Happy Jack

by Thornton W. Burgess

  Whitefoot the Wood Mouse happened along, and Striped Chipmunk insistedthat he should join the party. Later Sammy Jay came along, and nothingwould excuse him from sharing in the feast, too. When everybody hadeaten and eaten until they couldn't hold another thing, and it was timeto think of going home, Striped Chipmunk insisted that Happy Jack andChatterer should divide between them the big, fat hickory nuts that wereleft, and they did without once quarreling about it.

  "Thanksgiving comes but once a year, And when it comes it brings good cheer,"

  said Striped Chipmunk to himself as he watched his guests depart.

  CHAPTER XII

  HAPPY JACK DOES SOME THINKING

  To call another a thief doesn't make him one.

  _Happy Jack._

  Happy Jack sat up in a chestnut tree, and his face was very sober. Thefact is, Happy Jack was doing some very hard thinking. This is so veryunusual for him that Sammy Jay stopped to ask if he was sick. You see heis naturally a happy-go-lucky little scamp, and that is one reason thathe is called Happy Jack. But this morning he was thinking and thinkinghard, so hard, in fact, that he almost lost his temper when Sammy Jayinterrupted his thoughts with such a foolish question.

  What was he thinking about? Can you not guess? Why, he was thinkingabout those big, fat hickory nuts that Striped Chipmunk had had for hisThanksgiving dinner, and how Striped Chipmunk had given him some of themto bring home. He was very sure that they were the very same nuts thathe had watched grow big and fat in the top of the tall hickory tree andthen had knocked down while chasing his cousin, Chatterer. When they hadreached the ground and found the nuts gone, Happy Jack had at oncesuspected that Striped Chipmunk had taken them, and now he felt sureabout it.

  But all at once things looked very different to Happy Jack, and the morehe thought about how he had acted, the more ashamed of himself he grew.

  "There certainly must have been enough of those nuts for all of us, andif I hadn't been so greedy we might all have had a share. As it is, I'vegot only those that Striped Chipmunk gave me, and Chatterer has onlythose that Striped Chipmunk gave him. It must be that that sharp littlecousin of mine with the striped coat has got the rest, and I guess hedeserves them."

  Then all of a sudden Happy Jack realized how Striped Chipmunk hadfooled him into thinking that the storehouse of Chatterer was hisstorehouse, and Happy Jack began to laugh. The more he thought of it,the harder he laughed.

  "The joke certainly is on me!" he exclaimed. "The joke certainly is onme, and it served me right. Hereafter I'll mind my own business. If Ihad spent half as much time looking for hickory nuts as I did lookingfor Striped Chipmunk's storehouse, I would be ready for winter now, andChatterer couldn't call me a thief."

  Then he laughed again as he thought how Striped Chipmunk must haveenjoyed seeing him pulled out of Chatterer's storehouse by the tail.

  "What's the joke?" asked Bobby Coon, who happened along just then.

  "I've just learned a lesson," replied Happy Jack.

  "What is it?" asked Bobby.

  Happy Jack grinned as he answered:

  "I've found that greed will never, never pay. It makes one cross and ugly, and it drives one's friends away. And being always selfish and always wanting more, One's very apt to lose the things that one has had before."

  "Pooh!" said Bobby Coon. "Have you just found that out? I learned that along time ago."

  CHAPTER XIII

  HAPPY JACK GETS A WARNING

  It matters not how smart you are, So be it you are heedless too. It isn't what you know that counts So much as what it is to you.

  _Happy Jack._

  A fat Gray Squirrel is very tempting to a number of people in the GreenForest, particularly in winter, when getting a living is hard work.Almost every day Reddy and Granny Fox stole softly through that part ofthe Green Forest where Happy Jack Squirrel lived, hoping to surprise andcatch him on the ground. But they never did. Roughleg the Hawk andHooty the Owl wasted a great deal of time, sitting around near HappyJack's home, hoping to catch him when he was not watching, but theynever did.

  Happy Jack knew all about these big hungry neighbors, and he was alwayson the watch for them. He knew their ways and just where they would belikely to hide. He took the greatest care to look into every such hidingplace near at hand before he ventured down out of the trees, and becausethese hungry neighbors are so big, he never had any trouble in seeingthem if they happened to be around. So Happy Jack didn't do muchworrying about them. The fact is, Happy Jack wasn't afraid of them atall, for the simple reason that he knew they couldn't follow him intohis hollow tree.

  Having nuts stored away, he would have been perfectly happy but for onething. Yes, Sir, there was only one thing to spoil Happy Jack's completehappiness, and that was the fear that Shadow the Weasel might take itinto his head to pay him a visit. Shadow can go through a smaller holethan Happy Jack can, and so Happy Jack knew that while he was whollysafe from his other enemies, he wasn't safe at all from Shadow theWeasel. And this worried him. Yes, Sir, it worried Happy Jack. He hadn'tseen or heard of Shadow for a long time, but he had a feeling that hewas likely to turn up almost any time, especially now that everythingwas covered with snow and ice, and food was scarce and hard to get. Hesometimes actually wished that he wasn't as fat as he was. Then he wouldbe less tempting to his hungry neighbors.

  But no good comes of worrying. No, Sir, not a bit of good comes ofworrying, and Happy Jack knows it.

  "All I can do is to watch out and not be careless," said he, and droppedthe shell of a nut on the head of Reddy Fox, who happened to be passingunder the tree in which Happy Jack was sitting. Reddy looked up andshowed his teeth angrily. Happy Jack laughed and scampered away throughthe tree-tops to another part of the Green Forest where he had some verysecret stores of nuts.

  He was gone most of the day, and when he started back home he was in thebest of spirits, for his stores had not been found by any one else. Hewas in such good spirits that for once he quite forgot Shadow theWeasel. He was just going to pop into his doorway without first lookinginside, a very foolish thing to do, when he heard some one calling him.He turned to see Tommy Tit the Chickadee hurrying towards him, and itwas very clear that Tommy was greatly excited.

  "Hello, Tommy Tit! What ails you?" exclaimed Happy Jack.

  "Don't go in there, Happy Jack!" cried Tommy Tit. "Shadow the Weasel isin there waiting for you!"

  Happy Jack turned quite pale. "Are you sure?" he gasped.

  Tommy Tit nodded as if he would nod his head off. "I saw him go in, andhe hasn't come out, for I've kept watch," said he. "You better get awayfrom here before he knows you are about."

  That was good advice, but it was too late. Even as Tommy Tit spoke, asharp face with red, angry eyes was thrust out of Happy Jack's doorway.It was the face of Shadow the Weasel.

  CHAPTER XIV.

  HAPPY JACK'S RUN FOR LIFE

  A coward he who runs away When he should stay and fight, But wise is he who knows when he Should run with all his might.

  _Happy Jack._

  It isn't cowardly to run away when it is quite useless to stay andfight. So it wasn't so cowardly of Happy Jack Squirrel to turn tail andrun the instant he caught sight of Shadow the Weasel. No, Sir, it wasn'tcowardly at all, although it might have looked so to you had you beenthere to see, for Happy Jack is bigger than Shadow. But when it comes toa fight, Happy Jack is no match at all for Shadow the Weasel, and heknows it. Shadow is too quick for him, and though Happy Jack were everso brave, he would have no chance at all in a fight with Shadow.

  And so the very instant he saw the cruel face of Shadow with its fiercered eyes glaring at him from his own doorway, Happy Jack turned tail andran. Yes, Sir, that is just what he did, and it was the wisest thing hecould have done. He hoped with a mighty hope that Shadow would notfollow him, but he hoped in vain. Shadow had made up his mind to dine onSquirrel, and he didn't propose to see his dinner run away withouttrying
to catch it. So the instant Happy Jack started, Shadow startedafter him, stopping only long enough to snarl an ugly threat at TommyTit the Chickadee, because Tommy had warned Happy Jack that Shadow waswaiting for him.

  But Tommy didn't mind that threat. Oh, my, no! Tommy didn't mind it atall. He can fly, and so he had no fear of Shadow the Weasel. But he wasterribly afraid for Happy Jack. He knew, just as Happy Jack knew, thatthere wasn't a single place where Happy Jack could hide into whichShadow could not follow him. So Tommy flitted from tree to tree behindHappy Jack, hoping that in some way he might be able to help him.

  From tree to tree raced Happy Jack, making desperately long leaps.Shadow the Weasel followed, and though he ran swiftly, he didn't appearto be hurrying, and he took no chances on those long leaps. If the leapwas too long to take safely, Shadow simply ran back down the tree,across to the next one and up that. It didn't worry him at all thatHappy Jack was so far ahead that he was out of sight. He knew that hecould trust his nose to follow the scent of Happy Jack. In fact, itrather pleased him to have Happy Jack race away in such fright, for inthat way he would soon tire himself out.

  And this is just what Happy Jack did do. He ran and jumped and jumpedand ran as fast as he could until he was so out of breath that he justhad to stop for a rest. But he couldn't rest much. He was too terriblyfrightened. He shivered and shook while he got his breath, and never fora second did he take his eyes from his back trail. Presently he saw aslim white form darting along the snow straight towards the tree inwhich he was resting. Once more Happy Jack ran, and somehow he feltterribly helpless and hopeless.

  He had to rest oftener now, and each rest was shorter than the onebefore, because, you know, Shadow was a less and less distance behind.Poor Happy Jack! He had tried every trick he knew, and not one of themhad fooled Shadow the Weasel. Now he was too tired to run much farther.The last little bit of hope left Happy Jack's heart. He blinked his eyesvery fast to keep back the tears, as he thought that this was probablythe last time he would ever look at the beautiful Green Forest he lovedso. Then he gritted his teeth and made up his mind that anyway he wouldfight his best, even if it was hopeless. It was just at that very minutethat he heard the voice of Tommy Tit the Chickadee calling to him ingreat excitement, and somehow, he didn't know why, a wee bit of hopesprang up in his heart.

  CHAPTER XV

  WHO SAVED HAPPY JACK SQUIRREL?

  Blessed he whose words of cheer Help put hope in place of fear.

  _Happy Jack._

  It never has been fully decided among the little people of the GreenForest and the Green Meadows just who really did save Happy JackSquirrel. Some say that Tommy Tit the Chickadee deserves all the credit,and some say that--but wait. Let me tell you just what happened, andthen perhaps you can decide for yourself who saved Happy Jack.

  You see, it was this way: Happy Jack had run and run and run and triedevery trick he knew to get away from Shadow the Weasel, but all in vain.At last he was so out of breath and so tired that he felt that hecouldn't run any more. He had just made up his mind that he would waitright where he was for Shadow and then put up the best fight he could,even if it was hopeless, when he heard Tommy Tit calling to him in greatexcitement.

  HAPPY JACK TRIED EVERY TRICK HE KNEW TO GET AWAY FROMSHADOW THE WEASEL.]

  "Dee, dee, chickadee! Come here quick, Happy Jack! Come here quick!"called Tommy Tit.

  A wee bit of hope sprang up in Happy Jack's heart. He couldn't imaginewhat possible help Tommy Tit could be, but he would go see. So takinga long breath he started on as fast as he could in the direction ofTommy's voice. He couldn't run very fast, because, you know, he was sotired, but he did the best he could. Presently he saw Tommy just aheadof him flying about in great excitement.

  "Dee, dee, dee, there he is! Go to him! Go to him, Happy Jack! Hurry!Hurry! Dee, dee, dee, oh, do hurry!" cried Tommy Tit.

  For just a second Happy Jack didn't know what he meant. Then he sawFarmer Brown's boy watching Tommy Tit as if he didn't know what to makeof the little fellow's excitement.

  "Go to him! Go to him!" called Tommy. "He won't hurt you, and he won'tlet Shadow the Weasel hurt you! See me! See me! Dee, dee, see me!" Andwith that Tommy Tit flew right down on Farmer Brown's boy's hand, foryou know he and Farmer Brown's boy are great friends.

  Happy Jack hesitated. He knew that Farmer Brown's boy had tried to makefriends with him, and every day since the ice and snow had come had putout nuts and corn for him, but he couldn't quite forget the old fear ofhim. He couldn't quite trust him. So now he hesitated. Then he lookedback. Shadow the Weasel was only a few jumps behind him, and his littleeyes glowed red and savage. Farmer Brown's boy might not hurt him, butShadow certainly would. Shadow would kill him. Happy Jack made up hismind, and with a little gasp raced madly across the snow straight toFarmer Brown's boy and ran right up to his shoulder.

  Shadow the Weasel had been so intent on catching Happy Jack that hehadn't noticed Farmer Brown's boy at all. Now he saw him for the firsttime and stopped short, snarling and spitting. Whatever else you may sayof Shadow the Weasel, he is no coward. For a minute it looked as if hereally meant to follow Happy Jack and get him in spite of Farmer Brown'sboy, and Happy Jack trembled as he looked down into those angry littlered eyes. But Shadow knows when he is well off, and now he knew betterthan to come a step nearer. So he snarled and spit, and then, as FarmerBrown's boy took a step forward, leaped to one side and disappeared inthe old stone wall.

  Very gently and softly Farmer Brown's boy talked to Happy Jack as hetook him to the nearest tree. Then, when Happy Jack was safely up in thetree, he went over to the stone wall and tried to drive Shadow theWeasel out. He pulled over the stones until at last Shadow jumped out,and then Farmer Brown's boy chased him clear into the Green Forest.

  "Dee, dee, dee, what did I tell you?" cried Tommy Tit happily, as heflew over to where Happy Jack was sitting.

  Now who really saved Happy Jack--Tommy Tit or Farmer Brown's boy?

  CHAPTER XVI

  HAPPY JACK MISSES FARMER BROWN'S BOY

  One and one are always two, And two and two are four. And just as true it is you'll find That love and love make more.

  _Happy Jack._

  Go ask Happy Jack Squirrel. He knows. He knows because he has proved it.It began when Farmer Brown's boy saved him from Shadow the Weasel.Perhaps I should say when Farmer Brown's boy and Tommy Tit saved him,for if it hadn't been for Tommy, it never would have entered HappyJack's head to run to Farmer Brown's boy. After that, of course, HappyJack and Farmer Brown's boy became great friends. Farmer Brown's boycame over to the Green Forest every day to see Happy Jack, and always hehad the most delicious nuts in his pockets. At first Happy Jack had beena wee bit shy. He couldn't quite get over that old fear he had had solong. Then he would remember how Farmer Brown's boy had saved him, andthat would make him ashamed, and he would walk right up and take thenuts.

  Farmer Brown's boy would talk to him in the nicest way and tell him thathe loved him, and that there wasn't the least thing in the world to beafraid of. Pretty soon Happy Jack began to love Farmer Brown's boy alittle. He couldn't help it. He just had to love any one who was so kindand gentle to him. Now as soon as he began to love a little, and feltsure in his own heart that Farmer Brown's boy loved him a little, hefound that love and love make more love, and it wasn't any time at allbefore he had become very fond of Farmer Brown's boy, so fond of himthat he was almost jealous of Tommy Tit, who had been a friend of FarmerBrown's boy for a long time. It got so that Happy Jack looked forwardeach day to the visit of Farmer Brown's boy, and as soon as he heard hiswhistle, he would hasten to meet him. Some folks were unkind enough tosay that it was just because of the nuts and corn he was sure to find inFarmer Brown's boy's pockets, but that wasn't so at all.

  At last there came a day when he missed that cheery whistle. He waitedand waited. At last he went clear to the edge of the Green Forest, butthere was no whistle and no sign of Farmer Brown's boy. It was the sam
eway the next day and the next. Happy Jack forgot to frisk about the wayhe usually does. He lost his appetite. He just sat around and moped.

  When Tommy Tit the Chickadee came to call, as he did every day, HappyJack found that Tommy was anxious too. Tommy had been up to FarmerBrown's dooryard several times, and he hadn't seen anything of FarmerBrown's boy.

  "I think he must have gone away," said Tommy.

  "He would have come down here first and said good-by," replied HappyJack.

  "You--you don't suppose something has happened to him, do you?" askedTommy.

  "I don't know. I don't know what to think," replied Happy Jack, soberly."Do you know, Tommy, I've grown very fond of Farmer Brown's boy."

  "Of course. Dee, dee, dee, of course. Everybody who really knows him isfond of him. I've said all along that he is the best friend we've got,but no one seemed to believe me. I'm glad you've found it out foryourself. I tell you what, I'll go up to his house and have another lookaround." And without waiting for a reply, Tommy was off as fast as hislittle wings could take him.

  "I hope, I do hope, that nothing has happened to him," mumbled HappyJack, as he pretended to hunt for buried nuts while he waited for TommyTit to come back, and by "him" he meant Farmer Brown's boy.

  CHAPTER XVII

  TOMMY TIT BRINGS NEWS

  No one knows too much, but many know too little.

  _Happy Jack._

  Happy Jack very plainly was not happy. His name was the only happy thingabout him. He fussed about on the edge of the Green Forest. He justcouldn't keep still. When he thought anybody was looking, he pretendedto hunt for some of the nuts he had buried in the fall, and dug holesdown through the snow. But as soon as he thought that no one waswatching, he would scamper up a tree where he could look over to FarmerBrown's house and look and look. It was very clear that Happy Jack waswatching for some one and that he was anxious, very anxious, indeed.