Joseph C. Sindelar

“ Now the Great Gray Owl was waving a stick in the air, motioning for silence.
When everything was quiet, he perched himself on a tall stump, where every one could see him, and made a speech.
[Pg 39]
“Father Thrift,” he said, “we welcome you to the forest. We are glad that you have come to live with us.
“Many years ago we birds and animals had a king. But he died and since then things have not gone well with us.
“We have not lived wisely. I fear many of us have wasted when we had plenty, and suffered when what we had was gone. ”

“ But I was hungry, having had nothing to eat all winter. So I crawled out.
“The roots and the berries are still asleep under the snow. The fish are under the ice. There is nothing for me to do but return to my cave and go back to sleep.”
“You must not do that,” said Father Thrift. “That would be wasting time. And time is the most precious thing we have.”
“Is it?” the bear asked in surprise.
“Indeed it is!” replied Father Thrift. “We may lose wealth, but by hard work and saving we may win it back.
[Pg 74]
“We may lose health, and with care and medicine restore it. ”

“ Altogether he looked as shabby and sad as a bunny could look—not at all like a respectable, well-brought-up rabbit.
Mr. Squirrel hastened to put poor Bunny into the warmest corner of the hollow. And Mrs. Squirrel brought him some food, which he ate eagerly. ”

“ The bear scratched his head. “But what am I to do?” he asked.
“Stop eating sweets for three months,” advised Father Thrift. “Don’t you see that you spoil your appetite for good roots and berries by eating too much honey?
“What, do you suppose, would become of boys and girls who ate nothing but cookies and candy, instead of milk and eggs, and meat and bread, and vegetables and fruit?
“A little candy, when eaten after meals, seldom hurts anybody. When you are better you may have a little honey again, too. ”

“ The bear put out his paw again and again. [Pg 82] And how he did lick the sap off it! My, oh, my! it was sweet! Not even the honey of the bee tasted so good. It was like nothing else in the whole forest.
Meanwhile Father Thrift was arranging his kettle and pans and building a fire.
“Now let us pour all the sap into one pail,” he said, “and perhaps we shall have enough to start boiling.”
“Oh, but that may spoil it!” cried Shaggy Bear.
“The sap is made sweeter by boiling,” said Father Thrift. But the bear did not see how that could be. ”

“ He had known of several snakes that had shortened their lives by not taking the wise bird’s advice.
“Such strong claws, such a hooked bill, such sharp eyes, are not to be trifled with,” thought the snake, as he wriggled along toward home. “But what is the forest coming to when one can’t visit his friends? Besides, who is Father Thrift, anyway?”
Just then Great Gray Owl called to the [Pg 31] snake: “Come to the cave, here, at ten o’clock in the morning and don’t forget. Tell your friends to come, too. There will be a meeting of all the animals of the forest.” ”

“ Beaver. “But in the center of our house we have rooms above the water.
“Of course, as you know, we cannot climb trees like a squirrel. Neither can we burrow like a cottontail rabbit. But in deep water we are safe.
“We enter and leave our homes from beneath the water, unseen. And when we [Pg 58] are attacked by enemies we take to the water to save ourselves.”
“I have been told that your food is chiefly the roots of the common yellow water lily,” said Father Thrift. “What do you do in the winter when the pond is frozen and there are no lily roots to be had?” ”

“ I gather berries and plums, and preserve them. The apples and the nuts will keep as they are.
“So, you see, instead of letting go to waste what I cannot use when food is plentiful, I save it for the days when food is scarce.”
“Then do you rest all winter?” asked the bear.
“No!” said Father Thrift. “In the winter many things are waiting to be done. Then I make my clothes, shoes, furniture, tools, and other things.”
“What are you making now?” questioned [Pg 76] the bear, as Father Thrift whittled pieces of wood with his knife.
“These will be wooden spouts,” answered Father Thrift. ”

“ When the woodpeckers were through [Pg 51] filling the squirrel’s storeroom with nuts, did they stop?
No, indeed! One woodpecker who was older than the others got up on the topmost branch of the tree and said:
“Dear brothers, do you realize now how foolish we have been all our lives?
“In the summer we feed on bugs and beetles and ants and seeds.
“Then in the winter, because we know no better, some of us go South. Some of us go hungry, and some of us die, because we cannot find enough to eat.
“Why cannot we, too, store up nuts and have food for the winter as the squirrels do?” ”

“ Beaver. “We have no place for lazy beavers, or ‘old bachelors,’ as we call them. Usually we cut their tails off and chase them away.”
“That is punishment enough,” said Father Thrift. “Still, lazy folks deserve no better. Wasting time is just as bad as wasting food, or money, or anything else.”
Then Father Thrift stopped to watch the interesting and wonderful ways of the wise beavers. ”

“ And poor Mrs. Bobolink cried harder than ever.
[Pg 102]
Then Father and Mother Meadow Lark came up. “Oh, Father Thrift,” they cried, “listen to what has happened to us!
“We had four little children in a nest in the field. The nest was covered over with grasses. We thought it perfectly safe.
“But while we were away getting food for our little ones, some one stole them all.”
And the Meadow Larks wept as though their hearts would break.
“It must have been the boys!” chorused all the birds.
Father Thrift looked very angry.
“All this is very sad,” he said. “I am sorry indeed to hear it. ”

“ Then one of them answered, after a pause, “I guess so.”
“Why did you do it?” asked Father Thrift.
“Well,” replied the other boy, “most of the birds are no good, anyway. They just eat everything we plant.”
“What of yours have they eaten?” asked Father Thrift.
“The robins have been stealing our cherries,” said the boy, “until we have hardly any left for ourselves. ”

“ We will do as you ask, Father Thrift. We wish all farmers were as reasonable with us.
“We help the farmer, but we get no credit for it. We eat many, many grasshoppers and beetles and worms and caterpillars and weevils every year. ”

“ Both of these birds do a great deal of good, for which they get no credit. In the spring they follow the plow in search of large grub worms, of which they are very fond. They also eat grasshoppers, and weevils, and caterpillars.
“All of which goes to prove that the more birds we have, the fewer bugs there are, to bother us. And the fewer bugs there are, the more food we have. ”

“ The bluebirds eat our berries and grapes.
“The kingbirds eat not only our fruit, but our honeybees as well.
“The brown thrashers eat our raspberries and currants, while whole flocks of bobolinks get their food from our oat fields.
“The meadow larks eat our grain.
“And as for the blackbirds and crows, they are the worst thieves in the world. They even pull up our sprouting grain.
“So why shouldn’t we kill the birds? [Pg 114] They are our enemies, and they do nothing but harm. ”

“ We call this arch the rainbow. The gay [Pg 95] colors are the pretty dresses of the fairies.
Now the birds of the forest came forth from their nests. They fluttered their little wings and sent the raindrops which had rested on them down to the flowers and the grasses. ”

“ Indeed, Neighbor Squirrel, I do not see how you have managed.”
And he looked enviously around the neat, warm little nest.
“It was very simple,” replied Mr. Squirrel, gravely. “We all helped and put away part of everything we found. If we found six nuts, we put away at least three in our storeroom. And nuts and acorns were very plentiful this autumn.
[Pg 70]
“So, though the winter is very hard, we shall have plenty. We have plenty for a friend, too. So eat as much as you will, neighbor, and don’t spare the loaf.”
It was very kind of Mr. Squirrel, but he could not help the poor rabbit much. ”

“ If we destroyed the birds, we ourselves could not live. Within a few years there would be so many insects and worms that crops could not be raised and plants could not grow. The bugs and the caterpillars would eat all the leaves off the trees, [Pg 118] while the worms would destroy the roots.
“The flies and other harmful insects would kill the cattle. And then they would carry sickness and disease among us.
“Why, the grasshoppers would dance on our very tables, while the crickets sat on the dishes and played tunes! ”

“ He is a natural enemy of bugs and worms.
[Pg 119]
“He gets no pay for this work and asks for none. And the only reason he eats your cherries is because you have destroyed the wild fruit trees and berry bushes that used to grow by the roadside. Plant them there again and the robin, and all the other birds too, will spare your fruit.
“The bluebird catches the bad bugs and grasshoppers and beetles and spiders and caterpillars in your orchard. And he very rarely takes even a bite of your berries or grapes. ”

“ His mouth seemed to move, and I am sure he was saying:
“Go, brave little old man. Go where you’ve decided to go.
“If you are going to the forest, you will no doubt find a welcome there. Some animals and birds are better as friends than are some people. ”

“ They worked hard all the summer and autumn, getting food for the winter. And never a thing was wasted in Mr. Squirrel’s house.
On this cold winter’s night Mr. and Mrs. Squirrel and the three little squirrels sat warm and snug in their home in the old oak tree. Suddenly there came a tiny tap at the door.
It might have been the wind. Mrs. Squirrel was not sure. She listened. The sound came again. Yes, some one certainly was knocking at their door.
Who could it be, this bitter cold night?
Mr. Squirrel got up and opened the door. At first he saw no one.
[Pg 67]
“Who’s there?” ”

“ Does he get them? Yes, indeed; so quickly does he work that the poor little bugs wouldn’t have time to whistle for help even if they knew how.
“Curious fellow, that!” said the queer little old man. “He is industrious, too. ”

“ He does eat some raspberries and currants, in addition to the harmful insects he devours, but nearly all of these must be wild ones.
“The few oats the bobolinks eat you could [Pg 120] never miss, because these birds feed mostly on insects and the seeds of useless plants.
“The meadow lark saves thousands of dollars every year on the hay crop. He builds his nest on the ground in the meadow and feeds himself and his large family on the crickets and grasshoppers he finds there. ”