Sleepy-Time Tales
THE TALE OF FRISKY SQUIRREL
by
ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY
Author ofThe Cuffy Bear BooksSleepy-Time TalesEtc.
Illustrated by Eleanore Fagan
Grosset & DunlapPublishers--New YorkCopyright, 1915, by A. S. Bailey
"Tails and Ears"]
CONTENTS
I Frisky Squirrel Finds Much To Do 9II Frisky Squirrel has a Fall 13III The Stone that Walked 17IV The Picnic 22V Some Lively Dodging 27VI Mr. Hawk Returns 31VII A Brave Little Bird 35VIII Uncle Sammy Coon 40IX A Bag of Corn 44X Tails and Ears 49XI Jimmy Rabbit is too Late 53XII Frisky Visits the Gristmill 57XIII Fun on the Milldam 62XIV Mrs. Squirrel Has a Visitor 67XV Helpful Mr. Crow 72XVI Caught in the Attic 77XVII Farmer Green's Cat 82XVIII The Threshing-machine 86XIX Frisky's Prison 91XX Johnnie Green Forgets Something 95XXI That Disagreeable Freddie Weasel 101XXII Catching Freddie Weasel Asleep 106
THE TALE OF FRISKY SQUIRREL
I
Frisky Squirrel Finds Much To Do
Frisky Squirrel was a lively little chap. And he was very bold, too.You see, he was so nimble that he felt he could always jump right outof danger--no matter whether it was a hawk chasing him, or a foxspringing at him, or a boy throwing stones at him. He would chatterand scold at his enemies from some tree-top. And it was seldom that hewas so frightened that he ran home and hid inside his mother's house.
Mrs. Squirrel's house was in a hollow limb of a hickory tree. It was avery convenient place to live; for although the tree was old, it stillbore nuts. And it is very pleasant to be able to step out of yourhouse and find your dinner all ready for you--simply waiting to bepicked.
Of course, Frisky Squirrel and his mother couldn't find their dinneron the tree the whole year 'round--because it was only in the fall thatthere were nuts on it. But luckily there were other things to eat--suchas seeds, of which there were many kinds in the woods. And then therewas Farmer Green's wheat--and his corn, too, which Frisky liked most ofall.
The woods where Mrs. Squirrel and her son lived were full of thefinest trees to climb that anybody could wish for. And Frisky loved togo leaping from branch to branch, and from tree to tree. He was sofearless that he would scamper far out on the ends of the smallestlimbs. But no matter how much they bent and swayed beneath his weight,he was never afraid; in fact, that was part of the fun.
As she watched Frisky whisking about among the trees, now swinging onthis branch, now leaping far out to that one, Mrs. Squirrel sometimeswondered how he could keep dashing about so madly. Though the old ladywas pretty spry, herself, she was content to sit still _some_ of thetime. But Frisky Squirrel was almost never still except when he wasasleep. There was so much to do! Frisky wished that the days werelonger, for though he tried his hardest, he couldn't climb _all_ thetrees in the forest. Each night he had to give up his task, only tobegin all over again the next morning. If there had been nothing to dobut _climb_ the trees Frisky would have been able to climb more ofthem. But there were other things that took time.
There were the birds, for instance. Frisky simply had to tease them.Perhaps it was just because he was so full of fun--or mischief, as itis sometimes called. Anyhow, he delighted in visiting their nests; andchasing them; and scolding at them. And it was not always the littlestbirds, either, that Frisky teased. There was that loud-mouthed fellow,Jasper Jay, the biggest blue jay in the whole neighborhood. Friskyliked nothing better than bothering Jasper Jay--for Jasper always losthis temper and flew straight at Frisky. And then would follow thefinest sport of all.
But a time came at last when Frisky teased Jasper Jay almost once toooften, though that is another story.
II
Frisky Squirrel has a Fall
One day Frisky Squirrel came upon Jasper Jay's nest when Jasper andhis wife were both away from home. And Frisky simply couldn't resisttearing a few twigs out of it. He had not done much damage, however,before Mrs. Jay returned. When she saw what was happening she screamedloudly for her husband. And soon Jasper came flying up as fast as hecould come. He made a noise exactly like a red-tailed hawk; but he didnot frighten Frisky at all, for Frisky knew all of Jasper's tricks.Jasper Jay was always trying to scare people by calling like biggerbirds--such as red-shouldered hawks, and red-tailed hawks, and sparrowhawks.
When Frisky heard him calling he just laughed and skipped up the trunkof the tree, with Jasper and his wife chasing him. Now, with Jasperand Mrs. Jay both flying at him, Frisky had to be sprier than ever.But he was not afraid. He never thought of danger at all. And he randown the thick tree-trunk like a flash and bounded across the groundand tore up the tree where he and his mother lived.
"I'll peck your eyes out!" Jasper shouted, as he followed close behindFrisky. Now, no matter how bold one may be, it is not pleasant to heara thing like that said. And it made Frisky hurry a little faster.
"I'll peck his tongue out!" screamed Mrs. Jay. And somehow itdisturbed Frisky the least bit to hear Jasper's wife say that. Hedecided that he would go home at once. And he gave a great springtoward the hollow limb where he lived.
Then something happened that was a great surprise to Frisky Squirrel.He was right in the middle of his leap when Jasper struck him with awing. The blow did not hurt Frisky. But it sent him tumbling. Hemissed the hollow limb, and down he went, head over heels, toward theground.
Even while he was falling, Frisky Squirrel laughed. You see, hethought it was a good joke on himself. And being a merry littlefellow, he was always ready to laugh when anybody played a joke onhim. As for the fall, that did not trouble him at all. He knew that hecould land on his feet.
It was after he had lighted upon the ground that Frisky was reallyfrightened. For when he looked up, whom should he see but Tommy Fox,not three jumps away! And Tommy Fox was smiling in the most horridfashion, as if to say--"Ah! I've got you now, my fine fellow!" And thenTommy Fox leaped.
But quick as Tommy was, Frisky Squirrel was even quicker. While Tommywas making one big leap, Frisky was making three smaller leaps. Andwhen Tommy came down on the spot where Frisky had been he foundnothing but a heap of dry leaves beneath his paws; and in a momentmore Frisky Squirrel's gray tail was disappearing through the doorwayof his mother's house.
It was very unlucky for Tommy Fox; but then, one might say that it wasvery lucky for Frisky Squirrel.
III
The Stone that Walked
One day Frisky Squirrel was playing in the woods when he came upon achestnut bur which had lain upon the ground all winter. And in atwinkling Frisky had picked the nut from inside it and popped it intohis mouth. Then he started home to show his mother what he had found.
But on the way home Frisky began to feel hungry. Just carrying thatnut inside his cheek was a little more than he could stand. And hedecided that he would eat the nut at once, and _tell_ his mother aboutit, instead of _showing_ it to her.
So Frisky hopped up on the top of a broad, flat rock. And sitting downright in the center of it, he began to gnaw at the chestnut. He was sobusy and so interested in what he was doing that before he knew it therock began to move. It moved so slowly that it was not until itstarted to climb a little hummock, and nearly tipped Frisky over onhis back, that he noticed what was happening.
At first Frisky thought he must be dreaming. He nipped himself withhis sharp teeth to make sure that he was awake.
And when he saw thatthe rock was really walking right away with him he forgot all abouteating the chestnut. He let it fall out of his paws and roll away; forhe had never seen a rock move like that before.
It was very exciting, though Frisky had never traveled so slowlybefore. You see, whenever he went anywhere he always hurried as if hehad the most important business to attend to. But it was quitedifferent with that rock. It crawled along just as if it didn't carewhether it ever got anywhere or not.
For a long time Frisky clung there. Now and then he almost slipped offas the rock tilted. But it never tipped quite over; and Frisky managedto stick on. And then, at last, he decided that he had better hop offonto the ground, for he noticed that the rock was moving straighttoward the river. It went down the bank at a faster pace. And Friskyleaped off just in time to escape a wetting, for the next moment therock dropped splash! into the water.
Frisky Squirrel waited on the shore and watched it, with eyes wideopen with astonishment. He had expected to see it sink to the bottomof the river. But the rock swam away as easily as you please. That wasthe strangest part of it all--a rock which could not only walk, butcould swim as well!
Frisky turned about and ran for home as fast as he could jump. Thistime he certainly did have important business. He had such a strangething to tell his mother! He reached home quite out of breath. And assoon as he could, he told Mrs. Squirrel what he had seen.
That good lady did not know what to think. She had always found herson to be truthful. But this was certainly a queer story. She layawake a long time that night thinking about the matter. And early thenext morning she took Frisky and set out for Swift River. Frisky ledher to the very spot where the stone had swum away.
"There it is! There it is now!" he cried, as they paused upon the bankand he pointed down toward the water's edge.
When Mrs. Squirrel saw what Frisky was pointing at she no longerwondered.
"It's a mud turtle!" she exclaimed. "You had a ride on a mud turtleand you never knew it." She smiled, because she was amused; andbecause she was happy, too. For she knew that Frisky had told thetruth.
IV
The Picnic
It was a fine spring day--so pleasant that the children from the littlered schoolhouse over the hill came to the woods where Frisky Squirrellived. They came for the first picnic of the season, and such a noiseas they made had never been heard in those woods before.
Frisky Squirrel was frightened at first. But at last he grewaccustomed to the uproar, and he crept out on the limb where helived--not too far away from the door--and looked down and watched thefun.
He was enjoying the picnic quite as much as the merry-makersthemselves--until a boy spied him. And then several boys began to throwacorns at him. Frisky did not like that so well; and he hid in acrotch of the tree where he could not be seen from below, until theboys forgot all about him.
When the picnickers went away, Frisky lost no time. He slipped downthe tree in a hurry. You see, he had seen the children eating theirlunch and he hoped he would be able to find some tidbit which they hadleft behind them.
Sure enough! there was a feast waiting for him. He was not the onlyone who was there to enjoy it. For there were three ruffianly redsquirrels and a half-dozen chipmunks who appeared on the spot as if bymagic.
This second picnic soon came to an end, for the dainties did not lastlong. But what Frisky found, he enjoyed very much. Most of all heliked a bit of something that was covered with a white coating, whichlooked a good deal like snow. But it did not taste like snow at all;it was as sweet as sweet could be!
Rusty Red-squirrel found a piece of the same dainty, and he explainedto Frisky that it was called "cake."
"I ate some once at Farmer Green's house," he said. "Farmer Green'swife makes it." And Frisky decided on the spot that he would pay avisit to the farmhouse. It was too late to go that day. But the nextmorning Frisky set out for Farmer Green's house.
In the distance he could see white smoke curling from the red chimney.And though he did not know it, that meant that it was baking-day, andFarmer Green's wife was just as busy as she could be, making goodthings for her hungry family.
When Frisky Squirrel reached the farmhouse he found the kitchen windowwide open. And after making sure that there was no one inside theroom, he stole in and jumped up on a shelf where there was a row ofdishes with all sorts of tempting things on them.
To Frisky's joy, he found a whole cake exactly like the bit he haddiscovered in the woods. And he ate all he wanted; there seemed to beno reason why he shouldn't, there was so much of it.
And then a door slammed somewhere. The noise startled Frisky Squirreland he fell right off the shelf, backwards, and landed plump in theflour-barrel.
He was nearly smothered. And he was frightened, too. But he managed toscramble out again. And you should have seen the white streak thatwent shooting across the kitchen floor, out the door, and away. It wasFrisky Squirrel, of course, covered with flour. He never stoppedrunning until he was half-way home. And then he climbed a tree and satdown to lick himself clean again. To his astonishment, he found thatthe white powder that covered him tasted very good. It reminded him ofwheat. And that is not surprising, since the flour was made of wheatwhich Farmer Green had grown in his own fields, and which had beenground into flour by the miller who lived further up Swift River.
Though the flour tasted good, Frisky did not like it as well as thecake. He wished he had been covered with that sweet, snowlikefrosting.
"The Picnic"]
V
Some Lively Dodging
Frisky Squirrel was having his usual fun, leaping through the tree-tops.He went skipping and scrambling among the boughs as if a hundred jayswere after him. But they were only make-believe enemies. And after awhile Frisky grew tired of playing all alone. He wished he could findJasper Jay again. He would have liked to tease the rude fellow, untilJasper chased him.
As Frisky paused for a moment to catch his breath he heard a long-drawn,squealing whistle, somewhat like the sound of escaping steam.
"There's Jasper Jay right now!" he exclaimed. "And he's trying to makepeople think he's a red-tailed hawk. But he can't fool me that way.I'll just go and find him. And then maybe I won't tease him!"
Frisky started toward the place where he had heard that whistle. Hecalled to Jasper Jay; but there was no answer. Nor did he hear thewhistle again. He hunted all around; but no Jasper Jay could he find.And he was just going to give up the search when there was a suddenrush through the air.
Frisky dodged just in time; and a big body, grayish-brown, with arusty-red tail, went tearing past him. He had been mistaken. It wasn'tJasper Jay he had heard whistling, but this fierce red-tailed hawk.Here was even more fun than Frisky had hoped for!
As soon as Mr. Hawk could stop his swift flight he turned and cameback again. And there followed the liveliest sort of dodging forFrisky Squirrel. It was well for him that he had had plenty ofpractice all the spring, or I am afraid he would never have escaped.
He was not afraid. And now and then he laughed at Mr. Hawk. And nowand then he shouted "Robber!" at him, and "Thief!" And he asked himhow many of Farmer Green's chickens he had stolen lately.
But Mr. Hawk never once answered--except to whistle sometimes as hewent sailing past. He paid strict attention to what he was doing. Andhe seemed to have no idea of stopping until he got Frisky Squirrel inhis claws.
After a while Frisky began to tire of the sport. But not Mr. Hawk! Hekept flying back and forth, back and forth, past Frisky. And his crueleyes glared terribly every time he came near.
"You'd better go along home," Frisky called to him. "You can nevercatch me, if you try till snow flies."
Mr. Hawk lighted on a near-by tree and looked at Frisky. Frisky was aplump little squirrel and Mr. Hawk hated to give him up. But as hethought the matter over he seemed to decide that Frisky was a littletoo spry for him. And with one more whistle he mounted up above thetrees and sailed calmly away.
Fris
ky Squirrel went home then; and he told his mother what sport hehad had, and how Mr. Hawk had at last flown away in despair. "I hopehe'll come back again to-morrow," said Frisky.
But Mrs. Squirrel shook her head. She wished that Frisky was lessdaring.
VI
Mr. Hawk Returns
After he escaped from the fierce red-tailed hawk you would naturallythink that Frisky Squirrel would have been glad to keep away from sucha great, strong enemy. But the very next day found Frisky searchingeverywhere for that cruel, hook-nosed Mr. Hawk. He wanted more of thatfine sport that he had had the day before, dodging and twisting aroundthe limbs of the trees, while Mr. Hawk swooped down and tried to seizehim. There was another reason, too, why Frisky wanted to find Mr. Hawkagain--and that was because he knew that it annoyed Mr. Hawk very muchnot to be able to catch him. You see, Frisky Squirrel was a greattease.
Well, as I said, Frisky hunted all through the woods for the red-tailedhawk. But he couldn't find him. There was a good reason why--and thatwas because Mr. Hawk was waiting for Frisky in the top of a tree nearMrs. Squirrel's home. He was waiting and watching--was Mr. Hawk. WhenFrisky had given up his search and was almost home he heard the smallerbirds warning one another of the danger, telling of the savage oldfellow who was half-hidden on a high branch of the tall elm. Friskyfirst heard a flicker calling to a towhee; and the towhee told a robin;and the robin told a little song sparrow that he had better keep out ofsight unless he wanted Mr. Hawk to catch him. You may be sure that thelittle song sparrow was very careful after that. He gave a few _chips_,just to do his share in warning the other forest-people to look out forthe red-tailed hawk; and then he crept into a thicket and kept just asstill as a mouse.