until you come to the great -river mouth, and if you follow that river long enough, you'll see the -mountains with the fiery tops. That's the place. And you want to walk -right in as though you owned the kingdom. Don't be scared when you get -there. Just forget about those saucy cousins of yours back home and be -as grand as you know how."</p> - -<p>Poor White Wing was almost dizzy at this unexpected vision of good -things. He did not reckon on what the journey meant. But the motherly -old turtle was particular to tell him of the many islands he must pass, -and the dangers that he would encounter. Then she bade him God-speed, -and began her toilsome way down the sands, for she was intent upon -reaching deep water again.</p> - -<p>"I have a long way to go," she said; and added that sometime they would -be sure to meet again.</p> - -<p>The second morning found White Wing far out at sea once more, straining -his eyes for the island where he was to get food and water, and -cherishing to himself but one idea—to reach the great Emperor who -wanted a white flamingo.</p> - -<p>After many days and nights of lonely travel, he came to a mountain -solid green and black, with palms and forest trees; where there were no -white shores, but a heavy marshy line of wonderful vegetation. And from -the height at which he flew he could discern the muddy strip of river -water which stained the blue sapphire of the ocean. This, then, was the -river, and far up its course must be the mountains and the city of the -great Emperor.</p> - -<p>He was right in his conjectures. For a black bird, with a yellow bill -as big as a cleaver, greeted him with familiar and jovial laughter, and -told him that he was indeed on the right path. This bird was a toucan -and he told many things of his family to White Wing, adding much good -advice. He was distressed that the beautiful stranger would not eat -bananas, and explained that he owed his good health to an exclusive -fruit diet.</p> - -<p>"But then," he admitted with a noisy laugh, "somebody must eat the -fish, I'm sure. And I'm glad if you like them."</p> - -<p>Also this happy-go-lucky toucan volunteered to guide White Wing on his -flight up the valley. But, like so many guides, he fell out before -he accomplished all that he had promised. For scarcely had the two -traveled a day's journey when they came upon a prodigious growth of -wild figs, and the greedy toucan would go no farther.</p> - -<p>Those were hard hours for poor White Wing. The river valley was dark -and hot, and in the night he was perpetually wakened by the startling -sounds around him. Such noisy parrots he had never dreamed of, nor such -millions of burning insects that flashed and flashed their lanterns -till the heavy vines and palm leaves seemed afire with them. And the -screams of terror that rose from the dark depths of the forest when the -great cats or the powerful snakes seized their prey, chilled his blood.</p> - -<p>But the days brought him at last to higher ground, and finally to a -wonderful plain where it all seemed but so many miles of lawn and clear -smooth waters. He took heart. Suddenly the mountains came in sight. -Yes, and one of them was sending out a thin stream of smoke into the -cloudless sky. Another day, possibly that very night, he would reach -the city of the Emperor.</p> - -<p>Very wisely he waited for the dawn. He had seen the high walls, and the -housetops, and the glittering armaments of the palace as they glowed in -the sunset, and he had heard strange music, a sweet confusion of lovely -sounds. But from the cliffs above the river he watched and waited and -preened his beautiful white suit.</p> - -<p>When morning came, just as the mountains were pink and the city was -cool and gray, a grand procession mounted a great rock above the -Emperor's palace. Trains of slaves and priests there were, the sounds -of drums, and a heavy, solemn chanting. The Emperor was to greet the -sun and they were all to worship the great light, for it was their -deity.</p> - -<p>Then White Wing soared high above them all. His great white form was -suddenly thrown against the rising sun, and it was beautiful beyond -comparison. No living bird had ever seemed so lovely. He could see the -crowds of men and women and the ranks of priests start back in one -motion of surprise. Then he floated down, slowly and with great calm, -alighting on the stone altar where the Emperor was staring upward in -amaze.</p> - -<p>From that hour, after the court had recovered from its surprise, White -Wing was almost an emperor himself. A park was made for him and slaves -were in attendance. The tenderest of tiny fish and juicy snails were -given him to eat, and he was a familiar of that barbaric household -whose slightest inclination was taken to be law, and whose smallest -preferences were translated into royal commands. He was ceremoniously -tethered with a golden chain and a clasp of blue jewels to his thin -leg, but even such a regal restraint was abandoned and the jewels and -the beaten gold and the turquoise were made into a neck chain which he -wore with great dignity.</p> - -<p>Never could the Emperor enter into his councils and audiences without -the Prince of the Dawn, as he was called; and White Wing was a sage and -judicial counselor. He would stand for hours on one leg, his jewels -flashing upon his breast, his head turned at a knowing angle, as if in -the profoundest thought, a very embodiment of wisdom beside the throne. -In reality he was sound asleep, a condition wherein he set an immortal -example for ministers of state.</p> - -<p>For years he dwelt in splendor and acquired great wisdom. And for the -little princes and princesses, who were many and lovely, he had great -affection.</p> - -<p>But of his love for one princess in particular and of the jealousies -which grew up so that his life was plotted against and he was at -last to be undone, there is another story which the wonderful Mrs. -Leatherback is always slow to relate.</p> - -<p>She has been known to depart and pursue her business in foreign lands, -returning at her leisure, before she will be induced to relate the rest -of the story of Prince Flamingo.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XIV" id="XIV">XIV</a></h2> - -<h3>PRINCE FLAMINGO'S TRIUMPHANT RETURN</h3> - - -<p>In the gorgeous court of the Emperor, where White Wing had come into -such great good fortune, the one person whom everybody feared was -the splendid ruler himself. For rulers have been notable in history -for their fickle ways and shifting affections, and this emperor was -no exception to the rule. First it was one favorite who fell into -disfavor, and then another, and even the priests and the councilors, -who were the closest to him, were as unsafe as the meanest slave. For -while an underling could be made away with quickly and at a word, the -Emperor was no less willing to let his anger smolder through a long -and carefully plotted revenge in the case of some person who might be -next to him in rank. So there were mysterious things happening in the -great stone palace, and White Wing observed soon after he came there -that nobody seemed really to enjoy the wonderful splendors of the court -itself but, on the contrary, they seemed always anxious to be in the -parks or the city, or even out on the lonely plains around it, rather -than in the vast rooms of stone and silver.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, White Wing had nothing to fear from the stalwart and -imperious ruler, for the bird was truly his most treasured possession; -and if he were in an evil mood, the Emperor would often betake himself -to White Wing's splendid garden, and there he would toy with the -bird, asking him many questions, and seeming always content to find -his answer in the flamingo's sagacious looks, or a chance nod of the -creature's head.</p> - -<p>There were the troops of lovely children, too, whose quarters were a -whole part of the palace itself, and these were a delight to White -Wing, for they were gentle with him and fed him all sorts of dainties -from their little brown hands.</p> - -<p>Among these was a lovely little girl who grew to be a favorite of the -Emperor's and was deeply attached to White Wing.</p> - -<p>One day, to the latter's great distress, he saw traces of tears on the -child's face as she came hurrying across the enclosed garden to the -sunken pool where White Wing was looking down into the water at the -gold fish. There happened to be no one in the great courtyard at that -moment but the child and the stately bird. She looked around first, to -be sure that what she was about to say would not be overheard.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Prince of the Dawn, dear Prince," she began, "do you know what has -happened? I have run away from the others just to tell you. It's the -saddest thing in the world. The Emperor is sending all the children -away to the farthermost corner of the land to keep them in hiding. And -only the soldiers and the priests are to live here now. There is only -one hour left, for down below the great walls there are thousands of -bearers and mules laden with everything, and a whole army of escorts. -Maybe we shall never come back."</p> - -<p>Then she threw herself at White Wing's feet and clutched the flowers on -the border of the fountain as she cried.</p> - -<p>But this was only the beginning of the troubles in that great palace. -What the princess had told White Wing explained much that he had -observed, but what the child did not know, and what the Emperor feared -the most, was the plotting that went on against his own life and the -rivalries among his generals. The kingdom was being attacked to the -eastward. Up that same valley that White Wing had followed in his -flight, a terrible army was marching against the capital of this -realm. It was an army of men from the other side of the world. Such -conquerors they were as even the Emperor himself had never dreamed of.</p> - -<p>But now excited slaves came rushing in and bore the child off. She had -scarcely time to say farewell, and poor White Wing heard her sobs as -they died away through the courtyards and arched corridors. Yes, his -palace was being deserted, and he could walk through empty rooms and -suddenly stilled hallways without meeting a soul. Everybody was in the -lower courtyard watching the departure of the household.</p> - -<p>But just as White Wing, much depressed and filled with wonder, came to -a little doorway in a corner of the great upper hall, he heard voices. -They were the Emperor's councilors, he knew, but why they should be -there now when everybody was so busy elsewhere, he wondered. They were -not talking as usual, but whispering, and a great curtain had been -drawn across the doorway.</p> - -<p>White Wing knew that the chamber was lighted by a window that opened -to a tiny courtyard of its own. To reach this court without passing -through the room was impossible to any one but such as White Wing. He -could mount the walls by a short flight from the garden, and descend -within the secret yard.</p> - -<p>This he did, for he was bound to learn what the priests and councilors -were up to. The Emperor was not with them, and he felt sure that it was -something treacherous that they were doing.</p> - -<p>He was just in time as he settled down on the stone copings outside -the great window. First he looked to make sure that his shadow was not -visible across the pavement. He was assured of his safety, and knew -that his arrival there had not been betrayed by so much as a ruffle of -his beautiful wings.</p> - -<p>The voices were deciding the fate of the Emperor and of White Wing too. -The priests were to tell the Emperor that he must sacrifice the thing -that he loved the most and that he must do it with his own hand. And it -was to be arranged that as he knelt at the great altar of black stone -to kill the bird, an arrow should be sent from a secret place on the -walls, so that the Emperor with his back turned to the court should -perish then and there.</p> - -<p>White Wing's blood ran cold. This, then, was why his great master had -always been fearful and morose, and often cruel. His own house was full -of men that hated him and were yet his own brothers. They were ready -now, just as the kingdom was rallying to save itself, to seize it all -into their own hands. They would be rid of him, and his mysterious bird -too, for they feared in a childish way that White Wing had been sent to -the Emperor by some divine agent, and they hated the innocent creature -because they were both fearful and jealous of him.</p> - -<p>They were now deciding which one of them should let fly the arrow -which should kill the Emperor. White Wing could hear them rattling -the jeweled discs or dice with which he had often seen them playing. -Evidently the process of making the decision was a complicated one, -for he heard the little carved discs rattling in their box a number of -times. Then there was silence and a voice which he knew was that of the -Emperor's half-brother spoke in clear tones:</p> - -<p>"I am glad that it has fallen on me!"</p> - -<p>Suddenly the sound of drums and horns and a great deal of shouting -broke the silence. The Emperor had said farewell to his household, -and in great clamor the slaves and the favorites and the troops of -beautiful children were departing from the city. The Emperor's heralds -were calling his councilors to the great audience chamber. White Wing -heard the treacherous creatures scuttle from the little room in haste, -and he heard the dice which they had been using rattle to the floor as -they upset a table in their hurry to get out. Slowly and cautiously, -he looked into the room. It was deserted. Then he went in and looked -around him and picked up one of the little dice. It was a small, black -jewel, curiously engraven. He tucked it under his wing and stalked -quietly through the curtained doorway, and down the long corridor -with its shadowy arches until it brought him to the sunny courts that -bounded his own walled garden.</p> - -<p>What he achieved by this simple act of sagacity is quickly told. -The Emperor, who had known nothing of the secret council, guessed -immediately that it had taken place when White Wing dropped the black -counter at his feet. They were alone in the garden, and it was late -in the evening. The bird little knew that this was not one of the -gaming dice at all, but the sacred dice used to settle life and death -decisions in the Emperor's secret debates with his court.</p> - -<p>Puzzled as the Emperor was at first, he was not long in establishing -his conclusions. He had just been told by the priests that he must -sacrifice the white flamingo, and his half-brother had been alarmingly -affectionate, having even caressed his shoulder as he thanked the great -ruler for having placed him at the head of certain troops which were of -the greatest importance in the forthcoming battles.</p> - -<p>Then the Emperor knew what to do. He said nothing but was exceedingly -watchful. Coming early in the morning to White Wing he bade the great -bird good-by.</p> - -<p>"You must fly over to your own people, dear bird," he said. "My enemies -will eventually kill you if you do not go. And perhaps, when these -great invaders have taken my city, I shall be reduced to slavery. You -have been my greatest pleasure, and you have served here all that -you were intended to. You have saved my life, for the scheme to kill -me while I was to be offering you in sacrifice has all come out. I -drew confession from certain of the councilors when I had them in the -dungeons but an hour ago. Never would I have suspected them but for -your wonderful means of warning me."</p> - -<p>Then, in the earliest dawn, before the blazing sun had blanched the -palace walls, White Wing soared slowly into the air, leaving the great -Emperor standing alone by the deserted altar. There were no cheering -crowds as there had been when he came to that terrible city, and in -their stead were camps and tents and all the sights of preparing war -upon the plains. But the Emperor's hands were upraised and his face was -very splendid as he gazed off into the heavens whither his wonderful -white flamingo was disappearing.</p> - -<p>All that consoled the bird in the sorrow of leaving his master was the -thought of having saved the great man's life. But for that, he would -have died from misery, believing that he should have stayed there until -his own life was taken. He little knew that thousands of his own kind -were waiting for him. But such was the case, and he soon learned as -he flew toward the setting sun, retracing his journey, that he was -already the prince of birds. Whole flocks of beautiful parrots, and -great orioles, and tropic thrushes would greet him and fly in hosts -ahead of him. From the great city down through the wide valley and the -dark forests to the coast, he traveled with couriers to tell all the -birds of his coming. And as he passed, at last, out over the ocean to -find the island whence he had come, there were flocks and flocks of -flamingoes overtaking and surrounding him.</p> - -<p>One strange thing he saw, and that was a fleet of ships with sails -greater than ever he had dreamed of. These were galleons of the -conquerors, come to destroy the city of barbaric splendors where White -Wing had been a courtier. But he did not know this, and only marveled -at the sight.</p> - -<p>At last, when his escort had grown to such numbers that, flying as they -did in single file, the line of birds seemed to arch the sky from east -to west, he came to the coast which he knew to be his own. Then to the -selfsame stretch of coral beach, where the palms were leaning over the -dunes exactly as he had left them. With slackened speed and flying -lower and lower until he caught the scent of the old familiar earth, -he skimmed above the lagoon and was suddenly over his home! White Wing -flew straight to his mother.</p> - -<p>The thousand relatives and as many new ones were there too, and with -the arrival of White Wing's friends, who had glided in, one after -another, the confusion of greetings in Flamingotown was deafening.</p> - -<p>From then until his death, which was not to be for many, many years, -White Wing, whose adventures had become known until they were -household words, was the ruler of all flamingoes everywhere.</p> - -<p>That he was beneficent, you may be sure. And for one thing, quite the -greatest thing in his life, he instituted a change in family life by -decreeing that all the gentlemen should take their turn in helping -the lady birds to hatch their eggs. It is from his reign that this -admirable custom dates, as Mrs. Leatherback will assure you.</p> - -<p>As for that generous lady, she came to have her part in the history of -the times. For the great explorers who came to ravish the kingdom where -White Wing received such honors, happened to take Mrs. Leatherback -captive on one of the islands. They took her aboard ship and were all -for taking her back with them to the great court of Spain. But even -after they had branded her with the arms of the court of Castile and -Aragon, and had secured her to the deck of the galleon, she eluded -them and fell into the sea. Consequently she has lived these hundreds -of years a member, as she is pleased to think, of the greatest court -in Europe. She soon came in the round of her journeys to White Wing's -island and there she visited him a long time. So they could recount -their adventures; and he has never ceased to love her for the cheer -she gave him that first night of his lonely journey. For her part, she -is only too proud of her Prince Flamingo, as she calls him, thereby -disputing honors with the gentle mother bird, who has always been too -happy to talk much about her little White Wing.</p> - -<p>So all the above is just as the Heron tells it. And he is the one -who knows Mrs. Leatherback the best, and he has had it from her many -times. Moreover, he always ends with the wish that in some way that old -turtle could have the last desire of her life fulfilled. Strange as it -may seem, she has never seen the wonderful device of the Spanish Arms -which was branded and carved upon her back. It gives her a wry neck to -attempt it and she has given up trying. So she always lives in hope of -finding a looking-glass some day at the bottom of the sea.</p> - -<p>But meanwhile she contents herself with getting her friends to tell -her how it looks, and it is because the Heron is very particular to do -this, and do it well, thereby making the old lady feel comfortable, -that he can always get her to relate the story of Prince Flamingo.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XV" id="XV">XV</a></h2> - -<h3>MOTHER FOX'S HOSPITAL</h3> - - -<p>Virginia was a very little girl when she visited the home of the -animals under the garnet hill. She was the only person who had ever -been there, as the good Mrs. Fox assured her, and the only way, indeed, -that she can prove that she had actually been there at all is to ask -her pet cat, who accompanied her, whether it is all true or not. Always -the cat blinks his eyes with the most knowing air, and nods his head. -So that is proof enough.</p> - -<p>Virginia was gathering blueberries and she had strayed farther and -farther away from the farm house until she suddenly found that she -could no longer see the top of the red chimney, nor the peak of the -barn. Never had her little feet carried her so far into the pastures as -this. To make it worse, she could not seem to find her way back. The -low birch trees and the sweet fern seemed taller, and the light beneath -them was not so warm and bright.</p> - -<p>Virginia started to run, but she had taken only a few steps when she -tripped and fell. It almost seemed that the briary vine in the grass -had reached out and entangled her. But she was a brave little girl and -would sooner do anything than cry out. It was discouraging to have all -the berries in her pail spilled over the ground, but she set to work -picking them out of the moss and leaves, while she kept wishing that -somebody would come to help her.</p> - -<p>Then she pricked her finger on a thorn. It was then, she knows, that -she began to hear lovely voices; for no sooner had she felt the sharp -scratch than she heard a sweet sighing song all around her.</p> - -<p>Of all the wishes in her life the greatest was to know what the trees -and the birds were saying. Now she knew.</p> - -<p>For on all sides the voices were as sweet as music. "What pretty blue -eyes she has!" and "How lovely her cheeks are!" and "Just see her -golden hair!" were remarks she caught between the sounds of silvery -laughter.</p> - -<p>She jumped up, leaving her berries on the ground, and started again to -run. For she was suddenly afraid of these voices, even though they were -so sweet.</p> - -<p>A familiar <i>Me-ew</i> greeted her. It was her pet cat, Tiger, who then -began talking to her as plainly as though he had been to school and -could read and write.</p> - -<p>"How fine this is!" he exclaimed. "To think you can hear at last!" -and he went on explaining that no one had ever understood what he was -saying before.</p> - -<p>"How often," he purred, "have I followed you into the pasture, hoping -that you would prick your finger on the right sort of thorn, so that -at last we could talk things over! My, but won't all the world be glad -to know of this!" he added. "Why, it doesn't happen once in a thousand -years!"</p> - -<p>With that the beautiful gray cat ran off into the woods, only to -return accompanied by troops and troops of beautiful little creatures: -the field mice, who didn't seem to object to the cat at all, and the -squirrels, even the shiny moles, and some very excited birds, who flew -round and round the little girl, calling her name, and telling her how -they loved her.</p> - -<p>Why she should have followed the cat into the woods, Virginia did not -know, but he ran ahead and bade her follow, and she seemed only too -willing to do so. The trees spoke so pleasantly as she passed them that -it was impossible not to go on.</p> - -<p>"How she does resemble her great-grandmother!" said one of the trees. -It was an aged oak who had known Virginia's family ever since it had -settled in those parts. She felt that she must stop and return the -greetings, for she was always carefully polite to old people.</p> - -<p>"Why, it was my little brother," the tree continued, "who was ordained -to the ministry in your grandfather's church. Your grandfather did the -preaching, and my brother held the floor up. He also was cut by the -builders to carry the major load of the roof. You see I have known your -family a long while. I am the oldest white oak in this woodland."</p> - -<p>But before he could say another word, a beautiful red fox jumped out of -the bushes and told the tree to stop talking.</p> - -<p>"Don't weary that little girl with all your memories," Red Fox said. -"If you get started, you'll never stop. And she has an invitation to -Mother Fox's Hospital. She must come immediately."</p> - -<p>All this was very strange. Virginia wished to talk to the good old oak -some more, but Red Fox gave her a knowing look and held out his hand -in such a cordial way, and so urgently, that she bade the venerable -tree good-afternoon and ran to catch up with her new friend, who was -already beckoning to her from some distance ahead. Bounding along the -path beside her came Tiger Kitty, whom Virginia was indeed glad to have -with her.</p> - -<p>She was no longer on familiar ground. The woods were dense, and she -felt that she was running a long way from home.</p> - -<p>But suddenly Red Fox stopped. They had come to what appeared a jagged -and moss-grown rock. It was the side of an old pit that had been dug -into the shoulder of the hill, and at any other time Virginia would -have remembered it as the old quarry where once she had been taken by -her brothers and sisters on a picnic. But now she saw that it concealed -in reality a doorway. Moss-grown and dark, the door was hardly -discoverable, but it opened easily enough when Red Fox applied his key. -And standing there to greet Virginia and Tiger Kitty was a wonderful -old fox, with spectacles and a frilled bonnet and the kindliest face in -the world.</p> - -<p>"This is my mother," said Red Fox; "she's the matron."</p> - -<p>"Yes," the good old soul admitted, "I am Mother Fox, and this -charitable home for the destitute of the field and forest is named -after me."</p> - -<p>Virginia was embarrassed, but only for a minute, for sweet old Mother -Fox invited her into the parlor and then, after she had been offered -the most delicious of cakes, and the creamiest of milk, and had eaten a -refreshing supper, she was shown through the home.</p> - -<p>Living there was every poor animal that Virginia had ever known. And -they were all in such supreme comfort and having such a good time that -she was sure she had never seen so many people so happy all at once, -never in her whole life.</p> - -<p>"Our only discontented inmate is Mr. Wolf," said the matronly Mrs. Fox. -"Would you like to see him?"</p> - -<p>She led the way down a long hall to where Mr. Wolf was seated in a -little room of his own, gnawing and snapping at his nurses, who were -none other than the hedgehog and the big snapping turtle.</p> - -<p>"Two rather sharp people for nurses," Red Fox remarked, almost in -apology; "but you see it takes some one with a good deal of character -to handle him."</p> - -<p>In a great room which was a dining-hall, with high tables for the big -animals, and low ones for the little folk, she saw the animals that -were privileged to be there eating the most tempting dishes. There was -lettuce salad for the rabbits, and corn-bread for the field mice, and -blackberry pudding for the whole partridge family, and persimmon jam -for the 'possums, and even lily roots creamed and on toast for the poor -old muskrats.</p> - -<p>"All charity," said Red Fox. "All charity! Out in the world every one -of these poor animals was cruelly hurt, or starved. Of course, we're -hunted and stoned, and chased, and shot at. That's all men want—a -chance to kill us. Here's where we take care of our cripples and -paupers."</p> - -<p>Virginia was wonderstruck and was about to ask a question, when a -lame but beautiful lady tapped Mother Fox's shoulder and asked her to -introduce the visitor.</p> - -<p>"Oh, surely! Pardon me, Lady Orchid."</p> - -<p>Lady Orchid put the sweetest, tenderest hand into Virginia's, and the -little girl looked into the loveliest flower face in the world.</p> - -<p>"I'm Lady Arethusa," the wonderful creature breathed, as she curtsied -very low to the little girl. "You see I'm crippled. I was pulled up by -the roots in such a careless way. You did it yourself, if you remember, -only the other day."</p> - -<p>The little girl wanted to cry, but the lovely orchid repented having -come too close to the truth, and quickly added:</p> - -<p>"No; it was your brother, possibly. At any rate, I beg you never to -pull any of us out in that violent way again. I am sure we all love you -too much. We Arethusas have lived on your place a great many years. The -small white violets, by the way, that live by the door-step at your -home, tell me that they can't get close enough to you and your sweet -mother, they love you so. And there is a lovely begonia living here -whom your mother lost, despite her care. Some one neglected it, and it -died of thirst. Your mother was visiting at the time, I believe."</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Mother Fox; "that is so often the case. Fathers and -brothers are very careless in such matters. They are not so tender as a -rule with their plant cousins under their roof."</p> - -<p>Then, as they left the dining-room, where the animals were just -reaching the dessert, who should come flying up to Virginia but a -beautiful oriole. He too, it seems, knew the little girl.</p> - -<p>"Yes, indeed, dear child," he sang out to her; "I have known you a long -time. I live in the elm-tree. And I want to thank you for those lovely -threads that you put out on the lawn for me when I was refurnishing my -house. I am here to call on some relatives, but I will sing to you by -your window in the morning."</p> - -<p>Then Virginia remembered that a ball of beautiful worsted had been -missing from her mother's work-basket after it had been left on the -porch. This explained it all. She was astonished, but the gray cat -laughed out merrily:</p> - -<p>"Yes, he stole it; but the dear bird thinks you left it there for him. -If you look out of the attic window when we get home you can see his -nest in the elm. It's mostly blue worsted."</p> - -<p>"Why didn't you tell me before, if you knew it?" Virginia asked, really -grieved at Tiger Kitty's lack of confidence.</p> - -<p>"Why," repeated the cat, and then he only smiled very broadly, "because -you were always deaf, my dear."</p> - -<p>Presently, while they were walking down the corridor, the merriest -music burst on Virginia's ear. In a room all to themselves, the rabbits -were rehearsing for a minstrel show. They were dancing in the most -giddy fashion, and she could not help laughing aloud as she watched -them.</p> - -<p>But as she laughed, something happened, and the cat, who had just -opened his mouth to say something, closed it with a sudden look of -disappointment.</p> - -<p>"You see, she spilled the berries, and fell asleep while trying to pick -them up."</p> - -<p>It was a familiar voice. Virginia turned around. Her mother and big -brother and little sister were kneeling beside her in the ferns. It was -evening and she could hear the cows calling to be let through the farm -gate.</p> - -<p>"And I never said good-by to Mr. Red Fox!" she exclaimed. Then she -rubbed her eyes and smiled, for they were all kissing her, and big -brother was putting her on his shoulder.</p> - -<p>Her strange experience she kept to herself for a long time. But she -talked it all over with Tiger Kitty, and he seemed to understand it, -every word. Most of all when she climbed the attic stairs and looked at -the bird's nest, it was of blue worsted, as plain as plain could be.</p> - -<p>And she was sure then and for the rest of her life that the birds and -the flowers loved the old home with its trees and its gardens as much -as she did.</p> - -<p>And she always thought of sweet Lady Orchid when she gathered wild -flowers.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XVI" id="XVI">XVI</a></h2> - -<h3>WHY MRS. CROW IS BLACK</h3> - - -<p>It was the dead of night. Old Mr. Fox left his cozy den and went to -call on his friend, the wise old Mrs. Owl. For many years it had been -his custom to do this, for he found her the most engaging company. Her -home was in a hollow tree and she was always obliging enough to put her -head out the window and inquire who was there, if any of her friends -knocked hard and long at the basement door. It was useless to call in -the daytime: she was always asleep while the sun shone, and in the -early evening she would be abroad hunting her supper. But after the -cocks crew at midnight, and people in their beds were turning over to -get their best sleep, Mrs. Owl would come flying through the woods and -across the river, and up the hill to her own great tree, having eaten -heartily of whatever she may have found. Then she was ready to sit on -her window ledge for a visit with her friends.</p> - -<p>So it was very late, and the woods was still as death, when <i>patter, -patter</i>, through the underbrush came Mr. Fox to call on Mrs. Owl. -Arriving at the bridge across the river, he jumped nimbly to the -hand-rail and trotted on that narrow board as easily as a cat walks -over the fence. For he was sure some dog would pass that way, come -morning, but no dog would ever scent the wise fox who walks the rail.</p> - -<p>"Always sniffing at the ground, these foolish dogs," thought Mr. Fox; -and he laughed to himself as he jumped down into the bushes and ran on -to the hill and the great cottonwood tree, whither Mrs. Owl herself had -just returned.</p> - -<p>With a big stick he hit the tree a hard blow. Then he barked politely -and sat down to wait.</p> - -<p>Way up in the top of the dead tree the window was open. Two great eyes -looked out.</p> - -<p>"Who's there? Who's there?" came in the most dreadful tones.</p> - -<p>"Only your friend, a brother thief," laughed Mr. Fox; for in the -company of Mrs. Owl he could afford this slanderous admission.</p> - -<p>"Ha, ha!" screamed Mrs. Owl, who didn't mind being called a thief at -all. In fact, she laughed so hard and long that every living being -asleep in those woods awoke and shivered with a sudden terror. For -it was the laughter of Mrs. Owl, you know, that made the blacksnake's -blood run cold, and never has he been able to warm it up again, even by -lying all day in the sun.</p> - -<p>She scratched her ear and leaned a little farther out. After -controlling her mirth, she grew very solemn and whispered down to Mr. -Fox that she had discovered but an hour ago a certain roost with the -most enticing hole in the roof.</p> - -<p>"Easy and safe, you know," she giggled. "Two broilers and a fowl I've -had this very night." Then she laughed again, "Ha, ha! Hoo, hoo!"</p> - -<p>But Mr. Fox knew she was lying. She was only trying to get him into -trouble.</p> - -<p>"Thanks for the hint," he barked; "but it is easier to get in by the -roof than out by the roof, you know, unless one is gifted as you are -with wings, Mrs. Owl."</p> - -<p>"True, true," she said, in her wisest tones.</p> - -<p>"And I really came, dear Mrs. Owl, to ask a question of you. Can you -tell me why the crows are black?"</p> - -<p>There was a long silence, for Mrs. Owl must have time to think. All -things were known to her, but she revealed her knowledge only with the -greatest deliberation.</p> - -<p>First she looked all around, then she laughed again, this time so loud -and long that Mr. Fox thought she never would have done, and at last -she exclaimed:</p> - -<p>"Why, Mr. Fox, the crows are black for just the same reason that you -ought to be black and I ought to be black too."</p> - -<p>At this Mr. Fox was puzzled, but as Mrs. Owl seemed to think it such -a joke he joined in her laughter, and between them they made the most -distressing noise.</p> - -<p>"You see," she said at last, while she held her sides and caught her -breath. "You see, the whole miserable lot of them, the crows, used to -be as bright and giddy as overgrown humming-birds. Red, white, and -blue, they were. They would have been the national bird, I'm told, -but the eagle always takes that honor by his overbearing ways. For my -part, such honors are doubtful. I'd rather stand for wisdom than for -politics. But, be that as it may, the crows were once the gayest of the -birds. It was their mad career of theft and murder which brought the -change."</p> - -<p>At this they both screamed with laughter again, and it was a long time -before Mrs. Owl could resume her story.</p> - -<p>"Complaints against the crows came from everywhere. The robins—bless -their souls—the larks, the pigeons, and every family you ever heard -of, were determined to do something to the crows for snatching their -young ones and stealing their eggs.</p> - -<p>"Of course, you know, similar complaints have been lodged against me," -she added; "but the point is, my family was never caught. Besides, the -crows get corn and such to eat, and the whole world felt that the crow -was stepping out of his class, you know, when he took to eating birds -and eggs and frogs. It was the greediness of an upstart family. That's -what it was."</p> - -<p>The very thought of this aspect of the case made Mrs. Owl so indignant -that she screamed and hooted loud and long.</p> - -<p>"It was all long, long ago," she said. "The birds met in a great -meeting. Something had to be done, and it was thought that war would -be declared and the crows would all be killed or driven to live on a -lonely island. But somebody, Mrs. Yellowhammer, I think it was, put -in a word in their favor. She was a tender-hearted fool and recalled -something decent the crows had done. She said that they had left her a -lot of acorns one cold winter, and she felt so much obliged to them. -The crows would have been done to death except for what she said. There -were two doves on the jury, too; and they're a weak and sentimental -lot, you know. At any rate, the sentence which the judge, a wonderful -old owl, pronounced, was to the effect that the crows must forever go -in black. They had to fly all the way to Egypt, where the little people -live, to get their clothes changed.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a name="illus6" id="illus6"></a> - <img src="images/illus6.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>"<span class="smcap">The Birds Met in a Great Meeting. Something Had to -Be Done</span>"</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"Oh, it was hard for them. Poor Mrs. Crow could think of nothing to -say but <i>Caught! Caught! Caught!</i> and that grew to be <i>Caw! Caw! Caw!</i> -after a while. Sometimes I feel a little sorry for her and her family; -but, as you know, they are very much down on me. I can't imagine why."</p> - -<p>She winked a long green wink at Mr. Fox. For she knew, and he knew, -that Mrs. Owl had that very night eaten all the little crows she could -steal from their nests. And he knew that Mrs. Owl would never dare to -fly abroad in daylight for the crows. Then both of them made the woods -fairly shiver with their laughter.</p> - -<p>But it was growing light, and Mrs. Owl and Mr. Fox both felt that a -night well spent deserved a long day of sleep, so they parted and Mr. -Fox went to his home, greatly pleased to know why the crows are -black, and why they must forever say, "Caught! Caught! Caught!"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XVII" id="XVII">XVII</a></h2> - -<h3>MRS. MUSKRAT'S POOR RELATIONS</h3> - - -<p>Mrs. Muskrat owned a beautiful home of her own on the edge of the -mill-pond. She had built the house years ago, and had kept it in the -best of repair. It was cleverly concealed at a point where tufts of -grass and overhanging bushes afforded protection, and at the same time -it was well out in the pond, quite inaccessible to Mrs. Muskrat's -enemies.</p> - -<p>The roof rose like an inverted bowl over a circular wall of mud and -sticks; and so neatly were the straws and sticks matted over the top -that the house seemed at first glance to be but an accidental confusion -of dried leaves and old branches. This was as it should be, for Mrs. -Muskrat, like many persons of good taste, preferred to have a home of -interior elegance and ease to one with merely a showy exterior.</p> - -<p>It was autumn and Mrs. Muskrat was congratulating herself upon her well -filled larder and the prospects of a comfortable winter.</p> - -<p>"I am always glad," she would say to the neighbor that happened in, -"I am always glad that I moved down here from that upper pond when I -did. It was a poor place to live and one was in constant danger of -the water's being drawn off. Those farmers are so inconsiderate you -can never tell when they will take it into their heads to drain the -meadows, and then it is all up with us poor creatures."</p> - -<p>She would then continue her narrative, after the manner of many people -who take interest in no affairs but their own, and would probably -burden her caller with the full account of how she had prevailed upon -her husband, the young Dr. Muskrat, to leave the shallows of the upper -home and set up for himself on the edges of the deep and permanent -mill-pond.</p> - -<p>"And," she would always conclude, "a mill-pond is so very much more -aristocratic—not to mention a much better growth of provisions. -Personally, I love deep water, and the sound of the mill-wheel is dear -to my heart. No; I shall never go back to the upper pond."</p> - -<p>Always the neighbors knew that Mrs. Muskrat, in alluding to the -elegance of the mill-pond society, was, in point of fact, repudiating -her poor relations, who had gone on living in the distant meadows. -For, like many people who move to the town and prosper, waxing fat and -successful, she was given to a feeling of pity that sounded a good deal -like contempt for the poor relatives back in the country.</p> - -<p>Little did she realize what the winter was to bring forth as she swam -in and out of her front door, crossing to the opposite shores and back, -always bringing the tenderest roots and lily stalks for her winter -provisions. She was very content with the world, although she regretted -the departure of her best friend, Mrs. Thrush, whose nest was in the -alders almost over her very head, and she was sorry that the turtles -had found it necessary to retire into the deep mud for their winter's -sleep.</p> - -<p>The sun was bright, however, and cheerful sounds came from the fields -where men were loading pumpkins into the farm wagon, and from the -orchards came the laughter of merry boys gathering apples. This drew -her attention to the old, neglected tree which grew on the bank of the -pond. Its fruit was bright, and there was much of it, but it hung high.</p> - -<p>"If only there comes a good brisk wind to-night," she thought, "those -apples will blow to the ground; and I can think of nothing more to my -taste than a bit of fresh fruit."</p> - -<p>Hardly had she indulged these pleasant thoughts of good eating, when -she was surprised to see a visitor approaching her house. It was none -other than the leanest and poorest of her cousins from the upper pond. -Something in his presence told her of trouble to come. And her first -question was not at all too polite.</p> - -<p>"Why, what on earth are you down here for?" exclaimed Mrs. Muskrat. -"Haven't you anything to do at home? I should think you would be busy -putting in your own winter stores."</p> - -<p>Before she could get any further, her lanky cousin interrupted her.</p> - -<p>"Yes, yes; you would naturally think, Cousin Flattail, that we would -be as busy as you are. But we have no longer any home to store things -in, and we are at the edge of winter with starvation ahead of us. -Farmer Jones drew the pond off yesterday. Already the shores of our -poor meadow are drained of every drop. Our house is high and dry and we -shall freeze to death if we stay in it."</p> - -<p>With that they both looked up, for in the quiet society of the -mill-pond a great confusion reigned.</p> - -<p>All the poor relations were coming down from the upper -meadows! Cousins, uncles, aunts, and brothers-in-law. It was an -invasion—muskrats big and muskrats little.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Muskrat gave one look and then bobbed down into the water and -rushed through her house to lock the back door, scuttling again to the -front to secure her main entrance by seating herself directly across it.</p> - -<p>"There now!" she chattered angrily. "I'll watch any of you get into -this house!"</p> - -<p>For in the confusion of things people are often more distracted than -need be, and Mrs. Muskrat was behaving very ugly and selfish because -she hadn't taken time to think. All her neighbors behaved in much the -same way at first; but when they saw the poor little baby cousins -and reflected upon what this misfortune meant to the children, their -hearts softened, and one by one the doors were opened, and the families -invited in different ways to make the best of it. They must all live -through the winter somehow.</p> - -<p>But what they thought was going to be the season of the greatest -hardship turned out to be the most brilliant winter that the muskrats -had ever known, and the cousins all concluded that they never before -had really appreciated one another.</p> - -<p>Most exceptional, indeed, was Mrs. Flattail Muskrat's good luck, for -she chose to live with her the cleverest of her nephews, the lively -little Skinny Muskrat, who proved to be a wonderful musician. Every -evening of the long winter they had delightful parties and dances in -the snug quarters of their homes. All about them would be solid ice, -and overhead, around the roofs, the driven, packed snow; but within, -where all was warm and snug, there was the greatest merriment.</p> - -<p>Little Skinny Muskrat was in great demand. His aunt always went with -him out to supper or to spend the evening. And it was surprising how -much more she got out of her neighbors than ever she had enjoyed at -their tables before the adoption of this charming nephew.</p> - -<p>It was the usual thing to say after supper: "And now won't Skinny give -us some music? He plays so beautifully on his toe-nails!"</p> - -<p>So the obliging Skinny would blow through his nails and produce the -scratchiest and most exciting dance tunes in the world.</p> - -<p>So eagerly was his society sought, that Mrs. Muskrat at last hit upon -the idea of inviting her neighbors in, but with the hint that they -bring their suppers with them. This was the crowning achievement of -her thrift, and she never ceased to congratulate herself upon having -thought of it. For her house was full of food from top to bottom, -and she became the most popular person in the happy group of Muskrat -society.</p> - -<p>But winter melted very slowly into spring. And the provisions for -everybody were growing low. Day after day Muskratdom peeped out into -the cold world that was still black and gray. Not a sign of anything -green; not even a bluebird in the orchards. Little by little the -muskrats grew thinner and it was harder to be gay. At last, just as -they were wondering why they had ever eaten so merrily, and ever been -so prodigal with what they had, and several of the muskrat elders were -up-braiding them roundly in an effort to put the blame on some one, -what should they hear but a robin! And in a few days the cowslips began -to show the green tips of their leaves. Then at last the grass on the -edge of the pond showed sweet and green where it had lived all winter -under the heavy snows.</p> - -<p>Their hard times were over! And in all the general rejoicing, nothing -gave them greater happiness than to think they had all weathered it -together.</p> - -<p>Nor was Mrs. Muskrat sorry to hear of the immediate marriage of her -nephew Skinny with one of the prettiest little lady muskrats in the -mill-pond. She was thereby able to congratulate herself again. This -time as a matchmaker. And so long as Mrs. Muskrat could be thinking of -how clever, or how thrifty, she was, her happiness was complete.</p> - -<p>But you may judge of her neighbors' surprise when she left her snug -house in the mill-pond and went back with Skinny and his wife, and many -of the relatives who moved to the meadows. Something told her that -the roots and the grasses and the tender bulbs would be engagingly -delicious when the waters came back on the meadows; and she was a wise -old muskrat, for those who went back lived a long summer on the fat -of the land. Here again she felt the wisdom of her course, and she -ventured to be truly hospitable by urging her adopted relatives to -return with her, upon the approach of winter, to the deep, warm pond.</p> - -<p>That is why there is both a winter and a summer residence in the -highest society the world over. It is a sad lot for the muskrats who -have not both a pond and an upper meadow to enjoy suitably and in -season, as the good earth intends it to be enjoyed. But this last -remark is a bit of wisdom from the mouth of Mr. Owl, and we must credit -him with it.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XVIII" id="XVIII">XVIII</a></h2> - -<h3>MR. WILD GOOSE AND MRS. GREBE</h3> - - -<p>Far, far out on a great prairie there is a wide river which flows -lazily between its banks, apparently going nowhere at all, but in -reality bearing steadily toward the rising sun and the deep valley -where another river rolls mightily to the southward and the ocean. -The prairie is not level like a floor, but rises and falls in ridges -that are sometimes miles apart, and between these rolling heights of -the grassy land are unnumbered little lakes: bodies of sparkling water -hidden in the folds of the land.</p> - -<p>It was over this vast stretch of plains that the great birds of the -Arctic were winging their way one early morning in the late summer, for -they had started to their winter quarters in good season.</p> - -<p>"<i>Honk, honk!</i>" the leader of the birds kept calling; and as he -trumpeted, those in the rear would answer him, for even as they flew -they had much to talk of, and just now the whole flock of them were -discussing the subject of breakfast.</p> - -<p>For they had been flying ever since the peep of dawn, and had come -through mists and the cold upper air, covering a hundred miles of their -journey before the sun really bathed the plains in light, and they -were looking for the spot which was familiar to them as a good one for -breakfast.</p> - -<p>Lower and lower they flew as the leader kept signaling to them, until -at last the wedge-shaped formation in which they traveled came like a -pointed kite in long, sliding descents to within a few hundred feet of -the earth.</p> - -<p>They could see, of course, all the lay of the land for many miles -around; but they were particular geese, a trifle fussy as you might -say, and by no means would any one of the many little lakes suit their -fancy. They were flying toward one spot out of all others which could -afford just what they wanted for a meal.</p> - -<p>At last they apparently settled down to a definite direction for they -ceased to describe the slanting circles, and in one long slide through -the air, their wings stretched perfectly motionless, they coasted to -the ground.</p> - -<p>The deep grasses almost hid them from view, but the little people who -lived there saw them, and it was with great surprise that their friends -turned from their feeding and pluming and bathing to exclaim over this -sudden arrival.</p> - -<p>There were Mr. and Mrs. Wild Duck, and their beautiful brood of little -ones, and there were many of Mrs. Prairie Chicken's family, as well -as crowds and crowds of little Redbirds and many of the handsome -Kingfishers, all chattering at once over an ample breakfast table. For -there was a solid growth of wild celery around this lake, a bed of -plants so dense that it was for all the world like the heaviest moss. -And of all things beloved by the wild fowl, this juicy and spicy celery -is the favorite.</p> - -<p>The leader of the newcomers looked about him. That was the first thing -for him to do, under all circumstances; for he was the oldest and the -wisest of the flock and as a watchman he was sagacious beyond all -others in his family. While his mate and all the others fell to tearing -at the tender shoots of celery, scarcely paying attention to anything -but their voracious appetites, he was standing with head erect and eyes -turning in all directions to be sure of no untoward sign. He could see -and even scent danger a long way off.</p> - -<p>Apparently he was satisfied for the moment, for he fell to and nibbled -as the rest were doing, with his head almost buried in the rich tangle -of celery. And as he progressed in his feasting, he came closer and -closer to the edge of the lake, until suddenly he was just above a nest -that lay almost entirely hidden from view.</p> - -<p>It was the home of little Mrs. Grebe, the very handsomest and the -shyest of the people dwelling here. She was right there by her nest -of sticks, which literally floated on the water, and her shining neck -of velvety feathers and her brown and silvery body were strikingly -beautiful in contrast to the deep green of the rushes and reeds.</p> - -<p>"Why, my dear friend!" the noble Wild Goose exclaimed. "How you -surprised me! Though of course I knew you lived here. This is not the -first year we have visited this place, by any means, and yet, when we -flew North last spring and stopped here I do not remember seeing you."</p> - -<p>"Oh, Mr. Goose," came in quick reply, "you can't imagine the -misfortunes that have overtaken me; and it was on their account that I -was not here in the early summer when you passed over."</p> - -<p>With that Mrs. Grebe hung her dainty head, which was beautifully tufted -about the ears, giving her the look of wearing a jaunty cap.</p> - -<p>"I am the Widow Grebe," was all she could say.</p> - -<p>Mr. Goose dried his eyes by rubbing them on his snowy breast. For, -although he was a stern old gander, he had the most melting heart for -the sad plight of widows and orphans.</p> - -<p>And the fatherless ones were immediately discovered to view, for Mrs. -Grebe moved ever so slightly and six tiny little Grebes twittered and -chirped at her feet.</p> - -<p>The sight was very moving, and the doughty old warrior commanded -himself sufficiently to ask the particulars.</p> - -<p>"Yes," the dainty little lady Grebe said. "We were a devoted pair, my -husband and I. You know the Grebes, how they are like to die of broken -heart if one or the other is killed. They're like the cooing dove, you -know, very devoted. But my dear, beautiful mate was shot before my -very eyes. Yes, the bullet was meant for me, because it is the mother -Grebe's beautiful breast feathers that they are after. But it was he -who was killed. We both dived, but when I came up from under the water -after going as far as I could, I looked in vain for him. Men in a -boat were reaching out for something, and it was my own mate they were -lifting up from the water. When they saw it was not the mother bird, -they threw his body back into the lake. After a while it sank and I -knew that it was all hopeless."</p> - -<p>Mr. Goose knew not what to say. But before he could even begin to -express his feelings, the gentle Grebe added to her account of woes the -fact that her first brood of the season had all perished, too.</p> - -<p>"These little fellows are but just hatched," she went on. "They will -never know their dear father; but what happened to the first brood -of the season is the worst. We were, as you know, far south of here. -Another lake where we go for the winter. No one knew that in that lake -dwelt the worst of snapping turtles. But such was the fact. In one -month our brood of dear little chicks was, every one of them, seized -while swimming and dragged under by the great turtles!"</p> - -<p>Then, like so many people who have suffered as much, Mrs. Grebe began -to apologize for telling her woes.</p> - -<p>"It is only because you are so very traveled and wise, Mr. Goose, that -I tell you all my afflictions. Nothing, of course, can amend the -loss of my dear mate. But how I am to protect my children from all my -enemies I cannot say. I am sorely troubled."</p> - -<p>Mr. Goose all this time had only pretended to eat, for he was too much -interested and too deeply concerned to do aught but attend to Mrs. -Grebe's sad plight.</p> - -<p>He thought for a long moment, and then said that he would give her two -pieces of advice, but that she must wait a few moments until he had -thought over his many observations and experiences.</p> - -<p>"True," he said, "I have seen many ways of caring for children. And you -are without assistance. Now my nest is built in almost inaccessible -places, and Mrs. Goose has few enemies in the water to fear. Our chicks -are too large to be pulled under the water by turtles, and our nest is -too well defended by the sentry goose for us to fear the fox or the -wolf. But you, poor Mrs. Grebe, you are indeed sorely put to it. You -must do two things. First, I am sure, you must build farther out from -the shore; and, second, you must take your children with you on your -back when they first venture over the pond.</p> - -<p>"And," he added slyly enough, "don't grieve too long. Perhaps you will -fall in love again."</p> - -<p>Just then, however, he seemed to be suddenly mindful of his own family. -For a distant shot was heard in the air. Everybody stopped eating, and -listened, but nothing more was to be heard. The hunters were far off, -although their presence anywhere within hearing was full of alarm.</p> - -<p>"Remember what I say," the splendid traveler called back, for he was -marshaling his flock.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Grebe could scarcely comprehend what was going on, for it seemed -but a second before all the beautiful geese were in the air again, -flying low over the plain. They would elude the hunters. That she knew. -But she wished the wise captain of them all could have stayed just a -little longer to explain what he meant. How could she carry her young -ones with her? And how build on the water?</p> - -<p>But it is long practise that works out in perfection; and Mrs. Grebe -was soon able to teach her babies to climb on her back and to perch -there with their beaks buried in her soft feathers, and their little -toes digging ahold of her. And she began pushing her nest farther -and farther out into the water until it seemed scarcely to have any -connection with the land at all. Alone, and fearing to leave her nest -unguarded, to this day she covers it with sticks and straw, and when -she turns the eggs over that she is hatching, she smears them with mud -until they are very hard indeed to find. For she is the most suspicious -of birds.</p> - -<p>But if she was indebted to Mr. Wild Goose for his advice, he, on his -part, felt that he had only drawn on his learning as a great traveler. -Had he not seen the tropic swans with their young riding upon their -shoulders? And he knew what it was for. So he was only a generous and -observant bird when he made the suggestion.</p> - -<p>Later that season, however, when a great prairie fire swept the region -and burned everything to the very edges of the lakes, Mrs. Grebe was -thankful indeed that she could carry her babies with her to the center -of the lake, and there ride in safety with them while the reeds and the -grasses blazed on the margin.</p> - -<p>And of this she told Mr. Goose the year after, when he came back. He -had helped better than he knew. But of her second marriage she said -very little, and he did not embarrass her with questions.</p> - -<p>Oh, yes, there is much that the great Wild Goose knows and he is not -too proud to draw upon his wisdom when it is a matter of helping even -such little stay-at-home people as Mrs. Grebe.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XIX" id="XIX">XIX</a></h2> - -<h3>BABY FOX AND MRS. BEAR</h3> - - -<p>There is a great river which comes rushing through the mountains, where -the cliffs are dark with trees, and the heavy snows are slow to melt, -even when spring has made the valleys green and warm. Here, on a cliff, -snug and warm beneath the roots of a great tree, lived Mrs. Bear and -her family of cubs. Three baby bears there were; and in their fine -black coats with dark brown edges they were very handsome.</p> - -<p>For their playmate, however, there was a little stranger. Just a funny -little fox, whose fur was the color of a flame of fire. He was a rare -little fox, being of such a lovely color. Had the hunters in the valley -dreamed that he was living on the mountain above their very farms, they -would never have rested until they got him, for his skin would bring a -fortune in the world of men and money.</p> - -<p>But of this the little fox knew nothing, for ever since the day that -good Mrs. Bear had found him, lost and weak and hungry, where he had -fallen down to sleep in the snow, he had led the happiest of lives -with the little baby bears. They could not run as fast as he could, -nor could they bark as prettily, but they were wonderful at turning -somersaults, and at playing leap-frog, and they were more than generous -to him. They gave him the best place at dinner, and when they all went -to sleep, they cuddled him up between them, while the big Mrs. Bear -slept with her nose to the door. Blow the wind as it might, they were -all as warm as toast.</p> - -<p>But one fine day in early summer Mrs. Bear broke the news to her family -that the foxes, one and all, were looking for their child. One way or -another, the news had gone down from the mountain to the high pastures -and fields at the edge of the farms, and it was joy to the heart of the -fox mother, to learn that her beautiful Fireflame was alive.</p> - -<p>Of course he must go back. And by an arrangement most agreeable to Mrs. -Bear, she was to venture with her adopted baby as far as the blackberry -patches and the great maple groves at the foot of the mountain. The -foxes would meet her, and with sweet little Fireflame safe in the bosom -of his family, all would be well.</p> - -<p>Just as it was planned, the excursion was made; but all the way down -the mountain Mrs. Bear kept finding more and more berries to eat.</p> - -<p>"Here I must stop on my way back," she would say.</p> - -<p>"And here is another wonderful patch! Such blueberries I have never -seen in my whole life."</p> - -<p>So it was late when at last she came to the clearing, and Fireflame -kissed the motherly Mrs. Bear good-by. And it was night before that -good lady could tear herself from the berry patches and trundle herself -home to her family.</p> - -<p>Alas! She had lingered too long. Stray dogs from the farms had scented -her presence; and although she had followed a brook until she was well -on her way to the cliff, and her footsteps were hard to follow, they -had soon learned her whereabouts. Back to their masters they had gone, -and it was scarcely morning when the hunters set out. The dogs were -barking and their great tongues were lolling from their mouths. And the -men with their rifles, and the knives for skinning the bear when they -got her, were striding up the mountain, laughing and shouting as they -went. No sooner were they near the woods, however, than their laughter -ceased and the hounds grew deathly quiet; for that is the way of the -hunter. He must be quiet and quick, for he is the companion of death, -and that terrible creature walks abroad only with cruel men who have -learned his craft.</p> - -<p>The foxes took in the situation at once. But none of them dared to -stir. To cross the path of those hunters was a terrible risk. They -shivered and shook in their deep burrows to hear the hounds.</p> - -<p>"It's lucky for us that the wind blows up the mountain," was all they -could say.</p> - -<p>"And what are they after?" cried poor little Fireflame. "Whom are they -hunting?"</p> - -<p>But then the truth dawned on him. Old Grandpa Fox and good Mother Fox -were quiet, for they did not dare to tell Fireflame that it was dear -Mrs. Bear who was being trailed. Besides, they were ashamed; for it was -plain that something must be done, yet no one dared to move.</p> - -<p>"She ought to have crossed and recrossed the river," said Grandpa Fox. -"That's the way to do it. But I mistrust she was engaged too long with -those tempting berries. She was not discreet."</p> - -<p>"They'll get her and her young ones too!" wailed Mrs. Fox, who was -nearly beside herself. For it is a terrible thing to know what you -ought to do, but to be lacking in the courage to do it.</p> - -<p>Little Fireflame could stand it no longer. In a bound he was out of -the burrow. The whole Fox family screamed after him to come back; but -he paid no heed. He was well up the pasture, and far into the woods -before their voices ceased to ring in his ears.</p> - -<p>It was a test of his wits, and he was very young. No dog could overtake -him if he ran, and he had the start; but to catch up to the hunters and -pass them, and so reach Mrs. Bear in time, was a task that would try -the wits of the wisest fox.</p> - -<p>Now a beautiful bird flew past, and although he never knew why he did -it, the brave little Fireflame followed that bird. Over the brook and -back again he went, always bearing upward to the crest of the mountain. -It was not the path by which he had come the day before, but higher he -went and higher, with the far, snowy peak in front of him.</p> - -<p>The bird would vanish, but after Fireflame had gone as fast as his -beautiful legs would carry him and when he was so tired that he could -not see for the mist in his eyes, the silent wings would be beside him, -then in front; and Fireflame would bend to his race as though it were -just begun.</p> - -<p>Soon he was on the narrow edge of the cliff. The sun lay full and -bright upon the foaming river far below, and Fireflame recognized the -spot. By a path that no one knew, he had come to the home of Mrs. Bear. -There she was, the three little bears with her, playing under the fir -tree.</p> - -<p>He bounded in upon them, but not before the bird had brushed his cheek -with its wings and then flown away, straight as an arrow, into the sun.</p> - -<p>Fireflame gasped out his news in one breath.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a name="illus7" id="illus7"></a> - <img src="images/illus7.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>"<span class="smcap">Fireflame Gasped Out His News in One Breath</span>"</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>It was quick work that brought the Bear family to the edge of the -river. There Mrs. Bear and her cubs began their journey to the fields -of snow, and the caves that were safely beyond the reach of the -hunters. She could not thank Fireflame at all. She could only look at -him with tears of gratitude; while the three little bears, greatly -confused, were as solemn as though they had never played tag in their -lives.</p> - -<p>"But you will visit us some day," the biggest baby bear said, clinging -to Fireflame's paw, "and we will all play together again."</p> - -<p>The hunters climbed up to the deserted cliff; but they never caught the -trail of Mrs. Bear again. For the good river and the soft snows are -friendly to the hunted people, and whatever they know they take with -them to the great ocean, where it is of no use to any one.</p> - -<p>Fireflame went home. He knew that he was safe, so he took his time.</p> - -<p>But to the end of his days, he never knew what bird it was that showed -him the way in the dark and unfamiliar woods.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XX" id="XX">XX</a></h2> - -<h3>CHRISTMAS EVE</h3> - - -<p>Tabby Green was alone in the snowy street. The wind which blew with -gusts of the finest snow had nearly taken Tabby off her feet as she -crept around the corner, and she was so cold and tired that she could -hardly take another step. Just as she was preparing to make a final -jump for the shelter of a flight of steps, a great white dog came -trotting through the snow and, to her great alarm, they ran into each -other.</p> - -<p>"I beg your pardon," said the dog, in the politest way.</p> - -<p>"My fault, I'm sure," said Tabby Green, for she was such a well-bred -kitty that no dog, even if he had the finest manners in the world, -could be more courteous than she.</p> - -<p>Then, "Why, bless me!" she exclaimed. "Can it be you, dear Bobby -Gordon? How glad I am to see you once again!"</p> - -<p>And to show how pleased she was, poor Tabby rubbed her thin sides -against the good dog's legs.</p> - -<p>Together they crouched under the arch of the high stone steps, where, -from a grating in the sidewalk, came a breath of good warm air. It -was close to somebody's furnace room, and only such poor wandering -creatures as the hungry cat and the dog who had known better days can -appreciate the air from a warm cellar.</p> - -<p>They sat close together and Tabby tried to purr, but she was nearly -dead and purr she could not.</p> - -<p>"There, there!" soothed Bobby Gordon, as he licked the snow from poor -kitty's back in the gentlest way. "I wouldn't purr. It's very kind of -you to try, but it's a bad thing to do in the open air. They say it -hurts the voice."</p> - -<p>"And I have no voice left these days," admitted Tabby sadly. "Really, -if it were not for these warm cellar-ways and the few stray scraps of -food that one finds in such shocking places, I wouldn't be alive."</p> - -<p>"But," said Bob, "you're just a poor tramp cat, and no one's bound to -kill you. I'm a dog without a collar, all alone and afraid to be seen. -I can't let any one come near for fear they'll tell the officers about -me. Once I had a collar—such a beauty, too! But it came off within a -week of my great misfortune. You know my master went away, and the -wicked people in the house were going to get rid of me. I knew it. I -wasn't wanted any more. I had to go."</p> - -<p>Great tears stood in Bobby Gordon's eyes but he brushed them away with -his paw.</p> - -<p>Tabby was overcome. In all her wanderings she had never met a case so -sad.</p> - -<p>"Poor Mr. Gordon!" was all she could say. "My poor, hunted friend!"</p> - -<p>Then she thought of her own fireside, the cozy home that she had known. -And simply to think of the saucers of cream, and the plates of dainty -pieces from her mistress' table, made Tabby Green's poor mouth water.</p> - -<p>"Ah, me!" she sighed, and was pretty near to crying when a thought -flashed to her mind. "There's one more chance!" she suddenly exclaimed. -"You have a fine strong voice, and you can make folks hear. Now just -below this house, where that shoemaker's sign hangs out, is a little -girl, and a boy whom I know to be her brother. They stopped and spoke -to me but this very day. I felt that they were kind and understood my -case. But, although I followed to their door, they didn't see me. And, -call out as loudly as I could, my poor voice has grown so weak I know -they didn't hear me."</p> - -<p>"It's little use," was all the weary dog could say. "I've barked at a -hundred doors."</p> - -<p>Kitty waited and yielded to his discouragement. Of course it was no -use, she thought. They must simply wait and wait until the cold and -hunger did its work.</p> - -<p>The wind howled, and the snow, which was piling higher and higher on -the steps, was drifting around them.</p> - -<p>"We Scotchmen die hard," said Bob at last. "The Gordons are a brave -lot. I have to remember that."</p> - -<p>"My mother purred away her life in song," cried Tabby Green. "She -was mindful of her kittens to the last. She said almost in her dying -breath: 'Remember, children! Never scratch, and always dry your tails -when you come in out of the rain.'"</p> - -<p>Suddenly a voice came through the cold night air. It was a child's -voice, as sweet and clear as a bell.</p> - -<p>"Kitty! Kitty! Come, Kitty, come!"</p> - -<p>In an instant the poor, starved cat and the lame, hungry dog looked -out and leaped into the drifting snow.</p> - -<p>A shaft of lamp-light lay wide across the street. The door at the -shoemaker's house was open. There stood a woman, and, with her, two -little children, all wrapped in shawls and blankets. Their little feet -were tucked in bed slippers and their eager faces peered into the night.</p> - -<p>"It's no use, your calling," said the woman. "You were only dreaming. -Any cat out in this storm is a dead cat now."</p> - -<p>"Oh, but I know I heard a kitty."</p> - -<p>"And I heard it, too," cried the little boy.</p> - -<p>"Yes, and you made me get you out of bed to stand here and catch your -death o' cold. I hope you are satisfied."</p> - -<p>Scarcely had she spoken, and just as she was about to close the door, -Bobby Gordon and Tabby Green came bounding past her feet into the hall.</p> - -<p>"'Twas naught but the Christmas angels brought them here!" the woman -said, when they had all seated themselves in the little parlor, which -was the poor shoemaker's shop and kitchen too.</p> - -<p>The Christmas night was turning into morning. Tabby and Bobby Gordon -were sleeping by the stove, and in the bedroom, tucked deep and -warm under their blankets, were the two children who had called the -wanderers in.</p> - -<p>Santa Claus was near, and thousands of lovely angels, drifting like -the snowflakes, whispered to him and beckoned as they flew over the -housetops.</p> - -<p>"This way, this way," they kept singing. And Santa Claus came to the -shoemaker's chimney with such a pack of toys as he takes only to the -sweetest, kindest children in the world. For Santa Claus and all the -good, sweet spirits know the children who love to keep the kitty warm -and happy, and who would never let the poor, deserted dog go friendless.</p> - -<p>"And tell me," whispered Santa Claus to Tabby Green, "tell me every -child that so much as said, 'Poor Kitty!' to you in your wanderings. I -shall take them what they want the most for Christmas."</p> - -<p>So Tabby Green, as fast as she could think, and the dog with the fine -manners told all they knew of the children. And when they had finished, -Santa told them that before another year was out they must have news of -other good children, like the shoemaker's little boy and girl.</p> - -<p>So there are many Tabby Greens and Bobby Gordons, forsaken and driven -and chased by the cruel people of the world. But sometimes a little -girl or boy stops to pet the straying animal, or even calls it home. -And you may be very sure that Santa Claus hears of it.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XXI" id="XXI">XXI</a></h2> - -<h3>MOTHER RABBIT'S ADVICE TO HER BABIES</h3> - - -<p>Mother Rabbit and her five babies lived among the sand-hills down by -the sea. Their cozy home was a small cave in the side of the hill, -and it had two separate entrances, one at each end. These assured her -escape in case a dog or a weasel should enter her home.</p> - -<p>One evening, just as the moon was showing itself, big and round and -yellow, over the tops of the pine trees, Mother Rabbit led her children -out of their cozy home to the big out-of-doors, which they had only -begun to know. Their education must begin, she felt, for they were -nearly one month old and already able to jump and skip around as nimbly -as Mrs. Fox's young sons. She feared that, if left in ignorance longer, -they were likely to become overbold.</p> - -<p>"It is, first of all, my dears, necessary to be cautious in life," -she said. "You must follow me now very quietly to the edge of the -wheat-field, where we will sit down to talk. There are things you must -know."</p> - -<p>So they bounded along behind their mother, so lightly that they made -not a sound on the driest leaves of the woodland, and when they came to -the edge of the field they took the first high jump of their lives, for -the mother selected a place between the bars of the fence and leaped -through it swift and clean.</p> - -<p>"Do it that way," she said. "You must never run under anything in the -dark if you can jump over it."</p> - -<p>Once within the pleasant field, where there was so much green wheat -that the little rabbits wondered how in the world all of it ever could -be eaten, Mrs. Rabbit seated her family around her and began by telling -the babies all about their noble father.</p> - -<p>"Ah, my dears, your father was such a rabbit as one seldom sees. Such -stout legs, and short, too, just as they ought to be! Such a long, -graceful body—and what magnificent ears! They were like flowers, and -stood up in such a taking fashion! Could you but see him, dancing in -the moonlight, hitting his heels together in the air, and wagging -those wonderful ears at the stars, his tail as white and fluffy as a -full-blown rose, why, my children, you would burst with pride. I shall -never see his like again."</p> - -<p>"But where is Daddy Rabbit now?" the babies cried in one voice, fearing -that their mother spoke with sadness. "He isn't dead, is he?"</p> - -<p>"Dead? No, no, my dears," she replied. "He's traveling; you'll see him -yet, I'm sure. He has a way of coming back.</p> - -<p>"But in case he doesn't return, you must know how brave he is, and what -he can do. For you must grow up to be as like him as you can.</p> - -<p>"Any of the neighbors can tell you of his clever ways, and his bravery. -He rid this field of a dreadful dog, once, and the history of these -parts will always relate that exploit. It made him famous."</p> - -<p>At this the little rabbits cocked their ears in wonder.</p> - -<p>"You see," Mother Rabbit went on, "it was this way: Once he returned -to his burrow below the hill over there and discovered, by means of -his keen sense of smell, that a terrier dog was in the burrow. He -immediately called for a friend, and together they closed up the -entrance to the burrow and smothered the dog to death. That's what <i>I</i> -call bravery. And that's the kind of father you had. The world will -expect much of children of your parentage.</p> - -<p>"Your father and I first met on the hillside one evening, and we liked -each other at once. Every evening after, we would meet out there to -play hide-and-seek in the grass and sand. Perhaps he will come to see -you some day, and I want you to be smart and handsome, so that he will -be proud of you.</p> - -<p>"But I have said enough, dear Jacks, and now I must teach you some of -the wise things he knew. He learned at an early age that each rabbit -must procure his own food, and has many foes to shun. To do these -things one must have a sharp wit.</p> - -<p>"Always sleep during the day while other animals are prowling about, -and come out only evenings when it is cool, to seek your food. Young -wheat, fresh onions, lettuce and cabbages make splendid food for -rabbits. Of course, it is rather dangerous to cultivate such expensive -tastes, for lettuce and onions usually grow only in gardens and people -are apt to set traps to catch you. So be careful never to go near a -trap, or bite at anything that looks as though man had placed it there -for you. It is said that your father prided himself on destroying -traps.</p> - -<p>"Our family is blessed by being both watchful and swift. Just watch me -how I can run."</p> - -<p>Mother Rabbit sprang to her feet, and over the field she sped like -lightning. The children stared in wonderment, and then shouted for glee -at their mother's rapidity. Finally Mrs. Rabbit returned as quickly as -she had departed.</p> - -<p>"Now, that is the way you must learn to run. And the next most -necessary thing for you to acquire is the ability to stand on your hind -legs like this."</p> - -<p>To their amusement, Mother Rabbit stood up like a walking dog or a bear.</p> - -<p>"An enemy can be seen at a long distance from such a position," she -explained; "and it is well never to run until you have taken in the -situation. Many rabbits have lost their lives by failing to observe -that simple precaution. Once your Uncle Cotton heard a dog coming, and -turned to run in the opposite direction without having stood up to -survey the land. As a result, we found only his bones on the hillside -the next day. It is supposed that he ran right into the jaws of another -dog. Dogs are clever and often hunt together.</p> - -<p>"But that's enough for the first lesson," she concluded. "Some evening -we'll come again and I'll teach you to dance, and we'll play till the -moon goes down in the West."</p> - -<p>They jumped up, skimmed through the fence, and ran after their mother, -who had them home and tucked them in bed almost before they knew it.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XXII" id="XXII">XXII</a></h2> - -<h3>THE MICE AND BABY STORK</h3> - - -<p>"I find it very hard," said the learned watchdog, "to speak well of the -rats and the mice."</p> - -<p>He was talking with his visitor, Professor Screech Owl, who perched on -the peak of the kitchen roof and was engaged with him in a pleasant -exchange of views and ideas. The moon was clear and everything was very -still. All the world seemed asleep but the owl and the dog, and they -were talking of many matters. For Professor Screech Owl was a knowing -bird and he had, moreover, the most learned relatives.</p> - -<p>"Of course, you know more than I do," Collie Dog hastened to add.</p> - -<p>Professor Screech Owl nodded.</p> - -<p>"And you may have heard in your travels of something which credits the -mice with being other than thieves and rogues. But for my part, I am -skeptical of all the good I hear of them."</p> - -<p>"There are mice, and there are mice," said the Professor. For this -is one of the best ways to open a subject and draw a distinction. "I -have rarely inquired into their morals, preferring to take them as I -find them. In the matter of one's living one must not be too squeamish. -Probably I have eaten moral mice and immoral mice, with indifference. -But I have heard that the mice in Belgium are the gentlest and sweetest -of creatures. Have you heard of the Belgium mice, Mr. Dog?"</p> - -<p>This was the point to which Collie Dog had drawn his visitor with -intent. For no matter what subject you brought up, if you passed it -over to Professor Screech Owl and showed him the respect and patience -which is due to scholarly persons, he would refresh your mind with -wonderful facts and you would be vastly improved and informed when he -finished. So Collie Dog admitted that he was no book dog, and knew -precious little about anything. This was not so, for he knew a great -deal about sheep, the pasturing of cows, and the time for getting the -mail, and he knew that the buggy meant business, and the surrey meant -church, and he knew where his mistress kept the chocolate creams. Also -he knew why the cook left, but he never told. But he pretended that -blankness of mind which is a humility pleasing to superior students.</p> - -<p>Screech Owl stared at the moon as though to recall what he could from -his vast store of learning.</p> - -<p>"The dates have escaped me," he began, "but it is the nature of the -event, not the time which is important.</p> - -<p>"Once long ago, as I was told by the great Arctic Owl, who is a sort of -cousin of mine, the mice in the city of Ghent entered into a sort of -league with the storks. Ghent, as you know, is in Belgium."</p> - -<p>This was news to Collie Dog, but he wagged his tail as if to approve. -He was glad to know that Ghent was in Belgium, and he wished to seem -pleased.</p> - -<p>"Don't wag your tail!" Screech Owl spat out at him. "I'm telling you -history; I'm not asking you to have a bone. That's no way to act when -I'm lecturing!"</p> - -<p>Poor Collie Dog wished to laugh, but he only sat still and looked -humbly at the conceited little owl on the peak of the barn.</p> - -<p>Professor Screech Owl suddenly grew quite himself again, apologized for -his agitation, and resumed:</p> - -<p>"The storks are a noble lot, and have been renowned in Egypt and on -the Continent. They dwell on the chimney-pots, I'm told, or build on -the edges of steeples and such. Very proud they are, and given to the -practise of medicine. The cranes in the country make great pretense of -being cousins of the stork. But we all know the difference,—we who -have traveled. Ha! Ha!"</p> - -<p>Screech Owl screamed a terrible laugh. Collie Dog, to be polite, joined -in; but he stopped short when Screech Owl's feathers began to ruffle up.</p> - -<p>"In Ghent, long ago," the Professor went on, "the mice that lived in -the barn of the mayor's place were many. They overran it and lived -under the very eaves as well as in the cellars. And those nearest the -roof became great friends of the storks who dwelt on the gables and -chimneys.</p> - -<p>"Now, so the story runs, the mayor's barn caught fire. The good lady -stork had but just left her nest. The storks, you know, go far out into -the country to get their food. I think it very foolish of them to live -in the cities. But Mrs. Stork took her chances, as all mothers do when -they leave their young ones for any length of time.</p> - -<p>"Dr. Stork, the father of this particular family, was away on medical -matters, and so the baby was alone. You can imagine what Mrs. Stork -felt when she came flying toward the city and saw smoke pouring from -the roof of the mayor's barn."</p> - -<p>Collie Dog scented the drift of the story, and grew suddenly impatient -for the slow Professor to reach the point.</p> - -<p>"And was the baby stork burned to death?" he interrupted.</p> - -<p>Professor Screech Owl only looked down and cleared his throat.</p> - -<p>"The mice," he said, "are credited with singular humanity. They -scrambled all around and in and out of the nest, and at last they -grabbed the baby stork and dragged him down to the edge of the roof."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a name="illus8" id="illus8"></a> - <img src="images/illus8.jpg" alt=""/> - <div class="caption"> - <p>"<span class="smcap">They Grabbed the Baby Stork and Dragged Him Down to -the Edge of the Roof</span>"</p> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"And then?" exclaimed Collie Dog, now really excited. "What then? Did -he fall off and get killed after all?"</p> - -<p>"The roofs of the houses in Ghent are not very high," came from -Professor Screech Owl, in the deepest of tones, "but they are very -steep. A plank was leaning against the wall and they slid him down on -that, so that he reached the ground in safety.</p> - -<p>"Since then the storks give all the feathers they can spare to the -mice; and now these frisky creatures sleep on down. That is, the mice -in Belgium do."</p> - -<p>Professor Screech Owl came to a sudden stop and watched Collie Dog. -Seeing his audience was profoundly impressed, he then went on:</p> - -<p>"Those who were witnesses to this rescue say that Mrs. Stork's -excitement was terrible. She went to Egypt for a year to recover her -nerves—"</p> - -<p>An unearthly screech pierced the night. The Professor and Collie Dog -jumped in surprise. Old Tom Cat, who had listened to all this as he sat -on the door-step in the dark, was trying to laugh. He was also making -remarks about owls and mice in general. But just then the master of the -house threw open the window and expressed <i>his</i> views.</p> - -<p>Collie Dog retired quickly to his kennel to think over this wonderful -chapter of history; and wise Professor Screech Owl flew silently from -the peak of the barn to his nest in the hickory woods.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XXIII" id="XXIII">XXIII</a></h2> - -<h3>MRS. BOB-WHITE AND THE HUNTING DOG</h3> - - -<p>At the very peep of day Collie Dog and Setter Pup started out on a -hunting trip of their own. Collie Dog called the place "my farm" and -he had told his friend of all the wonderful sights there were to be -seen on the place by a dog who could travel alone and do as he wanted. -It was his habit, he said, to be abroad very early; sometimes, indeed, -he would run over the fields and along the shore, or back into the -woodland, for miles and miles before breakfast.</p> - -<p>"And what do you do that for?" Setter Pup asked. For this youngster -was just from the city, and he was not used to these country ways. "We -never get up until long after the man with the milk cans has gone by -the door, and the postman has come and gone," he yawned. "That's the -proper thing in town."</p> - -<p>Collie Dog laughed in a courteous way.</p> - -<p>"And we get up before the milk cans start for town," he said. "That -is, some of us do. But they'll take you out early enough when the -hunting begins. And you'll be pointing birds all day in the fields and -the swamps."</p> - -<p>Setter Pup waved his tail proudly, for he meant to be a great hunter. -That was why they had him in the country now—to teach him all sorts of -things about guns and what to do when he smelt a covey of birds.</p> - -<p>But Collie Dog was no hunter, being more of a scholar and a poet. His -master, at any rate, had read him a great deal of poetry. And much of -the poetry had been of a nature to discourage hunting; which was just -what the doggie's master liked to do. He was thoroughly in sympathy -with his pet, who couldn't endure a gun, either the sight or the sound -of it. But, much as the gentleman knew about the fields and the woods, -he would have known more could he have understood what Collie Dog -would have loved to tell him. For that gentle dog was on the best of -terms with every living creature for miles around. His early morning -expeditions were always but so many rounds of visits.</p> - -<p>Consequently, the newcomer, this eager and noisy young setter, was to -make many new acquaintances on this daybreak excursion with Collie Dog.</p> - -<p>Down the lane from the barn to the pasture they romped, the dew -drenching their flanks as they brushed the tall weeds and bushes. -Setter Pup, with his ears flapping in excitement, was plunging -heedlessly ahead when Collie Dog called him back.</p> - -<p>"Go easy here! We are sure to hear something," Collie Dog whispered.</p> - -<p>And suddenly, while they walked almost on tip-toe, there came from the -very edge of the field, a clear, ringing call:</p> - -<p>"<i>Bob! Bob! Bob!</i>"</p> - -<p>"Why, who can be down here in the hayfield at this time of the -morning?" Setter Pup asked in surprise.</p> - -<p>"Just wait!" laughed Collie Dog, delighted.</p> - -<p>"<i>Bob, Bob, Bob-White!</i>"</p> - -<p>The voice was as clear as a boy's.</p> - -<p>"That's my best friend out here," Collie Dog explained. "It's little -Mr. Partridge."</p> - -<p>Then very quickly the beautiful, trim little Mr. Partridge hopped clear -of the tangled grass and stood gaily on the fence-rail. He was speckled -and shapely and his eyes were full of wonderful humor. But he caught -sight of the strange dog, and was gone in a second. Then, to Setter -Pup's great astonishment, there were many little voices, and wild -scuttlings in the very path ahead of him. And two beautiful partridges, -their wings apparently broken, were hobbling along almost before his -very nose. They were dying, as it seemed.</p> - -<p>Setter Pup was all for seizing them. Two such crippled creatures were -easy prey. But his instincts were, after all, of another sort; for, -although he had never done it before, he stood stock still and pointed -his nose straight at the birds, his tail stretched out like a long -plume behind him.</p> - -<p>Collie Dog shook with laughter.</p> - -<p>"Well, that gun shooting master of yours would be proud of you if he -could see you now," he said. "You're pointing straight as a weather -vane. But we're not out hunting birds this morning. Come here, and I'll -show you something."</p> - -<p>Setter Pup dropped his tail and stepped back. Then Collie Dog came -softly up to the little birds that were cowering in the path. They knew -him well enough. Even if he was a dog, he was a friend; and if there is -a creature who knows a friend and would be on terms of friendship with -the whole world it is Mr. Bob-White.</p> - -<p>They were even pleased to meet young Setter Pup, when they found -out that he was staying at the farm. They could not believe that a -personal friend of their wonderful Collie Dog could be ill-disposed to -such as the partridge family.</p> - -<p>And Mr. Bob-White talked about "our farm" exactly as though it were his -own. He said that he and his family could surely keep down the potato -bugs that year; and that if it could only be known what his intentions -were in this matter of eating up the pests that canker and destroy, he -was sure no one would want to kill him.</p> - -<p>"You always say that, poor Mr. Bob-White, and how I pity you," the -gentle Collie Dog replied. For he was as quick to weep as to laugh, -being so refined a dog. "And it's a shame. My master reads to me all -about you. And we get very indignant when we think of how you are the -one thing that these farmers can depend upon to eat up more bugs than -anybody else could ever devour. You're so much better than poison and -all the rest of the truck they sprinkle around."</p> - -<p>"Yes; the poison just washes off in the rain. My family, if only we -could be let alone, would do it all. Didn't you tell me that my cousin -down in Texas ate up all the boll weevils in a county full of cotton?"</p> - -<p>"That's the truth," answered Collie Dog. "Master read it to me. But -you're safe enough on this farm anyway. You know that. My friend -Setter Pup is not going to hunt here at all."</p> - -<p>"And I shall never hunt partridges—never!" declared Setter Pup, who -was sadly distressed. "I wish I had never been born"—he was crying -now—"if I have to hunt down such folks as Mr. Partridge." For poor -Setter Pup had found that he possessed a heart; and that discovery is -the most distressing one in the world.</p> - -<p>"Oh, you'll get over that," Collie Dog comforted him. "You'll have to. -Your master will attend to you. But I'm sorry for you. And just look at -these baby partridges."</p> - -<p>One by one, as Mrs. Partridge had clucked to them, in a little voice -like the ticking of a tiny clock, they had crept up to her. Ten little -chicks there were, of a light brown, and nothing but fluffy down and -beady eyes. One of them hopped right out from in front of Setter Pup, -where it had hidden under a leaf.</p> - -<p>"Good gracious!" he exclaimed. "There was that chicken, and I never saw -it at all!"</p> - -<p>"No," Collie Dog replied; "you would never guess where they go to when -their mother gives the alarm. And then she runs off and tempts you to -kill her. She hobbles and cries and lies down to die right at your -feet. My own mother, who was a Scottish noblewoman, being an Argyle, -used to say that she never saw such a wonderfully devoted mother as -Mrs. Bob-White."</p> - -<p>With a gay farewell to Mr. Partridge, the sprightly dog was off. And -Setter Pup went racing after him. For there was much to see, and the -sun was already clear and golden. The grass shone in waves of green, -and as the dew dried there came the loveliest odors of wild honeysuckle -and clover. It was a time to be gay, and Collie Dog did not want to -have his young friend depressed. There were some wonderful mud-holes to -visit, where they could get just as cool and as dirty as they pleased.</p> - -<p>"And when the mud dries off," Collie Dog explained, as they plunged -through the bushes, "your coat will shine as though it had been -brushed."</p> - -<p>It was a wonderful romp that they had in the mud-hole, deep in the -swampy meadow, under the blackberry vines. And when they came out, -disgracefully dirty, to dry themselves under a China-berry tree, they -were rolling over and over on the grass, when a funny little voice -called out from the branches overhead:</p> - -<p>"Hello, Mr. Dog!"</p> - -<p>Setter Pup jumped to his feet; but Collie Dog only looked up into the -tree.</p> - -<p>"'Morning, friend 'Possum; and how's your family to-day?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, they're doing fine. Twelve of them and all getting plump. We like -your turnip patch very much."</p> - -<p>Then he laughed; a squeaky little laugh it was; and Collie Dog seemed -to enjoy the joke too, for he sat up with a smile.</p> - -<p>"Come on down and let's see you die," he requested. "My friend has -never seen a 'possum play dead."</p> - -<p>"No, indeed, Mr. Collie. I don't know your friend—and I don't think I -care to. He's a hunting dog. But I'll die right here on this branch, if -that will amuse you."</p> - -<p>So Mr. 'Possum threw himself into a wonderful attitude and looked as -dead as dead could be. His head hung over the branch and his mouth -lolled open, and his little paws were all curled up.</p> - -<p>"How queer!" Setter Pup exclaimed. "I suppose he's satisfied that -nobody but a buzzard would touch him now. What a dandy trick!"</p> - -<p>"It fools 'em, all right," said Collie Dog, who always delighted in -this performance.</p> - -<p>Then Mr. 'Possum winked a sly wink and slid like a big rat along the -branch to a hollow place in the tree.</p> - -<p>"He's gone in. Probably his wife wanted him."</p> - -<p>And then Collie Dog was off again, bounding and racing across the -field, with Setter Pup keeping beside him.</p> - -<p>Miles they went, through the country. Young Setter Pup saw more than -he ever had guessed could be seen. There was Mr. Blacksnake, who raced -like mad over the leaves, making an astonishing noise. He carried his -head very high and went such a zigzag course that the dogs lost sight -of him.</p> - -<p>"He's an ugly fellow, too, but he can't hurt you. He makes a funny -noise with his tail, rattling it on the leaves if you corner him. He -wants you to think he's a rattlesnake. But it's only a clever trick," -said Collie Dog. "Sometimes on that sandy piece of road we've just -passed, we'll come across Mr. Hognose. He's a queer little snake. He -can scare you terribly by puffing and blowing, so that you would think -he was very dangerous. But he can't bite at all, nor hurt you as much -as a cat. He plays off at being dead too, just like Mr. 'Possum. But he -never crawls out till the sun is high. He likes the heat. I've met him -a great many times, but always when it was hot."</p> - -<p>By this time it was a glorious morning, and as the two dogs trotted -down the wood road and along the river bank, the birds were calling -from every side.</p> - -<p>"I like to come this way," Collie Dog went on. "There's a redbird, a -very aristocratic cardinal, who flies ahead of me every time. He's had -a whole story written about himself. Master's read it aloud to me. Does -your master read aloud to you?"</p> - -<p>Setter Pup was somewhat embarrassed.</p> - -<p>"We read about guns and cartridges and Canadian guides, and fishing -tackle," he admitted.</p> - -<p>"H'm!" mused his companion. "Destructive, of course. Right in your -line. But not my style. We prefer the other kind, my master and I. But -not everybody can be a poet, of course."</p> - -<p>Just then the cardinal-bird darted out of the honeysuckle and flew -ahead of them, and in an instant a brilliant bluebird followed him.</p> - -<p>"They fly together just that way. Master says they must like each -other's color. Aren't they beautiful?"</p> - -<p>And then, before they knew it, the birds were gone; and Setter Pup was -surprised to see that this river path had been the way home, for they -were almost at the farm door.</p> - -<p>"If I could only go hunting with you instead of with those guides and -guns," Setter Pup began; for evidently there was something on his mind -and he wanted to talk.</p> - -<p>But Collie Dog just wagged his tail. He understood. There was nothing -to be said, for a dog owes everything to his master, and there are many -kinds of masters. Besides, the door was open and there were voices -upstairs. Setter Pup's owner was calling across the hall to his host.</p> - -<p>"He ought to make a fine pointer. His mother was a prize bird dog, you -know."</p> - -<p>Poor Setter Pup looked wistfully at Collie Dog as they flopped down on -the floor.</p> - -<p>And Collie was truly distressed. But, then, as he often asked himself:</p> - -<p>"What could a poor dog do?"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XXIV" id="XXIV">XXIV</a></h2> - -<h3>MRS. POLAR BEAR'S ADVENTURE</h3> - - -<p>The long, dark winter was on the wane. Months of cold starlight and -terrific winds, with numberless storms of heavy snow, had gone by. -Little by little the streak of light on the horizon, the thin shadows -which it cast over the snowfields, and the gentler quality of the -air increased; so that every one who lived in this far Arctic region -stirred in his winter sleep and there was preparation for a short and -very busy summer.</p> - -<p>Some of the animals had been abroad, indeed, throughout the whole dark -night of the polar winter; such of them for instance as the lovely -white fox and the great polar bear. For it was not their custom to -crawl away, as many did, into the deep snow-banks, there to sleep it -out; for they knew that even this season of blackness and appalling -cold had plenty of food for them, and they were always insatiably -hungry.</p> - -<p>But Mr. Bear's wife was of a different turn of mind, and although she -knew that her husband would not provide for her quite as she would -like to be fed, she was willing to go deep into the snow and dig out -for herself a warm bed away beneath the surface. There she had stayed, -never so much as venturing to the opening after the real night had set -in.</p> - -<p>And there her cubs were born. Two of them there were. The good Mrs. -Bear was so delighted with their beauty that she was impatient for the -warm days to come when she could take them out and show them to her -relatives and friends.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps, too, their father will be back by the time summer comes," she -thought.</p> - -<p>And then she was suddenly glad that he was not around just now; for -he was very quick-tempered, and if the babies annoyed him at all, he -would be pretty sure to cuff them. And one blow of Mr. Bear's paw would -finish the career of any baby bear in the world.</p> - -<p>So the two little creatures, clad in the whitest of fur from head to -foot, their claws as black as ebony, and their wide eyes as yellow as -amber, lay snuggled against the great warm body of their mother for all -the weeks of the departing winter.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, as they rolled over and looked upward through the snow -cavern, they saw for the first time what seemed to them a great big eye -staring down at them.</p> - -<p>"That's only the hole in the roof," Mrs. Bear explained. "And pretty -soon you will see that it is all blue and beautiful above that -window—and then we will go out and away."</p> - -<p>What that meant they did not know; for life so far as they had known it -consisted of meals and sleep and endless playtime on the icy floor of -their cavern. But they were to know more about it very soon. A white -wing flashed by one morning, and a land voice called down the depths of -their cave.</p> - -<p>It was Mr. Burgomaster, the good-natured gull. He had come purposely -to call on Mrs. Bear, for he had two stirring pieces of information to -give her.</p> - -<p>He perched by the edge of her skylight, and wasted no words in relating -the news.</p> - -<p>"There's a whale being driven ashore; and the mists have hidden the -birds."</p> - -<p>He was gone before Mrs. Bear could so much as thank him for coming; and -she was, indeed, deeply obliged. No one but good Mr. Burgomaster would -ever have taken such pains.</p> - -<p>What he said sounded strange enough, but it meant everything to Mrs. -Bear. When a whale was disabled in the far depths of the sea, or had -been caught in the currents and gales in such a way that he must surely -drift to shore, he was as good as dead and devoured. For in shallow -water he would be helpless and once his enormous bulk was stranded on -the rocks or the jagged capes of ice he could only give himself up to -his enemies.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bear, however, would have been very cautious about venturing to -the scene of the banquet, if the great flocks of birds, which were sure -to be on hand, were not hidden from view as they hovered above it. -Clouds of excited gulls that came nearer and nearer to the shore were a -signal of what was about to happen. And the bears, the foxes, and the -wolves were not the only ones who knew it. Men, with their ferocious -packs of dogs, their long lassos of walrus hide, and their terrible -spears, knew well enough what the noisy birds were announcing.</p> - -<p>But all would be well if the fogs hung low, and the gathering flocks of -sea-birds were thereby hidden.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bear explained the situation to her cubs.</p> - -<p>"Of course, your mother would not have built her nursery here," she -ended, "if she thought those terrible creatures with the wolfish -dogs and the ropes were within miles and miles of the spot. But you -can never tell when they may turn up. They come with their dogs over -endless tracks of snow and ice to find us, and they travel fast. You -must lie as quietly as you can while I am gone. Amuse yourselves in -only the quietest way. Don't call out at all; and go to sleep again, -like good children."</p> - -<p>With that Mrs. Bear rose to her hind feet and reached upward along the -snow walls of her house. Then, balancing herself on a ridge of the ice -which was for all the world like a side shelf, she made a ponderous -leap through the opening into broad daylight. For at last it was the -real day, and a glorious glimmer of sunlight behind the fogs showed -that summer was coming.</p> - -<p>It was good to breathe the free air, and Mrs. Bear shook herself -violently to straighten out the creases of her heavy coat. She would -have liked to roar, loud and long, but she was trained by experience -never to speak in a fog.</p> - -<p>"You can't tell who's hearing you," her own mother used to say.</p> - -<p>So she only trundled her mighty bulk downward across the ice and -snow, to its very edge, where it suddenly broke off and formed an -embankment. Below this there was a narrow beach, or what appeared to -be one—a strip of confused and tumbled blocks of ice and jagged rocks.</p> - -<p>There was a sudden whizzing of wings above her head, and the wailing -cries of a hundred little gulls and the many crowds of birds that were -hurrying to eat of whale fat. Mrs. Bear broke off in their direction; -and soon the sound of snarling voices, the yelps of the quarrelsome -foxes, and the vicious bark of the wolves met her ears. Yes, she -was none too early, for evidently the assemblage of animals, all as -famished as herself, were fighting over the repast.</p> - -<p>They were not so polite to Mrs. Bear as they might have been, for -they begrudged her any share of the whale's body. But she paid little -attention to any one, and went to work lustily on her first meal of the -season.</p> - -<p>After the first mouthfuls, however, she felt wonderfully good-humored; -for such is the effect of a meal, and it is pleasant to stop and talk a -bit when you know there is more to follow.</p> - -<p>"I must thank you, Mr. Burgomaster," was her first remark. "You were -kind to call me in time. This is a good beginning to the summer."</p> - -<p>The white-winged gull, largest of all the birds that were present, and -by far the best mannered, only begged Mrs. Bear to remember that they -had been friends for many years.</p> - -<p>"And I propose to name my children," Mrs. Bear announced, as this -delicious dinner began to increase her fine spirits, "I propose to name -the babies after you and your wife: <i>Odin</i> and <i>Olga</i>. That's what they -shall be."</p> - -<p>Mr. Burgomaster was at a loss how to express his gratitude for this -compliment. But he needed to say little, for such a generous tribute is -not repaid in words.</p> - -<p>Something he said later on, however, in which he quoted Dr. Penguin, -brought forth her assent on the subject of eating too much, for she -added, "True, true, it is not wise to overeat at your first meal of the -year. A relative of mine did that once, and was unable to climb over -the path to his door."</p> - -<p>So, taking as goodly an amount of provender with her as she could -carry away, Mrs. Bear went home to feed her babies. They were far more -interested in this new and appetizing breakfast than in the names which -she gave them, you may be sure; and from then until the whale was used -up and only his bones were left to dry in the winds, Mrs. Bear was -continually carrying meals to her cave.</p> - -<p>By this time the winter was gone, and the roof of the snowhouse fell -in. The melting drifts drenched every ledge and cranny of their home, -and it was time to be wandering.</p> - -<p>"You must do exactly as I tell you," Mrs. Bear kept saying, "and you -must never stray from me a minute. For we are going to start on our -journey, and there will be a great many dangers to guard against."</p> - -<p>When little Odin and Olga trotted along beside their mother, with the -whole world before them, and a keen appetite with them, they were as -alert and excited as any two bears in the world could be.</p> - -<p>The great rolling, blue water, the ice that floated on its surface -and shone like white ivory in the sun, the patches of green grass on -the sides of the hills, and the rocks black with snow water, made a -dazzling scene.</p> - -<p>Their long day began with a wonderful feat on the part of Mother Bear. -After they had swum to a low, wide ice floe, which was a little way -from shore, and Odin and Olga were just learning to use the hairy pads -of their feet in climbing the sides of the small iceberg, Mrs. Bear -gave a sudden plunge into the water, and disappeared from view. She -swam far out, her nose barely coming to the surface, and the rest of -her body entirely concealed. Then, rising to the surface, she brought -back with her a huge fish which she had stunned with a blow of her -mighty paw.</p> - -<p>"It's all in the way you slide into the water," she said; and then, as -they ate greedily of this morsel, she told them of diving for sea-lions -and of capturing them by coming up from under the prey.</p> - -<p>"You will swim under water great distances, as soon as you learn to -hunt," she said, "and you will learn to make no noise about it."</p> - -<p>This was the truth, as not only the seals and the sea-lions, but plenty -of the great fish, could bear witness.</p> - -<p>But, as events of the day were to turn, little Odin and Olga were near -to never growing up at all; for the very danger which their mother most -dreaded was speedily approaching. While they were playing first on the -ice cakes and then on the shore, and Mrs. Bear had about made up her -mind that they would stay that night at a point not far distant, where -she saw many sea-birds fluttering, and where, she reasoned, the fishing -and seal hunting might be good, the hunters with their trained dogs -were fast approaching the very spot.</p> - -<p>For your Eskimos have their own way of reading the signs; and as many -birds had been flocking in this direction, the men had steadily pursued -the trail. Day after day they had traveled, and they felt sure that -they were coming upon at least a herd of seals or of walruses. And they -hoped, of course, to bag a great white bear.</p> - -<p>But Odin's mother had assured herself that there was no danger, or it -would have been revealed during the time that the whale had attracted -such crowds of her brother animals. She did not perceive that her -enemies knew exactly how prone the well-fed bear is to linger near the -spot of her recent feedings.</p> - -<p>"That is just the place to spend the night, out there," she said; "for -on those points that reach out into the sea, you can escape by land or -by water, as you have to. Remember that, too, children."</p> - -<p>Little Olga stopped to rub her head at this. She was trying to remember -so many things! Mrs. Bear told her it was nothing, and that learning -things was the whole of life anyway.</p> - -<p>When Mrs. Bear and her twins reached the icy point, there were the -friendly Penguins to meet them and to exclaim over the children. They -were having a fine visit when suddenly a dull roar far below them on -the shore made every one sit up and listen.</p> - -<p>It came again and lasted longer. It was a new sound to the children, -but Mrs. Bear recognized it.</p> - -<p>"That's an iceberg breaking up," she said at last. "Not a pleasing -sound, but one you'll soon get used to."</p> - -<p>Night came and they curled up, all three, in a snug corner under the -ice shelves of the point. The wind was high and the sea was noisy, but -they were too well tucked away to care.</p> - -<p>And they little dreamed of what was going on around them.</p> - -<p>For scarcely had the sun gone down, when the Eskimos with their teams -of wolfish dogs were on the spot. Little by little they had crept to -the end of the point, and one by one they stationed themselves at -intervals to wait, like so many sentinels, for the morning.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bear would never reach the water alive; and escape back to the -mainland was impossible. There were enough dogs and men on hand to -cover the avenues of escape.</p> - -<p>Before little Odin and Olga were awake sufficiently to see anything at -all, Mrs. Bear had faced her first ambushed enemies. From where the -cubs cowered in their corner, they saw their mother rear on her hind -legs and then drop with a terrible force, hitting the dogs right and -left as she landed among them. There were thunderous noises, and her -own mighty roars were almost drowned by the snarling of the dogs and -the shouting of the men, who were fast closing in. She was bleeding -already and several of the dogs were lying dead around her.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bear stood truly at bay. One man, more courageous than the rest, -came running up with his pointed spear, ready to take aim. A terrific -noise arrested him—a noise in which all else was nothing. The land -seemed to reel and topple; the great ice shelves came crashing down.</p> - -<p>Men and dogs ran for their lives; and to save themselves they plunged -bodily into the sea. For the whole point of ice had broken from the -mainland and, like a ship that is rocking and righting itself, it was -sending up mighty waves and eddies on every side.</p> - -<p>The motions were less gigantic after a while, and the new iceberg had -found itself. Already it was moving forward, and the wind was driving -it foot by foot into the outgoing tide.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bear knew precisely what to do. Twice in her life she had traveled -on ice floes, though never on so large a one as this.</p> - -<p>"Here we are, and here we stay," she said. "By and by we'll come to -islands, or so close to shore that we can swim back to land. It will be -a long time before we are carried out beyond this gulf, and we're sure -to escape before then."</p> - -<p>She was a little too cheerful, perhaps, for some of her own kin had -gone that way so far into the great southerly current that they were -never seen again. But Mrs. Bear was one of those happy beings who -always look for the best, not the worst; and she was too joyous over -this sudden deliverance to heed any new perplexity.</p> - -<p>Long weeks afterward, when Mother Bear's wounds were healed, and -Odin and Olga had indeed learned how to live by diving and hunting -under water, they came to a narrow bay where the land was green on -both sides. The distance from their iceberg was but little; and they -plunged in, while Mr. Burgomaster circled over them excitedly. He was a -wonderful mariner, Mr. Burgomaster, and, being such a good friend, he -had flown back and forth over land and sea, following them on their -icy ship.</p> - -<p>"You'll know where you are, Mrs. Bear, when this fog lifts," he said. -"You will find that you have come to a beautiful shore where there are -berries and all kinds of refreshing things that bears like. It was a -good day that the iceberg started you on your trip."</p> - -<p>"All things, Mr. Burgomaster," said wonderful Mother Bear, as she -crawled out of the water and shook her shaggy fur, "all things happen -for the best!"</p> - - -<p class="ph1">THE END</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOREST FRIENDS ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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