Chapter 1

Chapter 14,374 wordsPublic domain

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SLEEPY-TIME TALES

ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY

THE TALE OF CUFFY BEAR THE TALE OF FRISKY SQUIRREL THE TALE OF TOMMY FOX THE TALE OF FATTY COON THE TALE OF BILLY WOODCHUCK THE TALE OF JIMMY RABBIT THE TALE OF PETER MINK THE TALE OF SANDY CHIPMUNK THE TALE OF BROWNIE BEAVER THE TALE OF PADDY MUSKRAT

_SLEEPY-TIME TALES_

THE TALE OF BILLY WOODCHUCK

ARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY

ILLUSTRATED BY

HARRY L. SMITH

NEW YORK GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I THE HOUSE IN THE PASTURE 9

II CALLING NAMES 14

III MAGIC 19

IV THE GREAT HORNED OWL 24

V BILLY STANDS GUARD 29

VI BILLY FORGETS TO WHISTLE 34

VII GREEN PEAS 39

VIII A NEW GAME 44

IX WHAT HAPPENED AT AUNT POLLY'S 49

X UNCLE JERRY CHUCK 53

XI BILLY ASKS FOR PAY 58

XII WHAT JIMMY RABBIT SAW 62

XIII A JOKE ON UNCLE JERRY 66

XIV MR. FOX HAS AN IDEA 71

XV "POP! GOES THE WEASEL!" 76

XVI THE PLAY-HOUSE 81

XVII BILLY BRINGS THE DOCTOR 86

XVIII A WONDERFUL STICK 91

XIX MR. WOODCHUCK MOVES 95

XX THE FAMILY ESCAPES 100

XXI AT HOME IN THE WOODS 104

XXII GROUND HOG DAY 108

ILLUSTRATIONS

BILLY WOODCHUCK OFTEN DUG HOLES IN THE PASTURE _Frontispiece_

PAGE

"JUST CRAWL INSIDE THAT OLD STUMP!" MR. FOX SAID 20

"WHAT'S THE MATTER?" BILLY ASKED 36

SHE TOOK HOLD OF BILLY'S EAR 50

HE PAINTED TWO WHITE STRIPES ON UNCLE JERRY'S BACK 68

BILLY CARRIED HER BASKET OF HERBS 88

THE TALE OF BILLY WOODCHUCK

THE HOUSE IN THE PASTURE

One day, when Johnnie Green tramped over the fields toward the woods, he did not dream that he walked right over somebody's bedroom. The snow was deep, for it was midwinter. And as Johnnie crossed his father's pasture he thought only of the fresh rabbit tracks that he saw all about him. He had no way of knowing that beneath the three feet of snow, and as much further below the top of the ground too, there was a snug, cozy little room, where Mr. and Mrs. Woodchuck lay sound asleep on a bed of dried grass.

They had been there all winter, asleep like that. And there they would stay, until spring came and the grass began to grow again.

In summer Johnnie Green was always on the watch for woodchucks. But now he never gave them a thought. There would be time enough for that after the snow was gone and the chucks came crawling out of their underground houses to enjoy the warm sunshine.

Usually it happened in just that way, though there had been years when Mr. and Mrs. Woodchuck had awakened too soon. And then when they reached the end of the long tunnel that led from their bedroom into Farmer Green's pasture they found that they had to dig their way through a snow-bank before they reached the upper world where Johnnie Green lived.

But this year their winter's nap came to a close at just the right time. A whole month had passed since Johnnie walked over their house. And now when they popped their heads out of their front door they saw that the snow was all gone and that the sun was shining brightly. Almost the first thing they did was to nibble at the tender young grass that grew in their dooryard.

When you stop to remember that neither of them had had so much as a single mouthful of food since long before Thanksgiving Day you will understand how hungry they were.

They were very thin, too. But every day they grew a little fatter. And when at last Johnnie Green passed that way again, late one afternoon, to drive the cows home to be milked, he thought that Mrs. Woodchuck looked quite well.

She looked happy, too, just before Johnnie came along. But now she had a worried air. And it was no wonder, either. For she had five new children, only a few weeks old, and she was afraid that Johnnie would take them away from her.

Poor, frightened Mrs. Woodchuck ran round and round her five youngsters, to keep them all together. And all the time she urged them nearer and nearer the door of her house.

Johnnie was already late about getting the cows. But he waited to see what happened. And soon he saw all five of the little chucks scramble through the doorway. And as soon as the last one was safely inside the old lady jumped in after her children.

That last one was the biggest of all the young chucks. Perhaps it was because he always ate twice as much as any of his brothers and sisters. His mother found him harder to manage, too; and she had to push him along through the doorway, because he wanted to stop and snatch a bite from a juicy plantain.

That was Billy Woodchuck--that fat, strong youngster. Even then Johnnie Green knew that he was going to be a big fellow when he grew up.

CALLING NAMES

Billy Woodchuck grew so fast that he soon looked very much like his father. Of course, he was still much smaller than Mr. Woodchuck. But like him, Billy was quite gray; and he had whiskers, too--though, to be sure, those were black. His eyes also were black and large and bright. When Billy sat up on his hind legs--as he often did--he appeared for all the world like a huge squirrel.

In fact, some of Billy's friends remarked how like a squirrel he looked. And one day when Billy was playing near the edge of the woods a disagreeable young hedgehog told him that. To tell the truth, Billy Woodchuck had grown to be the least bit vain. He loved to gaze upon his bushy tail; and he spent a good deal of time stroking his whiskers. He hoped that the neighbors had noticed them.

Now, other people are always quick to see when anyone is silly in that way. And the young hedgehog thought that Billy Woodchuck needed taking down a peg. So he said to him:

"Why don't you join the circus?"

"Circus? What's that?" Billy asked.

"A circus is a place where they have all kinds of freaks," the hedgehog answered with a sly smile--"giants and dwarfs, and thin people and fat people."

"But I'm not a freak," Billy Woodchuck replied. "Of course, I'm big for my age. But I'm not a giant."

"Yes, you are," the hedgehog insisted.

"You're a giant squirrel. You look like _him_"--he pointed to a young fellow called Frisky Squirrel--"only you're ever so much bigger."

That made Billy Woodchuck very angry. And he began to chatter and scold.

Wise old Mr. Crow, who sat in a tree nearby, told him to keep his temper.

"Certainly you are not a squirrel," he said. "It is nonsense to say that a ground hog is the same as a squirrel----"

Billy Woodchuck's voice broke into a shrill scream. A _ground hog_! He was terribly angry.

"Why, yes!" Mr. Crow said, nodding his head with a knowing air. "You're a marmot, you know."

"No, I'm not!" Billy cried. "I'm a woodchuck! That's what I am. And I'm going home and tell my mother what horrid names you've been calling me."

Mr. Crow laughed. He said nothing more. But as Billy hurried away he could hear the young hedgehog calling:

"Ground hog! Marmot! Ground hog! Marmot!" over and over again.

Billy Woodchuck was surprised to see how calm his mother was when he told her those horrid names. He had rather expected that she would hurry over to the woods and say a few things to that young hedgehog, and to old Mr. Crow as well. But she only said:

"Don't be silly! Of course you're a ground hog. You're an American marmot, too. Though our family has been known in this neighborhood for many years as the Woodchuck family, you needn't be ashamed of either of those other names. Isn't 'ground hog' every bit as good a name as 'hedgehog?'"

Billy Woodchuck began to think it was. And as for "marmot"--that began to have quite a fine sound in his ears.

"Why can't we change our name to that?" he asked his mother.

But Mrs. Woodchuck shook her head.

"We are plain country people," she said. "Woodchuck is the best name for us."

III

MAGIC

One of the first things Mrs. Woodchuck taught her children was to beware of dogs and foxes, minks and weasels, skunks and great horned owls. She often made them say the names of those enemies over and over again.

For some time Billy Woodchuck was almost afraid to stir out of doors, for fear he might meet one of those creatures. But at last as he grew bigger he grew bolder, too. And he began to think that his mother was just a nervous old lady. Still, when he met a fox one day at the further end of the pasture Billy was somewhat frightened. But Mr. Fox seemed very friendly. They talked together for a while. And then Mr. Fox said:

"Do you like surprises?

"I see you _do_ like them," Mr. Fox continued. "Well, you just crawl inside that old stump over there. There's a hole in it, as you see. And in there you'll find something to surprise you." Mr. Fox stretched himself then. "I must go home now," he said. "I was out late last night and I feel like taking a nap." So off he trotted, with never a look behind him.

He was hardly out of sight before Billy Woodchuck hurried to the old stump and crawled inside. But so far as he could see, it was quite empty. And he was just about to leave when all at once it grew dark. That was because Mr. Fox had come back and thrust his head through the hole.

"Did you find it?" Mr. Fox asked him.

"No!" said Billy in a faint voice.

"Well, well!" said Mr. Fox. "I must be mistaken.... Yes, I know I am. It was in another stump. Just step outside and I'll show you which one." The hole was too small for him to squeeze through. If it had been bigger he would not have bothered to ask Billy to come out.

Mr. Fox pulled his head back and waited. But Billy Woodchuck did not appear.

Soon Mr. Fox took another look inside the hollow stump.

"What's the matter?" he asked. "Aren't you coming?"

Then _he_ had a surprise. For Billy Woodchuck was gone. Mr. Fox saw that the old stump was empty.

He thought that Billy must have used magic, to leave that place and run away under his very eyes. For you may be sure that Mr. Fox had kept a close watch on the hole all the time. And he told all his friends that Billy Woodchuck knew a way to make himself invisible--a word which means that _nobody could see him_.

Later, when Billy heard what people were saying about him, he only looked wise and said nothing.

But he had been sadly frightened when Mr. Fox peeped inside the old stump. And he had made up his mind at once that he would not come out and be caught. He knew better than that. For now he believed everything his mother had told him about foxes.

As his bright eyes looked about his prison they soon spied a small hole which seemed to lead down into the ground. It was large enough for him to enter. And so he went right down out of sight.

Billy found himself in a long tunnel, which made him think of one that led to his own home. At the other end of it he came out into daylight again; and he knew then that it was an old woodchuck's burrow, in which nobody lived any longer. And it was the back door that opened into the hollow stump.

Billy Woodchuck hurried home. He thought that Mr. Fox would stay near the old stump for some time, waiting for him to come out.

Although he had been so frightened, it was a good lesson for him. For he had learned that no matter how pleasant a fox might be, it was wise to have nothing to do with him.

THE GREAT HORNED OWL

Billy Woodchuck knew that the Great Horned Owl was a dangerous person. His mother had often told him that. But he had never yet seen the Great Horned Owl; and Billy wondered how he should know him if he should ever happen to meet him. So Billy Woodchuck went indoors and asked his mother to tell him how the Great Horned Owl looked.

"He's a big fellow," said Mrs. Woodchuck--"almost as big as the Great Gray Owl and the Snowy Owl. But you can tell him from them by his ear-tufts, which stick up from his head like horns."

"What color is he?" Billy inquired.

"Buff and black," Mrs. Woodchuck answered. "He's mottled--that means about the same as spotted," she explained. "I've heard him called the 'tiger among birds.' But whether it's because of the spots, or because he's so fierce, I really don't know."

"Maybe it's _both_," Billy suggested.

"Perhaps!" his mother said. "He has a deep voice," she continued. "And he calls '_Whoo, hoo-hoo-hoo, whoo, whoo!_' If you heard him in the woods you might almost think it was old dog Spot barking. But when he screams"--Mrs. Woodchuck shuddered--"_then_ you'll know him. For his scream is the most dreadful sound that was ever heard."

"I wish you would scream like him once," said Billy.

"Bless your heart!" said his mother. "My voice may not be very sweet, but I never could screech like him."

"Why doesn't Johnnie Green shoot him?" Billy asked. "If he only would, the Great Horned Owl could never trouble us any more."

"Why, there's more than just _one_!" his mother exclaimed. "When I say 'the Great Horned Owl,' I don't mean just _one_!"

"Oh!" said Billy. That was different. And then he went out to play again.

For a long time he couldn't get the Great Horned Owl out of his mind. Every time he heard the leaves rustle in the trees he jumped as if forty Great Horned Owls were after him. But since nothing of the sort happened, at last he forgot all about that danger. It was late in the afternoon when a horrid call sent him scurrying off:

"_Whoo, hoo-hoo-hoo, whoo, whoo!_"

Billy Woodchuck was sure that the Great Horned Owl had found him at last. He ran a little way as fast as he could; and then he crouched down in the grass.

Again came that deep, long-drawn call. It sent Billy off on another short run.

And after that had happened three times, he was so scared that he thrust his head under a heap of dried leaves. So long as he couldn't see the Great Horned Owl, he thought that the Great Horned Owl couldn't see him.

Then Billy heard his mother's voice. She was calling him. And he looked up quickly. There she was, right beside him!

"Did you drive him away, Mother?" he asked.

"Whom do you mean?" she inquired.

"Why, the Great Horned Owl!" Billy said.

"I was the only one that called," she told him. "I wanted to see what you would do. And I must say, you behaved very foolishly. Don't ever cover up your head like that. First, you must try to get away. And if you should get caught, remember that your teeth are sharp. But they won't be of any use to you with your head buried under a pile of leaves."

Billy Woodchuck saw that he had a great deal to learn. But he was glad that his mother had taught him that much, though he was ashamed that he had been so silly.

BILLY STANDS GUARD

Old Mr. Woodchuck had a great deal of time on his paws. He was always telling people how a stone once rolled off a wall on top of him and hurt his back, so he was not strong enough to do much work. On pleasant days he was usually to be found sunning himself. And often when he leaned his lame back against a tree where the sun fell squarely upon him he would fall asleep and stay there for hours at a time.

Though he did no work at all, his appetite was always good. And when he heard that there were ripe apples, or lettuce, or some other dainty to be had, he always managed to get to the feast about as early as anybody else. At such times he seemed to forget how much his back hurt him.

There came a day when Mr. Woodchuck dashed home on a run. At first his wife thought there must be a fox chasing him. But as soon as he caught his breath (he was so fat that running always made him puff), he told Mrs. Woodchuck that a party of his friends was going to make a raid on Farmer Green's clover-field.

"I'm going with them," he said.

"Do you think you ought to?" she asked. "Isn't it too far? Isn't your back too lame?"

Mr. Woodchuck clapped his hands to his back and groaned a bit.

"They say there's nothing better for my trouble than tender young clover-heads," he replied. "So I think I ought to go.... What I came home for is this: We want some spry young fellow to come along with us and be a sentinel. And I'm going to take Billy. He's old enough now to make himself of some use."

"I don't want him to go," Mrs. Woodchuck said. "He's only a child."

"He has ears, hasn't he? And eyes?" her husband replied. "It's time he helped me a little, after all I've done for him."

Billy Woodchuck was sure that he wanted to go. He was listening to every word.

"What's a sentinel?" he asked.

"A sentinel is a guard," his father told him. "It is his duty to sit upon a knoll and watch for men and dogs, while his friends eat the clover. And if he sees or hears a man or a dog--or any other enemy--he whistles as loud as he can. That's the danger signal. And just as soon as they hear it, all the other chucks run away."

"Please let me go, Mother!" Billy begged.

"It's very dangerous," Mrs. Woodchuck objected.

"No danger at all!" Mr. Woodchuck said. "Come on!"

And off they went, though Mrs. Woodchuck was far from pleased.

Mr. Woodchuck hurried over to a big oak, where his friends were waiting for him. There were almost a dozen of them--fat, elderly gentlemen. But they were very spry about reaching the clover-field.

Billy felt proud as a peacock when they left him alone on a knoll at the edge of the clover-patch and told him to keep a sharp ear out.

"And remember! At the first sign of danger, you must give a loud, shrill whistle," his father warned him. Then Mr. Woodchuck hurried away.

Billy could see his father and the others eating clover-tops as fast as they could pull them off. And he soon began to think that they were having more fun than he was. He grew tired of sitting still in one place. And just a little distance away he noticed a clump of fine clover. As the tops waved gently in the breeze they seemed to beckon to him.

Soon Billy was eating clover, too. And it was so good that he forgot all about being a sentinel. He forgot all about listening for danger. And then all at once he heard a cry:

"Sick him, Spot!"

It was Johnnie Green calling to his dog.

BILLY FORGETS TO WHISTLE

When Billy Woodchuck turned around he saw that dog Spot was coming straight toward him. Billy dropped the big clover-top he was just cramming into his mouth; and he ran as fast as he could go for a little way. Then he stopped and crouched low in the thick clover. But old Spot came bounding after him.

Again Billy made a quick dash. Again he stopped to hide. And this time what should he see right in front of him but the door of an old woodchuck's burrow! He whisked inside it in a hurry and plunged headlong down to the long tunnel, where he knew he was safe. Above him he could hear old Spot barking, and Johnnie Green talking. But he was no longer afraid.

Then suddenly Billy remembered that he was a sentinel. And he had forgotten to whistle! He had forgotten to warn his father and his friends that they were in danger!

Billy Woodchuck wondered what would happen to them. Though Spot soon stopped barking, Billy did not dare leave his hiding place. He only hoped that the old chucks had heard the noise and had run away in time. Of course, he would be very sorry if any of them should get caught--especially his father. And yet the more he thought, the surer he was that if his father reached home the old gentleman would be very angry. No matter what happened, Billy Woodchuck saw that he was in great trouble.

It was almost dark when Billy at last left the old burrow and stole home. Even before he had reached the end of the long tunnel he could hear a loud groaning in the family bedroom beyond.

It was his father. And as Billy slipped inside the chamber he saw that his mother was bending over Mr. Woodchuck and trying to quiet him.

"What's the matter?" Billy asked.

And at that Mr. Woodchuck sprang to his feet. But his wife made him lie down again. And she seemed pleased to see her son once more.

"Your father has been in a fight," Mrs. Woodchuck said. "When the dog chased him he ran into an old woodchuck's burrow."

"That's just what I did, too!" Billy exclaimed.

"Yes; but there was a weasel in the one in which your father hid," his mother explained. "And your poor father's nose is badly bitten."

"It's all _his_ fault," Mr. Woodchuck said, meaning Billy, of course. "He was a sentinel--and he ran away without warning us."

"I didn't have time," Billy whimpered.

"If he were a soldier, he would be shot," his father said, crossly.

Mrs. Woodchuck told her husband that he had better try to go to sleep.

"I said that Billy was too young to take to the clover field," she reminded him.

Mr. Woodchuck groaned again.

"Does your nose still pain you?" she asked.

"It's my back," he answered. "I am afraid I hurt it again. And I don't suppose I shall be able to do another stroke of work all the rest of the summer."

Somehow, that did not seem to worry Mrs. Woodchuck at all. To tell the truth, she knew very well that her husband was lazy.

"I shall punish this boy to-morrow--if my back is strong enough," Mr. Woodchuck said.

But the next day Mr. Woodchuck was so busy sunning himself that he never found time to punish Billy after all.

VII

GREEN PEAS

In Farmer Green's garden there were many things that Billy Woodchuck liked to eat. It seemed to him that every time he stole down there he found some new vegetable that was nicer than any he had tasted before. And one day he came upon something that was far sweeter and juicier than anything he had ever eaten.

Farmer Green's peas were just ready to be picked. Billy Woodchuck did not know what they were called. But that made no difference to him. He sat up on his hind legs and pulled off the fat pods and ate the tender green peas greedily.

I should hate to say how long he stayed there. But it was a very long time. When he reached the garden-patch it had been so early in the morning that none of Farmer Green's family was astir. The sun rose while Billy was breakfasting. And after a while a door slammed now and then. But Billy Woodchuck never heard a sound, though the farmhouse was not far away. He was having such a good meal that he forgot everything else.

At last he could eat no more. He hated to stop. But he could not hold another mouthful. And now, as he looked around, he was startled to see Farmer Green's hired man walking toward him. The hired man had a hoe on his shoulder; and he was coming to work in the garden.

But Billy did not know that. He was sure that the man was after _him_. So he dropped down on all fours and started to run. He really did _try_ to run. But to his surprise he could only drag himself along the ground.

The first thing that came into his head was the thought that he had been poisoned. He had heard of such things happening. What else could be the matter? His hind legs seemed too weak to hold up his body. Yes! As he pulled himself slowly along, his fat stomach actually dragged on the ground.

Of course, he could not go fast at all. But he managed to reach a shallow ditch, where he hid and rested for a time, though he expected any moment that the hired man would pounce on him.

But nothing of the sort happened; though he did hear the hired man say:

"Well, look at that! What _will_ Mr. Green say when he knows this?"

And that made Billy shiver all over. For he knew exactly what the hired man meant.

After a while he crept along the ditch. He wanted to get home to his mother. And at last he reached the pasture, pulled himself through the long tunnel, and fell in the middle of the chamber floor and wept.