Blacky the Crow

by Thornton W. Burgess

  You may be sure that early in the afternoon he was perched in the top ofhis favorite tree over by the Big River. His heart sank, just as on theafternoon before, when he saw Farmer Brown's boy with his terrible guntrudging across the Green Meadows to the Big River. Instead of going tothe same hiding place he made a new one farther down.

  Then came the hunter a little earlier than usual. Instead of stopping athis blind, he walked straight to the blind Farmer Brown's boy had firstmade. Of course, there was no one there. The hunter looked both glad anddisappointed. He went back to his own blind and sat down, and while hewatched for the coming of the Ducks, he also watched that other blind tosee if the unknown hunter of the night before would appear. Of coursehe didn't, and when at last the hunter saw the Ducks coming, he was surethat this time he would get some of them.

  But the same thing happened as on the night before. Just as those Duckswere almost near enough, a gun went "bang, bang," and away went theDucks. They didn't come back again, and once more a disappointed hunterwent home without any.

  The next afternoon he was on hand very early. He was there before FarmerBrown's boy arrived, and when he did come, of course the hunter saw him.He walked down to where Farmer Brown's boy was hiding in the rushes."Hello!" said he. "Are you the one who was shooting here last night andthe night before?"

  Farmer Brown's boy grinned. "Yes," said he.

  "What luck did you have?" asked the hunter.

  "Fine," replied Farmer Brown's boy.

  "How many Ducks did you get?" asked the hunter.

  Farmer Brown's boy grinned more broadly than before. "None," said he. "Iguess I'm not a very good shot."

  "Then what did you mean by saying you had fine luck?" demanded thehunter.

  "Oh," replied Farmer Brown's boy, "I had the luck to see those Ducks andthe fun of shooting," and he grinned again.

  The hunter lost patience. He tried to order Farmer Brown's boy away. Butthe latter said he had as much right there as the hunter had, and thehunter knew that this was so. Finally he gave up, and mutteringangrily, he went back to his blind. Again the gun of Farmer Brown's boyfrightened away the Ducks just as they were coming in.

  The next afternoon there was no hunter nor the next, though FarmerBrown's boy was there. The hunter had decided that it was a waste oftime to hunt there while Farmer Brown's boy was about.

  CHAPTER XXVIII: Blacky Has A Talk With Dusky The Black Duck

  Doubt not a friend, but to the last Grip hard on faith and hold it fast. --Blacky the Crow.

  Every morning Blacky the Crow visited the rushes along the shore ofthe Big River, hoping to find Dusky the Black Duck. He was anxious, wasBlacky. He feared that Dusky or some of his flock had been killed, andhe wanted to know. You see, he knew that Farmer Brown's boy had beenshooting over there. At last, early one morning, he found Dusky and hisflock in the rushes and wild rice. Eagerly he counted them. There werenine. Not one was missing. Blacky sighed with relief and dropped down onthe shore close to where Dusky was taking a nap.

  "Hello!" said Blacky.

  Dusky awoke with a start. "Hello, yourself," said he.

  "I've heard a terrible gun banging over here, and I was afraid you orsome of your flock had been shot," said Blacky.

  "We haven't lost a feather," declared Dusky. "That gun wasn't fired atus, anyway."

  "Then who was it fired at?" demanded Blacky.

  "I haven't the least idea," replied Dusky.

  "Have you seen any other Ducks about here?" inquired Blacky.

  "Not one," was Dusky's prompt reply. "If there had been any, I guess wewould have known it."

  "Did you know that when that terrible gun was fired there was anotherterrible gun right over behind those bushes?" asked Blacky.

  Dusky shook his head. "No," said he, "but I learned long ago that wherethere is one terrible gun there is likely to be more, and so when Iheard that one bang, I led my flock away from here in a hurry. We didn'twant to take any chances."

  "It is a lucky thing you did," replied Blacky. "There was a hunterhiding behind those bushes all the time. I warned you of him once."

  "That reminds me that I haven't thanked you," said Dusky. "I knew therewas something wrong over here, but I didn't know what. So it was ahunter. I guess it is a good thing that I heeded your warn-ing."

  "I guess it is," retorted Blacky dryly. "Do you come here in daytimeinstead of night now?"

  "No," replied Dusky. "We come in after dark and spend the night here.There is nothing to fear from hunters after dark. We've given up cominghere until late in the evening. And since we did that, we haven't hearda gun."

  Blacky gossiped a while longer, then flew off to look for his breakfast;and as he flew his heart was light. His shrewd little eyes twinkled.

  "I ought to have known Farmer Brown's boy better than even to suspecthim," thought he. "I know now why he had that terrible gun. It was tofrighten those Ducks away so that the hunter would not have a chance toshoot them. He wasn't shooting at anything. He just fired in the air toscare those Ducks away. I know it just as well as if I had seen him doit. I'll never doubt Farmer Brown's boy again. And I'm glad I didn't saya word to anybody about seeing him with a terrible gun."

  Blacky was right. Farmer Brown's boy had taken that way of makingsure that the hunter who had first baited those Ducks with yellow cornscattered in the rushes in front of his hiding place should have nochance to kill any of them. While appearing to be an enemy, he reallyhad been a friend of Dusky the Black Duck and his flock.

  CHAPTER XXIX: Blacky Discovers An Egg

  Blacky is fond of eggs, as you know. In this he is a great deal likeother people, Farmer Brown's boy for instance. But as Blacky cannot keephens, as Farmer Brown's boy does, he is obliged to steal eggs or elsego without. If you come right down to plain, everyday truth, I supposeBlacky isn't so far wrong when he insists that he is no more of a thiefthan Farmer Brown's boy. Blacky says that the eggs which the bens laybelong to the hens, and that he, Blacky has just as much right to takethem as Farmer Brown's boy. He quite overlooks the fact that FarmerBrown's boy feeds the biddies and takes the eggs as pay. Anyway, thatis what Farmer Brown's boy says, but I do not know whether or not thebiddies understand it that way.

  So Blacky the Crow cannot see why he should not help himself to an eggwhen he gets the chance. He doesn't get the chance very often to stealeggs from the hens, because usually they lay their eggs in the henhouse,and Blacky is too suspicious to venture inside. The eggs he does get aremostly those of his neighbors in the Green Forest and the Old Orchard.But once in a great while some foolish hen will make a nest outside thehenhouse somewhere, and if Blacky happens to find it the black scampwatches every minute he can spare from other mischief for a chance tosteal an egg.

  Now Blacky knows just what a rogue Farmer Brown's boy thinks he is, andfor this reason Blacky is very careful about approaching Farmer Brown orany other man until he has made sure that he runs no risk of being shot.Blacky knows quite as well as any one what a gun looks like. He alsoknows that without a terrible gun, there is little Farmer Brown or anyone else can do to him. So when he sees Farmer Brown out in his fields,Blacky often will fly right over him and shout "Caw, caw, caw, ca-a-w!"in the most provoking way, and Fanner Brown's boy insists that he hasseen Blacky wink when he was doing it.

  But Blacky doesn't do anything of this kind around the buildings ofFarmer Brown. You see, he has learned that there are doors and windowsin buildings, and out of one of these a terrible gun may bang at anytime. Though he has suspected that Farmer Brown's boy would not now tryto harm him, Blacky is naturally cautious and takes no chances. So whenhe comes spying around Farmer Brown's house and barn, he does it whenhe is quite sure that no one is about, and he makes no noise about it.First he sits in a tall tree from which he can watch Farmer Brown'shome. When he is quite sure that the way is clear, he flies over to theOld Orchard, and from there he inspects the barnyard, never once makinga sound. If he is quite sure that no one is about, he sometimes dr
opsdown into the henyard and helps himself to corn, if any happens to bethere. It was on one of these silent visits that Blacky spied somethingwhich he couldn't forget. It was a box just inside the henhouse door.In the box was some hay and in that hay he was sure that he had seen anegg. In fact, he was sure that he saw two eggs there. He might not havenoticed them but for the fact that a hen had jumped down from that box,making a terrible fuss. She didn't seem frightened, but very proud. Whatunder the sun she had to be proud about Blacky couldn't understand, buthe didn't stay to find out. The noise she was making made him nervous.He was afraid that it would bring some one to find out what was goingon. So he spread his black wings and flew away as silently as he hadcome.

  As he was flying away he saw those eggs. You see, as he rose into theair, he managed to pass that open door in such a way that he couldglance in. That one glance was enough. You know Blacky's eyes are verysharp. He saw the hay in the box and the two eggs in the hay, and thatwas enough for him. From that instant Blacky the Crow began to schemeand plan to get one or both of those eggs. It seemed to him that henever, never, had wanted anything quite so much, and he was sure that hewould not and could not be happy until he succeeded in getting one.

  CHAPTER XXX: Blacky Screws Up His Courage

  If out of sight, then out of mind. This is a saying which you oftenhear. It may be true sometimes, but it is very far from true at othertimes. Take the case of Blacky. He had had only a glance into that nestjust inside the door of Farmer Brown's henhouse, but that glance hadbeen enough to show him two eggs there. Then, as he flew away toward theGreen Forest, those eggs were out of sight, of course. But do you thinkthey were out of mind? Not much! No, indeed! In fact, those eggs werevery much in Blacky's mind. He couldn't think of anything else. Heflew straight to a certain tall pine-tree in a lonely part of the GreenForest. Whenever Blacky wants to think or to plan mischief, he seeksthat particular tree, and in the shelter of its broad branches he keepsout of sight of curious eyes, and there he sits as still as still canbe.

  "I want one of those eggs," muttered Blacky, as he settled himself incomfort on a certain particular spot on a certain particular branch ofthat tall pine-tree. Indeed, that particular branch might well be calledthe "mischief branch," for on it Blacky has thought out and planned mostof the mischief he is so famous for. "Yes, sir," he continued, "I wantone of those eggs, and what is more, I am going to have one."

  He half closed his eyes and tipped his head back and swallowed a coupleof times, as if he already tasted one of those eggs.

  "There is more in one of those eggs than in a whole nestful of WelcomeRobin's eggs. It is a very long time since I have been lucky enoughto taste a hen's egg, and now is my chance. I don't like having to goinside that henhouse, even though it is barely inside the door. I'msuspicious of doors. They have a way of closing most unexpectedly.I might see if I cannot get Unc' Billy Possum to bring one of those eggsout for me. But that plan won't do, come to think of it, because I can'ttrust Unc' Billy. The old sinner is too fond of eggs himself. I would bewilling to divide with him, but he would be sure to eat his first, andI fear that it would taste so good that he would eat the other. No. I'vegot to get one of those eggs myself. It is the only way I can be sure ofit.

  "The thing to do is to make sure that Farmer Brown's boy and FarmerBrown himself are nowhere about. They ought to be down in the cornfieldpretty soon. With them down there, I have only to watch my chance andslip in. It won't take but a second. Just a little courage, Blacky, justa little courage! Nothing in this world worth having is gained withoutsome risk. The thing to do is to make sure that the risk is as small aspossible."

  Blacky shook out his feathers and then flew out of the tall pine-treeas silently as he had flown into it. He headed straight toward FarmerBrown's cornfield. When he was near enough to see all over the field, hedropped down to the top of a fence post, and there he waited. He didn'thave long to wait. In fact, he had been there but a few minuteswhen he spied two people coming down the Long Lane toward the cornfield.He looked at them sharply, and then gave a little sigh of satisfaction.They were Farmer Brown and Farmer Brown's boy. Presently they reachedthe cornfield and turned into it. Then they went to work, and Blackyknew that so far as they were concerned, the way was clear for him tovisit the henyard.

  He didn't fly straight there. Oh, my, no! Blacky is too clever to doanything like that. He flew toward the Green Forest. When he knew thathe was out of sight of those in the cornfield, he turned and flew overto the Old Orchard, and from the top of one of the old apple-trees hestudied the henyard and the barnyard and Farmer Brown's house and thebarn, to make absolutely sure that there was no danger near. When he wasquite sure, he silently flew down into the henyard as he had done manytimes before. He pretended to be looking for scattered grains of corn,but all the time he was edging nearer and nearer to the open door ofthe henhouse. At last he could see the box with the hay in it. He walkedright up to the open door and peered inside. There was nothing to beafraid of that he could see. Still he hesitated. He did hate to goinside that door, even for a minute, and that is all it would take tofly up to that nest and get one of those eggs.

  Blacky closed his eyes for just a second, and when he did that he seemedto see himself eating one of those eggs. "What are you afraid of?" hemuttered to himself as he opened his eyes. Then with a hurried look inall directions, he flew up to the edge of the box. There lay the twoeggs!

  CHAPTER XXXI: An Egg That Wouldn't Behave

  If you had an egg and it wouldn't behave Just what would you do with that egg, may I ask? To make an egg do what it don't want to do Strikes me like a difficult sort of a task.

  All of which is pure nonsense. Of course. Who ever heard of an eggeither behaving or misbehaving? Nobody. That is, nobody that I know,unless it be Blacky. It is best not to mention eggs in Blacky's presencethese days. They are a forbidden topic when he is about. Blacky is aptto be a little resentful at the mere mention of an egg. I don't know asI wholly blame him. How would you feel if you knew you knew all therewas to know about a thing, and then found out that you didn't knowanything at all? Well, that is the way it is with Blacky the Crow.

  If any one had told Blacky that he didn't know all there is to knowabout eggs, he would have laughed at the idea. Wasn't he, Blacky,hatched from an egg himself? And hadn't he, ever since he was bigenough, hunted eggs and stolen eggs and eaten eggs? If he didn't knowabout eggs, who did? That is the way he would have talked before hisvisit to Farmer Brown's henhouse. It is since then that it has beenunwise to mention eggs.

  When Blacky saw the two eggs in the nest in Farmer Brown's henhouse howBlacky did wish that he could take both. But he couldn't. One would beall that he could manage. He must take his choice and go away while thegoing was good. Which should he take?

  It often happens in this life that things which seem to be unimportant,mere trifles in themselves, prove to be just the opposite. Now, so faras Blacky could see, it didn't make the least difference which egg hetook, excepting that one was a little bigger than the other. As a matterof fact, it made all the difference in the world. One was brown and verygood to look at. The other, the larger of the two, was white and alsovery good to look at. In fact, Blacky thought it the better of thetwo to look at, for it was very smooth and shiny. So, partly on thisaccount, and partly because it was the largest, Blacky chose the whiteegg. He seized it in his claws and started to fly with it, but somehowhe could not seem to get a good grip on it. He fluttered to the groundjust outside the door, and there he got a better grip. Just as oldDandy-cock the Rooster, with head down and all the feathers on his neckstanding out with anger, came charging at him, Blacky rose into the airand started over the Old Orchard toward the Green Forest.

  Never had Blacky felt more like cawing at the top of his lungs. You see,he felt that he had been very smart, and I suspect that he also feltthat he had been very brave. He would have liked to boast a little. Buthe didn't. He wisely held his tongue. It would be time enough to do hisboasting a
fter he had reached a place of safety and had eaten that egg.He was halfway across the Old Orchard when he felt that egg beginning toslip. Now at best it isn't easy to carry an egg without breaking it. Youknow how very careful you have to be. Just imagine how Blacky felt whenthat egg began to slip. Do what he would, he couldn't get a bettergrip on it. It slipped a wee bit more. Blacky started down towards theground. But he wasn't quick enough. Striped Chipmunk, watching Blackyfrom the old stone wall, saw something white drop from Blacky's claws.He saw Blacky dash after it and clutch at it only to miss it. Then thewhite thing struck a branch of an old apple tree, bounced off and fellto the ground. Blacky followed it.

  Striped Chipmunk stole very softly through the grass to see what Blackywas doing. Blacky was standing close beside a white thing thatlooked very much like an egg. He was looking at it with the queerestexpression.

  Now and then he would reach out and rap it sharply with his bill, andthen look as if he didn't know what to make of it. He didn't. That eggwasn't behaving right. It should have broken when it hit the branch ofthe apple tree. Certainly it should have broken when he struck it thatway with his bill. However was he to eat that egg, if he couldn't breakthe shell? Blacky didn't know.

  CHAPTER XXXII: What Blacky Did With The Stolen Egg

  Blacky was puzzled. He didn't know what to make of that egg he hadstolen from Farmer Brown's henhouse. It wasn't like any egg he ever hadseen or even heard of. It was a beautiful-looking egg, and he had beensure that it would taste as good, quite as good as it looked. Even nowhe wasn't sure that if he could only taste it, it would be all that hehad hoped. But how could he taste it, when he couldn't break that shell?He never had heard of such a shell. He doubted if anybody else ever had,either. He had hammered at it with his stout bill until he was afraidthat he would break that, instead of the egg. The more he tried to breakinto it and couldn't, the hungrier he grew, and the more certain thatnothing else in all the world could possibly taste so good. But theOld Orchard was not the place for him to work on that egg. In the firstplace, it was too near Farmer Brown's house. This made Blacky uneasy.You see, he had something of a guilty conscience. Not that he felt atall a sense of having done wrong. To his way of thinking, if he weresmart enough to get that egg, he had just as much right to it as any oneelse, particularly Farmer Brown's boy. Yet he wasn't at all sure thatFarmer Brown's boy would look at the matter quite that way. In fact,he had a feeling that Farmer Brown's boy would call him a thief if heshould be discovered with that egg. Then, too, there were too many sharpeyes in the Old Orchard. He wanted to get away where he could be sure ofbeing alone. Then if he couldn't break that shell, no one would bethe wiser. So he picked up the egg and flew straight over to the GreenForest, and this time he managed to get there without dropping it.