The Tale of Frisky Squirrel

by Arthur Scott Bailey

  When Frisky heard the news--for he knew what the birds were telling oneanother--he hurried along joyfully. _He_ was not afraid of Mr. Hawk.Mr. Hawk was the very person he was looking for.

  "Hello, you old ruffian!" Frisky called, as soon as he spied Mr. Hawk.It certainly was a very impolite thing to say, even if it _was_ true.

  Mr. Hawk turned his cruel eyes upon Frisky Squirrel and then he dashedtoward him as fast as he knew how. He dropped down like lightning fromhis high perch, and Frisky had to dodge quickly to escape him; butthat was part of the fun.

  Frisky Squirrel laughed as Mr. Hawk went sailing by him. And thensomething happened--something Frisky was not expecting. He heard a rushthrough the air, and a nervous little wren screamed to him to lookout. Frisky didn't know what the trouble was; but he gave a great leapto one side.

  He was just in time. He had hardly left the limb to which he had beenclinging when Mr. Hawk's wife went coursing past. You see, Mr. Hawkhad made up his mind that he was going to catch Frisky Squirrel, evenif he had to bring Mrs. Hawk along to help him.

  VII

  A Brave Little Bird

  It was not long before Frisky Squirrel began to see that he had gothimself into something very like a fix. It had been fairly easy tododge Mr. Hawk alone. But things were quite different now. Mr. Hawkwould come hurtling down upon him from one direction; and Mrs. Hawkwould swoop down upon him from another. It was all very confusing,because Frisky could not watch both of them at once.

  He called to his mother, because he began to be frightened. But Mrs.Squirrel was not at home. Frisky did not know what to do. He tried toreach his home in the big hickory tree near-by; but Mr. and Mrs. Hawkwouldn't let him go near it. And when he felt one of Mr. Hawk's sharptalons dig into his back Frisky thought that his end had come. But heescaped that time, though Mrs. Hawk nearly caught him just two secondslater.

  I am afraid _The Tale of Frisky Squirrel_ would have ended right here,if somebody had not come to Frisky's help. Fortunately, there was asmall, olive-green bird who lived with his wife not far from FriskySquirrel's home. Mr. Kinglet was his name. And though he was a tinyfellow he had a heart like a lion's. I suppose that in all the countryaround Blue Mountain there was no braver fellow than he. And his wifewas brave too. Although they both wore very dull-colored clothes, ifyou took a good look at Mr. Kinglet you could see that he always worea bright red crown. He was very modest about his crown, and generallywore it so that only a little of it showed. But whenever he went outto fight, as the forest-people are often obliged to, that beautifulred crown might be seen as plain as could be.

  Now, it happened that Mrs. Kinglet heard Mr. and Mrs. Hawk talking toeach other, as they tried to capture Frisky Squirrel, and she heardthe other forest-people shouting, too. So she called to Mr. Kingletthat somebody seemed to be in trouble; and he came hurrying up atonce.

  When the little frightened wren screamed, Mr. Kinglet made up his mindthat it was time for him to do something. And he pushed his red crownup on the top of his head where it would show better and he flewstraight toward Mr. Hawk.

  Mr. Kinglet flew up over Mr. Hawk's head, and then he darted down andlighted right in the middle of Mr. Hawk's broad back, and beganpecking him as hard as he could with his sharp little bill.

  Mr. Hawk stopped trying to catch Frisky. He had all he wanted to do toshake that bold little fellow off his back. And though Mrs. Hawk stillswooped down at Frisky Squirrel, brave Mr. Kinglet's brave little wifebegan to fly at _her_ so fiercely that Mrs. Hawk couldn't keep Friskyfrom reaching the tree where he lived.

  He was very glad to get home, you may be sure. And he dived in throughthe door and was out of sight in no time. But pretty soon he stuck hishead out again to see what was happening. Mr. and Mrs. Hawk hadvanished. And all the forest-people were thanking Mr. and Mrs. Kingletfor driving them away. Frisky Squirrel thanked them, too. And when heremembered how he had sometimes teased Mrs. Kinglet by visiting hernest he felt very much ashamed, and he promised himself that he wouldnever trouble her again.

  VIII

  Uncle Sammy Coon

  One day Frisky Squirrel was looking for something to eat in the woods,when whom should he meet but Uncle Sammy Coon, a good-for-nothing oldfellow who lived over in the swamp.

  "Well, young man!" said Uncle Sammy, "what are you doing here?"

  "I'm trying to find a few seeds to eat," Frisky explained.

  "I know where there's some corn," said Uncle Sammy Coon. "It's lastyear's corn, to be sure; but it's good, just the same."

  "Where is it?" Frisky asked him.

  "Hm--" said Uncle Sammy. "If I told you would you get some of it forme? It would be easy for a spry young chap like you to take all youwanted of it. But I've a lame knee, you know, and I can't climb sowell as I used to."

  "Of course I'll get some corn for you," Frisky promised. "Where isit?"

  "I'll take you to it," said Uncle Sammy--"this very night." He was asuspicious old chap--which means that he was afraid that if he toldFrisky then, Frisky would go off alone and take what corn he wantedwithout giving Uncle Sammy any.

  "To-night!" Frisky exclaimed. "Oh, I don't stay out late at night, youknow, as you do." Uncle Sammy Coon was known to keep very late hours.

  "Well--right after sundown, then," the old rascal said. "We'll meetover by the brook. Don't tell your mother. It will be a pleasantsurprise for her, when you bring home a fine bagful of corn."

  "All right! I'll be there," Frisky told him.

  And sure enough! Just as the sun sank out of sight that evening,Frisky appeared on the bank of the brook. And he hadn't told hismother what he was going to do, either.

  Pretty soon Uncle Sammy Coon came along. He had an old sack slung overhis shoulder and a wide grin on his face.

  "Come on, young man!" he said, "and we'll go over to Farmer Green'splace."

  "Farmer Green's!" Frisky cried. "I don't want to go there." Heremembered the fright he had had when he fell into the flour-barrel inFarmer Green's kitchen.

  "You promised," Uncle Sammy reminded him. "And unless you wantsomething you won't like nearly so well as corn, you had better marchright along with me."

  He was so cross that Frisky Squirrel thought he had better mind him.But Frisky wished he had not come. And he wished he had told hismother what he was going to do, too. But he trotted along with UncleSammy--only he was careful not to get too close to the tricky oldgentleman, for there was no knowing when Uncle Sammy might suddenlydecide that he would rather have a nice, tender, young gray squirrelto eat than all the last year's corn in the world. You see, the littleforest-people have to think of many things--especially when they walkout alone with a person like Uncle Sammy Coon.

  IX

  A Bag of Corn

  When Frisky Squirrel and Uncle Sammy Coon arrived at Farmer Green'splace, the moon was just rising. It wasn't dark, but Uncle Sammy saidthat they would have no trouble at all, because Farmer Green's familywould be in the house, eating their evening meal.

  "There's the corn-house," he said, pointing to an old stone building."There's a hole in the wall up there under the roof. All you have todo is to climb that tree, run out on that limb, crawl through thehole, and there you are--inside. Then you can bring the corn up to thehole, drop it out onto the ground, and I'll stay outside and pick itup and put it in this sack and watch out for old dog Spot."

  "You see," he went on, "I'll be doing most of the work, for I'll bedoing three things, while all you'll have to do will be to drop thecorn out of the hole in the wall.... But I don't mind doing more thanmy share."

  Frisky Squirrel couldn't quite understand how Uncle Sammy would bedoing most of the work. But since the old gentleman said it was so,Frisky supposed it was the truth. There was one thing, however, thatpuzzled him still more.

  "Have you brought a bag for my share of the corn?" he asked.

  "Oh, we'll divide this bagful," said Uncle Sammy. "When we get overthe hill we'll sit down and divide it."

  "All right!" said Frisky. And t
hen he hurried up the tree. In no morethan a jiffy he was inside the old stone building; and pretty soon thecorn began to patter, patter, down upon the ground where Uncle Sammywaited.

  Frisky had been working steadily for some time. And he began to wonderif the bag was not full. He thought he would just peep out of the holein the wall and see. So he stuck his head out. To his surprise, UncleSammy had vanished. And as Frisky looked all around he caught sight ofUncle Sammy Coon with the bag of corn on his back, hurrying up theroad. For an old gentleman with a lame knee he was going at a veryfast pace.

  Frisky Squirrel wondered why he had run away. But he didn't wonderlong, for a dog barked; and the bark came from right underneath thehole in the wall. Then Farmer Green came running up the path which ledto the corn-house. He had a gun in his hand, too.

  Frisky didn't wait to see anything more. He whisked out of the hole,and climbed the roof, and jumped into another tree on the other sideof the corn-house. And soon he too was running like mad along theroad--only he was going in exactly the opposite direction to that inwhich Uncle Sammy had vanished.

  He never stopped running until he had reached the woods. And since hecould not bring any corn home with him, he thought that there wasreally no sense in telling his mother anything about his adventure.

  The next day, as Frisky was playing in a tree-top, he came acrossUncle Sammy Coon sunning himself.

  "Where's my corn?" asked Frisky Squirrel.

  "Corn!" Uncle Sammy exclaimed, as if he had forgotten all about such athing. "Oh! you mean that corn that we got last night. Now, I'm sorryto say that the bag was so heavy I had to drop it, because old dogSpot was after me, you know. And when I went back to get it, later, itwasn't there.... We'll have to try again, some other time," he added.

  Frisky Squirrel began to see that the old fellow had tricked him.Uncle Sammy's sides looked very plump, as if he had had an unusuallygood meal. And he smiled so pleasantly that Frisky Squirrel becamevery angry.

  "You'll get your own corn next time," he snapped. And as he skippedaway he heard Uncle Sammy Coon laugh heartily--just as though somethinghad amused him.

  X

  Tails and Ears

  Among all his friends, Frisky Squirrel liked to play with Jimmy Rabbitbest. You see, Jimmy never wanted to eat him. He was so fond of tenderyoung sprouts, and of Farmer Green's vegetables, that he wouldn't havetaken even the smallest bite out of Frisky. He would have laughed atthe very idea.

  There was something else, too, about Jimmy Rabbit, that FriskySquirrel liked; he was always thinking of new things to do--new placesto visit, new games, new tricks to play on other forest-people.

  To be sure, Jimmy and Frisky did not always agree--but that is notsurprising, because their tastes were so different. For instance,there was nothing that Frisky Squirrel liked better than a hickorynut, while Jimmy Rabbit never would so much as touch one. But ifanybody said "cabbage" to Jimmy Rabbit he would have to stop playingand hurry to Farmer Green's garden. You see how fond of cabbage Jimmywas.

  There were other things, too, on which Frisky and Jimmy held differentviews. They were forever disputing about ears and tails. FriskySquirrel, as you know, had a beautiful, long, bushy tail, and shortlittle ears; while Jimmy Rabbit had ears half as long as he was, andalmost no tail at all!

  "Really, Frisky, you ought to have that tail of yours cut off," Jimmysaid one day. "It's terribly out of fashion to wear a tail so long asyours. As a special favor, I'll be willing to cut it off for you, witha big pair of shears that my mother has."

  Frisky Squirrel was just a bit angry at this remark about his tail.

  "What about your ears?" he asked. "Not one of the forest-people--exceptrabbits--wears his ears so long as you do. I must say that they lookvery queer. How'd you like to have me trim them for you?"

  "Tell you what we'll do," Jimmy Rabbit said. "I'll cut off your tailand you'll cut off my ears. What do you say?"

  Somehow or other, Frisky did not quite like the idea of losing histail. He was so used to having it that he was afraid he might miss itdreadfully. And he even thought that he would rather keep it--even ifit _was_ out of fashion.

  But Jimmy Rabbit ran home to get his mother's shears. And when he cameback with them Frisky couldn't think of any good excuse for notletting Jimmy cut off his tail for him. As Jimmy came hopping up withthe shears, Frisky Squirrel put out his paw.

  "What do you want?" asked Jimmy.

  "The shears!" Frisky said. "I'm going to trim your ears, you know."

  "Oh--yes!" Jimmy answered. "But I thought of this _first_, youremember. So I'll cut your tail off first. Then you'll have yourturn--see?" He kept a firm hold on the shears. And almost before Friskyknew what was happening Jimmy had stepped behind him and had placedFrisky's tail between the big shears.

  "Will it hurt?" Frisky asked, as he looked behind him.

  "It'll all be over in a jiffy," said Jimmy Rabbit.

  XI

  Jimmy Rabbit is too Late

  It was just as Jimmy Rabbit had said. You remember that as he stoodbehind Frisky Squirrel's back with his mother's big shears, all readyto cut off Frisky's tail, he had told Frisky that "it would all beover in a jiffy"?

  Well, it _was_. But things didn't happen just as Jimmy Rabbit hadexpected. He had taken a good, firm grip on the shears, and he wasjust about to shut them upon Frisky's tail with a snap, when somebodycalled Frisky's name. Frisky knew who it was right away. It was hismother! And like most of us, when our mothers catch us doing somethingwe ought not to do, Frisky was so surprised and so startled that hegave a great jump.

  That jump was all that saved Frisky's tail. For just as Mrs. Squirrelcalled, Jimmy Rabbit shut the shears together as hard as he could. ButJimmy was too late. When Frisky jumped, his tail followed him, ofcourse. It whisked out from between the shears; and they closed uponnothing at all.

  "Now, that's too bad!" Jimmy exclaimed. He had been so interested inwhat he was doing that he had never heard Mrs. Squirrel at all. "Comeback here and we'll try again."

  The words were scarcely out of Jimmy Rabbit's mouth when he received aterrific box on the ear. Now, it's bad enough for anybody to have hisears boxed. But Jimmy's ears were so big that I dare say it hurt himthree times as much as it would have hurt anyone else. And itsurprised him, too. For he hadn't heard Mrs. Squirrel as she stole upbehind him. Anyhow, he ran off howling, taking his mother's shearswith him.

  "That awful Rabbit boy!" Mrs. Squirrel said. "A moment more and hewould have cut off your beautiful tail--your best feature, too!"

  "What's a feature, Mother?" Frisky asked.

  "Why--your nose, and your eyes, and your ears--anything of that sort,"Mrs. Squirrel said. "It makes me feel faint just to think what almosthappened."

  "But Jimmy Rabbit says long tails are out of fashion," said Frisky.

  "Out of fashion indeed!" Mrs. Squirrel sniffed. "He's jealous--that'swhat's the trouble with him. He wishes he had a fine, long, bushy tailhimself. Goodness me! I'm all of a flutter--I'm so upset." And poorMrs. Squirrel sat right down and fanned herself with her sun-bonnet."Now, don't you ever let anybody try to cut off your tail again," shesaid to Frisky. "You have your father's tail. And everybody alwayssaid that he had the most beautiful tail that was ever seen in thesewoods."

  Frisky didn't quite understand what his mother meant. If he had hisfather's tail, then where was his? And if it was his, then where washis father's? All the way home he kept asking himself questions likethose. But whatever the answers might be, Frisky was glad that hestill bore that beautiful brush. He began to see that he would havelooked very queer, with just a short stub like Jimmy Rabbit's.

  XII

  Frisky Visits the Gristmill

  Frisky Squirrel was very fond of wheat-kernels. Somehow or other heheard that there was a place on Swift River called the gristmill,where there was almost all the wheat in the world--at least that iswhat Frisky heard. So he started out, one day, to find the gristmill.He thought he could have a very pleasant time there.
r />   Frisky had no trouble at all in finding the gristmill. It was justbelow the mill-dam. And everybody knew where that was.

  The gristmill was an old stone building with a red roof. And onceinside it Frisky saw great heaps of wheat-kernels everywhere. Andthere were sacks and sacks too--some of them stuffed with kernels,which Frisky was so fond of, and some of them filled with a fine whitepowder, which Frisky didn't like so well, because it got in his eyes,and up his nose, and made him sneeze. It was the same sort of powderinto which he had fallen one time at Farmer Green's house. It wasflour, of course--you must have guessed that.

  The gristmill was a quiet sort of building. There seemed to be nobodythere at all. And Frisky helped himself freely to wheat-kernels, forit was very early in the morning and he had not had his breakfast. Hewas just telling himself what a delightful place the gristmill was,and how glad he was that he had heard about it, when suddenly therewas a terrible noise--a grinding, and whirring, and buzzing, andpounding. The very floor trembled and shook, and Frisky expected thatin another instant the roof would come crashing down on him.

  He leaped away from the bag of wheat-kernels on which he had beenbreakfasting and he bounded through the great doorway and ran alongthe rail-fence, far up the road, thinking that each moment would behis last. For Frisky believed that the end of the world had come. Andhe never stopped running until he was safe inside his mother's house.