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+Project Gutenberg's Hazel Squirrel and Other Stories, by Howard B. Famous
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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
+
+
+Title: Hazel Squirrel and Other Stories
+
+Author: Howard B. Famous
+
+Release Date: July 16, 2007 [EBook #22087]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAZEL SQUIRREL AND OTHER STORIES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Mark C. Orton, Linda McKeown, Jacqueline Jeremy
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+  FAMOUS ANIMAL STORIES
+
+  Hazel Squirrel
+  AND OTHER STORIES
+
+  By
+  Howard B. Famous
+
+  FULLY ILLUSTRATED
+
+  WHITMAN PUBLISHING CO.
+  RACINE, WISCONSIN
+
+
+  COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY
+  WHITMAN PUBLISHING CO.
+  RACINE, WIS.
+  Printed in United States of America
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+                                                   Page
+
+  IN SQUIRREL TOWN                                    7
+
+  HAZEL AND BUSHY-TAIL VISIT SOME STRANGE LANDS      15
+
+  MRS. SCREECH OWL                                   26
+
+  THE RACCOON AND THE BEES                           41
+
+  PINKIE WHISKERS                                    67
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+  LITTLE HAZEL WAS PLAYING FAR OUT
+  ON A LEAFY BRANCH                    (_Frontispiece_)
+
+                                                   Page
+
+  "I'LL BE DOWN IN A JIFFY"                           9
+
+  HE HELD OUT SOME NUTS TO THEM                      13
+
+  SHE ROCKED THEM IN HER DOLL'S CRADLE               21
+
+  MR. BAT SAW THEM HUDDLED TOGETHER                  23
+
+  MOTHER SQUIRREL ENTERTAINS HER VISITORS            27
+
+  THE SQUIRRELS GO ON A PICNIC                       32
+
+  FEASTING ON HAZEL NUTS                             36
+
+  THE RACCOON WATCHES THE BOYS                       40
+
+  "YUM, YUM, BUT IT IS FINE"                         48
+
+  "OH, COONIE, TELL ME WHERE IT IS"                  51
+
+  CHUCK ARRIVED AT THE BIG OAK TREE                  55
+
+  HE GRABBED UP A BIG STICK                          59
+
+
+
+
+HAZEL SQUIRREL
+
+IN SQUIRREL TOWN
+
+
+"Come, little sleepy-eyes, it's time to get up," said Mrs. Squirrel, one
+morning. But little Bushy-Tail was having such a nice dream about a
+wonderful tree where all kinds of nuts grew side by side on the same
+branch that he did not answer. Only his eyelids quivered ever so little,
+so his mother knew he was pretending.
+
+"Come, come!" she repeated. "Little Hazel Squirrel is up and playing
+outside."
+
+In a twinkling he had jumped out of bed and pressed his furry little
+nose against the window pane. Little Hazel was playing far out on a
+leafy branch with one eye on Bushy-Tail's house, nestled in a forked
+limb close to the trunk. She waved her lovely gray tail when she saw him
+and began chattering very fast.
+
+"Wait a minute," Bushy-Tail called back, "I'll be down in a jiffy."
+
+And he was in such a hurry that he tied his tie on sideways and brushed
+his furry tail the wrong way, which made him look very funny. He even
+forgot to take a bite of the nice breakfast his mother had left on the
+table for him. Right through the window he bounded, instead of walking
+through the door as he had been taught to do, and landed close beside
+Hazel, far out on the leafy bough.
+
+"Oh, Hazel," he cried, "I've had the loveliest dream!"
+
+"You old sleepy-head," she answered, "you lay abed dreaming when you
+might be out playing in the fresh air."
+
+[Illustration: "I'LL BE DOWN IN A JIFFY"]
+
+"Hazel," Bushy-Tail began, teetering up and down on the branch in his
+excitement, "I'm sick of peanuts, aren't you?"
+
+"No," she answered, "I love them. Mother says they make my coat thick
+and sleek."
+
+They were city squirrels, you know, who lived in a park and had their
+daily supply of peanuts left at their door by the park-keeper.
+
+"No, I am not sick of peanuts," she continued. "But what has that to do
+with your dream?"
+
+"Everything," he went on. "Oh, Hazel, I dreamed of a most wonderful tree
+where all kinds of nuts--hickory, walnuts, chestnuts and
+hazel-nuts--grew side by side on the same branch. We must hurry and get
+there before they are all gone," and he jumped up so quickly that Hazel
+went spinning round and round the branch she was holding on to with her
+sharp little claws.
+
+Now, Hazel was a good little squirrel who always talked things over
+with her mother, so as they were hurrying away across the park she
+suddenly stopped. "I forgot to tell mother where I was going," she said.
+
+Her play-fellow grabbed her by the tail. "It's to be a surprise," he
+whispered. "We will make little baskets of dry twigs and carry home
+enough for everybody." This sounded fine.
+
+The pink in the sky was by now beginning to fade. Presently Mr. Sun
+poked his head over the hilltops far away. He saw the runaway children
+and he thought to give them a scare that would send them home. So he
+bounded out from behind a cloud and sent a long, dark shadow right
+across the path in front of them.
+
+"Oh, my," cried Hazel, "what's that?"
+
+Both children were so startled they jumped straight up in the air and
+landed on the other side of the dark shadow.
+
+"Let's go home," suggested Hazel, but when they turned to go they saw
+their own shadows and of course they knew them. How they laughed then,
+for who would think of being afraid of a lifeless shadow?
+
+By and by they met a workman. He had a dinner-pail in his hand and in
+his pockets peanuts for the squirrels, for every morning and night he
+passed through the park. Now, the good citizens of the town had made
+laws that no one should harm a squirrel and the squirrels knew this. So
+Hazel and Bushy-Tail were not afraid of the workman and when he knelt
+down and held out some nuts to them, they ran right up to him,
+chattering all the while.
+
+Bushy-Tail took one of the nuts, cracked it with his teeth and, holding
+it with both hands, ate very greedily. For, you see, the sight of the
+nuts reminded him he had not eaten any breakfast, and suddenly he became
+very hungry.
+
+[Illustration: HE HELD OUT SOME NUTS TO THEM]
+
+Hazel was not a bit hungry, so she put the nut in the pocket of one of
+her cheeks, which made her look as if she had the mumps. Then she ran up
+the workman's arm and perched on his shoulder, where her soft, bushy
+tail brushed against his ears and tickled him in the neck.
+
+Poor little Hazel Squirrel. Little did she think the wonderful tree they
+were looking for was only a dream-tree. But how was she to know that all
+kinds of nuts never did, nor ever can grow side by side on the same
+branch, save only in the wonderland we enter through the gates of sleep.
+
+"I don't see your wonderful tree anywhere, Bushy-Tail," she said.
+
+"I think it's down this way a little," he answered. And once more they
+scampered off together, chattering and waving their lovely tails.
+
+
+
+
+HAZEL AND BUSHY-TAIL VISIT STRANGE LANDS
+
+
+Of all nice things to do one of the very nicest is to go traveling; to
+see what kind of things grow in faraway places and how other folks plan
+their cities. My, what fun Hazel Squirrel and Bushy-Tail had! All day
+long they explored new trees and ran along strange fences and peered
+into yards where children they had never seen before were playing.
+
+Once they ran into a garden where some little girls were having a
+tea-party. The children called to the squirrels and held out sweet,
+sticky things for them to eat. They were scampering back along the wall
+when a thoughtless little boy, who had not been invited to the party,
+threw a tiny stone at Bushy-Tail. It hit right in the center of his
+tail.
+
+Bushy-Tail gave a startled little cry and jumped down off the wall,
+Hazel following close behind. The little girls jumped up and ran, too.
+They wanted to do something to help if they could. But the squirrels ran
+up the opposite side of a maple and were soon out of sight. Bushy-Tail
+was not waving his tail so proudly now. It was hurting terribly. Hazel
+took her blue-bordered handkerchief out and wrapped it around the hurt
+place as best she could.
+
+"Oh, Bushy-Tail," she sobbed, "how I wish my mother were here. She would
+know just what to do for you," and great tears began to roll down her
+cheeks.
+
+It made Bushy-Tail feel so badly to see his little playmate unhappy that
+for the minute he forgot all about his sore tail. He put his arms around
+her soft neck and wiped the tears away with his little red-bordered
+handkerchief.
+
+"Perhaps we had better go home," he whispered in her ear. You see, he
+had forgotten about his dream-tree now. So they scrambled down the tree
+trunk again and then it suddenly dawned on them that they had no idea
+where they were or in which direction the park lay.
+
+They asked a sparrow, but she did not deign to answer them. They asked a
+robin, but she was hurrying home with a worm in her mouth and could only
+mumble something which sounded like "yeast." They asked a pussy-cat and
+she said if they would come home with her first she would look it up in
+a book she had there. But Hazel did not want to go. "For," she whispered
+to Bushy-Tail, "she has eyes like a witch."
+
+So they ran on a little farther until they came to a hat lying upside
+down on the ground. It was warm and soft inside and Hazel thought it
+would be a good place for a little rest. She was beginning to feel very
+tired. Bushy-Tail had lost the handkerchief off his tail, too, and it
+was hurting again. So the two little squirrels rolled themselves up into
+two dear, little balls and Hazel spread her lovely tail over them to
+keep the wind off, and before you could say "Jack Robinson" they were
+both sound asleep.
+
+When Mr. Smith came back after his hat you can imagine how surprised he
+was to find it had a new fur lining. "How I wish Alice could see them,"
+he thought. Then, very carefully, so as not to frighten them, he spread
+his coat over them and started for home with a queer shaped bundle in
+his arms.
+
+"Guess what I have," he cried as his little girl ran to the door to meet
+him.
+
+"Ice cream," she screamed.
+
+"Guess again!"
+
+"Kittens."
+
+"You're warmer," he said, "but not right yet."
+
+Then, as he carefully lifted up his coat, "baby squirrel," she cried,
+and clapped her hands and jumped up and down for joy.
+
+Of course the ride had awakened the squirrels. They were still more
+frightened to be in this strange house with strange people standing
+around looking at them. They huddled very close together inside the hat
+and would not eat the nuts Alice brought them. Have you ever been so
+scared you could not eat?
+
+"Don't you think they would be more comfortable in a regular bed?" Alice
+asked her father and he agreed heartily.
+
+So she ran and got her doll's cradle and tucked them in carefully
+between the white sheets and rocked them just a little, so they would
+think they were in the branches of a tree and feel more at home. Alice's
+mother had to remind her several times it was her bed-time, too, she did
+so hate to leave her dear little play-fellows.
+
+By and by Mother Moon looked in at the window. Quick as a flash both
+squirrels jumped out of the cradle and ran to ask her the shortest way
+home. They found the window just a little open. You can imagine they did
+not stop to say good-bye to Alice or think to thank her for the supper
+they had not eaten.
+
+Outside everything looked very strange and unreal. They had never been
+out alone at night before. Do you know why everything looks so different
+at night, even though it is most as light as day? It is because the
+shadows the moon makes are blacker and each one seems to hide something
+alive.
+
+[Illustration: SHE ROCKED THEM IN HER DOLL'S CRADLE]
+
+Hazel and Bushy-Tail ran as fast as their little legs could carry them.
+They were too scared to even ask Mrs. Moon the shortest way home.
+Presently it began to rain and Mrs. Moon went inside to get out of the
+wet. Two little streams of tears began to roll down Hazel's cheeks. If
+you have never been home-sick, you have no way of knowing how unhappy
+these poor, little, lost squirrels were. It is a much worse pain than
+cutting one's finger. Something hurt Bushy-Tail inside so much he wanted
+to cry, too. But he had to be brave and try and comfort little Hazel.
+Besides, they had only one handkerchief now. You remember Hazel had tied
+hers around his sore tail and he had lost it.
+
+Presently they came to the edge of a woods. But Hazel would not venture
+in. She was afraid some robin would think they were the "babes in the
+woods" and cover them with leaves. "Such queer things are happening to
+us now," she said.
+
+Mr. Bat was passing by and he saw them huddled together between the
+rails of a fence. Thinking they were the lost children of his neighbor,
+Mrs. Squirrel, he hurried off to tell her.
+
+[Illustration: MR. BAT SAW THEM HUDDLED TOGETHER]
+
+Now, only the week before two of this poor lady's little ones had got
+caught in a trap. She had scolded, coaxed and begged the farmer's boys
+not to carry them off, but they had paid no attention to her. And when
+Mr. Bat told her what he had seen she jumped right out of bed and ran
+down the tree without stopping to take an umbrella or put on her rubbers
+even.
+
+Of course she was disappointed when she saw only Hazel and Bushy-Tail!
+
+"They are city squirrels," she told Mr. Bat. "We have only red ones here
+in the woods. I can't imagine how these little squirrels got so far from
+home alone."
+
+"How worried their mothers must be," she thought to herself and that
+settled it. She took them by the shoulders and shook them very gently
+and when they opened their eyes and saw the fire-fly and Mr. Bat and
+Mrs. Red Squirrel, for just a moment they thought they were dreaming.
+
+But when Mrs. Red Squirrel questioned them, all she could make out
+between their sobs was that they were lost and wanted to go home.
+
+"You poor, dear little things," she said, hugging them in her soft arms,
+"come home with me to-night and we will help you find your mothers in
+the morning."
+
+I can tell you it seemed good to the little runaways to be among kind
+friends again, and when Mrs. Squirrel saw four little squirrels all
+curled up together in her house, she was most as happy as if they had
+been four red ones, instead of two red and two gray.
+
+
+
+
+MRS. SCREECH OWL
+
+
+It was so much darker in the woods than in the park the little city
+squirrels could hardly believe it was time to get up when Mother Red
+Squirrel called them. But after they had washed the sleepiness out of
+their eyes they could see little pink patches of sky through the leaves
+and they knew the clock was not fast after all.
+
+It took them much longer to dress than usual, because they had not
+stopped to brush their tails out the night before. Hazel's was
+dreadfully matted down and Bushie's was full of burs. How it did hurt
+when Hazel, as carefully as could be, helped him pick them out. But he
+bravely choked back the tears and blew his nose very hard. He did not
+want his new friends to think him a baby, of course.
+
+[Illustration: MOTHER SQUIRREL ENTERTAINS HER VISITORS]
+
+Even their breakfast was different. They had country beetles; nice,
+white mushrooms, and crisp, fresh apple seeds. And after they had eaten
+and eaten, Mrs. Red Squirrel asked her little guests many
+questions--what their names were, where they lived, and how ever did
+they get so far from home?
+
+How the two little squirrels' eyes popped out as Bushy-Tail told them of
+their home in the park, built for them out of boards and nails. He told
+how the caretaker came around every morning with a cup on a long pole
+and left a fresh supply of peanuts on their back porch, and he told of
+the wonderful dream he had had about a tree where all kinds of nuts grew
+side by side on the same branch. "I was so tired of peanuts," he added,
+"I set out to find the tree--but somehow--got--lost," and then his voice
+became so shaky he couldn't tell any more.
+
+Mother Red Squirrel helped him to another fat beetle and said as soon as
+she had her work done she would see what she could do about it. "So
+many of the wood folks are moving south for the winter," she said. "I am
+sure I can find someone who will be going your way."
+
+Now, Mrs. Screech Owl had seen Mrs. Red Squirrel hurry through the rain
+the night before with neither umbrella nor rubbers. So she said to
+herself, "This looks very queer. I will wait opposite the squirrel
+house, for I must know all."
+
+And presently the entire woods was awakened by Mrs. Screech Owl's shrill
+voice calling, "Extra, extra! Mrs. Red Squirrel has city cousins
+visiting her." Of course this was not true. But "extras" seldom are
+accurate.
+
+Anyway, Mrs. Red Squirrel thought she never would get her work done. You
+would not believe me if I should tell you how many times the door bell
+rang. First her neighbor on one side dropped in to borrow a pattern.
+Then a neighbor on the other side came over to return a book. Then
+friends from all over the woods just happened by, and always after a
+second or two they would say, "I hear you have company from the city."
+
+And then Mother Red Squirrel would have to stop work and tell all about
+it. But the worst of it was nobody knew the way back to the park.
+
+Pretty soon Mother Red Squirrel had an idea. "Mr. Bat is a great
+traveler," she said, "even if he does go to places only at night, I'll
+ask him." Now, nobody likes to be waked out of a sound sleep to be asked
+questions. Mr. Bat blinked his eyes very hard, though by that time the
+sun was too bright for him to see a thing, and at first he said he
+didn't know the way either. Then Mrs. Red Squirrel flattered him a
+little and told how she had asked everybody the way to the park and
+nobody knew. "I felt sure you'd know," she added, at which Mr. Bat
+remembered he did and promised to take the little runaways home, just
+as soon as it should be dark enough!
+
+When Bushy-Tail and Hazel learned that they were going home that night,
+they jumped up and down for joy. I forgot to tell you Mrs. Red
+Squirrel's two children were called Pinky and Rusty. They were such
+lively, frolicsome children that you just couldn't help but laugh to see
+them, and pretty soon Bushy-Tail and Hazel had forgotten all about how
+their parents must be worrying.
+
+"How would it be if we all went on a picnic today?" asked Mother Red
+Squirrel. "I know where there are hazel nuts." I need not tell you what
+they answered. So she gave them each a little basket and took two
+herself and whisk--they were springing through the air, leaping from the
+ends of teetering branches or spinning along the tops of fences in a
+jiffy.
+
+[Illustration: THE SQUIRRELS GO ON A PICNIC]
+
+By and by they came to a lot of bushes and Mrs. Red Squirrel put down
+her basket "Let's not stop here," cried Bushy-Tail. "See, the burs
+don't open a bit, they are much too green to eat."
+
+But Mrs. Red Squirrel said, "If we wait for the wind to rattle them out
+for us, chipmunks and children from over the hill will not leave us one.
+If we even wait until the burs open, crows and jays will carry them
+off."
+
+Then she showed them how to cut off the little clusters of burs and soon
+they had their baskets full. What fun that picnic was. There were so
+many new things to see in that woods. Bushy-Tail kept crying, "Oh, look
+here, Hazel," and she was kept busy calling, "Come quick, Bushy-Tail."
+
+Bushy-Tail had one eye open for the wonderful tree where all kinds of
+nuts grew side by side on the same branch. He could remember just how it
+looked in his dream, so he felt sure he would know it the minute he
+espied it. "If there isn't one in this wonderful woods," he was
+beginning to think, "I don't believe there is one anywhere."
+
+All of a sudden Hazel and Bushy-Tail heard their little play-fellows
+give a scared little cry. They looked around quickly, but could see
+nothing to be frightened at--only a man carrying a heavy black stick
+against his shoulder. He kept stealing up nearer, and Hazel and
+Bushy-Tail kept very still watching him.
+
+"I think he has some peanuts for us," said Hazel Squirrel.
+
+"What do we want of peanuts now, come on," said Bushy-Tail, and they ran
+around the trunk of the tree. Just then a terrifying "whiz" went past
+their ears followed by a deafening "bang." They were so frightened they
+ran and ran, and did not stop until they were all out of breath.
+
+It was the only time they ever had even seen a man with a gun. After
+that they never took nuts from men carrying sticks.
+
+That afternoon Mrs. Red Squirrel made Hazel and Bushy-Tail take a
+little nap. "You know you will be up late to-night," she said. Mr. Bat
+had not forgotten his promise and just as soon as it began to get dark
+he was knocking at the door. He said there would be a moon, so they need
+not bother a fire-fly to go too.
+
+Mrs. Red Squirrel and her two children went as far as the edge of the
+woods with them. "Now you know the way you must come often," they called
+after Bushy-Tail and Hazel. "Don't forget to come and see us, too, and
+thank you for the nice time," they called back. You see, they had been
+well trained and did not forget their manners.
+
+[Illustration: FEASTING ON HAZEL NUTS]
+
+"I think I should like to live in the park," said Rusty to his mother.
+"Bushy says there are no traps there or bad men with guns." Mrs. Red
+Squirrel was thinking she would like to have her groceries delivered,
+too, so she answered, "I think I shall speak to your father about it
+to-night."
+
+When Bushy-Tail and little Hazel Squirrel finally reached the edge of
+the park it was very late and they were very tired indeed. But when they
+got within sight of their homes and saw the lights in the windows they
+began to run again anyway.
+
+Do you think their mothers were glad to see them once more? Well, was
+your mother glad to see you that day she thought you were lost, when you
+really were not? And if you still want to know if Bushy-Tail ever found
+the wonderful tree where all kinds of nuts grew side by side on the same
+branch, all I can tell you is that they never found it in the park and
+that they never ran away again.
+
+
+
+
+THE RACCOON AND THE BEES
+
+[Illustration: THE RACCOON WATCHES THE BOYS]
+
+
+A raccoon was dozing, perched up in a big tree one fine, bright summer
+day. He lay on a broad limb high up in the tree. There was a fresh
+breeze stirring, and he swayed to and fro with the branches.
+
+He had been rocking on this lofty perch for some time, with his eyes
+half closed, when he was roused by the shouting of some small,
+bare-footed boys who were playing in a hayfield close by. Coonie, as he
+was called for short, after yawning and stretching for some minutes,
+finally shifted his position so as to see the boys. He had watched them
+often from the top of a tree, and he always enjoyed the fun, because
+they did such queer things.
+
+It was some minutes before he could find out what they were doing, but
+at last he discovered that they had found a bumble-bees' nest. They had
+long paddles in their hands and were running around, yelling, and waving
+the paddles frantically. Occasionally one of the boys screamed, and then
+several of the others would run toward him, all beating the air with
+their paddles.
+
+Coonie watched very closely and saw one boy run up to the hive, give it
+a quick poke, and then scamper away. With every poke at the hive, a
+number of bees would fly out of the opening and sail away on the air.
+
+Finally a small boy approached the hive and gave it a hard poke.
+Instantly about a dozen bees swarmed out, and the boy started to run. He
+had gone but half a dozen feet, however, when he tripped and fell, and
+by the way he rolled and kicked, it was plain to be seen that the bees
+were getting the better of him.
+
+It was great fun watching them, and Coonie decided that he would get a
+nearer view, so he crawled down the tree in a hurry and ran to the big
+oak at the edge of the field. From there he could get a full view of the
+battle. He chuckled to himself as he thought of the fun he was having
+all by himself.
+
+The battle between the boys and the bees was raging furiously by this
+time. The boys charged time after time, and with each attack became
+bolder and bolder, until finally Coonie saw that they were winning. The
+plucky little bees fought bravely to defend their home, but the boys
+were too strong for them, and one by one they fell and were crushed or
+beaten to pieces with the paddles.
+
+After two or three pokes at the hive to make sure that none of the bees
+remained, a great shout went up from the boys who surrounded the
+deserted nest.
+
+Children, have you ever seen a wild bees' nest--a real bumble-bees'
+home?
+
+They are nearly always built on the ground, and are made of little
+pieces of grass piled and woven together into a little mound. At the
+very top there is a small hole which is used as the doorway through
+which the bees enter. The wall is not very thick, but is put together
+tightly so the wind will not blow it away, and it is hollow.
+
+It is in this mound that the bees store their honey for the winter.
+During the warm summer days they work hard, carrying tiny drops of honey
+which they gather from the flowers and storing it so they will have
+something to eat during the cold weather.
+
+When the cold winds come, in the fall and winter, and the flowers are
+dead, the little workers stop their labor and gather together in the
+home they have been preparing all summer. When the snow comes, the
+little grass storehouse is buried snug and warm underneath the white
+blanket.
+
+It was just such a nest as this that Coonie watched the boys robbing of
+its treasure. Poor little bees! All their hard work had been in vain,
+and they had even lost their little lives in the brave effort to protect
+their winter's food supply.
+
+But even from his hiding place Coonie could see that the boys had not
+won the battle without some losses. Big lumps were beginning to swell up
+on their faces and arms, and the little boy who had tripped and fallen
+could hardly see because his eyes were nearly swollen shut.
+
+The boys tore away the mound and took out the honey, layer by layer, and
+squeezed out the golden syrup. Just as they were licking the last drops
+from their sticky fingers, Coonie saw a man walking towards them. When
+he was near enough, he began talking to them in an angry way.
+
+"Why, Mr. Jones," Coonie heard one boy say, "you don't use bumble-bees'
+honey, do you?"
+
+"No, boys, I don't use the honey myself, but I don't want you to kill
+the bees or rob their nests so they will have to starve. Bees do a great
+deal of good on the farm."
+
+"What good are bumble-bees?" one of the boys asked.
+
+"Why, they do a lot of good. They distribute the pollen from the heads
+of the clover, and that makes the seed mature and develop."
+
+This was news to Coonie, for he never knew before that bumble-bees were
+of any use, but then he had never had much to do with them. One day when
+he was playing he had caught a bee in his little paws and had received a
+sting, and he never forgot how sore his paws were and how they swelled
+so that he was unable to climb for several days. Since that time he had
+always made it a practice to move away when a bee came too close.
+
+After the boys were gone and Farmer Jones had gone back to his house,
+Coonie decided that he would go over to the field and see what the
+inside of the bees' nest looked like.
+
+As he approached the field where the battle had taken place, much to his
+surprise, he saw his friend Woodchuck snooping around among the ruins.
+When Coonie reached him, he sat up on his hind feet and began licking
+his paws.
+
+"Hello, Chuck," Coonie said. "What are you doing? Why, your face is a
+sight. My, such a dirty face. Why, Chuck, I am surprised," and he
+noticed the greedy look in Chuck's eyes.
+
+"Yum! yum!" was the only reply he received and Chuck began picking
+around in the grass.
+
+[Illustration: "YUM, YUM, BUT IT IS FINE"]
+
+"I say, Chuck," Coonie said again, "what are you doing?"
+
+"Doing?" echoed Chuck. "Why, this is the best food I have had for a long
+time, Coonie. My face may be a little sticky, but it can be washed, so I
+don't care. Such a treat as I have had! I am sorry you missed it all. I
+saw some boys capering and scampering around here this afternoon, and as
+soon as they left I came over to see what it was all about, and this is
+what I found," and Chuck held up a small yellow pod. "Just taste one,
+Coonie, it is sweeter than any berry I ever tasted. Yum, yum, but it is
+fine."
+
+"Hum!" sniffed Coonie. "It may suit your taste, but honey is much too
+sticky for me."
+
+"Well, I'm glad you don't want any," Chuck replied. "You always were
+rather particular, but I am only Chuck anyhow, and as some people call
+me a hog--a ground-hog, you know--I might as well live up to my name."
+
+"But, Chuck, just go down to the brook and look at your face."
+
+Chuck, seeing that his supply of sweets was exhausted, did as Coonie
+suggested and waddled toward the brook, Coonie accompanying him.
+
+As Chuck was washing his face and paws, Coonie remarked that he knew
+where there was plenty of the kind of honey Chuck had been feasting on.
+"Only," he added, "it is much cleaner than what you have been eating."
+
+"Oh, Coonie, tell me where it is, won't you, please?" cried Chuck,
+stopping his toilet and catching up Coonie's paw. "I just dearly love
+it, and I'll be your lifelong friend if you will tell me where it is so
+I can get some more."
+
+Now Coonie felt very mischievous, and he thought of a plan that would
+give him some fun.
+
+[Illustration: "OH, COONIE TELL ME WHERE IT IS"]
+
+"Why, Chuck," he replied, "you would not expect me to tell you where
+all this honey is, would you? You would go eat it all up in one night.
+You are such a 'hoggie' you know."
+
+"Oh, be a good friend, Coonie, and tell me. If you only knew how badly I
+want some more."
+
+"Well, I'll tell you," Coonie said, "but there may be some danger in
+getting it."
+
+"I'll never stop for the danger," Chuck boasted.
+
+"You remember Farmer Jones, don't you?"
+
+"I should say I do. I'll never forget the whole family. Do you remember
+the time we were caught stealing the corn in his crib last fall? And,
+oh, that fierce dog! Indeed, I never will forget him. If it is Farmer
+Jones' honey, it is perfectly safe, for it makes me shiver to even think
+of that dog, Jack."
+
+"Oh, I knew that you would be afraid," taunted Coonie. "Tomorrow is
+Saturday, and the Jones always go to town on Saturday. I have been
+planning to go over and give myself a little treat."
+
+"But, Coonie, how about the dog?"
+
+"Oh, he goes to town with them. I have watched them from the tree where
+I live, and they never miss going on Saturday afternoons, and taking the
+dog with them."
+
+"But how do you know where the honey is, Coonie?"
+
+"How? Why, I have often sampled it."
+
+Now Coonie told a falsehood when he said he had eaten some of the honey,
+but he was anxious to have some fun, and so he resorted to a falsehood
+in order to carry out his plans. This plan never pays, as you will see
+later.
+
+"Have you really sampled it, Coonie?" Chuck asked. "And is it good, and
+is it very hard to get?"
+
+Chuck was all excitement, for he could not get rid of the memory of the
+taste of the honey he had just been eating.
+
+"'Hard to get?'" repeated Coonie. "Why, Chuck, there are great piles of
+it, and knowing the grounds as I do, it will be easy to get it. Now you
+meet me tomorrow and I'll take you over with me. Meet me by the big oak
+tree in the corner of the woods, just after noon tomorrow. I must leave
+you now, because I am going fishing to-night with some of the other
+coons that live near me. Good-bye until tomorrow," and Coonie went away
+with a chuckle.
+
+[Illustration: CHUCK ARRIVED AT THE BIG OAK TREE]
+
+The next afternoon, Chuck arrived at the big oak tree in the corner of
+the woods. But there was no Coonie waiting for him. He walked around the
+tree several times to make sure and then mounted a nearby stump. The
+woods were very quiet save for the droning of insects, and the sun that
+shone between the leaves beat down very hot. Before Chuck knew it he
+had fallen asleep at his post.
+
+When Coonie came trotting up and saw Chuck perched there fast asleep he
+said to himself: "What a fine chance to play a trick." So he picked a
+long blade of grass with a feathery end and crept up from behind so
+carefully that not a twig cracked. When he was within arm's reach he
+tickled poor Chuck way up his nose.
+
+Chuck waked with a start and bounded right into the air, landing at some
+distance off. He had no idea that someone had played a trick on him.
+
+"What ails you, Chuck?" Coonie cried, running up, with a friendly,
+anxious expression on his face, for Chuck was almost sneezing his head
+off.
+
+"Guess--a--nasty old--fly--crawled up--my--nose," Chuck managed to get
+out between sneezes.
+
+"Too bad, old chap," said Coonie, giving him a friendly pat on the
+shoulder. "Come along with me and we'll get some honey, and that will
+make you feel better." Still sneezing, Chuck trotted off with Coonie
+across the fields.
+
+When they reached Farmer Jones' barnyard everything seemed very quiet
+and sleepy around there.
+
+"Is that where the honey is kept?" whispered Chuck, as Coonie took a
+peep in at the barn-door.
+
+"No," answered Coonie, "I just wanted to see if the double-buggy was
+there. It is not, and now I feel perfectly sure they have all gone to
+town and taken the dog with them."
+
+Then they felt quite safe. Very boldly they walked around to the gate in
+the yard where Coonie said the honey was. "Hurrah," he cried, "someone
+has left the gate open for us. They must have been expecting us!"
+
+"I have never been in here before," said Chuck. "What are all those
+square white boxes along the fence?"
+
+"Those are called bee-hives," Coonie answered, a little proudly, to
+think he knew so much. "The honey is kept inside."
+
+"But how do we get at it?" asked Chuck. "Those little holes in front
+look hardly big enough for me to get my paw through, much less my head
+and shoulders."
+
+"Oh," laughed Coonie, "how stupid you are! You just go up and knock very
+loudly at the door and when a bee comes out, you ask if he hasn't
+something to eat for a poor fellow, who has come a long way and is very
+hungry and tired. But should he pay no attention to you, hit him with
+your paw. This will frighten the others so they will bring out all the
+honey you wish and leave it there on the ledge for you. Come on, I'm
+hungry, aren't you, Chuck?"
+
+[Illustration: HE GRABBED UP A BIG STICK]
+
+"Am I?" said Chuck. "Well, I should say so." He was licking his jaws in
+memory of the little feast he had had the day before.
+
+Coonie looked at Chuck out of the corners of his mischievous eyes, but
+Chuck never guessed he was laughing at him when he added, "I'll take a
+hive at this end, you can have one at that. Let's hurry."
+
+Chuck was in a hurry indeed. Already he felt sure he could smell the
+honey, so he left Coonie and ran toward the hive at the end of the row
+in high spirits. But before he knocked on it he stopped and looked back.
+He wanted to see how Coonie was getting along.
+
+Now, Coonie did not really want any honey. All he wanted to do was to
+play a joke on his friend, but it very often happens that the practical
+joker gets the worst of it in the end. And as Coonie stepped up to the
+hive and pretended to knock, he put his paw right down on top of the
+Queen Bee, whom he did not see sunning herself on the ledge.
+
+The Queen Bee has no sting, you know, and cannot defend herself. She is
+by no means helpless, however. She has, in fact, an entire army ready to
+fight for her at a moment's call.
+
+When the other bees heard their Queen's cry for help they all rushed out
+of their hives and began at once attacking Coonie. They buzzed angrily
+around him and burrowed into his fur until he rolled over and over on
+the ground, doubled up with the pain.
+
+This was what Chuck saw when he turned around to find out how Coonie was
+getting along! He grabbed up a big stick, but he soon saw there was
+nothing he could do to help.
+
+He also saw that the bees in their mad attack had left their fort
+unguarded. So he stuck his paw inside the door and broke off a good
+sized piece of comb full of nice, yellow honey. Then he started for the
+woods again as fast as he could.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Coonie did not see Chuck as he shot past him a few minutes later, trying
+to shake off the bees that still clung to him, as he ran. And a few days
+later, when they met down by the brook, Coonie pretended not to see him.
+
+"Howdy, Coonie," Chuck called out in his cheery way. "Where are you
+going so fast? Well, I never," he added, noticing Coonie's bumps and
+bandages. "Have you been in a fight?"
+
+"Just a little fuss with Farmer Jones' dog. He's twice my size and a
+regular bully," Coonie answered, as he brushed by Chuck in such a hurry
+that he did not hear the latter call after him.
+
+"Say, old friend, meet me by the big oak tree in the corner of the woods
+tomorrow and we'll go after some more of that good honey!"
+
+It was Chuck's turn to laugh now, for "he laughs best who laughs last,"
+you know.
+
+
+
+
+PINKIE WHISKERS
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+Little Pinkie Whiskers was born in a big city and lived with his Father
+Gray, Mother Gray and two little sisters, Twinkle and Winkle, in a tin
+box, which was hidden under a big garbage can.
+
+Mother Gray had hunted and found nice scraps of cotton and bits of
+straw. With these she made a soft, warm nest and here they all lived as
+cozy and happy as could be.
+
+One day a poor, old man came down the alley and looked in all the
+garbage cans to see what he could find that he might sell, for that is
+the way he got his money to buy his food and shelter.
+
+When he came to the garbage can over our family of rats, he did not see
+their little home and pushed their box right over.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers, Twinkle and Winkle were all alone. They fell out onto
+the brick pavement and began to cry. Oh, my, how they cried!
+
+Mother Gray and Father Gray were out getting a nice supper for them all.
+Mother Gray heard her babies cry and came running home as fast as she
+could.
+
+When she saw what had happened, she was very distressed. She quieted her
+babies and nestled down with them in the fence corner.
+
+Father Gray said, "Never mind, my dears, I will find you a nice, new
+home," and away he went.
+
+Bye and bye he returned and told them with joy that he had found a
+splendid place for them to live. It was just inside the door of a big
+apartment building.
+
+Father Gray and Mother Gray gathered together all the pieces of their
+nest and carried them in their mouths. Then, keeping very close to the
+fence, they started for their new home.
+
+This new home was a nice square place under the floor and far enough
+back so that a cat or a dog could not reach them. Soon they were settled
+and Pinkie Whiskers, Twinkle and Winkle were fast asleep.
+
+In the morning, just as Mrs. Gray was washing her children's faces, they
+heard a bell ring right in front of their door.
+
+To their great alarm their home began to tremble and then move. Yes,
+really move. Up and up it went, faster and faster.
+
+Oh, how frightened they were! All at once their home stopped. They heard
+people talking and then down, down they went. My, what a queer feeling
+it gave them!
+
+They heard a voice say, "Your elevator is running fine today, Tom."
+
+"An elevator!" cried Mother Gray--"Our home is in an elevator. We must
+move at once for we cannot be always going up and down."
+
+Father Gray just laughed and laughed, then said: "Well, well, I have
+heard of elevators, but I never expected to have a ride in one and now
+we have a home in one. That is a good joke, ha! ha!"
+
+Mother Gray said, "You may laugh all you wish, but I am tired of city
+life, you are never sure of a safe home. We will go to the country to
+live."
+
+"Oh, oh," cried Pinkie Whiskers, "let us go and live with Uncle Whiskers
+in the cheese factory."
+
+"A very good idea," said Father Gray, and straightway they started for
+the country.
+
+When they arrived at the cheese factory, they found it dark and
+deserted, but Father Gray discovered a hole and soon they had all
+crawled in through this hole. Mother Gray selected a great, big round
+cheese to live in. Father Gray made an entrance into it and very soon
+the tired rats were in bed in the cheese.
+
+The next day Pinkie Whiskers, Winkle and Twinkle went out in the meadow
+to explore and they found a net, which some boy had lost.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers said, "You just watch me catch that butterfly in this
+net!"
+
+He swiftly ran after the butterfly, but when the butterfly saw Pinkie
+Whiskers coming, he thought how nice it would be to have a ride on
+Pinkie Whiskers' back, so he flew after him.
+
+Now, Pinkie Whiskers did not know much about butterflies and he thought
+this butterfly was chasing him.
+
+So Pinkie Whiskers started to run for home.
+
+"Don't let him catch me," begged Pinkie Whiskers.
+
+Winkle and Twinkle took out their little handkerchiefs and waved them
+fast and hard. The butterfly was so amazed at the sight, that he forgot
+about Pinkie Whiskers and flew away.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+Pinkie Whiskers ran to Winkle and Twinkle. He was so frightened that he
+hid behind them. Twinkle laughed and said:
+
+"Do not hide, for the butterfly has gone and anyway it was as afraid of
+us as you were of it. Butterflies are perfectly harmless. They do not
+sting or bite. They are as gentle and timid as they are beautiful."
+
+Pinkie Whiskers looked in every direction, but he could not see the
+butterfly, so he shook himself and ran about once more. He was glad to
+know that butterflies were harmless, for he might meet one again.
+
+"Look, look! what is that?" cried Winkle as he pointed to a fat, brown,
+furry animal which was coming slowly toward them.
+
+"I do not know," replied Twinkle. "Don't you think that we had better
+go now?"
+
+"No, indeed," said Pinkie Whiskers, who had suddenly become very brave.
+"I want to wait and see what kind of an animal he is."
+
+When the fat, brown, furry animal was near enough to hear, Pinkie
+Whiskers called out:
+
+"Hello! who are you?"
+
+"I am Sammy Woodchuck. I live here in the meadow. You look like
+strangers. Where do you live?" he inquired.
+
+"Our names are Twinkle Gray, Winkle Gray and Pinkie Whiskers Gray,"
+replied Pinkie Whiskers. "We live in the cheese factory."
+
+"Why, that is strange, that is strange," said Sammy Woodchuck. "You must
+be relatives of Uncle Whiskers. I have heard him speak of you. Welcome
+to the country."
+
+"Thank you very much for your welcome," replied Pinkie Whiskers, for
+Mother Gray had taught her children to be very polite.
+
+"Why do you call our Uncle Whiskers, your Uncle Whiskers," inquired
+Twinkle. "Is he related to you also?"
+
+Sammy Woodchuck threw back his fat head and laughed until his eyes were
+full of tears. "No, no!" he cried. "He is not related to me. How could a
+rat and a woodchuck be related? Everyone calls him Uncle Whiskers
+because we all love him. He is so kind and good to us all. You see I
+have known him all my life and 'Uncle' is my pet name for him. You ask
+any of the animals about here and they will tell you the same thing."
+
+"That is very nice," said Pinkie Whiskers. "When I get old, I hope
+everyone will love me enough to call me 'Uncle.' I shall try and be good
+and kind like Uncle Whiskers."
+
+"Won't you come home with me?" urged Sammy Woodchuck. "It is just a
+nice walk from here."
+
+"Yes, we would love to go home with you," cried the three little
+brothers all at once. As they walked along they came to a beautiful tree
+and at the foot of this tree lay a shiny new axe.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers ran and picked it up. He had never seen anything like
+it, so he turned it over and over and inquired:
+
+"What is this wonderful thing and what is it for?"
+
+"It is an axe," replied Sammy Woodchuck. "It is very sharp and Farmer
+Gale uses it to cut down trees. You see he has already started to chop
+this tree down. He must have been called away and I am sure that he
+intends to return soon or he would not have left his axe here."
+
+"I will help him chop down this tree," said Pinkie Whiskers.
+
+He took off his little red coat and hung it on a stick, which Farmer
+Gale had stuck in the ground. Then he put his brown cap on top of his
+little red coat, rolled up his shirt sleeves and began his work.
+
+He swung the axe high above his head and brought it down against the
+tree with a great bang! He looked and to his disappointment saw that he
+had not cut even a tiny chip.
+
+"I will try again," he vowed. "What others have done, I can do."
+
+He chopped and chopped at the big tree until he was rewarded by bright,
+yellow chips flying through the air.
+
+Winkle, Twinkle and Sammy Woodchuck stood by and watched him with great
+admiration. Sammy Woodchuck said:
+
+"You are doing splendid work, Pinkie Whiskers. I will take some of these
+chips home with me and put them across my front door. I always use the
+back door. It is more safe."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+"Why do you bother to have a front door if you only pile sticks in front
+of it and never use it?" inquired Twinkle.
+
+"Just to fool Farmer Gale's dog and any other animal, which might try to
+catch me. While they were digging at my front door, I could slip out my
+back door and escape," replied Sammy Woodchuck.
+
+"Has Farmer Gale's dog ever tried to catch you?" asked Pinkie Whiskers.
+
+"Oh, yes, indeed, many times," answered Sammy Woodchuck. "One time I was
+fast asleep when I heard a sniff, sniff at my front door. At first I
+thought that it must be part of a dream.
+
+"I rubbed my eyes, sat up and listened. In a moment I heard the sniff,
+sniff again. This time it was very loud and near. Then I heard
+scratching and digging. I knew that dog, for I had seen him many times
+and I knew that he never stopped until he got what he was after.
+
+"I could hear him digging so fast that I knew it would not be long
+before he would be right in my house. I began to move slowly and quietly
+for the back door. I got out safely and was running across the meadow
+when the dog saw me in the moonlight and gave chase.
+
+"Of course I did not have a chance with him for I am so fat. He was
+gaining every moment and I was so tired and out of breath that I thought
+every step would be my last one, when a cat ran right between us.
+
+"Now, the dog hated the cat worse than he did me, so he gave chase to
+the cat. Away they both ran at a terrible speed. I knew that the cat
+could run faster than the dog and would soon be safe and sound up a
+tree, so I rested a moment and then went over to Willie Woodchuck's and
+spent the rest of the night."
+
+"My, that was a dreadful experience," said Pinkie Whiskers and he
+shuddered.
+
+"Did you ever live in that house again?" inquired Winkle.
+
+"Oh, no, indeed," replied Sammy Woodchuck. "That dog was sure to go back
+and he would never rest until he had dug clear through my home. No,
+indeed, I could not live there again. I stayed with Willie Woodchuck for
+a long time until I felt safe to find another spot to build my home."
+
+Pinkie Whiskers did not chop while Sammy Woodchuck was telling his
+story. He just leaned upon his axe and listened. Now he said:
+
+"Never mind, Sammy Woodchuck, you need never be afraid in your home
+again. I will chop down this tree and put it across your front door. No
+one can dig into your house then."
+
+The tree was so big and Pinkie Whiskers was so little that Sammy
+Woodchuck had to smile to himself at the idea of his moving it. However,
+he did not let Pinkie Whiskers see him smile, for he did not want to
+hurt his feelings. He said:
+
+"You are very kind, my dear friend, and I appreciate your wish to help
+me, but my home is too far away for you to drag that big tree to it."
+
+"Poof! poof!" snorted Pinkie Whiskers. "I will show you what I can do."
+
+He chopped away so fast and swung the axe so high and rapidly that it
+was just a shiny streak rushing through the air. Suddenly he missed his
+aim and the axe came down on his toe instead of the tree.
+
+"Oh, my toe!" he cried. "I've cut my toe."
+
+Poor Pinkie Whiskers! He danced about on one foot in circles, while he
+held the other foot in his hand.
+
+Sammy Woodchuck caught hold of him and threw him to the ground. Twinkle
+quickly slipped off the shoe which was badly cut and Winkle pulled off
+his little white sock.
+
+They all anxiously looked at the toe and to their relief found that it
+was only cut a very little. In fact it looked as if it had just been
+scratched.
+
+"We must bind it up with something," said Sammy Woodchuck.
+
+"Here is my handkerchief," cried Twinkle.
+
+"Here is mine and it is perfectly clean. Please use it," urged Winkle.
+
+"I will need both handkerchiefs," said Sammy Woodchuck.
+
+So he took both handkerchiefs and wound them very neatly around Pinkie
+Whiskers' toe and foot.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers felt himself to be quite a hero. His toe did not hurt
+him any more and he liked all of this sympathy and attention.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+Pinkie Whiskers liked to be a hero so well that he limped about and
+grunted when he stepped on his foot, even though it did not hurt him. It
+was so nice to see how sorry everyone looked.
+
+Suddenly he heard a voice above him say, "Too bad! too bad!"
+
+"Why, hello!" cried Sammy Woodchuck. "Where did you come from, Billy
+Jay?"
+
+"I have been right here in this tree all the time you and your little
+friends have been here," laughed Billy Jay.
+
+"Why didn't you come down and visit with us before, instead of hiding up
+amongst the leaves," demanded Sammy Woodchuck rather crossly.
+
+"Because I wanted to see if Pinkie Whiskers could really chop down this
+tree," replied Billy Jay.
+
+"Of course I can chop it down. You just watch me," boasted Pinkie
+Whiskers. "If I were you, I would leave the tree, for it won't take me
+long to chop it in two and you might take a tumble."
+
+Pinkie Whiskers forgot all about his toe and bandaged foot. He worked as
+he had never worked before. He became very warm and thirsty. He called
+to Twinkle:
+
+"Won't you please bring me some water. I am choking."
+
+"I would be glad to, if I knew where to find it," replied Twinkle.
+
+"There is a creek just beyond those trees," said Billy Jay. "You can
+take his cap and fill it with water and bring it back to him. I will go
+with you and show you the way."
+
+"I will go along also and help Twinkle carry the water back for Pinkie
+Whiskers. I am sure that cap would be very heavy if it were full of
+water," said Winkle.
+
+"Umph! umph!" grunted Sammy Woodchuck. "You have very kind and
+thoughtful brothers."
+
+Just then they saw Uncle Whiskers coming across the meadow with a
+pitch-fork in his hand.
+
+"He must be after some hay to put in his nest," said Sammy Woodchuck.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers gave a mighty blow at the tree with his axe and turned
+to look at Uncle Whiskers. It was a fatal mistake, for that last blow
+chopped the tree in two and it began to sway and totter.
+
+"Run, Pinkie Whiskers, run!" screamed Sammy Woodchuck.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers dropped his axe and ran. Alas! he ran in the wrong
+direction. As he looked back over his shoulder he saw that the tree was
+falling right upon him.
+
+"I wish I had run away sooner," thought Pinkie Whiskers.
+
+Uncle Whiskers saw his danger and shouted, "Dodge to the side, dodge to
+the side!"
+
+But poor Pinkie Whiskers was so confused that he did not hear. He just
+ran and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. All the time the tree
+was falling and in an instant more it would have crashed down and
+crushed Pinkie Whiskers, had it not been for Billy Jay.
+
+When Billy Jay saw what was happening, he did not say a word, just flew
+like a streak and grabbed Pinkie Whiskers by his long tail and jerked
+him out of the way. No, not entirely out of the way, for it was too late
+for that, but far enough out of the way so that the tree trunk missed
+him and he was only caught in the branches and covered with green
+leaves.
+
+"Oh! oh!" cried Twinkle.
+
+"Oh! oh!" cried Winkle. "Our little brother will be killed. Oh! oh!"
+
+They dropped the cap which was full of water and ran to the spot where
+they had seen Pinkie Whiskers disappear.
+
+Billy Jay came wriggling out and said, "Pinkie Whiskers is all right.
+Just let him rest where he is for awhile. He is only tired out from
+running and from fright."
+
+"Yes, Billy Jay is right. We will let him rest and catch his breath,"
+said Uncle Whiskers.
+
+It was very hard for Winkle and Twinkle to accept this advice, but they
+had been taught to obey their elders, so they only looked at one another
+and stayed where they were.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+Suddenly they heard a sweet, gentle voice calling, "Oh, please come
+here, oh, please come here."
+
+They all looked high and low, but they could see no one. Uncle Whiskers
+cried, "Who are you and where are you? We hear you but we cannot see
+you."
+
+"I am the Tree-Fairy and I am right here in the stump of this tree,"
+came the reply.
+
+They all rushed over to the tree and, sure enough, there was the most
+beautiful creature they had ever seen. She was lying on her back and her
+wings were caught in the bark of the stump.
+
+"Won't you please help me to free my wings," she begged.
+
+"You must tell us how we can do it without tearing them," said Sammy
+Woodchuck. "I fear that I am far too clumsy to touch them anyway."
+
+Uncle Whiskers looked at the lovely, delicate wings and said, "I can
+gnaw the bark away from them."
+
+"Please let me help you," begged Winkle.
+
+"And please let me help also," begged Twinkle. "My teeth are as sharp as
+needles."
+
+"My bill is very sharp and while you gnaw, I will pick the bark away. I
+promise to be very careful," said Billy Jay.
+
+So they all set to work and the Tree-Fairy smiled upon them. Her smile
+was so full of love that each little animal felt his heart beat faster
+and was even more eager to free her wings quickly.
+
+"It is perfectly wonderful that Pinkie Whiskers did not cut you in two
+when he chopped down the tree. We had no idea that you were in it," said
+Uncle Whiskers.
+
+The Tree-Fairy laughed a soft, silvery laugh and answered, "No, of
+course you did not know that I was here. When I am free I will tell you
+all about how I came to be here."
+
+Just then Billy Jay picked away a big piece of bark and the Tree-Fairy
+slowly but surely pulled one wing free.
+
+Uncle Whiskers, Twinkle and Winkle worked all the harder and faster and
+soon Twinkle cried:
+
+"I think you can move your wing now, dear Tree-Fairy. Try to move it
+just a tiny bit."
+
+The Tree-Fairy needed no urging. Very gently and slowly she pulled her
+wing out from under the bark. Just to show her little friends that she
+could use them as well as ever, she fluttered them about.
+
+They were so thin that you could see through them and they sparkled and
+shone in the sunshine like silver.
+
+"Can't you get up now?" asked Sammy Woodchuck.
+
+"I will try," replied the Tree-Fairy.
+
+She tried and tried all in vain. She could move, but she could not rise.
+At last she said:
+
+"My foot is caught. I am so sorry, dear friend, but I cannot leave this
+stump until my foot is free. It is so far down in the stump that I am
+afraid you will have a very hard time to loosen it."
+
+She was right. It seemed for awhile that it was impossible to loosen it.
+Billy Jay picked and picked. Twinkle and Winkle gnawed and gnawed, but
+all of their efforts seemed of no use.
+
+Finally Uncle Whiskers said, "I will take the axe and chop away the
+outside of the stump."
+
+"I will take the pitch-fork and lift the soft pulp away," cried Sammy
+Woodchuck.
+
+So they worked and worked until they had broken the stump apart and the
+Tree-Fairy was free once more.
+
+As she stepped out into the green meadow, she was so happy that she
+danced and as she danced, her little silver slippers twinkled and
+glittered.
+
+"Isn't she wonderful?" whispered Winkle to Twinkle.
+
+"Yes. She is so lovely that I am afraid she will not stay with us,"
+whispered Twinkle to Winkle.
+
+Uncle Whiskers looked and looked at the Tree-Fairy until his eyes were
+almost blinded by her sparkle in the sunshine. He said:
+
+"Please come over here under the shade of this tree, where we can look
+at you all we wish and then tell us how you came to be in that tree."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+The Tree-Fairy danced over and sat down under the tree with Uncle
+Whiskers, Winkle, Twinkle and Sammy Woodchuck. Billy Jay did not care to
+sit down. He just hopped around and around the Tree-Fairy and stared at
+her.
+
+In the meantime Pinkie Whiskers had caught his breath and was rested. He
+tried to get up, but found that a branch of the tree held him down. He
+wiggled and twisted but he could not rise.
+
+"Help! help!" called Pinkie Whiskers.
+
+"My goodness!" cried Uncle Whiskers. "We forgot all about that blessed
+Pinkie Whiskers. Come we must help him."
+
+They all rushed over to the tree and there was Pinkie Whiskers lying on
+his back and kicking as hard as he could.
+
+"Now just keep perfectly still and we will break the branches away,
+then you can get up," said Uncle Whiskers.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers was so glad to see Winkle, Twinkle, Uncle Whiskers,
+Sammy Woodchuck and Billy Jay that he cried.
+
+"Now, now!" said Uncle Whiskers. "You eat one of those big apples that
+are just waiting right by your hand for you and you will feel better."
+
+"When I woke up, it was all so still that I thought you had all gone
+home and left me," sobbed Pinkie Whiskers.
+
+"We are here," cried Twinkle.
+
+"We are here," cried Winkle, "and we will have you out of that tree in a
+moment."
+
+Already Sammy Woodchuck and Uncle Whiskers had broken the branches away
+and now they lifted Pinkie Whiskers to his feet.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers was all smiles as he stood in the green meadow again,
+but he said:
+
+"I shall never cut down a tree again. This one nearly killed me."
+
+"You owe your life to Billy Jay. It was Billy who caught your tail and
+pulled you out from under the falling tree trunk just in time or you
+surely would have been crushed," said Uncle Whiskers.
+
+"All is well that ends well and really, Pinkie Whiskers, you never did
+such a wonderful thing before and you probably will never do such a
+wonderful deed in your life again, for you have set the Tree-Fairy free.
+Look over there and you will see her," said Sammy Woodchuck.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers looked and he was so surprised that his little mouth
+flew open, and I am ashamed to say that he stared too. Yes, he actually
+stared at the Tree-Fairy.
+
+The Tree-Fairy smiled and came dancing over to him. She bowed and said,
+"I want to thank you for saving my life. If it had not been for you, I
+would not be standing here in this beautiful sunshine."
+
+"Do tell us how you came to be in the tree trunk, won't you please?"
+begged Twinkle.
+
+"To be sure, I will tell you," laughed the Tree-Fairy. This is the story
+she told:
+
+"In Fairyland there are Witches as well as Fairies, just as on Earth
+there are bad people as well as good people.
+
+"I had always been very friendly with the Witches and they were as kind
+to me as they could be until one day I went to visit the Witch
+Discontent. She was never satisfied with anything and never smiled or
+laughed.
+
+"You know I love everybody and everything. I am happy all the day long
+and I never fret or worry. On this day I was so happy over the beautiful
+sunshine and flowers that I was singing and dancing.
+
+"The Witch Discontent could not help but feel my happiness and bye and
+bye she forgot to whine and scold and actually began to sing with me.
+She had never been known to sing a note before.
+
+"Then I told her a joke and she laughed. My, how she laughed! We were
+having the best kind of a time when one of the other Witches entered and
+found the Witch Discontent enjoying herself.
+
+"The Witch Discontent was so angry to be caught having a good time that
+she flew into a terrible rage, and drove me from the house."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+When the Tree-Fairy told of the Witch Discontent's rage, she shuddered,
+then she continued:
+
+"The Witch Discontent not only drove me from her house, but she chased
+me and she screamed at me every step of the way. I could run faster than
+she and I reached my home first. I ran into the house, closed and bolted
+the door.
+
+"I was just in time for I had only finished locking the door when the
+Witch Discontent threw herself against it.
+
+"When she found that the door was locked she was more angry than ever.
+She tore her hair and jumped wildly about. She put her mouth to the key
+hole and screamed:
+
+"'I will punish you yet, you just wait. I will sit here in front of
+your door until you come out.'
+
+"Now, I knew that she could not harm me unless she looked me in the eye
+and made certain passes with her hands, so I decided right then and
+there that I would stay in the house and keep the door locked.
+
+"All day long the Witch Discontent sat in front of the door and all the
+while her rage grew and grew until she was a terrible sight. I peeped
+out of the window at her several times and each time I was glad she did
+not see me.
+
+"Night came and she was still there. I went quietly to bed and soon fell
+asleep. It was bright daylight when I awakened. My first thought was one
+of happiness and then I remembered about the Witch Discontent and I was
+eager to see if she was still sitting outside of my door.
+
+"I tip-toed over to the window and looked out. I could not see her so I
+leaned further out and almost instantly a rough hand grabbed me and
+dragged me right out of the window and dropped me on the ground.
+
+"I found myself facing the Witch Discontent. She had been waiting under
+my window for this very chance. She shook me and then held me very tight
+while she looked me in the eye, made passes and hissed:
+
+"'You wicked Tree-Fairy! I will drive you from Fairyland. I will send
+you to Earth and imprison you in a tree forever. You shall never come
+forth into the sunshine again or dance, laugh or sing unless I will it.
+Now go,' she screamed as she flung me from her and made more strange
+passes with both hands.
+
+"That is all I can remember until I found myself imprisoned in the heart
+of yonder tree. I could not stir. I was fitted into the tree as if I had
+grown there.
+
+"I do not know how long I have been in the tree, for I slept a great
+deal, but always when I was awake I sang little songs of joy to myself
+and kept a merry heart. But best of all, I never ceased to love the
+Witch Discontent in spite of what she had done to me.
+
+"You know that love always conquers hate and it was love that sent the
+man to cut down the tree and when he was called away, it was love that
+sent Pinkie Whiskers and you, my dear friends, to finish the work and
+free me."
+
+As the Tree-Fairy stopped talking there were tears of gratitude and
+happiness in her eyes. She looked so sweet and beautiful that her new
+friends wondered how anyone could ever have been unkind to her.
+
+"You certainly have had a very hard time and I am glad that we could
+help you out of your prison," said Uncle Whiskers.
+
+"Why are you called a Tree-Fairy if you have only lived in a tree here
+on Earth?" inquired Pinkie Whiskers.
+
+The Tree-Fairy laughed merrily as she replied: "Bless your heart, I
+have always lived in a tree. My home was in a tree in Fairyland, but the
+tree was hollow and I had several rooms. As I told you I even had a door
+and a window."
+
+"Fairyland must be a wonderful place," sighed Twinkle. "I wish that I
+could make you a visit when you are back in your own home once more."
+
+The Tree-Fairy put her arms about him and said, "I would love to have
+you but it is impossible. You could never reach there. I must be going
+now, but I will never forget your kindness to me and I will always watch
+over you all and turn your trouble into happiness. In fact, I will tell
+all of the good Fairies to help you."
+
+"Pinkie Whiskers, you shall always be protected in time of need. Some
+day when you are in danger, I will save you as you have saved me and now
+good-bye, dear friends, good-bye."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+When Pinkie Whiskers reached home, he told Mother and Father Gray all
+about how he chopped down the tree and how the beautiful Tree-Fairy was
+freed from her prison. Mother Gray said:
+
+"My son, you have had a very wonderful experience, but please be careful
+what you do and where you go. Country life is very different from city
+life and you are very young."
+
+"Yes, mother, I will be careful, but I want to do everything that anyone
+else does," replied Pinkie Whiskers.
+
+"Now, now," spoke Uncle Whiskers, "let the boy have his way. I am sure
+that he is a genius. If Pinkie Whiskers does all of the things which he
+longs to do, he will be ready for anything. Why, he may be able to
+write a book about the wonderful things he sees and hears or perhaps he
+may paint a beautiful picture."
+
+"That sounds very nice," replied Mother Gray, "but I am afraid something
+dreadful will happen to him, while he is doing all of these things."
+
+Just then Billy Jay flew onto the window-sill and called out, "I invite
+you all to come with me down to the creek. I want to show you city rats
+something that you have never seen before."
+
+"Oh, goodie!" cried Twinkle.
+
+"Oh, goodie!" cried Winkle.
+
+"Hurrah! hurrah!" shouted Pinkie Whiskers.
+
+"Now, children, please stop shouting while I tell you my plan," begged
+Mother Gray. "It will soon be supper time, so how would you like to take
+our supper with us and eat it down by the creek?"
+
+"Oh, yes, a picnic, a picnic! Let us have a picnic!" shouted the three
+little brothers at once.
+
+They all hurried about and helped Mother Gray put up the lunch and very
+soon they were all scampering off to the creek for their picnic.
+
+Billy Jay flew ahead of them and they followed him to a place in the
+creek, where the shore curved and the rocks sheltered the water so that
+it was as quiet and as still as a pond.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers, Winkle and Twinkle raced down to the creek and looked
+down into the water. To their amazement, they saw their faces reflected:
+Pinkie Whiskers cried out:
+
+"Is this the surprise? Is this what you wished to show us?"
+
+"No," laughed Billy Jay. "You look again and forget about your
+reflection and tell me what you see."
+
+They all looked again and this time they saw funny little creatures
+wiggling and swimming about. Pinkie Whiskers asked:
+
+"What are they and where are they going?"
+
+Mother Gray and Father Gray looked and they also were surprised, for
+they had never seen or heard of anything like them.
+
+Billy Jay was thoroughly enjoying himself, for it is always fun to show
+something strange to your friends. He laughed as he answered:
+
+"They are tadpoles and they are not going anywhere. They just swim
+around and around here near the shore, for this is their home just as
+the cheese factory is your home."
+
+"Will they always be small like this?" inquired Pinkie Whiskers.
+
+"Bless your heart, no," replied Billy Jay. "They will grow into great,
+big frogs."
+
+They all watched the tadpoles swim about until Mother Gray said: "Come,
+children, we will have our supper now."
+
+They found a very nice place to eat and everyone was so hungry that they
+began to eat at once.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers kept thinking of the tadpoles and without saying a word
+he slipped away from the others and went back to the creek. Right beside
+a big rock, he found a fish rod and net.
+
+He picked them up and began to fish. In a moment a tadpole swallowed the
+hook. Pinkie Whiskers jerked him out of the water and put the net under
+him.
+
+"You are the little tadpole I have been fishing for," he cried.
+
+The little tadpole was so amazed that he could not speak. He just hung
+and flopped on the hook.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+The longer that Pinkie Whiskers looked at the tadpole, the more proud he
+grew to think that he had caught him.
+
+At last the tadpole found his voice and said, "Oh, please put me back in
+the water. I want to go home."
+
+Pinkie Whiskers jumped when the tadpole spoke. Someway he had not
+thought about a tadpole having a voice or being able to talk.
+
+"No, my little tadpole. I am not going to let you go back home. I am
+going to take you to my home. I will put you in a glass of water and you
+can swim as much as you please," replied Pinkie Whiskers.
+
+"I have a mother and father just as you have and I do not want to leave
+them. I want to stay here and I will stay here," said the tadpole and
+he jumped about so lively that Pinkie Whiskers had all he could do to
+keep from falling off the stone.
+
+"Stop pulling my fish line. Stop pulling it, I say," cried Pinkie
+Whiskers.
+
+The little tadpole paid no heed to Pinkie Whiskers' demand. In fact he
+jumped and pulled all the harder and faster.
+
+The first thing Pinkie Whiskers knew, he had slipped off from the stone
+and was up to his neck in the water.
+
+But Pinkie Whiskers was not the kind to give up a prize easily. My, no!
+He remembered to hold fast to the fish rod. The little tadpole swam away
+as far as he could and tugged and tugged at the line.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers was nearly pulled over in the water, but just in time he
+threw out his hand and caught hold of the rock, then using all the
+strength he had, he managed to climb up onto it.
+
+Once more he pulled the tadpole free from the water and slipped the net
+under it. He was panting for breath but he said:
+
+"Now, little tadpole, I am surely going to take you home with me, but I
+will not put you in the glass. I will fry you and eat you for my
+breakfast."
+
+The poor little tadpole was so frightened that he screamed, "Help! help!
+help!"
+
+Now Father Frog had gone back on the shore to stretch himself in the
+sunshine and to see what he could find to eat.
+
+He was returning to the creek when he heard his son call for help. He
+was very much frightened for he knew that the tadpole could not get up
+onto the rocks himself and yet the call for help came from the rocks.
+
+Father Frog hopped as fast as he could, but his heart beat so wildly
+that he could not jump very far at a time.
+
+When he reached the creek he stopped a moment to look and what he saw
+struck him with such horror that he could not move. His legs would not
+work.
+
+About this same time Mother Gray went to give Pinkie Whiskers another
+piece of bread and cheese. To her surprise he was nowhere to be seen.
+She called and called, but Pinkie Whiskers was too far away to hear.
+
+"Father Gray, you must go and find Pinkie Whiskers," she cried. "Run as
+fast as you can. I am afraid that he is in trouble or mischief."
+
+"Now, now," said Uncle Whiskers, "you worry too much about Pinkie
+Whiskers. He is a fine, big boy and can take care of himself."
+
+"That may be true but I am going to find him now," said Mother Gray as
+she ran for the creek.
+
+Father Gray said, "Wait a moment and I will come along with you."
+
+Winkle cried, "I want to come too."
+
+Twinkle cried, "I want to come too, please wait for me."
+
+Uncle Whiskers grumbled, "Well, I never did see such a fuss in my life.
+I have not had enough to eat yet, but I guess I will join the hunt for
+Pinkie Whiskers anyway."
+
+Billy Jay laughed and said, "I will go with you, Uncle Whiskers. We can
+finish our supper when we return."
+
+So off they all ran after Pinkie Whiskers and although Mother Gray was
+worried, she never suspected what serious trouble and danger Pinkie
+Whiskers was in.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+After the first shock, Father Frog became very angry with Pinkie
+Whiskers. His legs began to move once more and he made long hops and
+jumps until he stood beside Pinkie Whiskers. He puffed out his white
+throat and croaked:
+
+"Chug-e-rum! chug-e-rum! What are you doing with my son and why did you
+pull him out of the water?"
+
+Pinkie Whiskers looked at Father Frog and when he saw how big he was,
+felt rather small and timid himself, but he raised up to his full height
+and said:
+
+"Is this little tadpole your son? I fished for him just for the sport of
+it and I did intend to take him home with me."
+
+"Chug-e-rum! chug-e-rum!" roared Father Frog, "drop my son at once."
+
+The way Father Frog demanded Pinkie Whiskers to drop the tadpole made
+him very determined not to do so. It was very naughty of Pinkie
+Whiskers, and afterwards he was most sorry for having been so rude,
+unkind and stubborn, but then it was too late.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers said to Father Frog, "I will not drop your son. He is my
+little tadpole now and I am going to take him home and fry him for my
+breakfast."
+
+"Chug-e-rum! chug-e-rum!" growled Father Frog. "You shall do nothing of
+the kind. Don't you know that frogs and tadpoles have feelings and
+hearts as well as yourself?"
+
+"Poof! poof!" scoffed Pinkie Whiskers. "I don't care. I am going to take
+my tadpole home with me anyway."
+
+Father Frog did not say a word. He just jumped against Pinkie Whiskers
+with such force that the rod flew out of his hand and the little
+tadpole went flop back into his watery home.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers fell flat upon the stone and when he scrambled to his
+feet, there beside him stood Father Frog. In his hand he held a long
+green reed, which he had pulled out of the creek.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers thought that Father Frog intended to whip him with the
+reed and he begged, "Please do not whip me. I will never touch your
+little tadpoles again."
+
+"Indeed you will not touch them again, for you will not be here to fish
+for them."
+
+With these words, the Frog grabbed Pinkie Whiskers and threw him up onto
+his back. He then put the reed around him so that he could not possibly
+get away.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers kicked and kicked. He jerked and jerked, but the reed
+was so strong that he could not break it. He tried to bite it with his
+teeth, but he could not reach around far enough.
+
+Father Frog hopped up onto a big rock that was hanging right over the
+creek. Pinkie Whiskers screamed and kicked some more, but it was of no
+use.
+
+"Oh, please put me down, Mr. Frog," begged Pinkie Whiskers.
+
+"Indeed, I will not. You showed my son no mercy and now you cannot
+expect me to show you any kindness," replied Father Frog.
+
+"But he is back in the creek with his brothers and sisters now," said
+Pinkie Whiskers.
+
+"Yes, he is back home with a fish hook in his mouth and I will have a
+hard time to get it out. Besides it was not you or your kindness that
+put him back home. It was because I made you drop him," growled Father
+Frog.
+
+"What are you going to do to me?" cried Pinkie Whiskers.
+
+"I am going to dump you into the water," replied Father Frog.
+
+"Oh, mother! mother! father! father! help me! Come quick and help me!"
+screamed Pinkie Whiskers.
+
+Mother Gray and all of the others heard him scream and they ran as fast
+as they could to his aid. Billy Jay could fly faster than the others
+could run, and he flew as fast as he could, but even he was too late.
+
+Right before their very eyes, Father Frog leaped into the creek with
+Pinkie Whiskers on his back.
+
+The last they saw of Pinkie Whiskers was his feet kicking the air and
+his little red coat-tails flying.
+
+Mother Gray threw herself down on the rock and sobbed, "My dear Pinkie
+Whiskers, I will never see him again."
+
+Winkle, Twinkle and Billy Jay all cried, too, but Father Gray blew his
+nose and wiped a tear from his eye as Uncle Whiskers said, "That boy
+will come back all safe and sound."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+When Pinkie Whiskers struck the water, he closed his mouth and his eyes
+tight. He did not open his eyes until he felt Father Frog swimming
+rapidly down the creek and he wondered where they were going.
+
+He kicked and kicked, but the green reed held him so fast that he could
+not free himself.
+
+Father Frog swam on and on until they came to the mouth of the creek and
+the creek flowed into a great, rushing river. Father Frog let loose of
+the reed and as Pinkie Whiskers fell off from his back, said:
+
+"Now, my little rat, you must take care of yourself. I am going home to
+take your fish hook out of my poor little tadpole's mouth. Good-bye."
+
+The water was so deep and it raced along so swiftly that Pinkie Whiskers
+was very much frightened, but suddenly a beautiful, soft voice whispered
+in his ear:
+
+"Do not be afraid. I am the Water-Fairy and I will help you because my
+dear friend, the Tree-Fairy asked me to do so. She told me all about how
+you saved her."
+
+Pinkie Whiskers was so amazed and delighted that he forgot that he was
+in the water and started to speak. Of course, the water poured into his
+open mouth and he began to sputter and choke.
+
+The Water-Fairy pushed him to the top of the water and patted him on his
+back until he was all right once more, then she said:
+
+"I will make it possible for you to stay down under the water and
+breathe and talk just like a fish and then you will never choke again."
+
+Pinkie Whiskers smiled his thanks and the Water-Fairy made some passes
+and, sure enough, he could breathe, talk and swim under water just like
+a fish.
+
+"Look! look!" cried the Water-Fairy. "There is a ship in the distance
+and it is headed this way."
+
+Sure enough, a beautiful, big, white ship was coming down the river. It
+was coming so fast now they could see men moving about on her.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers took out of his pocket his white handkerchief and waved
+it around and around his head.
+
+"Ship ahoy! ship ahoy!" he shouted.
+
+"It will do you no good to signal the ship," said the Water-Fairy. "It
+would never stop to take a rat on board. Oh, dear no! You will have to
+get on the ship without anyone seeing you."
+
+Pinkie Whiskers did not wait to hear any more. He swam for the passing
+ship. When he was even with the dragging rope he tried to catch it with
+his teeth, but he was not quick enough and the rope slipped out of his
+reach.
+
+Again and again he tried and at last he made a quick jump and landed
+right upon the rope. He just clung to it as tight as he could with his
+feet and rested.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+The rope was one which the sailors had put out to tell them how many
+miles an hour they were going. This rope had a wonderful wheel at the
+end of it which kept twisting and turning in the water.
+
+Every now and then the rope would turn suddenly over and poor Pinkie
+Whiskers would go under the water with it and nearly fall off. At last
+he was rested and climbed the rope to the ship. When no one was about he
+jumped aboard.
+
+Of course, he did not know which way to go, but there was a pleasant
+smell of cooking in the air and he followed this smell.
+
+He soon found himself in a big kitchen with many people hurrying about.
+There were cooks with white caps and aprons and waiters with white
+jackets.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers kept very close to the wall and ran until he saw a white
+jacket hanging on a nail.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers saw that the jacket had pockets, so he ran up the side
+of the wall and hid in one of the pockets. He had just nestled down for
+a little nap, for he was very tired, when along came the owner of the
+jacket. He took it off from the nail and put it on.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers, did not know what to do, but he decided to keep very
+still. The waiter took his tray of food and went into the dining room.
+Pinkie Whiskers peeped out of the pocket and saw many tables with people
+about them.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers' head was still out of the pocket when the waiter went
+up to a table to serve a lady. She saw Pinkie Whiskers and screamed, "A
+mouse! a mouse!"
+
+Now, Pinkie Whiskers knew that he was a rat and not a mouse, so at
+first he did not think that she meant him, but when all of the ladies
+jumped up from the table and started to run, Pinkie Whiskers jumped from
+the pocket and ran too.
+
+He hid behind the leg of a big chair and did not move until he felt the
+ship stop and saw everyone going ashore. He started to go ashore too and
+as everyone had bundles and baggage, he picked up a small hand bag, an
+umbrella, a can and a cage filled with butterflies, grasshoppers and a
+lady-bug.
+
+He had only gone a short way when the door of the cage flew open and the
+insects flew out.
+
+"I never had so much trouble in all my life," complained Pinkie
+Whiskers.
+
+He ran after them and caught as many as he could and put them back into
+the cage for he wanted to take them home as presents to his dear ones.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+Pinkie Whiskers found it very hard to travel over the country road with
+all of his baggage. He caught his feet in the cage and fell over it
+several times.
+
+He did not know the way home and he had to ask every little wild
+creature that he met where the cheese factory was.
+
+At last he met Billy Jay, for Billy Jay had gone out to search for him.
+Billy Jay felt sure that Pinkie Whiskers was not drowned and when he met
+his little friend coming down the road he was not even surprised.
+
+"Hello, Billy Jay!" shouted Pinkie Whiskers. "You see that I am coming
+home."
+
+"Hello, Pinkie Whiskers!" cried Billy Jay. "I never was so glad to see
+anyone in my life. Let me carry something for you."
+
+"All right, you may carry my handbag, if you wish," said Pinkie
+Whiskers.
+
+Now that Pinkie Whiskers had company, it did not seem any time at all
+before they reached the cheese factory.
+
+Pinkie Whiskers opened the door and walked right in, just as the family
+was eating supper.
+
+Mother Gray screamed and ran to kiss her son. Father Gray, Winkle,
+Twinkle and Uncle Whiskers stood by and waited for their turn.
+
+"Now, children, let Pinkie Whiskers eat his supper before you ask him
+any questions. The poor little fellow must be very, very hungry after
+his long journey."
+
+Pinkie Whiskers ate and ate, then he told them all about the good
+Water-Fairy, who was a friend of the Tree-Fairy and how she had asked
+the Water-Fairy to help him.
+
+Winkle, Twinkle and Billy Jay were so amazed by Pinkie Whiskers' story
+that they stood and stared at him with big eyes.
+
+Uncle Whiskers shook himself and said, "There now, Mother Gray, didn't I
+tell you not to worry about Pinkie Whiskers?"
+
+"And, yes," cried Pinkie Whiskers, "you said perhaps I might write a
+book and I have already started one. So you see that you are always
+right, Uncle Whiskers."
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Hazel Squirrel and Other Stories, by 
+Howard B. Famous
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+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HAZEL SQUIRREL AND OTHER STORIES ***
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