XIXWHO WAS GREEDY?Reddy Woodpecker was very angry with Cuffy Bear. He thought that when they hunted grubs together it was only fair that they should divide the game. So far Cuffy had taken all but one. And that was one that he had overlooked."I don't believe I'll hunt with you any more," Reddy Woodpecker told Cuffy.That news surprised Cuffy Bear. "Why, what's the matter?" he inquired. "Haven't we had good luck?"Reddy Woodpecker sniffed."Youhave had fine luck," he replied. "ButIcertainly haven't. When you asked me to hunt grubs with you I expected we would divide the grubs."Cuffy Bear shook his head doubtfully."It's not easy to divide a grub," he said. "That's why I let you have all of that one that you found a while ago.""You don't understand me," Reddy went on. "What I mean is this: If we find two dozen grubs in a stump you should have one dozen and I should have one dozen.""I've never hunted in that way before," Cuffy told him. "But since you insist, I'm willing to try it. And maybe it would be only fair if I found the next stump and let you open it."Now, this was a much better offer than Reddy Woodpecker had expected, so he made haste to accept it.Then Cuffy Bear went wandering away into the woods. He was gone a long time. But at last he came back and said gruffly, "Follow me!"They reached, after a while, a spot where Cuffy Bear stopped and pointed a paw towards an old stump."There it is," he said. "Now you tear it open."Reddy Woodpecker alighted upon the stump and clung to it while he drilled into it with his bill,tap, tap, tap!Meanwhile Cuffy Bear watched him impatiently."My goodness!" he muttered. "That fellow is slow. I'll never get another grub if I wait for him."At last, however, Reddy pulled out a grub and ate it."My turn next!" growled Cuffy Bear as Reddy Woodpecker promptly went after another.Well, very soon Reddy thrust his tongue into another hole that he drilled and drew out another grub."That's mine!" cried Cuffy Bear.Reddy Woodpecker tried to let it fall upon the ground. He did not find it easy to drop the grub. His horny tongue had pierced it. And in trying to let go of it he had a mishap. He swallowed the grub.When Cuffy Bear saw what had happened he let out a frightful roar."That was an accident," Reddy explained over his shoulder.To Cuffy Bear's dismay the same accident happened over and over again. Finally Cuffy couldn't wait another moment. With a terrible growl he rushed up to the stump, while Reddy Woodpecker slipped out of his way just in time. In another instant Cuffy had split the old stump wide open and had his head buried in it."Here!" cried Reddy Woodpecker. "How many grubs do you want?""Only about a hundred dozen!" Cuffy Bear mumbled.When he heard that, Reddy Woodpecker shrieked."One hundred dozen would feed my whole family," he declared. "I shall never hunt grubs with you again.""That's a pity," said Cuffy Bear. "But won't you join me to-night? I'm going after different game.""What's that?" Reddy asked him."Pigs!" Cuffy replied.He couldn't understand why Reddy Woodpecker went off without saying another word."He's a queer one," Cuffy muttered. "I don't care if he doesn't hunt with me. He's too greedy."XXCATCHING FLIESAfter his children were grown up Reddy Woodpecker had plenty of time to wander about and see all the sights in Pleasant Valley. He had often heard that one of the most curious sights was an odd person known as Ferdinand Frog. So one day Reddy flew down to Black Creek, where this nimble gentleman lived.Unseen by Mr. Frog, Reddy Woodpecker clung to an old stump that leaned over the water, as if it wanted to enjoy a swim but didn't quite dare take the first plunge. Keeping most of himself hidden, Reddy peeped around the stump and watched Ferdinand Frog as he sat on a flat rock near the bank and caught flies.Mr. Frog was an expert at that sport. Whenever a fly ventured near enough to him his long tongue darted out of his wide mouth so quickly you could hardly see it. And it darted back again just as fast, bearing the fly upon the end of it."I don't see how he spears 'em like that," thought Reddy Woodpecker, "with nothing but air behind them." Mr. Frog's knack was so unusual that at last Reddy Woodpecker couldn't keep silent any longer.So he called to Mr. Frog, "How do you do——""I'm very well, thank you!" cried Ferdinand Frog instantly. "How are you?"Reddy Woodpecker had to explain that Mr. Frog hadn't understood him."What I was going to ask you," he said, "was not 'How do you do?' It was 'How do you do that?'""That what?" Ferdinand Frog inquired."How do you spear flies with your tongue when they're in the air?" Reddy Woodpecker asked. "I can spear grubs and things with my tongue when they're on a tree. And I can catch flies in my mouth when I'm flying. But I've never learned your trick.""I don't spear flies," said Mr. Frog.Of course Reddy Woodpecker thought that Mr. Frog had told awhopper. Hadn't he been watching him?"I don't spear flies with my tongue," Ferdinand Frog went on. "My tongue is sticky. When it touches a fly, he's caught. It's very simple.""That's an elegant way to catch 'em," Reddy remarked."Yes," said Mr. Frog; "and that's an elegant suit you're wearing. Would you mind if I copied it? You know, I'm the well known tailor of Pleasant Valley. And I'm always on the lookout for something different. Your clothes are different from any I've ever seen before. I dare say they'll become quite fashionable in about ten years."Well, Reddy Woodpecker didn't know whether to be angry or pleased. He had heard that Mr. Frog was queer. But he hadn't supposed Mr. Frog could be as queer as he seemed."You may copy my suit if you wish," Reddy blurted at last."Good!" the tailor exclaimed. "Come with me to my shop and I'll make some notes."This was more than Reddy Woodpecker cared to do. "I won't!" he said flatly."Tut! Tut!" cried Mr. Frog. "You promised I might copy your suit. You mustn't break your promise.""I'm not going inside any shop," Reddy declared very firmly."Of course not!" said Mr. Frog. "I'll go inside.Youcan stay outside. And I'll look you over through the doorway and jot down what I need.""All right!" said Reddy Woodpecker.So Mr. Frog leaped ashore and gayly led the way to his shop near-by.XXITHE ODD MR. FROGReddy Woodpecker stood on the doorstep of Mr. Frog's shop. And inside the tiny building Mr. Frog the tailor squatted cross-legged and scratched upon a flat stone. Now and then he glanced up to look closely at Reddy Woodpecker."Colors: red, white and—yes! blue!" Mr. Frog murmured, blinking his bulging eyes at Reddy Woodpecker. "It's a little too blackish for my taste, but it's certainly blue.... A good suit for the Fourth of July!" he muttered. "Just the thing for a clown to wear in a parade of Horribles!"Mr. Frog's remarks did not please Reddy Woodpecker. In fact they made him very angry. But Mr. Frog didn't appear to notice that. He went right on talking to himself."Red head and black tail!" he said, scratching upon his stone all the while. "Black head and red tail would be much better.""I didn't come here to be abused!" Reddy Woodpecker spluttered.The tailor paid no heed to Reddy's protest."Too much stiffening in the tail!" Mr. Frog mumbled. "Colors too gay for everyday wear! Too loud for the best taste!"By this time Reddy Woodpecker had become so furious that he couldn't speak.Meanwhile Mr. Frog continued to look him over calmly, and as his gaze fell at last upon Reddy's feet he began to titter."This person's feet are all wrong," he chanted, scratching like mad upon his flat stone. "Never saw a bird before with toes like his. The rule for birds is: three toes in front, one toe in back. This person has two in front and two in back. Ithoughtthere was something queer about him.""Look here!" Reddy Woodpecker burst forth. "I won't stay here any longer. You're making fun of me. I don't care if I did promise. If my clothes are so queer why do you want to copy them?""I don'twantto copy them," Mr. Frog replied. "I'dhateto copy them.""Then why did you ask me to stand here in front of your shop while you wrote down all this nonsense?""You're mistaken," Mr. Frog told him. "I haven't written a word. I asked you to come here because you look like a customer. It's good business to have customers seen about my shop. I haven't had arealcustomer this season," he added somewhat sadly. "So you can't blame me if I want people to think I have one at last—now can you?"Reddy Woodpecker had no patience with him."I think you're nothing but a fraud," he declared. "I don't believe you're a tailor at all.""Dear me!" said Mr. Frog. "Maybe I'm not. Sometimes I've wondered if I wasn't fooling myself.""You'd better stick to catching flies," Reddy advised him. "That's all you're good for.""Perhaps you're right," Mr. Frog replied. He seemed quite meek and mournful. But all at once he smiled. "Anyhow," he remarked, "it's lucky that the flies stick to me—now isn't it?"XXIIDODGING DANGERSoon after Reddy Woodpecker settled in Farmer Green's orchard he noticed that a certain person often followed him. The stranger wore gray fur and always flourished a long, bushy tail behind him. He could climb trees as well as Reddy Woodpecker himself. And though he couldn't fly, he was very skillful at leaping from one tree top into another.Whenever Reddy Woodpecker happened to turn around and spy this lurking stranger the fellow acted as if he hadn't seen Reddy Woodpecker. He would pretend to whisk a bit of bark off the tip of his tail, or arrange his mustache. But the moment Reddy turned his back upon him the stranger would creep a little nearer.At last this sly person made a quick dash at Reddy Woodpecker one day. He discovered, then, that Reddy was both wide-awake and spry. For Reddy slipped off the tree trunk where he had been clinging and easily escaped the greedy clutches of the stranger.It's no wonder that Reddy was angry. No one would care to have his breakfast interrupted in such a fashion."I knew that sneak meant to catch me if he could," Reddy muttered to himself as he went on with his breakfast.A few moments later his cousin Mr. Flicker settled upon an ant hill below him."Who is that stranger?" Reddy Woodpecker asked Mr. Flicker.Mr. Flicker glanced at the sly person who was just dodging behind a limb."He's no stranger," said Mr. Flicker. "He has lived here a good deal longer than you have. That's Frisky Squirrel.""Well, he's a little too frisky," Reddy Woodpecker scolded. "He just jumped at me. He has been trying to catch me ever since I came to the farm."Mr. Flicker laughed."That's a regular trick of his," he remarked. "He's always jumping off a fence post at me. But I have no trouble dodging him.""I don't see why he wants to catch me," Reddy grumbled. "He can't know—yet—that I'm fond of nuts. But in the fall, when the nuts are ripe, I expect I'll make him almost crazy."The next time Reddy met his tormentor he called to him as pleasantly as if there'd never been any trouble between them."How's this place for nuts?""Fine!" cried Frisky Squirrel. "The woods beyond the meadow are famous for their beechnuts.""That's good news," said Reddy. "I'm glad I settled here."'Frisky gave him a sharp look. "You don't like beechnuts, do you?" he asked."Don't I? Oh, don't I?" Reddy cried.Strange to say Frisky Squirrel knew the answer to that question."Oh! Youdolike them!" he chattered. "Well, maybe there aren't as many beechnuts as I thought. Maybe the beechnutting is poor here. No doubt I'm mistaken about it. Why don't you go over on the other side of Blue Mountain to live? You'resureto find plenty of beechnuts over there next fall."Reddy Woodpecker laughed heartily. Frisky Squirrel could not deceive him.XXIIIBEECHNUTS"I'm going to stay right here on this farm," Reddy Woodpecker declared. "I like this place.""Perhaps you expect to leave for the South before the beechnuts are ripe," Frisky Squirrel suggested hopefully."Not I!" replied Reddy Woodpecker. "If I leave, I shall wait until the last beechnut is eaten. And no doubt I shall not leave at all. This looks to me like a good place to spend the winter."Now that Frisky Squirrel knew Reddy Woodpecker ate beechnuts he was more determined than ever to catch him. He had hunted Reddy before. Now he haunted him. He dogged Reddy Woodpecker's footsteps. He crept up behind him and jumped at him a dozen times a day.Though Frisky didn't know it, he couldn't have captured Reddy Woodpecker in a thousand years. Reddy was too wary to be caught. He always chuckled after dodging. And he always called mockingly, "Not this time, young fellow!"All summer long the chase went on. Frisky Squirrel seemed to think that if only he hunted Reddy long enough there would come a time when he would catch him napping.Now, every year as fall drew near it was Frisky's custom to go each day to the woods, to inspect the beechnuts. He went very slyly. It was a business of great importance. Of course he didn't care to have everybody know what he was doing.Imagine his annoyance, then, on his first trip to the beech grove, to hear Reddy Woodpecker call out to him, "What do you think of 'em? Will they be ready to eat soon?"Reddy was high up in a beech tree. And Frisky Squirrel was so angry that he could only look up at him and chatter."You haven't answered my questions," Reddy observed presently. "Perhaps you aren't a good judge of beechnuts. Perhaps I'd better ask Jasper Jay."That threat made Frisky Squirrel angrier than ever. He darted up the tree as fast as he could scramble. If he hadn't been so angry he would have known how utterly useless it was to try to catch Reddy Woodpecker when Reddy was looking right at him.Reddy calmly moved to another tree. Frisky Squirrel leaped into the top of it. Again Reddy moved.Then Frisky sat up on a limb and glared at him."Don't mention these nuts to Jasper Jay!" he cried. "I've been hoping he'd forget about them. Eat what you want—if you must. But for goodness' sake don't go and tell the whole neighborhood about them. Just between you and me, these nuts will be ready to eat as soon as there's a frost to sweeten them.""You're very kind," Reddy Woodpecker told him. "Very kind indeed!"Well, in about two weeks there was a frost. When Reddy Woodpecker awoke one morning the fields were white and a thin coating of ice covered the watering-trough in the barnyard.Some of the birds in Pleasant Valley had long since left for the South. And many of those that hadn't announced that they expected to start for a milder climate that very evening.The weather soon grew warmer. And on the following day Reddy Woodpecker and Frisky Squirrel met at the beech grove."These are good nuts, eh?" called Reddy."They'd taste sweeter if you weren't here," Frisky Squirrel mumbled out of a full mouth.XXIVTHE WINTER'S STOREAfter Frisky Squirrel had enjoyed a hearty meal of beechnuts he began to make hurried trips to a hollow tree nearby. He lived in that tree. It had a fine big storeroom. And there he carried beechnuts in his cheeks. Frisky did not intend to go hungry when winter came.Meanwhile he watched Reddy Woodpecker out of the corner of his eye. He still hoped to catch Reddy unawares. And at last Frisky saw something that he hadn't expected to see. It made him stop short and stare.He saw Reddy Woodpecker loosen a bit of bark and hide a beechnut under it. Soon he beheld Reddy stowing beechnuts away in a hole in an old stump.Frisky Squirrel was wild with rage."I told you you might eat as many nuts as you pleased, if only you wouldn't mention beechnuts to Jasper Jay. I didn't say you might hide beechnuts. But I've caught you hoarding them!"Reddy Woodpecker was not ruffled—not even a single feather."I'm putting away a few nuts," he admitted. "I expect to spend the winter here. And of course I shall need something to eat.""Don't you dare hide another nut!" Frisky Squirrel scolded."You're hoarding nuts yourself!""That's different," Frisky blustered.All at once a loud, harsh voice squalled right above their heads. It belonged to Jasper Jay. "A quarrel!" he bawled. "A quarrel over beechnuts! I must do what I can to stop it. I'll gather as many beechnuts as I can; because when they're all gone there won't be anything to quarrel about.""Another hoarder!" chattered Frisky.And Jasper Jay was not the last to appear. For Johnnie Green soon came hurrying up with a basket. And Frisky regarded him with great disfavor."Another hoarder!" Frisky groaned. And he began to scold Johnnie. "Go away!" he cried. "We don't want you here." To his great disgust Johnnie Green shied a stone at him and told him not to be saucy.Jasper Jay jeered loudly at Frisky."That's what you get for being a pig," he told him. And turning to Reddy Woodpecker, Jasper added, "You see the pigs aren't all in the pigsty!"Frisky Squirrel pretended that he didn't hear any of Jasper Jay's remarks. He set to work again to gather beechnuts enough to last him all winter and never once stopped to dash at Reddy Woodpecker nor even look at him.That was only the first of many busy days for Reddy. Having made up his mind to spend the winter at Farmer Green's place he hid nuts everywhere.No doubt he never could remember all of his hiding places. But he found enough of them when winter came. And though Frisky Squirrel had stowed away all the nuts he could possibly need, he never could bear to watch Reddy Woodpecker pull out a beechnut from beneath a strip of bark.He said he never did like to see a bird eat nuts.THE END[image]Front end paper - left half[image]Front end paper - right half[image]Rear end paper - left half[image]Rear end paper - right half* * * * * * * *TUCK-ME-IN TALES(Trademark Registered)BYARTHUR SCOTT BAILEYAUTHOR OFSLEEPY-TIME TALES(Trademark Registered)The Tale of Jolly RobinThe Tale of Old Mr. CrowThe Tale of Solomon OwlThe Tale of Jasper JayThe Tale of Rusty WrenThe Tale of Daddy LonglegsThe Tale of Kiddie KatydidThe Tale of Buster BumblebeeThe Tale of Freddie FireflyThe Tale of Betsy ButterflyThe Tale of Bobby BobolinkThe Tale of Chirpy CricketThe Tale of Mrs. LadybugThe Tale of Reddy WoodpeckerThe Tale of Grandmother Goose*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOKTHE TALE OF REDDY WOODPECKER***
XIX
WHO WAS GREEDY?
Reddy Woodpecker was very angry with Cuffy Bear. He thought that when they hunted grubs together it was only fair that they should divide the game. So far Cuffy had taken all but one. And that was one that he had overlooked.
"I don't believe I'll hunt with you any more," Reddy Woodpecker told Cuffy.
That news surprised Cuffy Bear. "Why, what's the matter?" he inquired. "Haven't we had good luck?"
Reddy Woodpecker sniffed.
"Youhave had fine luck," he replied. "ButIcertainly haven't. When you asked me to hunt grubs with you I expected we would divide the grubs."
Cuffy Bear shook his head doubtfully.
"It's not easy to divide a grub," he said. "That's why I let you have all of that one that you found a while ago."
"You don't understand me," Reddy went on. "What I mean is this: If we find two dozen grubs in a stump you should have one dozen and I should have one dozen."
"I've never hunted in that way before," Cuffy told him. "But since you insist, I'm willing to try it. And maybe it would be only fair if I found the next stump and let you open it."
Now, this was a much better offer than Reddy Woodpecker had expected, so he made haste to accept it.
Then Cuffy Bear went wandering away into the woods. He was gone a long time. But at last he came back and said gruffly, "Follow me!"
They reached, after a while, a spot where Cuffy Bear stopped and pointed a paw towards an old stump.
"There it is," he said. "Now you tear it open."
Reddy Woodpecker alighted upon the stump and clung to it while he drilled into it with his bill,tap, tap, tap!
Meanwhile Cuffy Bear watched him impatiently.
"My goodness!" he muttered. "That fellow is slow. I'll never get another grub if I wait for him."
At last, however, Reddy pulled out a grub and ate it.
"My turn next!" growled Cuffy Bear as Reddy Woodpecker promptly went after another.
Well, very soon Reddy thrust his tongue into another hole that he drilled and drew out another grub.
"That's mine!" cried Cuffy Bear.
Reddy Woodpecker tried to let it fall upon the ground. He did not find it easy to drop the grub. His horny tongue had pierced it. And in trying to let go of it he had a mishap. He swallowed the grub.
When Cuffy Bear saw what had happened he let out a frightful roar.
"That was an accident," Reddy explained over his shoulder.
To Cuffy Bear's dismay the same accident happened over and over again. Finally Cuffy couldn't wait another moment. With a terrible growl he rushed up to the stump, while Reddy Woodpecker slipped out of his way just in time. In another instant Cuffy had split the old stump wide open and had his head buried in it.
"Here!" cried Reddy Woodpecker. "How many grubs do you want?"
"Only about a hundred dozen!" Cuffy Bear mumbled.
When he heard that, Reddy Woodpecker shrieked.
"One hundred dozen would feed my whole family," he declared. "I shall never hunt grubs with you again."
"That's a pity," said Cuffy Bear. "But won't you join me to-night? I'm going after different game."
"What's that?" Reddy asked him.
"Pigs!" Cuffy replied.
He couldn't understand why Reddy Woodpecker went off without saying another word.
"He's a queer one," Cuffy muttered. "I don't care if he doesn't hunt with me. He's too greedy."
XX
CATCHING FLIES
After his children were grown up Reddy Woodpecker had plenty of time to wander about and see all the sights in Pleasant Valley. He had often heard that one of the most curious sights was an odd person known as Ferdinand Frog. So one day Reddy flew down to Black Creek, where this nimble gentleman lived.
Unseen by Mr. Frog, Reddy Woodpecker clung to an old stump that leaned over the water, as if it wanted to enjoy a swim but didn't quite dare take the first plunge. Keeping most of himself hidden, Reddy peeped around the stump and watched Ferdinand Frog as he sat on a flat rock near the bank and caught flies.
Mr. Frog was an expert at that sport. Whenever a fly ventured near enough to him his long tongue darted out of his wide mouth so quickly you could hardly see it. And it darted back again just as fast, bearing the fly upon the end of it.
"I don't see how he spears 'em like that," thought Reddy Woodpecker, "with nothing but air behind them." Mr. Frog's knack was so unusual that at last Reddy Woodpecker couldn't keep silent any longer.
So he called to Mr. Frog, "How do you do——"
"I'm very well, thank you!" cried Ferdinand Frog instantly. "How are you?"
Reddy Woodpecker had to explain that Mr. Frog hadn't understood him.
"What I was going to ask you," he said, "was not 'How do you do?' It was 'How do you do that?'"
"That what?" Ferdinand Frog inquired.
"How do you spear flies with your tongue when they're in the air?" Reddy Woodpecker asked. "I can spear grubs and things with my tongue when they're on a tree. And I can catch flies in my mouth when I'm flying. But I've never learned your trick."
"I don't spear flies," said Mr. Frog.
Of course Reddy Woodpecker thought that Mr. Frog had told awhopper. Hadn't he been watching him?
"I don't spear flies with my tongue," Ferdinand Frog went on. "My tongue is sticky. When it touches a fly, he's caught. It's very simple."
"That's an elegant way to catch 'em," Reddy remarked.
"Yes," said Mr. Frog; "and that's an elegant suit you're wearing. Would you mind if I copied it? You know, I'm the well known tailor of Pleasant Valley. And I'm always on the lookout for something different. Your clothes are different from any I've ever seen before. I dare say they'll become quite fashionable in about ten years."
Well, Reddy Woodpecker didn't know whether to be angry or pleased. He had heard that Mr. Frog was queer. But he hadn't supposed Mr. Frog could be as queer as he seemed.
"You may copy my suit if you wish," Reddy blurted at last.
"Good!" the tailor exclaimed. "Come with me to my shop and I'll make some notes."
This was more than Reddy Woodpecker cared to do. "I won't!" he said flatly.
"Tut! Tut!" cried Mr. Frog. "You promised I might copy your suit. You mustn't break your promise."
"I'm not going inside any shop," Reddy declared very firmly.
"Of course not!" said Mr. Frog. "I'll go inside.Youcan stay outside. And I'll look you over through the doorway and jot down what I need."
"All right!" said Reddy Woodpecker.
So Mr. Frog leaped ashore and gayly led the way to his shop near-by.
XXI
THE ODD MR. FROG
Reddy Woodpecker stood on the doorstep of Mr. Frog's shop. And inside the tiny building Mr. Frog the tailor squatted cross-legged and scratched upon a flat stone. Now and then he glanced up to look closely at Reddy Woodpecker.
"Colors: red, white and—yes! blue!" Mr. Frog murmured, blinking his bulging eyes at Reddy Woodpecker. "It's a little too blackish for my taste, but it's certainly blue.... A good suit for the Fourth of July!" he muttered. "Just the thing for a clown to wear in a parade of Horribles!"
Mr. Frog's remarks did not please Reddy Woodpecker. In fact they made him very angry. But Mr. Frog didn't appear to notice that. He went right on talking to himself.
"Red head and black tail!" he said, scratching upon his stone all the while. "Black head and red tail would be much better."
"I didn't come here to be abused!" Reddy Woodpecker spluttered.
The tailor paid no heed to Reddy's protest.
"Too much stiffening in the tail!" Mr. Frog mumbled. "Colors too gay for everyday wear! Too loud for the best taste!"
By this time Reddy Woodpecker had become so furious that he couldn't speak.
Meanwhile Mr. Frog continued to look him over calmly, and as his gaze fell at last upon Reddy's feet he began to titter.
"This person's feet are all wrong," he chanted, scratching like mad upon his flat stone. "Never saw a bird before with toes like his. The rule for birds is: three toes in front, one toe in back. This person has two in front and two in back. Ithoughtthere was something queer about him."
"Look here!" Reddy Woodpecker burst forth. "I won't stay here any longer. You're making fun of me. I don't care if I did promise. If my clothes are so queer why do you want to copy them?"
"I don'twantto copy them," Mr. Frog replied. "I'dhateto copy them."
"Then why did you ask me to stand here in front of your shop while you wrote down all this nonsense?"
"You're mistaken," Mr. Frog told him. "I haven't written a word. I asked you to come here because you look like a customer. It's good business to have customers seen about my shop. I haven't had arealcustomer this season," he added somewhat sadly. "So you can't blame me if I want people to think I have one at last—now can you?"
Reddy Woodpecker had no patience with him.
"I think you're nothing but a fraud," he declared. "I don't believe you're a tailor at all."
"Dear me!" said Mr. Frog. "Maybe I'm not. Sometimes I've wondered if I wasn't fooling myself."
"You'd better stick to catching flies," Reddy advised him. "That's all you're good for."
"Perhaps you're right," Mr. Frog replied. He seemed quite meek and mournful. But all at once he smiled. "Anyhow," he remarked, "it's lucky that the flies stick to me—now isn't it?"
XXII
DODGING DANGER
Soon after Reddy Woodpecker settled in Farmer Green's orchard he noticed that a certain person often followed him. The stranger wore gray fur and always flourished a long, bushy tail behind him. He could climb trees as well as Reddy Woodpecker himself. And though he couldn't fly, he was very skillful at leaping from one tree top into another.
Whenever Reddy Woodpecker happened to turn around and spy this lurking stranger the fellow acted as if he hadn't seen Reddy Woodpecker. He would pretend to whisk a bit of bark off the tip of his tail, or arrange his mustache. But the moment Reddy turned his back upon him the stranger would creep a little nearer.
At last this sly person made a quick dash at Reddy Woodpecker one day. He discovered, then, that Reddy was both wide-awake and spry. For Reddy slipped off the tree trunk where he had been clinging and easily escaped the greedy clutches of the stranger.
It's no wonder that Reddy was angry. No one would care to have his breakfast interrupted in such a fashion.
"I knew that sneak meant to catch me if he could," Reddy muttered to himself as he went on with his breakfast.
A few moments later his cousin Mr. Flicker settled upon an ant hill below him.
"Who is that stranger?" Reddy Woodpecker asked Mr. Flicker.
Mr. Flicker glanced at the sly person who was just dodging behind a limb.
"He's no stranger," said Mr. Flicker. "He has lived here a good deal longer than you have. That's Frisky Squirrel."
"Well, he's a little too frisky," Reddy Woodpecker scolded. "He just jumped at me. He has been trying to catch me ever since I came to the farm."
Mr. Flicker laughed.
"That's a regular trick of his," he remarked. "He's always jumping off a fence post at me. But I have no trouble dodging him."
"I don't see why he wants to catch me," Reddy grumbled. "He can't know—yet—that I'm fond of nuts. But in the fall, when the nuts are ripe, I expect I'll make him almost crazy."
The next time Reddy met his tormentor he called to him as pleasantly as if there'd never been any trouble between them.
"How's this place for nuts?"
"Fine!" cried Frisky Squirrel. "The woods beyond the meadow are famous for their beechnuts."
"That's good news," said Reddy. "I'm glad I settled here."'
Frisky gave him a sharp look. "You don't like beechnuts, do you?" he asked.
"Don't I? Oh, don't I?" Reddy cried.
Strange to say Frisky Squirrel knew the answer to that question.
"Oh! Youdolike them!" he chattered. "Well, maybe there aren't as many beechnuts as I thought. Maybe the beechnutting is poor here. No doubt I'm mistaken about it. Why don't you go over on the other side of Blue Mountain to live? You'resureto find plenty of beechnuts over there next fall."
Reddy Woodpecker laughed heartily. Frisky Squirrel could not deceive him.
XXIII
BEECHNUTS
"I'm going to stay right here on this farm," Reddy Woodpecker declared. "I like this place."
"Perhaps you expect to leave for the South before the beechnuts are ripe," Frisky Squirrel suggested hopefully.
"Not I!" replied Reddy Woodpecker. "If I leave, I shall wait until the last beechnut is eaten. And no doubt I shall not leave at all. This looks to me like a good place to spend the winter."
Now that Frisky Squirrel knew Reddy Woodpecker ate beechnuts he was more determined than ever to catch him. He had hunted Reddy before. Now he haunted him. He dogged Reddy Woodpecker's footsteps. He crept up behind him and jumped at him a dozen times a day.
Though Frisky didn't know it, he couldn't have captured Reddy Woodpecker in a thousand years. Reddy was too wary to be caught. He always chuckled after dodging. And he always called mockingly, "Not this time, young fellow!"
All summer long the chase went on. Frisky Squirrel seemed to think that if only he hunted Reddy long enough there would come a time when he would catch him napping.
Now, every year as fall drew near it was Frisky's custom to go each day to the woods, to inspect the beechnuts. He went very slyly. It was a business of great importance. Of course he didn't care to have everybody know what he was doing.
Imagine his annoyance, then, on his first trip to the beech grove, to hear Reddy Woodpecker call out to him, "What do you think of 'em? Will they be ready to eat soon?"
Reddy was high up in a beech tree. And Frisky Squirrel was so angry that he could only look up at him and chatter.
"You haven't answered my questions," Reddy observed presently. "Perhaps you aren't a good judge of beechnuts. Perhaps I'd better ask Jasper Jay."
That threat made Frisky Squirrel angrier than ever. He darted up the tree as fast as he could scramble. If he hadn't been so angry he would have known how utterly useless it was to try to catch Reddy Woodpecker when Reddy was looking right at him.
Reddy calmly moved to another tree. Frisky Squirrel leaped into the top of it. Again Reddy moved.
Then Frisky sat up on a limb and glared at him.
"Don't mention these nuts to Jasper Jay!" he cried. "I've been hoping he'd forget about them. Eat what you want—if you must. But for goodness' sake don't go and tell the whole neighborhood about them. Just between you and me, these nuts will be ready to eat as soon as there's a frost to sweeten them."
"You're very kind," Reddy Woodpecker told him. "Very kind indeed!"
Well, in about two weeks there was a frost. When Reddy Woodpecker awoke one morning the fields were white and a thin coating of ice covered the watering-trough in the barnyard.
Some of the birds in Pleasant Valley had long since left for the South. And many of those that hadn't announced that they expected to start for a milder climate that very evening.
The weather soon grew warmer. And on the following day Reddy Woodpecker and Frisky Squirrel met at the beech grove.
"These are good nuts, eh?" called Reddy.
"They'd taste sweeter if you weren't here," Frisky Squirrel mumbled out of a full mouth.
XXIV
THE WINTER'S STORE
After Frisky Squirrel had enjoyed a hearty meal of beechnuts he began to make hurried trips to a hollow tree nearby. He lived in that tree. It had a fine big storeroom. And there he carried beechnuts in his cheeks. Frisky did not intend to go hungry when winter came.
Meanwhile he watched Reddy Woodpecker out of the corner of his eye. He still hoped to catch Reddy unawares. And at last Frisky saw something that he hadn't expected to see. It made him stop short and stare.
He saw Reddy Woodpecker loosen a bit of bark and hide a beechnut under it. Soon he beheld Reddy stowing beechnuts away in a hole in an old stump.
Frisky Squirrel was wild with rage.
"I told you you might eat as many nuts as you pleased, if only you wouldn't mention beechnuts to Jasper Jay. I didn't say you might hide beechnuts. But I've caught you hoarding them!"
Reddy Woodpecker was not ruffled—not even a single feather.
"I'm putting away a few nuts," he admitted. "I expect to spend the winter here. And of course I shall need something to eat."
"Don't you dare hide another nut!" Frisky Squirrel scolded.
"You're hoarding nuts yourself!"
"That's different," Frisky blustered.
All at once a loud, harsh voice squalled right above their heads. It belonged to Jasper Jay. "A quarrel!" he bawled. "A quarrel over beechnuts! I must do what I can to stop it. I'll gather as many beechnuts as I can; because when they're all gone there won't be anything to quarrel about."
"Another hoarder!" chattered Frisky.
And Jasper Jay was not the last to appear. For Johnnie Green soon came hurrying up with a basket. And Frisky regarded him with great disfavor.
"Another hoarder!" Frisky groaned. And he began to scold Johnnie. "Go away!" he cried. "We don't want you here." To his great disgust Johnnie Green shied a stone at him and told him not to be saucy.
Jasper Jay jeered loudly at Frisky.
"That's what you get for being a pig," he told him. And turning to Reddy Woodpecker, Jasper added, "You see the pigs aren't all in the pigsty!"
Frisky Squirrel pretended that he didn't hear any of Jasper Jay's remarks. He set to work again to gather beechnuts enough to last him all winter and never once stopped to dash at Reddy Woodpecker nor even look at him.
That was only the first of many busy days for Reddy. Having made up his mind to spend the winter at Farmer Green's place he hid nuts everywhere.
No doubt he never could remember all of his hiding places. But he found enough of them when winter came. And though Frisky Squirrel had stowed away all the nuts he could possibly need, he never could bear to watch Reddy Woodpecker pull out a beechnut from beneath a strip of bark.
He said he never did like to see a bird eat nuts.
THE END
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* * * * * * * *
TUCK-ME-IN TALES
(Trademark Registered)
BYARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY
AUTHOR OFSLEEPY-TIME TALES(Trademark Registered)
The Tale of Jolly RobinThe Tale of Old Mr. CrowThe Tale of Solomon OwlThe Tale of Jasper JayThe Tale of Rusty WrenThe Tale of Daddy LonglegsThe Tale of Kiddie KatydidThe Tale of Buster BumblebeeThe Tale of Freddie FireflyThe Tale of Betsy ButterflyThe Tale of Bobby BobolinkThe Tale of Chirpy CricketThe Tale of Mrs. LadybugThe Tale of Reddy WoodpeckerThe Tale of Grandmother Goose
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOKTHE TALE OF REDDY WOODPECKER***