Samuel E. Lowe

“ Coonie answered, a little proudly, to think he knew so much. “The honey is kept inside.”
“But how do we get at it?” asked Chuck. “Those little holes in front look hardly big enough for me to get my paw through, much less my head and shoulders.”
“Oh,” laughed Coonie, “how stupid you are! You just go up and knock very loudly at the door and when a bee comes out, you ask if he hasn’t something to eat for a poor fellow, who has come a long way and is very hungry and tired. But should he pay no attention to you, hit him with your paw. ”

“ Quick as a flash both squirrels jumped out of the cradle and ran to ask her the shortest way home. They found the window just a little open. You can imagine they did not stop to say good-bye to Alice or think to thank her for the supper they had not eaten.
Outside everything looked very strange and unreal. They had never been out alone at night before. Do you know why everything looks so different at night, even though it is most as light as day? It is because the shadows the moon makes are blacker and each one seems to hide something alive. ”

“ When he reached the creek he stopped a moment to look and what he saw struck him with such horror that he could not move. His legs would not work.
About this same time Mother Gray went to give Pinkie Whiskers another piece of bread and cheese. To her surprise he was nowhere to be seen. She called and called, but Pinkie Whiskers was too far away to hear.
“Father Gray, you must go and find Pinkie Whiskers,” she cried. “Run as fast as you can. I am afraid that he is in trouble or mischief.”
“Now, now,” said Uncle Whiskers, “you worry too much about Pinkie Whiskers. ”

“ How could a rat and a woodchuck be related? Everyone calls him Uncle Whiskers because we all love him. He is so kind and good to us all. You see I have known him all my life and ‘Uncle’ is my pet name for him. ”

“ If it had not been for you, I would not be standing here in this beautiful sunshine.”
“Do tell us how you came to be in the tree trunk, won’t you please?” begged Twinkle.
“To be sure, I will tell you,” laughed the Tree-Fairy. This is the story she told:
“In Fairyland there are Witches as well as Fairies, just as on Earth there are bad people as well as good people.
“I had always been very friendly with the Witches and they were as kind to me as they could be until one day I went to visit the Witch Discontent. She was never satisfied with anything and never smiled or laughed. ”

“ He looked and to his disappointment saw that he had not cut even a tiny chip.
“I will try again,” he vowed. “What others have done, I can do.”
He chopped and chopped at the big tree until he was rewarded by bright, yellow chips flying through the air.
Winkle, Twinkle and Sammy Woodchuck stood by and watched him with great admiration. Sammy Woodchuck said:
“You are doing splendid work, Pinkie Whiskers. I will take some of these chips home with me and put them across my front door. I always use the back door. It is more safe.” ”

“ By and by they met a workman. He had a dinner-pail in his hand and in his pockets peanuts for the squirrels, for every morning and night he passed through the park. Now, the good citizens of the town had made laws that no one should harm a squirrel and the squirrels knew this. So Hazel and Bushy-Tail were not afraid of the workman and when he knelt down and held out some nuts to them, they ran right up to him, chattering all the while. ”

“ Pinkie Whiskers was all smiles as he [95] stood in the green meadow again, but he said:
“I shall never cut down a tree again. This one nearly killed me.”
“You owe your life to Billy Jay. It was Billy who caught your tail and pulled you out from under the falling tree trunk just in time or you surely would have been crushed,” said Uncle Whiskers.
“All is well that ends well and really, Pinkie Whiskers, you never did such a wonderful thing before and you probably will never do such a wonderful deed in your life again, for you have set the Tree-Fairy free. ”

“ The battle between the boys and the bees was raging furiously by this time. The boys charged time after time, and with each attack became bolder and bolder, until finally Coonie saw that they were winning. The plucky little bees fought bravely to defend their home, but the boys were too strong for them, and one by one they fell and were crushed or beaten to pieces with the paddles. ”

“ Winkle and Twinkle took out their little handkerchiefs and waved them fast and hard. The butterfly was so amazed at the sight, that he forgot about Pinkie Whiskers and flew away.
[73] CHAPTER II PINKIE WHISKERS ran to Winkle and Twinkle. He was so frightened that he hid behind them. Twinkle laughed and said:
“Do not hide, for the butterfly has gone and anyway it was as afraid of us as you were of it. Butterflies are perfectly harmless. They do not sting or bite. They are as gentle and timid as they are beautiful.” ”

“ During the warm summer days they work hard, carrying tiny drops of honey which they gather from the flowers and storing it so they will have something to eat during the cold weather.
When the cold winds come, in the fall and winter, and the flowers are dead, the little workers stop their labor and gather [45] together in the home they have been preparing all summer. When the snow comes, the little grass storehouse is buried snug and warm underneath the white blanket.
It was just such a nest as this that Coonie watched the boys robbing of its treasure. Poor little bees! ”

“ They were so thin that you could see through them and they sparkled and shone in the sunshine like silver.
[91] “Can’t you get up now?” asked Sammy Woodchuck.
“I will try,” replied the Tree-Fairy.
She tried and tried all in vain. She could move, but she could not rise. At last she said:
“My foot is caught. I am so sorry, dear friend, but I cannot leave this stump until my foot is free. ”

“ Coonie heard one boy say, “you don’t use bumble-bees’ honey, do you?”
“No, boys, I don’t use the honey myself, but I don’t want you to kill the bees or rob their nests so they will have to starve. Bees do a great deal of good on the farm.”
“What good are bumble-bees?” one of the boys asked.
“Why, they do a lot of good. They distribute the pollen from the heads of the clover, and that makes the seed mature and develop.” ”

“ THE SQUIRRELS GO ON A PICNIC
View larger image By and by they came to a lot of bushes and Mrs. Red Squirrel put down her basket [33] “Let’s not stop here,” cried Bushy-Tail. “See, the burs don’t open a bit, they are much too green to eat.”
But Mrs. Red Squirrel said, “If we wait for the wind to rattle them out for us, chipmunks and children from over the hill will not leave us one. If we even wait until the burs open, crows and jays will carry them off.” ”

“ He is a fine, big boy and can take care of himself.”
“That may be true but I am going to find him now,” said Mother Gray as she ran for the creek.
Father Gray said, “Wait a moment and I will come along with you.”
[112] Winkle cried, “I want to come too.”
Twinkle cried, “I want to come too, please wait for me.”
Uncle Whiskers grumbled, “Well, I never did see such a fuss in my life. I have not had enough to eat yet, but I guess I will join the hunt for Pinkie Whiskers anyway.”
Billy Jay laughed and said, “I will go with you, Uncle Whiskers. We can finish our supper when we return.” ”

“ Mother Gray had hunted and found nice scraps of cotton and bits of straw. With these she made a soft, warm nest and here they all lived as cozy and happy as could be.
One day a poor, old man came down the alley and looked in all the garbage cans to see what he could find that he might sell, for that is the way he got his money to buy his food and shelter.
[68] When he came to the garbage can over our family of rats, he did not see their little home and pushed their box right over.
Pinkie Whiskers, Twinkle and Winkle were all alone. They fell out onto the brick pavement and began to cry. ”

“ The waiter took his tray of food and went into the dining room. Pinkie Whiskers peeped out of the pocket and saw many tables with people about them.
Pinkie Whiskers’ head was still out of the pocket when the waiter went up to a table to serve a lady. She saw Pinkie Whiskers and screamed, “A mouse! a mouse!”
[124] Now, Pinkie Whiskers knew that he was a rat and not a mouse, so at first he did not think that she meant him, but when all of the ladies jumped up from the table and started to run, Pinkie Whiskers jumped from the pocket and ran too. ”

“ Mother Gray screamed and ran to kiss her son. Father Gray, Winkle, Twinkle and Uncle Whiskers stood by and waited for their turn.
“Now, children, let Pinkie Whiskers eat his supper before you ask him any questions. The poor little fellow must be very, very hungry after his long journey.”
Pinkie Whiskers ate and ate, then he told them all about the good Water-Fairy, who was a friend of the Tree-Fairy and [127] how she had asked the Water-Fairy to help him.
Winkle, Twinkle and Billy Jay were so amazed by Pinkie Whiskers’ story that they stood and stared at him with big eyes. ”

“ No, not entirely out of the way, for it was too late for that, but far enough out of the way so that the tree trunk missed him and he was only caught in the branches and covered with green leaves.
“Oh! oh!” cried Twinkle.
[87] “Oh! oh!” cried Winkle. “Our little brother will be killed. Oh! oh!”
They dropped the cap which was full of water and ran to the spot where they had seen Pinkie Whiskers disappear.
Billy Jay came wriggling out and said, “Pinkie Whiskers is all right. Just let him rest where he is for awhile. He is only tired out from running and from fright.”
“Yes, Billy Jay is right. ”

“ Don’t you know that frogs and tadpoles have feelings and hearts as well as yourself?”
“Poof! poof!” scoffed Pinkie Whiskers. “I don’t care. I am going to take my tadpole home with me anyway.”
Father Frog did not say a word. He just jumped against Pinkie Whiskers with such force that the rod flew out of his [115] hand and the little tadpole went flop back into his watery home.
Pinkie Whiskers fell flat upon the stone and when he scrambled to his feet, there beside him stood Father Frog. In his hand he held a long green reed, which he had pulled out of the creek. ”

“ And presently the entire woods was awakened by Mrs. Screech Owl’s shrill voice calling, “Extra, extra! Mrs. Red Squirrel has city cousins visiting her.” Of course this was not true. But “extras” seldom are accurate. ”

“ But how was she to know that all kinds of nuts never did, nor ever can grow side by side on the same branch, save only in the wonderland we enter through the gates of sleep.
“I don’t see your wonderful tree anywhere, Bushy-Tail,” she said.
“I think it’s down this way a little,” he answered. And once more they scampered off together, chattering and waving their lovely tails.
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[15] HAZEL AND BUSHY-TAIL VISIT
STRANGE LANDS OF all nice things to do one of the very nicest is to go traveling; to see what kind of things grow in faraway places and how other folks plan their cities. ”

“ After two or three pokes at the hive to make sure that none of the bees remained, [44] a great shout went up from the boys who surrounded the deserted nest.
Children, have you ever seen a wild bees’ nest—a real bumble-bees’ home?
They are nearly always built on the ground, and are made of little pieces of grass piled and woven together into a little mound. At the very top there is a small hole which is used as the doorway through which the bees enter. The wall is not very thick, but is put together tightly so the wind will not blow it away, and it is hollow. ”

“ So he stuck his paw inside the door and broke off a good sized piece of comb full of nice, yellow honey. Then he started for the woods again as fast as he could.
[62]
View larger image Coonie did not see Chuck as he shot past him a few minutes later, trying to shake off the bees that still clung to him, as he ran. And a few days later, when they met down by the brook, Coonie pretended not to see him.
“Howdy, Coonie,” Chuck called out in his cheery way. “Where are you going so fast? Well, I never,” he added, noticing Coonie’s bumps and bandages. “Have you been in a fight?” ”

“ Coonie answered, as he brushed by Chuck in such a hurry that he did not hear the latter call after him.
“Say, old friend, meet me by the big oak tree in the corner of the woods tomorrow and we’ll go after some more of that good honey!”
It was Chuck’s turn to laugh now, for “he laughs best who laughs last,” you know.
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[64] [65] [66] [67] PINKIE WHISKERS CHAPTER I LITTLE Pinkie Whiskers was born in a big city and lived with his Father Gray, Mother Gray and two little sisters, Twinkle and Winkle, in a tin box, which was hidden under a big garbage can. ”