The more he thought about it, the more worried Sammy Jay became. He losthis appetite and began to grow thin. He kept out of sight whenever possibleand no longer screamed "Thief! thief!" through the Green Forest. In facthis voice was rarely heard during the day. But it seemed that he must betalking just as much as ever in the night. At least everybody said that hewas. Worse still, different ones said that they heard him in differentplaces in the Green Forest and even down on the Green Meadows. Could it bethat he was flying about as well as talking in his sleep? And nobodybelieved him when he said that he was asleep all night. They thought thathe was awake and doing it purposely. They might have known that he couldn'tsee in the night, for his eyes are made for daylight and not for darkness,like the eyes of Boomer the Nighthawk and Hooty the Owl. But they didn'tseem to think of this, and insisted that almost every night they heard himdown in the alders along the Laughing Brook. Yet every morning when heawoke, Sammy would find himself just where he went to sleep the nightbefore, safely hidden in the thickest part of a big pine-tree.
"If they are not all crazy, then I must be," said. Sammy Jay to himself, ashe turned away from the breakfast which he could not eat. Then he had ahappy idea. "Why didn't I think of it before? I'll sleep all day, and thenI'll keep awake all night and see what happens then!" he exclaimed.
So Sammy Jay hurried away to the darkest part of the Green Forest and triedto sleep through the day.
VII
SAMMY JAY SITS UP ALL NIGHT
Sammy Jay sat in the dark and shivered. Sammy was lonely, more lonely thanhe had ever supposed anybody could be. And to tell the truth Sammy Jay wasscared. Yes, Sir, that was just the way Sammy Jay felt--scared. Every timea leaf rustled, Sammy jumped almost out of his skin. His heart wentpit-a-pat, pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat. He could hear it himself, or at least hethought he could, and it seemed to him that if Hooty the Owl should happento come along, he would surely hear it.
You see it was the first time in all his life that Sammy Jay had not goneto sleep just as soon as jolly, round, red Mr. Sun had pulled his rosynight-cap on and gone to bed behind the Purple Hills. But to-night Sammysat in the darkest, thickest part of a big pine-tree and kept blinking hiseyes to keep from going to sleep. He had made up his mind that he wouldn'tgo to sleep at all that night, no matter how lonely and frightened he mightbe. He just would keep his eyes and his ears wide open.
What was he doing it for? Why, because all the little meadow and forestpeople insisted that every night lately Sammy Jay had spent a great part ofhis time screaming in the harsh, unpleasant way he does during the day, andsome of them were very cross, because they said that he waked them up whenthey wanted to sleep. Now Sammy knew better. He never in his life hadscreamed in the night unless--well, unless he did it in his sleep anddidn't know it. So he had made up his mind to keep awake all of this nightand see if in the morning any one would say that he had waked them up.
He had watched the black shadows creep through the Green Forest and growblacker and blacker. The blacker they grew, the lonesomer he became. By andby it was so dark that he couldn't see anything at all, and every littlenoise made him shiver. It is easy to be brave in daylight, but in the dark,when you cannot see a thing, every little sound seems twice as loud as itreally is and gives you such a creepy, creepy feeling. Sammy Jay had itnow. He felt so creepy that it seemed as if he would crawl right out of hisskin. He kept saying over and over to himself: "There's nothing to beafraid of. There's nothing to be afraid of. I'm just as safe as if I wasfast asleep." But still he shivered and shook.
By and by, looking up through the top of the big pine-tree, he saw thelittle stars come out one by one. They seemed to be looking right down athim and winking at him in the jolliest way. Somehow, he didn't feel quiteso lonely then, and he tried to wink back. Then little, soft, silvery barsof light began to creep through the branches of the trees and along theground. They were moonbeams, and Sammy could see just a little, a verylittle. He began to feel better.
"Whooo-hoo-hoo, whooo-hoo!"
It was a terrible sound, fierce and hungry. Sammy Jay nearly fell from hisperch. He opened his mouth to scream with fright. Then he remembered justin time and closed it without a sound. It was the hunting-cry of Hooty theOwl. Sammy Jay sat huddled in a little, forlorn, shivering heap, whiletwice more that fierce cry rang through the Green Forest. Then a shadowfloated over the big pine-tree. Hooty the Owl had flown away without seeinghim, and Sammy breathed easier.
VIII
SAMMY JAY IS GLAD HE SAT UP ALL NIGHT
Sammy Jay was having no trouble in keeping awake now. Not a bit! Hecouldn't have gone to sleep if he wanted to--not since Hooty the Owl hadfrightened him almost out of his skin with his fierce, hungry hunting-call.He was too frightened and shivery and creepy to sleep. But he didn't wantto, anyway.
So he sat in the thickest part of the big pine-tree, shivering and creepyand miserable. He heard Bobby Coon go down the Lone Little Path on his wayto Fanner Brown's cornfield, where the corn was just beginning to get milkyand sweet. Out in a patch of bright moonlight he saw Peter Rabbit jumpingand dancing and having the greatest kind of a time all by himself. Prettysoon Peter was joined by his cousin, Jumper the Hare. Such antics as theydid cut up! Sammy Jay almost laughed aloud as he watched. It was lesslonely with them there, and he did want to call to them dreadfully. Butthat would never, never do, for no one must know that he was sitting upawake all night.
By and by along came Jimmy Skunk, walking out into the patch of brightmoonlight. He touched noses with Peter Rabbit and Jumper the Hare, which isone way of saying "good evening" in the Green Forest.
"Isn't it most time for Sammy Jay to scream in his sleep?" asked PeterRabbit.
Sammy pricked up his ears. "Scream in his sleep! Nonsense! Sammy Jay isn'tany more asleep than I am. He just screams out of pure meanness to wake upand frighten good honest folks who want to sleep. For my part, I don't seewhat any one wants to sleep for on such a fine night as this, anyway. Itserves 'em right if they do get waked up," replied Jimmy Skunk.
"But Sammy Jay says that he doesn't do it and doesn't know anything aboutit," said Peter Rabbit. "Have you ever seen him scream in the night, JimmySkunk?"
"No, I don't have to," replied Jimmy Skunk. "I guess I know his voice whenI hear it, and I've heard it enough times the last few nights, goodnessknows! Tell me this, Peter Rabbit: who else is there that cries 'Thief!thief! thief!' and screams like Sammy Jay?"
Peter shook his head. "I guess you're right, Jimmy Skunk. I guess you'reright," he said.
"Of course I'm right. There, now!" Jimmy held up one hand to warn Peter tokeep still. Sure enough, there was Sammy Jay's voice, way over in thealders beside the Laughing Brook, and it was screaming "Thief! thief!thief!"
They all heard it. Sammy Jay heard it, too, and scratched himself to besure that he was awake and sitting there in the big pine-tree.
"It's my voice, and it isn't my voice, for I haven't made a sound, and it'sover in the alders while I'm here in my own big pine-tree," muttered SammyJay to himself. "I'm glad I kept awake, but--
"Maybe I'm going crazy! My wits are getting hazy! That's surely me, Yet here I be! Oh, dear, I sure am crazy!"
IX
THE MYSTERY GROWS
"Can a body be a body, Yet not a body be? Tell a body, anybody, Didst such a body see?"
Of course it was Sammy Jay who was humming such a foolish-sounding rhymeas that. But really, it wasn't so foolish in Sammy's case, after all. Hehad sat up wide awake all night just to try to find out why it was that allthe little meadow and forest people had complained that he spent part ofeach night screaming "Thief! thief! thief!" just as he does in the daytime.Now he knew. Sitting in the dark in his big pine-tree, he had heard his ownvoice, or what sounded like his own voice, screaming down in the alders bythe Laughing Brook. Sammy had scratched himself to be sure that he wasreally and truly awake and not dreaming, for there was his voice down inthe alders, and there was himself sitting in the big pin
e tree with hismouth closed as tight as he could shut it. Did ever a Jaybird have anythingso queer as that to puzzle him?
Anyway, Sammy Jay knew that he didn't scream in his sleep, and there was awhole lot of comfort in that. He could eat with a better appetite now. Yousee, when he had been told that he was screaming in the night, Sammy hadbeen afraid that he was doing it in his sleep; and if he was doing that,why, some dark night Hooty the Owl might hear him and find him, and thatwould be the end of him. Now he knew that he could go to sleep in peace,just as he always had.
Sammy Jay brushed and smoothed out his handsome blue coat and made himselfas pert and smart-appearing as possible. He had been so worried lately thathe hadn't taken much care of himself, which is very unusual for Sammy Jay.Now, however, he felt so much better that he began to think about hislooks. When he had finished dressing, he started for the alders beside theLaughing Brook just to have a look around. Of course he didn't expect tofind his voice down there, for who ever saw a voice? Still he thought thathe might find something that would explain the mystery.
He hunted all around in the thicket of alders beside the Laughing Brook,but nothing unusual did he find. Then for a long time he sat as still asstill can be, studying and thinking. Finally he thought to himself: "I'lljust see how my voice really does sound down here," and opening his mouthhe screamed:
"Thief! thief! thief!"
Then out popped Jenny Wren, and she was so mad that she couldn't sit stilla second. My, my, my, how she did scold!
"You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Sammy Jay! You ought to be ashamed ofyourself!" she sputtered. "Isn't it enough to keep us awake half the nightwithout coming down and screaming all day?"
"I haven't been down here in the night, and I haven't kept anybody awake!"replied Sammy Jay indignantly.
Jenny Wren came right up in front of Sammy Jay and hopped up and down. Shewas so mad that with every word she jerked her funny little tail so thatSammy Jay almost had to laugh.
"Don't tell that to me, Sammy Jay! Don't tell that to me!" she cried."Didn't I see you with my own eyes sitting in that alder over there? Don'ttell that to me! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"
X
SAMMY JAY SEEKS ADVICE
Sammy Jay had a headache, such a headache! He had thought and thought andthought, until now it seemed to him that the world surely had turnedtopsy-turvy. His poor little head was all in a whirl, and that was whatmade it ache. First he had been accused of screaming in the night to wakenand scare the little meadow and forest people who wanted to sleep. Then hehad kept awake all night to find out what it meant, and he had heard whatsounded like his own voice screaming "Thief! thief! thief!" down by theLaughing Brook, when all the time he was sitting in the dark in his own bigpine-tree in the Green Forest.
That was bad enough, but to have Jenny Wren tell him that she had seen himwith her own eyes sitting in an alder tree and screaming, at the very timethat he had been back there in the big pine-tree, was more than Sammy Jaycould stand. It was no wonder that his head ached. Hardly any of the littlemeadow and forest people would speak to him now. They just turned theirbacks to him whenever he met them. He didn't mind this so much, because heknew that none of them had ever liked him very well. You see he had playedtoo many mean tricks for any one to really like him. But he did hate tohave them blame him for something that he hadn't done.
"It's too much for me!" said Sammy Jay. "It's too much for me! I've thoughtand thought, until my brain just goes round and round and makes me dizzy,and my thoughts turn somersaults over each other. I must get helpsomewhere. Now, who can I go to, so few will have anything to do with me?"
"Caw, caw, caw!"
Sammy Jay pricked up his ears and spread his wings. "My cousin, Blacky theCrow!" he cried. "Why didn't I think of him before? He's very smart, isBlacky the Crow, and perhaps he can tell me what to do."
So Sammy Jay hurried as fast as he could to lay his troubles before Blackythe Crow. Blacky's eyes twinkled as he listened to Sammy Jay's tale of woe.When Sammy had finished and had asked for Blacky's advice, Blacky went intoa black study. Sammy sat and waited patiently, for he felt certain thatBlacky's shrewd head would find some plan to solve the mystery.
"I don't know how you can find out who it is that's making you all thistrouble, but I'll tell you how you can prove that it isn't you that screamsin the night," said Blacky the Crow after a while.
"How?" asked Sammy Jay eagerly.
"Go away from the Green Meadows and the Green Forest and stay away for aweek," replied Blacky the Crow. "Go up to the far-away Old Pasture on theedge of the mountain, where Reddy and Granny Fox are living. Have Boomerthe Nighthawk see you go to bed there, and then ask him to come straightdown here and tell Peter Rabbit just where you are. Peter will tell everyone else, for he can't keep his tongue still, and then they'll all knowthat it isn't you that screams in the night."
"The very thing!" cried Sammy Jay. "I'll move at once!" And off he hurriedto prepare to move up to the Old Pasture.
XI
HOW BLACKY THE CROW'S PLAN WORKED OUT
"Thief! thief! thief!" Old Granny Fox, trotting along a cow-path in the OldPasture on the edge of the mountain, heard it and grinned. Reddy Fox,sitting in the doorway of their new home under the great rocks in the midstof the thickest clump of bushes and young trees, heard it, too, and hegrinned even more broadly than Granny Fox. It sounded good to him, did thatharsh scream, for it was the first time he had heard the voice of a singleone of the little meadow and forest people since he and Granny Fox hadmoved up to the lonesome Old Pasture.
"Now I wonder what has brought Sammy Jay way up here?" said Reddy, as helimped out to the edge of the thick tangle of bushes and young trees.Pretty soon he caught sight of a wonderful coat of bright blue with whitetrimmings.
"Hi, Sammy Jay! What are you doing up here?" shouted Reddy Fox.
Sammy Jay heard him and hurried over to where Reddy Fox was sitting.
"Hello, Reddy Fox! How are you feeling?" said Sammy Jay.
"Better, thank you. What are you doing way up here in this lonely place?"replied Reddy.
"It's a long story," said Sammy Jay.
"Tell it to me," begged Reddy Fox.
So Sammy Jay told him all about the trouble he had had on the Green Meadowsand in the Green Forest, and how hardly any one would speak to him becausethey said that he kept them awake by screaming in the night. He told how hehad sat up all night and had heard what sounded like his own voice, whenall the time he was sitting with his mouth shut as tight as tight could be.Then he told about Blacky the Crow's plan, which was that Sammy should cometo the Old Pasture and live for a week. Then, if the little people of theGreen Meadows and the Green Forest heard screams in the night, they wouldknow that it was not Sammy Jay who was waking them up. Reddy Fox chuckledas he listened. You know misery likes company, and it tickled Reddy tothink that some one else had been forced to leave the Green Meadows and theGreen Forest.
That night Sammy Jay found a comfortable place which seemed quite safe inwhich to go to sleep. Just after jolly, round, red Mr. Sun went to bedbehind the Purple Hills, Sammy saw Boomer the Nighthawk circling round highin the air catching his dinner. Sammy screamed twice. Boomer heard him anddown he came with a rush.
"Why, Sammy Jay, what under the sun are you doing way off here?" exclaimedBoomer.
"Going to bed," replied Sammy. "Say, Boomer, will you do something for me?"
"That depends upon what it is," replied Boomer.
"It's just an errand," replied Sammy Jay, and then he asked Boomer to godown to the Green Meadows and tell Peter Rabbit how he, Boomer, had seenSammy going to bed up in the far-away Old Pasture.
Boomer promised that he would, and off he started. He found Peter and toldhim. Of course Peter was very much surprised and, because he cannot keephis tongue still, he started off at once to tell everybody he could find,just as Blacky the Crow had thought he would do.
XII
NO ONE BELIEVES PETER RABBIT
Peter Rabbit sat in his secret place in the middle of the Old Briar-patch.Peter was doing some very hard thinking. He ought to have been asleep, forhe had been out the whole night long. But instead of sleeping, he was wideawake and thinking and thinking.
You see early the night before Boomer the Nighthawk had told Peter thatSammy Jay was up in the far-away Old Pasture. Boomer had seen him going tobed there and had come straight down to tell Peter. This was great news,and Peter could hardly wait for Boomer to stop talking, he was so anxiousto spread the news over the Green Meadows and through the Green Forest, forPeter is a great gossip and cannot keep his tongue still.
So he had hurried this way and that way, telling every one he met how SammyJay had moved away to the Old Pasture. But no one believed him.
"Wait and see! Wait and see!" said Jimmy Skunk.
"It's just a trick," said Bobby Coon.
"But Boomer the Nighthawk saw him up there going to bed and talked withhim!" cried Peter Rabbit.
"Perhaps he did and then again perhaps he didn't," replied Bobby Coon,carefully washing an ear of sweet milky corn that he had brought down tothe Laughing Brook from Farmer Brown's corn-field, for Bobby Coon is very,very neat and always washes his food before eating. "For my part," hecontinued, "I believe that Boomer the Nighthawk just made up that story tohelp Sammy Jay fool us."
"But that would be a wrong story, and I don't believe that Boomer would doanything like that!" cried Peter.