Green Meadow Stories - Thornton W. Burgess (best novels for students txt) 📗

Sets a Trap XXVII: Prickly Porky Takes a Sun Bath XXVIII: Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself XXIX: The New Home in the Old Pasture Colophon Uncopyright Imprint

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Happy Jack I Happy Jack Drops a Nut

Save a little every day,
And for the future put away.

Happy Jack

Happy Jack Squirrel sat on the tip of one of the highest branches of a big hickory tree. Happy Jack was up very early that morning. In fact, jolly, round, red Mr. Sun was still in his bed behind the Purple Hills when Happy Jack hopped briskly out of bed. He washed himself thoroughly and was ready for business by the time Mr. Sun began his climb up in the blue, blue sky.

You see, Happy Jack had found that big hickory tree just loaded with nuts all ripe and ready to gather. He was quite sure that no one else had found that special tree, and he wanted to get all the nuts before anyone else found out about them. So he was all ready and off he raced to the big tree just as soon as it was light enough to see.

“The nuts that grow in the hickory tree⁠—
They’re all for me! They’re all for me!”

Happy Jack was humming that little song as he rested for a few minutes ’way up in the top of the tree and wondered if his storehouse would hold all these big, fat nuts. Just then he heard a great scolding a little way over in the Green Forest. Happy Jack stopped humming and listened. He knew that voice. It was his cousin’s voice⁠—the voice of Chatterer the Red Squirrel. Happy Jack frowned. “I hope he won’t come over this way,” muttered Happy Jack. He does not love his cousin Chatterer anyway, and then there was the big tree full of hickory nuts! He didn’t want Chatterer to find that.

I am afraid that Happy Jack was selfish. There were more nuts than he could possibly eat in one winter, and yet he wasn’t willing that his cousin, Chatterer the Red Squirrel, should have a single one. Now Chatterer is short-tempered and a great scold. Someone or something had upset him this morning, and he was scolding as fast as his tongue could go, as he came running right towards the tree in which Happy Jack was sitting. Happy Jack sat perfectly still and watched. He didn’t move so much as the tip of his big gray tail. Would Chatterer go past and not see that big tree full of nuts? It looked very much as if he would, for he was so busy scolding that he wasn’t paying much attention to other things.

Happy Jack smiled as Chatterer came running under the tree without once looking up. He was so tickled that he started to hug himself and didn’t remember that he was holding a big, fat nut in his hands. Of course he dropped it. Where do you think it went? Well, sir, it fell straight down, from the top of that tall tree, and it landed right on the head of Chatterer the Red Squirrel!

“My stars!” cried Chatterer, stopping his scolding and his running together, and rubbing his head where the nut had hit him. Then he looked up to see where it had come from. Of course, he looked straight up at Happy Jack.

“You did that purposely!” screamed Chatterer, his short temper flaring up.

“I didn’t!” snapped Happy Jack.

“You did!”

“I didn’t!”

Oh, dear, oh, dear, such a sight! two little Squirrels, one in a gray suit and one in a red suit, contradicting each other and calling names! It was such a sad, sad sight, for you know they were cousins.

II The Quarrel

It’s up to you and up to me
To see how thrifty we can be.
To do our bit like soldiers true
It’s up to me and up to you.

Happy Jack

Two angry little people were making a dreadful noise in the Green Forest. It was a beautiful morning, a very beautiful fall morning, but all the beauty of it was being spoiled by the dreadful noise these two little people. You see they were quarreling. Yes, sir, they were quarreling, and it wasn’t at all nice to see or nice to hear.

You know who they were. One was Happy Jack Squirrel, who wears a coat of gray, and the other was Chatterer the Red Squirrel, who always wears a red coat with vest of white. When Happy Jack had dropped that nut from the tiptop of the tall hickory tree and it had landed right on top of Chatterer’s head it really had been an accident. All the time Happy Jack had been sitting as still as still could be, hoping that his cousin Chatterer would pass by without looking up and so seeing the big fat nuts in the top of that tree. You see Happy Jack was greedy and wanted all of them himself. Now Chatterer the Red Squirrel has a sharp temper, and also he has sharp eyes. All the