"I'd like to," replied Sammy. "I think it is perfectly wonderful. Idon't see how you do it."
"It's easy enough when you know how," replied Paddy. "If I dared to, I'dshow you."
Sammy had a sudden idea. It almost made him gasp. "I tell you what, youwork and I'll keep watch!" he cried. "You know my eyes are very sharp."
"Will you?" cried Paddy eagerly. "That would be perfectly splendid. Youhave the sharpest eyes of any one whom I know, and I would feelperfectly safe with you on watch. But I don't want to put you to allthat trouble, Mr. Jay."
"Of course I will," replied Sammy, "and it won't be any trouble at all.I'll just love to do it." You see, it made Sammy feel very proud to havePaddy say that he had such sharp eyes. "When will you begin?"
"Right away, if you will just take a look around and see that it isperfectly safe for me to come out on land."
Sammy didn't wait to hear more. He spread his beautiful blue wings andstarted off over the Green Forest straight for the Green Meadows. Paddywatched him go with a puzzled and disappointed air. "That's funny,"thought he. "I thought he really meant it, and now off he goes withouteven saying good-by."
In a little while back came Sammy, all out of breath. "It's all right,"he panted. "You can go to work just as soon as you please."
Paddy looked more puzzled than ever. "How do you know?" he asked. "Ihaven't seen you looking around."
"I did better than that," replied Sammy. "If Old Man Coyote had beenhiding somewhere in the Green Forest, it might have taken me some timeto find him. But he isn't. You see, I flew straight over to his home inthe Green Meadows to see if he is there, and he is. He's taking asun-bath and looking as cross as two sticks. I don't think he'll be backhere this morning, but I'll keep a sharp watch while you work."
Paddy made Sammy a low bow. "You certainly are smart, Mr. Jay," saidhe. "I wouldn't have thought of going over to Old Man Coyote's home tosee if he was there. I'll feel perfectly safe with you on guard. NowI'll get to work."
XXI
PADDY AND SAMMY JAY WORK TOGETHER
Jerry Muskrat had been home at the Smiling Pool for several days. Buthe couldn't stay there long. Oh, my, no! He just had to get back to seewhat his big cousin, Paddy the Beaver, was doing. So as soon as he wassure that everything was all right at the Smiling Pool he hurried backup the Laughing Brook to Paddy's pond, deep in the Green Forest. As soonas he was in sight of it, he looked eagerly for Paddy. At first hedidn't see him. Then he stopped and gazed over at the place where Paddyhad been cutting aspen-trees for food. Something was going on there,something queer. He couldn't make it out.
Just then Sammy Jay came flying over.
"What's Paddy doing?" Jerry asked.
Sammy Jay dropped down to the top of an alder-tree and fluffed out allhis feathers in a very important way. "Oh," said he, "Paddy and I arebuilding something!"
"You! Paddy and you! Ha, ha! Paddy and you building something!"Jerry laughed.
"Yes, me!" snapped Sammy angrily. "That's what I said; Paddy and I arebuilding something."
Jerry had begun to swim across the pond by this time, and Sammy wasflying across. "Why don't you tell the truth, Sammy, and say that Paddyis building something and you are making him all the trouble you can?"called Jerry.
Sammy's eyes snapped angrily, and he darted down at Jerry's little brownhead. "It isn't true!" he shrieked. "You ask Paddy if I'm not helping!"
Jerry ducked under water to escape Sammy's sharp bill. When he came upagain, Sammy was over in the little grove of aspen-trees where Paddy wasat work. Then Jerry discovered something. What was it? Why a littlewater-path led right up to the aspen-trees, and there, at the end of thelittle water-path, was Paddy the Beaver hard at work. He was digging andpiling the earth on one side very neatly. In fact, he was making thewater-path longer. Jerry swam right up the little water-path to wherePaddy was working. "Good morning, Cousin Paddy," said he. "What are youdoing?"
"Oh," replied Paddy, "Sammy Jay and I are building a canal."
Sammy Jay looked down at Jerry in triumph, and Jerry looked at Paddy asif he thought that he was joking.
"Sammy Jay? What's Sammy Jay got to do about it?" demanded Jerry.
"A whole lot," replied Paddy. "You see, he keeps watch while I work. Ifhe didn't, I couldn't work, and there wouldn't be any canal. Old ManCoyote has been trying to catch me, and I wouldn't dare work on shore ifit wasn't that I am sure that the sharpest eyes in the Green Forest arewatching for danger."
Sammy Jay looked very much pleased indeed and very proud. "So you see ittakes both of us to make this canal; I dig while Sammy watches. So weare building it together," concluded Paddy with a twinkle in his eyes.
"I see," said Jerry slowly. Then he turned to Sammy Jay. "I beg yourpardon, Sammy," said he. "I do, indeed."
"That's all right," replied Sammy airily. "What do you think ofour canal?"
"I think it is wonderful," replied Jerry.
And indeed it was a very fine canal, straight, wide, and deep enoughfor Paddy to swim in and float his logs out to the pond. Yes, indeed, itwas a very fine canal.
XXII
PADDY FINISHES HIS HARVEST
"Sharp his tongue and sharp his eyes-- Sammy guards against surprise. If 'twere not for Sammy Jay I could do no work to-day."
When Sammy overheard Paddy the Beaver say that to Jerry Muskrat, itmade him swell up all over with pure pride. You see, Sammy is so used tohearing bad things about himself that to hear something nice like thatpleased him immensely. He straightway forgot all the mean things he hadsaid to Paddy when he first saw him--how he had called him a thiefbecause he had cut the aspen-trees he needed. He forgot all this. Heforgot how Paddy had made him the laughing-stock of the Green Forest andthe Green Meadows by cutting down the very tree in which he had beensitting. He forgot everything but that Paddy had trusted him to keepwatch and now was saying nice things about him. He made up his mind thathe would deserve all the nice things that Paddy could say, and hethought that Paddy was the finest fellow in the world.
Jerry Muskrat looked doubtful. He didn't trust Sammy, and he tookcare not to go far from the water when he heard that Old Man Coyotehad been hanging around. But Paddy worked away just as if he hadn'ta fear in the world.
"The way to make people want to be trusted is to trust them," said heto himself. "If I show Sammy Jay that I don't really trust him, he willthink it is of no use to try and will give it up. But if I do trust him,and he knows that I do, he'll be the best watchman in the Green Forest."
And this shows that Paddy the Beaver has a great deal of wisdom, for itwas just as he thought. Sammy was on hand bright and early everymorning. He made sure that Old Man Coyote was nowhere in the GreenForest, and then he settled himself comfortably in the top of a tallpine-tree where he could see all that was going on while Paddy theBeaver worked.
Paddy had finished his canal, and a beautiful canal it was, leadingstraight from his pond up to the aspen-trees. As soon as he had finishedit, he began to cut the trees. As soon as one was down he would cut itinto short lengths and roll them into the canal. Then he would floatthem out to his pond and over to his storehouse. He took the largerbranches, on which there was sweet, tender bark, in the same way, forPaddy is never wasteful.
After a while he went over to his storehouse, which, you know, wasnothing but a great pile of aspen-logs and branches in his pond close byhis house. He studied it very carefully. Then he swam back and climbedup on the bank of his canal.
"Mr. Jay," said he, "I think our work is about finished."
"What!" cried Sammy, "Aren't you going to cut the rest of thoseaspen-trees?"
"No," replied Paddy. "Enough is always enough, and I've got enough tolast me all winter. I want those trees for next year. Now I am fixed forthe winter. I think I'll take it easy for a while."
Sammy looked disappointed. You see he had just begun to learn that thegreatest pleasure in the world comes from doing things for other people.For the first time since he could remember som
e one wanted him aroundand it gave him such a good feeling down deep inside!
THE END
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